ENERGY SOURCES

SOLAR POWER

ADVANTAGES

• Solar cells are emission free
• Is a renewable resource
• Is inexhaustable
• Is clean energy
• Once set up it costs no money

DISADVANTAGES

• Not very efficient at converting light to energy
• Solar cells are expensive to buy and sell
• Produce no electricity when dark or cloudy
• Only 15 to 20 percent of light captured is converted
• Geographic limitations (has to be placed where there is a lot of sunlight)

WIND ENERGY

ADVANTAGES

• Provides clean energy
• Can be built in water
• Cost for windmills is going down
• Inexhaustible resource
• Can be small and still produce elctricity

DISADVANTAGES

• Wind must be blowing to produce electricity
• Electricity can not be stored easily
• Hard to move energy over long distances
• Wind must be steady to produce elctricity
• Can kill birds

FOSSIL FUELS

ADVANTAGES

• Powers cars and other vehicles
• Cheapest energy source
• Most reliable source
• Large supplies are still avalible
• Can travel through pipes

DISADVANTAGES

• Must be burned
• Creates pollution
• Can cause global warming
• About 50 more years until it runs out
• Can cause health problems

BIOMASS

ADVANTAGES

• Reduces amount of garbage
• Is a renewable resource
• Is reliable
• Energy can be stored until released
• Can be found anywhere

DISADVANTAGES

• Creates pollution
• Cost more than fossil fuels
• Harms environment
• To much demand
• Cost a lot of money

GEOTHERMAL

ADVANTAGES

• Inexpensive
• Sometimes doesn't have to be burned
• Can be found on all continets
• Heats homes and buildings
• Doesn't produce pollution

DISADVANTAGES

• Might run out of steam in some areas
• Is very expensive
• Power plants can only be built above steam
• Contributes to global warming
• Creates poullution

NUCLEAR POWER

ADVANTAGES

• No pollution
• Small amount of fuel needed to work
• Very efficient
• Small amounts of waste
• No contribution to global warming

DISADVANTAGES

• Produces radioactive waste
• Fuel must be stored
• Very expensive
• Is not safe
• Could harm environment

HYDROPOWER

ADVANTAGES

• Energy can be stored
• Can adapt quickly to demand
• Works on a very large scale
• Doesn't cause pollution
• Cheap source once built

DISADVANTAGES

• Building dams costs a lot of money
• Not many places to build a dam
• Massive habitat destruction
• Reservoirs can fill with silt and become useless
• Changes water level

THE END