Benefits of renewable energies
There is no doubt that wind power has clear environmental advantages when compared to conventional sources of energy; its advantages in this field are characterised by its reduced environmental impact, significantly lower than with conventional energy sources.
The environmental advantages can be listed as the detail of impacts that are not produced, and which are attributable to other energies:
- There is no mining, in other words, there are no earth movements, or entrainment of sediment, no alteration to watercourses, or contamination by particles, or accumulation of radioactive waste...
- There is no metallurgy or transformation of fuel or, which is tantamount to the same thing, there is no major energy consumption, or radioactive waste, or transport problems, no oil slicks, no air pollution at refineries or gas explosions, no highly aggressive chemical agents...
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Neither is there fuel combustion or fission, which means no nuclear accidents, no "controlled" dumping of radioactive products or emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere or of any other greenhouse gases leading to climate change, acid contaminants, toxic gases, thermal pollution...
Renewable sources of energy and the impact they have on the Environment. Source of energy CO2 NO2 SO2 Partic. CO Hydroc. Nuclear Waste Total TR: traces
Source: UD Deparment of Energy, Council for Renewable Energy Education y AEDENAT.
Note: The emission values consider emissions during the equipment’s construction period.Coal 1.058,2 2,986 2,971 1,626 0,267 0,102 421 Natural Gas 824 0,251 0,336 1,176 TR TR 167 Nuclear 8,6 0,034 0,029 0,003 0,018 0,001 3,641 251 Photovoltaic 5,9 0,008 0,023 0,017 0,003 0,002 Biomass 0 0,0614 0,154 0,512 11,361 0,768 99 Geothermal 56,8 TR TR TR TR TR 30 Wind Power 7,4 TR TR TR TR TR 52 Thermal Solar 3,6 TR TR TR TR TR 20 Hydraulic 6,6 TR TR TR TR TR 20 - No waste is generated, whereby there are no dumps, which may furthermore catch fire, or radioactive waste to be controlled now and by those generations that, in hundreds and thousands of years´ time, will have to dwell on the planet they inherit from us.
- Thanks to wind power and to the whole infrastructure involved, a significant number of jobs have been created.