Alternative Energy - CK Global Trading

Alternative energy is any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel.

The term “alternative” presupposes a set of undesirable energy technologies against which "alternative energies" are contrasted. As such, the list of energy technologies excluded is an indicator of which problems the alternative technologies are intended to address. Controversies regarding dominant sources of energy and their alternatives have a long history. The nature of what were regarded alternative energy sources has changed considerably over time, and today, because of the variety of energy choices and differing goals of their advocates, defining some energy types as "alternative" is highly controversial.

In a general sense in contemporary society, alternative energy is that which is produced without the undesirable consequences of the burning of fossil fuels, such as high carbon dioxide emissions, which is considered to be the major contributing factor of global warming according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Sometimes, this less comprehensive meaning of “alternative energy” excludes nuclear energy (e.g. as defined in the Michigan Next Energy

Authority Act of 2002).

History:

Historians of economies have examined the key transitions to alternative energies and regard the transitions as pivotal in bringing about significant economic change. Prior to the shift to an alternative energy, supplies of the dominant energy type became erratic, accompanied by rapid increases in energy prices.

Coal as an alternative to wood:

Historian Norman F. Cantor describes how in the late medieval period, coal was the new alternative fuel to save the society from overuse of the dominant fuel, wood:

“Europeans had lived in the midst of vast forests throughout the earlier medieval centuries. After 1250 they became so skilled at deforestation that by 1500 AD they were running short of wood for heating and cooking… By 1500 Europe was on the edge of a fuel and nutritional disaster, [from] which it was saved in the sixteenth century only by the burning of soft coal and the cultivation of potatoes and maize. “

Petroleum as an alternative to whale oil

Whale oil was the dominant form of lubrication and fuel for lamps in the early 19th century, but the depletion of the whale stocks by midcentury caused whale oil prices to skyrocket setting the stage for the adoption of petroleum which was first commercialized in Pennsylvania in 1859.

Alcohol as an alternative to fossil fuels:

In 1917, Alexander Graham Bell advocated ethanol from corn, wheat and other foods as an

alternative to coal and oil, stating that the world was in measurable distance of depleting these fuels. For Bell, the problem requiring an alternative was lack of renewability of orthodox energy sources. Since the 1970s, Brazil has had an ethanol fuel program which has allowed the country to become the world's second largest producer of ethanol (after the United States) and the world’s largest exporter. Brazil’s ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, and the residual cane-waste (bagasse) is used to process heat and power. There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline. By the end of 2008 there were 35,000 filling stations throughout Brazil with at least one ethanol pump.

Cellulosic ethanol can be produced from a diverse array of feedstock’s, and involves the use of the whole crop. This new approach should increase yields and reduce the carbon footprint

because the amount of energy-intensive fertilizers and fungicides will remain the same, for a

higher output of usable material. As of 2008, there are nine commercial cellulosic ethanol plants which are either operating, or under construction, in the United States.

Second-generation biofuels technologies are able to manufacture biofuels from inedible biomass and could hence prevent conversion of food into fuel." As of July 2010, there is one commercial second-generation (2G) ethanol plant Inbicon Biomass Refinery, which is operating in Denmark.

Coal gasification as an alternative to petroleum:

In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter's administration advocated coal gasification as an

alternative to expensive imported oil. The program, including the Synthetic Fuels Corporation

was scrapped when petroleum prices plummeted in the 1980s. The carbon footprint and

environmental impact of coal gasification are both very high.

Common types of alternative energy

Solar energy is the generation of electricity from the sun. It is split up into two types, thermal and electric energy. These two subgroups mean that they heat up homes andgenerate electricity respectively.
Wind energy is the generation of electricity from the wind.
Geothermal energy is using hot water or steam from the Earth’s interior for heating buildings or electricity generation.
Biofuel and ethanol are plant-derived substitutes of gasoline for powering vehicles.
Nuclear binding energy uses nuclear fission to create energy.
Hydrogen is used as clean fuel for spaceships, and some cars.

Renewable energy vs. non-renewable energy:

Renewable energy is generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and

geothermal heat—which are renewable (naturally replenished). When comparing the processes for producing energy, there remain several fundamental differences between renewable energy and fossil fuels. The process of producing oil, coal, or natural gas fuel is a difficult and demanding process that requires a great deal of complex equipment, physical and chemical processes. On the other hand, alternative energy can be widely produced with basic equipment and naturally basic processes. Wood, the most renewable and available alternative energy, burns the same amount of carbon it would emit if it degraded naturally.

Ecologically friendly alternatives:

Renewable energy sources such as biomass are sometimes regarded as an alternative to
ecologically harmful fossil fuels. Renewables are not inherently alternative energies for this
purpose. For example, the Netherlands, once leader in use of palm oil as a biofuel, has suspended all subsidies for palm oil due to the scientific evidence that their use "may sometimes create more environmental harm than fossil fuels” The Netherlands government and environmental groups are trying to trace the origins of imported palm oil, to certify which operations produce the oil in a responsible manner. Regarding biofuels from foodstuffs, the realization that converting the entire grain harvest of the US would only produce 16% of its auto fuel needs, and the decimation of Brazil’s CO 2 absorbing tropical rain forests to make way for biofuel production has made it clear that placing energy markets in competition with food markets results in higher food prices and insignificant or negative impact on energy issues such as global warming or dependence on foreign energy. Recently, alternatives to such undesirable sustainable fuels are being sought, such as commercially viable sources of cellulosic ethanol.