Describe at least two renewable alternatives to oil that are currently available and discuss the barriers that keep these alternatives from replacing oil as our primary means of energy.
Turk & Bensel (2015) states that a new infrastructure must provide energy on demand just as reliable as what we have now, and that the best way to do that is to create a smart mix of renewable. Every county in America should have an unpaid committee that is a mix of citizens, advocates and business owners studying the best solution for their jurisdiction.
The term green power covers energy sourced from the sun, wind, geothermal, biomass and water. These sources do require upfront costs that are sometimes prohibitive even with financing for the average family.
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The upfront costs are high and “many governments offer tax incentives to create growth for wind energy sector” (www.conserve-energy-future.com, 2017, p. 1). Wind power is clean, renewable; you can purchase energy from a company in your area; landowners can rent to companies to create wind farms; there is a huge way to make money renting your land, and everyone is a customer, residences, and businesses alike…Wind turbines can be installed on current farms and become a new revenue stream while the farmer continues to farm as normal…” (www.conserve-energy-future.com, 2017, p. 1). Cons are, the wind does not always blow, turbines are noisy, and eyesores. There is nothing attractive about an electric power plant but we accept its existence because of what it provides for us. We must stop focusing and giving life to the minutiae and focus on the big picture, much bigger picture.
“Biomass energy is one of the major alternatives sources of energy that is produced from organic matter of plants and animals…Different forms of biomass such as dead plants, leaves, crops, manure, trees, grass, garbage, and animal waste are used in generating biomass energy. Currently, wood is a major source of biomass energy” (www.energy-business-review.com, 2017, p.