**3.3 Biofuels**

196 Fossil Fuel and the Environment

Petroleum is also one of the main sources of raw materials for the chemical industry today. An example is the bitumen used in paving roads, which is produced from petroleum. There are very few substitutes for petroleum-based bitumen, comparable to it in price and availability. In future, with the shortage and depletion of oil, there will also be a great shortage of other petroleum-based raw materials. The abandoned reservoirs of today will

After the three major nuclear reactor accidents (Three Mile Island, Chernobyll, and Fukushima), caution with nuclear power is at a high. However, with the impending decline of oil and gas, nuclear power will be an inexpensive option, which people and the

The focus today appears to have shifted from conserving fossil fuel to renewable energy. More literature today is dedicated to renewable energy, than to conserving the remaining fossil fuel reserves. This focus on renewables may create false expectations among consumers about the true capabilities of renewables. There is generally little awareness among consumers about the the limitations of alternative energy. The switch to alternative and renewable energy involves large capital investment, especially for solar and wind power. In spite of the research, renewable energy accounts for as little as 1.8% of global

In spite of efforts at solar power for at least two decades, implementation has been difficult because of low power intensities, large capital costs, and difficulities incorporating with existing technology. Silicon panels are much the same as the silicon chips used for microprocessors, and have similar requirements and constraints for manufacture. Silicon panels are expensive, and the area needed for a household (excluding air-conditioning) is barely met by panels all over its roof. Consumers are mostly unaware that solar panels can at best about convert about 25 % of the solar energy falling on it. Usage at night requires expensive and bulky batteries, which must be replaced every few years. Dependence on batteries can be reduced or avoided, by selling solar energy to the grid, as being by practiced by some household users in Europe. The utilities are cautious about accepting solar energy

Limitations of wind energy include that it can only be implemented in areas of high wind, requires large investment and maintenance, and has relatively low energy densities compared to fossil fuel. Renewable energy used in power generation has grown this year by 15.5%, driven by continued robust growth in wind energy (+22.7%). The increase in wind energy in turn was driven by China and the US, which together account for nearly 70% of

global growth. Opponents argue that wind turbines clutter scenic countrysides.

look very promising when there are real shortages of oil in future.

**2.4 Nuclear power** 

**3. Renewable energy** 

**3.1 Solar energy** 

**3.2 Wind energy** 

government are more likely to accept.

energy consumption today, up from 0.6% in 2000.

from others, as it introduces noise into the power grid.

In areas of North America, biofuels account for up to 10% of automobile fuel, for the purpose of cleaner emissions. Compared to fossil fuel oil, production rates for biofuels are low and costs are high. Large areas of ancient rainforests have been cleared in Brazil for biofuels. Also, biofuels divert land which could otherwise have been used for food crop production. Globally biofuel production grew at 13.8 %, driven mostly by the US and Brazil. Biofuel may be the only substitute for oil and gas for transportation applications such as automobiles, airplanes, and shipping (Table 2).


Table 2. Renewable sources and their applicability for transportation
