I am writing an essay and wondering if I wrote this correctly. the question was: Identify the major energy sources that currently drive the US and...

I am writing an essay and wondering if I wrote this correctly... the question was:

The major energy sources that currently drive the United States and global economies are petroleum, coal, and natural gas. Energy is essential for life. Without it, many billions of people would be left cold and hungry. Fossil fuels are the most important energy sources in our world today and extremely contribute to the economy. The majority of the energy utilized in the world comes from the burning of the three major fossil fuels petroleum, coal, and natural gas. Oil is the most consumed for energy conservation, followed by coal, then natural gas.  Fossil fuels are a non-renewable source of energy that are formed over a very long period of time. Petroleum, coal, and natural gas combined together contributes more than 90% of the entire global energy needed. This means the economic growth significantly depends on the fossil fuels and therefore the fossil fuels currently drive the economy of the United States and entire global communities.

Fossil fuels have been used long before humans discovered fire. The first use was for heat and light in the 1800s. In the 1940s fossil fuels started being used for technological processes. World War II was the incentive fossil fuels were developed. Since oil is a natural resource of fossil origin that is stored in the earth, we know by pure logic that we have finite amount. Due to the fact it is finite, at some point peak oil will arrive or peak of oil production, if it has not already arrived. The production of energy is increasing and will continue to increase for the next 20 years. This means that the increase of production for these countries needs to be accounted for in projections on how much time we have until natural resources run out.While prices of natural resources are expected to stay low over the next few years, if we keep on the trend of global consumption, resources are bound to run out. Studies say, it is difficult to estimate the amount of oil that exists, especially when having to consider and differentiate between resources, everything that is stored in the earth, and reserves, and the amount that could theoretically be extracted and usable while trying to find new deposits. This can be hard to estimate but what can happen is the demand for oil changes due to the fact as the car seems to evolve, it is likely that within several decades we will use other sources of energy for propulsion. An example would be such electricity and the car would no longer depend on oil. The world population has already exceeded 7,000 million. Some estimates say that by 2050 the world population will grow to 9.6 billion people. A priori, more world population implies a greater consumption of resources, and additionally more energy, especially the more progress and industrialization occurs in the countries with the largest population, in the process of development. It is estimated that by 2035 the demand for energy will grow by 34% compared to 2014, but little by little, less and less. The automobile sector, driven by the increasingly restrictive anti-pollution laws, is moving towards vehicles with lower fuel consumption, alternative vehicles adapted to use biofuels or gas, or vehicles driven by non-oil-dependent energy sources, such as electricity, either with electric cars, with plug-in hybrid cars or with electric cars with a hydrogen fuel cell, with electric cars generating the least emissions globally. Worldwide, of the total oil consumption, approximately 65% is due to the transport sector. Therefore, in a long-term scenario, as the introduction of vehicles with lower consumption or moved by other energies, mainly electricity, was increasing, this should lead to a gradual, although probably very slow, reduction of the oil demand.

Renewables are inexhaustible natural sources, for example wind or the sun. Thus, they are much more respectful with the environment. Unlike fossil fuels, they are not polluting and represent the cleanest alternative to using them. They do not generate greenhouse gases.

Photovoltaic energy is a source of energy that produces electricity from renewable sources. It is the direct transformation of solar radiation into electricity in the form of direct current. Solar radiation is captured by semiconductor devices called photovoltaic cells, which have the property of absorbing photons of light and emitting electrons. When these free electrons are driven an electric current is obtained that is understood as electricity. Thus, photovoltaic energy is a renewable energy because it comes from an inexhaustible source of energy, the sun. Which is also a clean, sustainable and free resource.

Wind energy is obtained from the wind. It is one of the oldest resources that humanity has used. Through wind energy we can convert the energy produced by the blades of wind turbines thanks to the force of wind in electrical energy, wind turbines transform the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical energy. It is an inexhaustible source that does not pollute and contributes to sustainable development. Other energies such as biomass, biogas and thermosolar and mini-hydraulic energy systems complete the campus of renewable energy sources.

There are different types of alternative energies among the main barriers which are:

• Mini hydro power plants: the main barriers are the processing time of water rights, their modifications and the permit for hydraulic works, as well as speculation, which has no cost for the person who carries it out. In the case of irrigation associations or surveillance boards there are legal and administrative problems. In the legal framework, the holders of water rights are the farmers who are members of the association and not the association as such.
• Wind power plants: the lack of complete information from the Ministry of National Assets on state sites with wind potential (partially addressed by concessions of land with wind potential, in conjunction with the Ministry of Energy) are counted as specific barriers.
• Biomass: the lack of adequate business models and, in particular, the difficulty of obtaining contracts for the supply of biomass, make it difficult to carry out projects. Despite the availability of biomass, it is dispersed and atomized in most cases, particularly when it is of agricultural or forest origin (native forest).
• Geothermal: the main barrier is given by the high costs of exploration and the risk of failure. Research must be subsidized to reduce the financial cost of exploration.
• Solar: Solar energy, both photovoltaic and concentration, still has very high investment costs to compete in the electricity markets. A drop in costs during the current decade could take it to levels of competition
• Energy of the seas: the technologies associated with energy from the oceans is still in a state of research and development, also have investment costs well above other types of energies, which are not competitive in the markets.

The global expense in renewable energy is exceeding the investment in electricity produced by coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants, due to the fact the cost of generating wind and solar energy has been decreasing. More than half of the energy generating capacity that has been added worldwide in recent years has been in renewable sources such as wind and sun, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In 2016, the most recent year for which data are available, about US $297 billion in renewable energy was spent; more than double the US $143 billion that went to new nuclear power plants, to coal, gas and oil, according to the IEA. The Paris-based organization projects that renewables will constitute 56% of the aggregate net generating capacity until 2025. After having the overwhelming support of reimbursement incentives, tax credits and other government stimuli, the costs of wind and solar generation have fallen steadily for a decade, which has made investment in renewable energy more competitive . The costs of renewable energy have decreased significantly in recent years, that the wind and the sun now represent the lowest cost option to generate electricity.

It is concluded that all the problematic causes contribute to increase the investment costs of the renewable energy sources, in fact, it is considered that said costs must be lower than the benefits generated by those to propitiate a real penetration of them. developing countries. In addition, society must become accustomed to new technologies and enjoy the low emissions that will affect the conservation of the environment.

Resources:

Fossil Fuels (2018). Retrieved from

https://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=66103

Hydropower (2019). Retrieved from

https://www.studentenergy.org/topics/hydro-power

Nuclear Power Economics (April 2019). Retrieved from

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/economic-aspects/economics-of-nuclear-power.aspx 

Renewable Energy Will be Consistently Cheaper than Fossil Fuels by 2020, Report Claims (Jan 13, 2018). Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2018/01/13/renewable-energy-cost-effective-fossil-fuels-2020/#3a5468c4ff2e

Towards Sustainable Energy (2019). Retrieved from

https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/trade_environment/energy/hfossil.html

UN Projects World Population will hit 9.6 Billion by 2050 (June 14, 2013). Retrieved from

https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-06-14/un-projects-world-population-will-hit-96-billion-2050