What is Non-Renewable Energy?
Non-renewable energy is derived from a resource that cannot be replaced or is replaced slowly and gradually by only natural processes. The resources that would be referred to as non-renewable are fossil fuels like coal, gas, and oils. Nuclear energy is also considered a non-renewable source because there is a limited supply of uranium in the Earth’s crust.
Fossil fuels take millions of years to form as they are created by the remains of dead cells of plants and animals. The formation of fossil fuels in the earth’s crust is a long-term process; hence, it should not be wasted.
This page enlists the advantages and disadvantages of non-renewable energy, along with its characteristics, interesting facts, and global impact.
Types of Non-Renewable Resources
Fuels created from non-renewable resources are the primary sources of all the power generated in the world due to their affordability and the long process involved in their generation. Usually, non-renewable resources are formed from organic materials which are heated and compressed for many years and get converted into crude oil and natural gas. Non-renewable energy is mainly fossil fuels that are divided into three niches. Apart from this, there is one other non-renewable energy, which is nuclear fuel.
Types of Fossil Fuels
Non-renewable energy not only consists of the above-mentioned resources but also refers to other minerals and metals present in the earth such as gold, silver, iron and other similar materials. These materials take a long time in their formation and are often costly to mine as they are found deep in the Earth’s crust. However, they are much more abundantly available than fossil fuels.
How is Oil Formed?
The below diagram shows the formation of oil:
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Nuclear Fuel
The fuel that is in a nuclear reactor to generate electricity is called nuclear fuel. Uranium is one of the fuels used in nuclear reactors. It provides about 6% of the world’s total energy and 13-14% of the world’s electricity.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Non-Renewable Energy
There have been long-running debates on the advantages and disadvantages of non-renewable energy sources. Hence, the consumers must be aware of both sides of the coin. Mentioned below is an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of non-renewable energy:
Advantages of Non-Renewable Energy
Non-renewable resources are high in energy. Resources such as coal and oil tend to provide us more energy in comparison to renewable energy like solar or wind energy.
Huge profits can be generated in the mining of coal, selling of oil or the construction of natural gas pipelines.
These resources are easy to use whether in a home or anywhere else.
Consumers can find non-renewable resources at a very cost-effective price.
For some people, new machines and other energy sources cannot replace their traditional minerals like coal and oil. So, it is also known as traditional energy.
Non-renewable energy is easily found anywhere and everywhere. This implies that they can be conveniently moved across the world. People living in areas that are not easily approachable can make use of non-renewable energy as well.
Most importantly, non-renewable recourses are job-creating. Extracting, transporting and refining are the parts of non-renewable sources that provide employment.
Most of the non-renewable sources are also quite easy to store.
Disadvantages of Non-Renewable Energy
Though they have a number of advantages, non-renewable resources have many disadvantages as well. These include:
One of the major disadvantages of non-renewable energy is that it is time-consuming. Mining of coal, searching for oil, installing oil drills, building oil rigs, inserting pipes to extract and transporting natural gases are very time-consuming processes. It also takes a lot of effort.
Since non-renewable energy takes billions of years to form, they are slowly but gradually vanishing from the earth. Using non-renewable resources indiscriminately without thinking for our future generations could be selfish.
Non-renewable energy can be dangerous and can cause respiratory problems in humans because sources like fossil fuels emit gases such as carbon monoxide.
The workers working in coal mines or oil drills are more prone to a number of health risks. As a result, there are a large number of diseases, injuries and even deaths.
Sources like coal, oil and natural gas release a large amount of carbon dioxide when burnt. As a result of these chemicals, they are rapidly destroying the ozone layer.
Oxides like sulphur oxide and others released while burning fossil fuels convert the rain into acidic rain, which is harmful to wildlife as well as human beings.
Many non-renewable sources release smog which envelopes the buildings. Mostly in modern cities, people complain about the same. Over time, black smog can make your building and other property appear dark and dirty.
Sometimes it may be risky to transport non-renewable sources as huge cargo ships and oil tankers crash and spill the contents in the sea or elsewhere. It can be deadly for the sea animals and human beings who may come in contact with it.
To keep the power station working, every time we need to keep a huge amount of fuel in reserve. This can be expensive and occupy a lot of space.
The Global Impact of Non-renewable Energy
It is commonly understood that the burning of fossil fuels has a harmful effect on the environment and is also responsible for global warming and climate changes. Along with this, nuclear materials are also associated with risks because their radioactive nature makes them toxic.
Besides the environmental effect of fossil fuels, it also causes damage to the economy. Due to this reason, the demand and supply of these resources are always questioned. The cost to obtain these energies is continuously rising and suppliers and consumers are finding it difficult to deliver and utilize these resources. Eventually, the rising price ends the user’s affordability and consumers are forced to use other alternatives.
In conclusion, there are both positive and negative aspects of non-renewable energy. It is important to take the right action to control the use of non-renewable energy to make the world a better place for future generations.
Characteristics
The Main Characteristics of Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources of Energy are as follows:
Renewable Resources:
These types of resources have the ability to regenerate themselves easily.
The process of regeneration of renewable energy involves ecological processes for a specific time period.
If renewable energy is utilized at a very high speed that is higher than the environment’s ability to refill it, then it may become non-renewable energy in the near future.
Non-Renewable Resources:
They are also termed as a stock resource as they are not available in high quantities.
These substances can be again used after recycling.
Non-renewable energy is available in the form of minerals which are generally present in the lithosphere of the earth in various forms.
The non-renewable resources can be present in all three states of matter namely solids, liquids or gases.
The solid form of non-renewable resources includes coal, ignite, minerals, etc. while its liquid form includes petroleum, and its gaseous form includes resources such as natural gas etc.
Interesting Facts
Below are the interesting facts about non-renewable energy resources:
Non-renewable energy resources include fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gas. In these three sources, carbon is the main element. Due to this, the period around 360-300 million years ago in which the fossil fuels were formed is named the Carboniferous Period.
BP plc is one of the world's seven oil and gas "supermajors.” It is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England that released its Statistical Review of World Energy 2020. As per its report, fossil Fuels supply 84% of world energy at present.
As per the findings by the IEA's (The International Energy Agency) Global Energy Review 2021, the overall renewable energy usage increased by 3% in 2020. Electricity generation from renewable sources rose by nearly 7% in 2019, thrusting renewables' share of the global electricity generation mix to 29%, up from 27% in 2019.
India is the world’s third-largest energy-consuming country that has doubled its consumption since 2000, with 80% of demand met by coal, oil, and solid biomass at present.
Types of Fossil Fuels
Non-renewable energy not only consists of the above-mentioned resources but also refers to other minerals and metals present in the earth such as gold, silver, iron and other similar materials. These materials take a long time in their formation and are often costly to mine as they are found deep in the Earth’s crust. However, they are much more abundantly available than fossil fuels.
