Viability of Alternative Energy
By Robert Berge
Alternative energy is not an uncommon topic amongst politicians, researchers and even the general public. Incidentally, in contrast to just 10 years ago, the current energy situation seems relatively stable; no supply problems loom in the immediate future. But there is no doubt that this situation is bound to change. As fossil-fuel sources diminish and concern for their harmful impact on the environment grows, so too do calls for viable alternative energy sources to take over for conventional and nuclear fuels. A closer look at the scientific and economic facts, however, reveals that these alternative energy sources may be overrated.
Many people don’t realize the magnitude of energy required to sustain a high standard of living. To understand the viability of alternative energy sources, one must first understand the technical and environmental factors for the alternative energy that could potentially replace for fossil fuels and examine their fitness to supply the energy for a high standard of living on a world-wide basis.
Sources that have any likelihood of being used in the next 30 years are as follows:
Renewable:
Solar Energy
- Wind Energy
- Geothermal Energy
- Hydropower Energy
- Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
- Tidal Energy
- Wave Energy
Non-renewable (short service life):
- Burner Reactor Nuclear Energy
Non-renewable (long service life):
- Breeder Reactor Energy
- Fusion Reactor Energy
Although potentially useful for the generation of reserved amounts of alternative energy under particular circumstances, the renewable alternative energy sources are inadequate as the foundation for an energy system that can replace fossil fuels.
The burner fission reactor system has both a short life and many nearly unforgivable environmental problems. Subsequently, the breeder fission reactor system has an adequate life, but presents an even greater environmental threat than the burner reactors. Further, breeder reactor systems have the added problem of security associated with wide availability of materials suitable for the manufacture of WMD’s.
Of all the potential alternative energy sources, the fusion reactor appears to have the most desirable set of characteristics for the future primary alternative energy source. It does not use considerable quantities of natural resources that are valuable for other products. The materials consumed in the production of energy, deuterium and tritium derived from lithium, are obtainable in such massive quantities that exhaustion of the supply is, from the viewpoint of mankind, impossible. It adds no damaging by-products, such as CO2, to the environment. One by-product, helium, is valuable as an inert gas and for attaining very cold temperatures.
A fusion reactor will be struggling at all times to keep running, so no action or combination of actions by natural processes, such as earthquakes, can cause the reactor to blow up or melt down. Even through human sabotage, the worst that can happen is turning it off, releasing a small amount of tritium.
Several research reactors have been constructed and their processes have provided the figures for the construction of a prototype reactor for the future. Options, issues and the promise for fusion reactors will be evaluated, possibly securing its place as the alternative energy source of the future.