Which resource is both renewable and inexpensive? As you might imagine, many of the world’s resources are either one or the other. Unfortunately, there are not many which particularly fit both criteria which may be renewable and inexpensive. One resource which is both renewable and inexpensive is sunlight which has a great deal of potential as an energy source. Sunlight is free, available in abundance, and it produces no emissions which can contaminate our air quality or water sources.
It also poses little threat to the habitats of any animals which may live on this planet which could be destroyed if another resource was used. The use of sunlight as an energy source is a growing trend that promises to benefit the environment by using fewer resources that can damage it without impacting climate change such as fossil fuels. Additionally, solar panels have become much cheaper to produce and install than they were a generation ago.
The first use of sunlight as an energy source was in the 1800s when the photovoltaic cell was created. This device is what we now know as a solar panel and it is becoming more efficient in how it absorbs light for electricity. Often it is combined with other devices which can store its power such as a battery or fuel cell.
In other cases, electricity grids are used to redirect extra power back into them if they produce too much at once. Since most areas experience periods where there is sufficient sunlight and then no additional is produced shortly after, this system works well to keep excess electricity flowing into storage until needed again.
Solar panels are far from the only way to harvest energy like sunlight. A field of heliostats can be used to direct sunlight into a central area where it is collected and convert into heat or electricity. Even certain kinds of paint are being developed which can absorb sunlight for power in much the same way that solar panels do, but far less expensively.
Energy sources that rely on resources other than those which are renewable and inexpensive tend to come with their own set of problems. For example, petroleum is often cited as an inexpensive resource, but this generally means that it will remain cheap while supplies last because we need more of it every day for both fuel and materials so that we may continue our society’s progress at its current rate.
In fact, one gallon of gasoline is said to contain enough energy to drive a car for about 27 miles which seems like an amazing deal until you realize how much we use it and its scarcity increases the cost. However, there are other ways in which petroleum can damage our environment. Fossil fuels such as oil are often used to heat buildings or equipment in factories and these processes create emissions with known environmental hazards such as global warming and acid rain.
When it comes to renewable resources, hydrogen is often cited because this gas may be split into smaller hydrogen atoms or combined with oxygen as water when using electricity from various sources such as solar batteries or even wind turbines.
This combination produces little pollution but it does not release large amounts of hydrogen fuel either so it has limited uses. For example, most people are not willing to convert their gasoline-powered cars into hydrogen ones which would require expensive equipment.
This is what makes sunlight such a potentially useful resource because it requires little in the way of materials and no conversion process except for equipment needed by the solar panels themselves. Solar power can be made available in many homes without completely replacing existing energy sources either so there is very little need to modify our current infrastructure.
In conclusion, there are few resources that may be both renewable and inexpensive at the same time. Among these are sunlight and some types of paints which absorb light as well as electricity from wind turbines and certain kinds of batteries used together on large scales for long periods of time excess electricity is not being used elsewhere. In addition, there are no known environmental hazards associated with sunlight which would require us to constantly monitor the environment over time.
Overall, it is likely that future generations will rely on these kinds of resources for most of their power needs and many may even become affordable enough for people living in poverty to use as well. Learn how much you could save by going solar for your home or business.