Government Grants for Alternative Energy Source Research Paper

Government Grants for Alternative Energy Source - Research Paper Example Introduction As our world population grows day by day, it is becoming far more evident that our generations to come will have far more problems in their hands that they could handle. Alternative energy sources can evidently provide us with the edge we require to make this world a healthier place to live and more importantly to ensure the continuity of our future generations. Currently there are quite a few different establishments that are involved in researching alternate energy sources; it is a well known fact that our fossil fuel reserves will run out in the near future, depriving us of the leisure and comfort of our lives that some of us take for granted. One of the main problems that are faced with research is the fact that they require funding, however there are companies who are involved in such activities based on the assumption that there efforts will pay off in the near future, but is it enough? Evidently there is a strong need for governments to take the responsibility and provide gran ts to organizations that are involved in researching the fuels of the future. One of the biggest problems with the use of fossil fuels is the carbon dioxide emissions into the environment, everyday carbon dioxide is injected into our system, and these emissions stay there in our system building up every single day, it is the single most known factor for the global warming that our world faces (Alternative Energy, n.d.) There are quite a few different energy sources that are currently in use today, however the fact still remains that these sources are quite limited. According to British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell, by the year 2050 one third of our energy needs will have to be fulfilled by wind, solar and other renewable sources, the statement has been originated from the biggest oil companies in the world. (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Solar energy has been in existence for quite some time but still there are problems that need to be resolved. Solar energy is one of the best ways to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions, it has been calculated that a 1.5 kilowatt PV system will help reduce the carbon emissions by 110,000 pounds over the next 25 years (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Apart from reducing the carbon emissions the technology also helps in reducing the consumption of the limited fossil fuels, this figure of reduced conventional fuels comes out to be a reduction of around 60,000 pounds of coal (Alternative Energy, n.d.) There are added advantages of using such energy source; it eliminates the acid rains and overall pollution of the atmosphere. However it is not always that simple, the electrical suppliers are reluctant to change their conventional way of producing electricity, this is where the governments role is most important. Some of the argumentations present the fact that the production of the solar panels itself consumes a lot of energy, although the argument is self founded but many studies have shown that the amount of electricity used to make a solar panel is equivalent to the amount of electricity that the panel will generate in two years time, hence this debt will be paid in that time (Alternative Energy, n.d.) The other most common environmentally friendly power generation system is driven by the forces of nature itself, wind. This technology has been around for quite some time now; there are quite a few areas that are generating their complete power supply t hrough this system. Studies have shown that the use of wind power generation has doubled three times between 1999 and 2000; in the year 2000 the electricity produced by these systems was around 10,000 megawatts. This amount of electricity is enough to power five cities of the size of Miami (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Yet again there are problems associated with producing electri