3. Advantages and Disadvantages
With the huge growth of the power consumption worldwide, different power stations have to be established. Therefore, conducting a thorough study is necessary, and a comparison between the power plants is required.
3.1 Coal Power Plants
The pros of coal power plants are numerous. Coal is one of the most abundant energy sources, it can be burned directly, inexpensive compared to other energy sources, and finally, it is a leading source of electricity today.
The cons, however, temper the pros of this power plant. Coal is a source of pollution, where it emits waste, SO2 , Nitrogen Oxide and ash. Because of the dirty industry, it causes serious health problems. Moreover, Technology to process to liquid or gas is not fully developed.
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No fuel is needed to generate the power, and the minimal energy needed to pump water to the Earth's surface can be taken from the total energy yield. Even considering transport, geothermal energy is estimated to save 80 percent of the costs associated with fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas.” (Kittmer, 2018, financial costs)
Although the generation of power is low in these power plants, the initial installation costs are extremely high. Furthermore, thermal power plants can be constructed only in special areas where temperatures below the Earth's surface allow for the production of steam over a long period.
3.3 Solar Power Plants
The good thing about solar energy is that it is a renewable energy resource and there are no fuel costs. In addition, harmful polluting gases are not produced.
On the other hand, the disadvantages of this power plant are plentiful. Solar cells are expensive and inefficient. Solar panels may only produce power in very sunny climates, although power can be produced even on cloudy days, solar panels do not work at night as shown in figure