Are renewable energies viable alternatives?

The three most widely used fossil fuels today are coal, oil, and natural gas . These energies come from biomass or organic remains of prehistoric plants and animals that were buried in the depths of the Earth millions of years ago and thanks to the high temperatures and pressures they formed the energy reserves, although they differ in their state:

• The natural gas is in the gaseous state.
• The coal in mineral form.
• The oil as an oily liquid.

Of these three, the most widely used today is oil , which is used to make fibers, rubber, plastic, soaps or asphalt, although coal is gaining more ground, while natural gas is normally used in gas pipelines. While nuclear energy is the one that is produced mainly in the different nuclear reactions between different chemical substances.

They are energies that are obtained from renewable sources , either because they are inexhaustible, such as the sun or water, or because they are generated faster than we can consume it. The reason that renewable energies are currently in a period of growth is that it is already beginning to be realized that the current energy sources will one day be exhausted , and therefore will no longer be viable.

While renewable energies are typically environmentally friendly, it is not a specific requirement. This is its difference with clean energies. To clarify, an example: natural gas is a clean energy, but not renewable.

• Tidal energy: energy that is produced by the movement of water as the rise and fall of the tides or waves. It is not a very viable energy due to its high costs and its environmental impact.
• Geothermal energy: energy obtained from the heat of the Earth’s interior, such as magma or hot springs. They can produce a significant environmental impact if heavy metals or greenhouse gases are entrained, and their extraction is difficult, so they are not very viable as an energy source.
• Hydraulic energy : it is obtained from the kinetic energy of the fall of great masses of water in height, later it is transformed into electrical energy in the power plants. They can have effects on biodiversity, so the best solution is mini-hydro power .
• Solar energy : it is obtained from the energy of electromagnetic radiation that comes from the sun and that can be transformed into electrical energy in photovoltaic panels. It is perhaps one of the most viable, since they generate few environmental impacts, although they take time to pay off.
• Wind energy : it is obtained from the kinetic energy of the wind, transforming it into electricity in wind turbines. They generate environmental impacts in the areas where they are placed and are traps for birds.
• Biomass energy: energy obtained from organic compounds through natural processes. It pollutes a lot, due to the emission of CO2.

These energies are viable , in general, but not as a global energy system that replaces the current use of hydrocarbons, since some are too intermittent or simply their use or extraction is difficult. Perhaps today, one of the most viable and sustainable alternatives to replace fossil fuels is hydrogen , which can also be extracted from renewable sources.

The hydrogen can be obtained by electrolysis from different renewable sources and can be used as fuel cells. Today, there are, for example, several buses that circulate in different Spanish cities, using hydrogen as fuel and generating a comfortable transport, without noise and without emitting polluting gases into the atmosphere.

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