Bioenergy

 

Bioenergy is energy from living materials such as plants, wood, and waste. It is the biodegradable fractions of products, wastes, and residues. Therefore, it is a renewable energy source. Plants are the most used source for bioenergy because they are the easiest to grow. Carbon dioxide gets removed during photosynthesis and the net emission of CO2 could be equal if we keep replenishing plants for bioenergy. Biofuels convert biomass into fuel for transportation, biopower burns biomass to generate electricity, and bioproducts are products made from converting biomass into chemicals. America is really trying to improve bioenergy and make it used more frequently all over the United States. It is the most used renewable energy technology in the U.S. by a huge amount.

In an article on energy.gov called "Energy Department Announces $7 Million to Develop Advanced Logistics for Bioenergy Feedstocks" it talked about how that money is going towards two projects to help reduce the costs of transporting biomass to biorefineries. Sometimes the places where they grow the biomass are so far away from the refineries and so they are transported on trucks(with bad gas mileage) on long distances to the refineries. With this project, we could reduce the costs of biomass so that if we make biofuels it would be a lot cheaper than gasoline. They are developing better technology for more efficient and lower-costing harvesting, collection, and transportation of biomass. I am really happy about this news because we are using so much biomass, but we should always look for ways to how to improve the process. They are also using two colleges for help on the project which I think is really cool because it gives them more experience for their future careers.
And the U.S. Department of Energy is not stopping with that project! They are donating $14 million for another biomass project. In another article by energy.gov it said they are using "landscape design approaches that maintain or enhance the environmental and socio-economic sustainability of cellulosic bioenergy through the improvement of feedstock production, logistics systems, and technology development." Their focus is making renewable energy more commercialized and reducing carbon emissions. An example would be using corn for fuel and water quality by improving agricultural residue. Energy is a business and I think is good news that they are using biomass in not only its energy form, but also making the landscape better as well. They are making our technology more efficient which will lower costs so that renewable energy can be more abundant and cheaper. Obviously the U.S. is moving towards biomass and it is no surprised why.

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is America's third-largest source of electricity after coal and natural gas. Nuclear plants produce electricity by boiling water into steam which spins turbines. To create nuclear power we use uranium fuel which contains solid ceramic pellets, and the process is called fission. Nuclear energy is a renewable source and it produces no greenhouse gas emissions. The problem with nuclear energy is the radioactive waste it produces which takes years to finally decompose and the accidents that may occur.

In the article, "Before We Close More Nuclear Power Plants, We Need A National Conversation" (Fox News) it explained the problems with nuclear power in the U.S. More nuclear power plants are closing due to "sluggish demand for electricity, the onset of cheap natural gas, electricity markets that do not sufficiently value low- or zero-carbon electricity sources and an aging, constrained transmission system." There are also public concerns on disasters.  I feel like most of the U.S. does not care about clean energy and the world deteriorating. Everybody cares about natural gas too much and that is not renewable. Like I said in my other posts non-renewable sources should pay higher taxes, and more money should be going to renewable sources to create better carbon-free energy technology. If we shut down more nuclear power plants, we would be taking away thousands of jobs and the CO2 will increase dramatically.
In another article I read from US News was called "Despite New Plants, Nuclear Future Still Decades Away." We have just opened two brand-new nuclear energy plants! This is great news. We have not created a new power plant in 30 years and now we have two new ones! But it did cost 15 Billion which is a lot of money, but was totally worth every penny because it makes peoples energy bills go way down and it is clean electricity. There is a future in nuclear energy and the U.S. Department of Energy sees this. They are allotting 450 million to two new projects which will take about ten years to complete. The Environmental Protection Agency is now trying to make laws for stricter emissions limits for coal-fired power plants. It will make coal producers to install new technology which will make the price of coal go up by about 75%.
Even though there are many doubts about nuclear energy it will one day surpass coal as the biggest producer of electricity and the world will be a much cleaner place to live.

Wind Energy

Wind energy provides only 2% of the total electricity supply. The United States is trying to improve that because it is clean energy, but so many people are really against it including environmentalists. An article by Fox News called "It May be Lights Out for the Wind Energy Come the Midterms." In the article it talked about how wind energy makes peoples' taxes go up. It says a study shows that the states with the most wind farms have the highest electricity bills. The Production Tax Credit is a federal programs that gives out billions of dollars annually to renewable energy companies. To pay for the wind farm taxpayers have to pay taxes for it for ten or more years. The League of Conservation Voters has deep ties with the American Wind Energy Association and some of them are on their committee and together they are a powerhouse.
I did not know that Republicans cared so much about the environment, I thought mainly Democrats only did. But the article does make a good point that the Republicans are getting so much money from the wind energy companies, so they might not even care about the environment, only the money. It is more like a business to them. I really want the U.S. to push towards renewable energy, and wind is a great option in the Midwest, but we need to find better ways to make it cheaper because it is ridicules how we have to pay millions for it and taxpayers have to suffer from it when clean energy should be helping people.
Another article I read from Fox News was called "Bird Conservation Group Challenges Feds Over Wind Farm Eagle Deaths." The American Bird Conservancy has a lawsuit against Obama for giving wind energy companies land permits to kill bald and golden eagles and they are not getting prosecuted by the government. It is for Obama's plan for green energy, and he is giving them permits for thirty years. Wind turbines blades can go up to 170 mph making it like a deadly tornado. Wind Farms in 12 states together have killed about 250 eagles. The U.S government has only sued one company in Wyoming for killing eagles and other birds from their wind farms.
Wind energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions and in the U.S. provides clean energy to 15 million homes. In January of 2015 a law in Colorado will take effect protecting the birds and other wildlife from wind energy. It is the first law in the U.S. of that kind.
I did not realize wind energy is killing this many species. Bald eagles have just gotten off the endangered species list and I definitely do not want them on it again. I was totally for wind energy because it is clean and green, but I am totally rethinking it now. I knew there is always drawbacks to everything, but I did not know they were this bad. Maybe we could use other designs like bladeless wind turbines like the Dutch's Ewicon, so that no other animals get killed.