What is Sustainable Energy?
Sustainable energy is a form of energy which is considered sustainable, meaning that the usage of such energy can potentially be kept up well into the future without causing harmful repercussions for future generations. A number of types of energy can be thought of as sustainable, and many governments promote the use of sustainable energy and the development of new types of energy generating technology which fit within this model. Increasing rates of energy consumption around the world have led to a corresponding rise in concerns about where this energy comes from.
Several factors go into making energy sustainable. The first is whether or not the current use of the energy is something which could potentially persist into the future, which leads many forms of renewable energy to qualify as sustainable. People can generate energy from windmills, waves, and the Sun without running out of energy and resources, making these methods sustainable for use by future generations. By contrast, fossil fuels are not treated as sustainable because the Earth's supplies of crude oil will eventually peter out.
Another consideration is energy efficiency. Some forms of renewable energy, for example, are sustainable in one sense, but researchers have yet to achieve a high level of energy efficiency, meaning that almost as much energy goes into the production of energy from these sources as the sources themselves generate. Energy efficiency can also be used to describe the technologies which use energy, such as homes, cars, and businesses. Increased efficiency in the way energy is used makes sustainable energy stretch further.
Many people also feel that environmental impact is another facet of sustainable energy, which is why sources like nuclear power are often not treated as sustainable. Although it meets the demands of renewability and energy efficiency, nuclear power can have a negative impact on the environment. Likewise, some of the methods used to produce solar panels, wind turbines, and other technology to convert renewable sources into energy are polluting, leading to concerns that such technology merely passes the pollution, making it unsustainable.
Another factor important to some people in the energy field is energy independence. Some critics argue that energy is not sustainable if a nation is forced to rely on another nation to meet its energy needs, even if the energy is renewable, non-polluting, and energy efficient. For example, if the United States relied heavily on Canadian wind farms, this would violate the criterion of energy independence. Being able to meet one's own energy needs as a nation is an important part of sustainable energy in the eyes of some people who are concerned about the intersection of energy and politics.
Written by S.E. Smith
