Renewable energy is a constantly debated topic throughout the world, whether it is important enough to invest in. It is gaining traction now with the rapid improvement of technology making gas powered alternatives more desirable. These improvements have made renewable energy options such as solar and wind much more possible for the average consumer. In fact, Governments have even enacted legislations that support renewable energy, almost tripling the number they received in 2004 (Clark, 2017). Although renewable energy is not leading its industry, it will either have to take over one day when unsustainable energy runs out and it becomes a necessity.
Right now, electric vehicles do not have a grasp on the global market, every year sees a rise in research and production from companies who had not previously produce electric vehicles. These surges are helping globally with emissions and will continue to rise as more and more people and nations adapt to renewable energy. Solar panels do not currently have a large personal use for citizens, but companies like Tesla are trying to change this. Tesla acquired solar panel installer SolarCity and are looking to bring solar into the homes of private citizens.
Currently, solar panels and wind farms are used to partly power private homes or entire power grid networks, with a growing market demand for more. Texas now has more installed wind power capacity than Canada and Australia combined. If it were a country, it would rank as the world’s sixth-largest wind power in a study by Clark (2017). The renewable energy movement is taking the world by storm, resulting in some analysts believing the age of fossil fuels might fade out faster (Clark, 2017). Electric vehicles are also becoming increasingly popular. Technological advancements have also helped propel the market of electric vehicles, Clark (2017) says that Lithium ion battery prices have halved since 2014, and many analysts think prices will fall further as a slew of large battery factories are built.
Electric vehicles are surging in support and popularity as companies like Tesla, Nissan and Ford are looking to get a grasp on the market. These companies are offering lower cost electric cars in hopes to gain a foothold in a rapidly growing market. Although these are not the only automakers producing electric vehicles, they are some of the only ones producing low cost vehicles that are ready to purchase today.
Ethically, solar panels, wind farms and electric vehicles are a great alternative to their fossil fuel powered competitors. This is due to their seemingly unlimited renewability and ‘cleanliness’ when compared to gas or oil powered alternatives. SolarCity, a solar energy service company, specializes in solar panel manufacturing and installation, developed a long-term leasing plan for solar installation and use, Car (2017) says that the customer would pay back SolarCity and its financial partners over the course of a 20-year lease, ideally at a monthly cost that would be lower than their traditional utility bill.
Socially, some cities in Europe are considering banning gas powered vehicles, and only allowing electric vehicles, in major cities, promoting a more active lifestyle for the people living there (Klein, 2018) If cars were completely banned from cities, it would allow the city to become more people friendly, the original intention for a city. Cities have become over congested with personal vehicles and infrastructure for parking, taking up to 60 percent of a city’s overall space (Klein, 2018).
These progressive movements towards cleaner cities will help show a model of what life could be like worldwide for a cleaner planet overall. If the movement is made and one day all vehicles and homes are powered through renewable energy, the world could look toward improving life in other pursuits.
Legally speaking, investment in renewable energy has had positive effects for some companies. According to Sturm (2017), Germany put policies into effect since 1991 to legally enforce a reduction of greenhouse gasses. While Germany is just one small country, it is a good example for nations across the globe to set a basis when placing policies for renewables.
Since then, these efforts have been even taken globally, with a broader field of view, the Paris Climate Agreement, which was signed by most of the countries in the world, was aimed to address the threat of climate change. The Paris Climate Agreement was meant for each country that signed to put their best effort towards reducing their climate footprint.
While technology integration into cars is something many people are excited for, they pose large and numerous security aspects applied with technologies such as Bluetooth or any other wireless medium. With these vulnerable technologies, hackers are able to access cars without even being next to them. Milo (2011), car thieves can search for models of cars and unlock them without any sign of forced entry. These are extreme security issues with automobiles that will need to be addressed as technology is increasingly integrated. Companies that make these automobiles are always working diligently to make sure there are no vulnerabilities or backdoors into their products.
Looking forward to the future, the impact of renewable energy methods are rising each and every year. They continue to rise due to the fact that they are becoming more and more commercial each year. With these factors in mind it is important to reduce carbon footprints due to the mass use of fossil fuels.
Hopefully more people and countries subscribe to the renewable energy movement. One engine maker is already feeling the stings of the shift toward electric vehicles, according to Clark (2017), Torotrak had pitched a new version of a turbocharger which gathered interest from automakers such as Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors, which ended up being turned down in order to pursue electric vehicle production. Unfortunately for Torotrak, the shift will turn this way for many other engine designers.
Conclusion
Finally, although the renewable energy market is small, it is rapidly growing. It may not overtake the giants of fossil fuels, coal and oil, but it is certainly gathering interest by the average consumer. The positives to renewable energy in the form of solar panels, wind turbines and electric automobiles definitely outweigh the negatives. Once the social stigma around owning an electric car or having solar panels on one’s home is there, as people learn more about renewable energy and how good it is for the Earth more people should be ready to adapt to it. Although they do not have a large impact on the United States nationwide energy production, in recent years they have surged in popularity due to the fact that they have been made easier to obtain for the average consumer.
References
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- Clark, P. (2017). The big green bang: How renewable energy became unstoppable. FT.Com,
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- Milo, P. (2011). They Could Hack-Jack Your Car. EE: Evaluation Engineering, 50(5), 6.
- Retrieved from http://mutex.gmu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=iih&AN=60435049&site=ehost-live
- STURM, C. (2017). Inside the Energiewende. Issues in Science & Technology, 33(2), 41–47. Retrieved
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