Comparison of Coal, Nuclear, Solar & Oil Energy
All sources of energy--including coal, nuclear, solar and oil--have their advocates and detractors. Each creates energy by different methods and impacts the environment in different ways.
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Coal
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Energy from coal comes through combustion and provides roughly half of the electricity in the United States as of 2010. Although "clean coal" projects are trying to make this fossil fuel cleaner, it has a large environmental impact because of mining, transportation and burning.
Nuclear
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Simply put, nuclear power comes from the nuclear reaction of splitting atoms. It is a fairly efficient form of power generation and has low carbon dioxide emissions. However, high construction price tags and fears of nuclear disasters have resulted in no new plants built in the United States since the late 1970s.
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Solar
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Solar power is created by converting sunlight into energy. It has no emissions, but expanded solar power implementation is hampered by factors including cost and efficiency of panels, varying levels of sunlight and power storage issues.
Oil
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Another fossil fuel, oil produces energy when it is burned. Petroleum can be refined for uses such as generating electricity, powering automobiles and heating homes. Challenges include the environmental damage caused by burning, drilling, transporting and refining oil as well as volatile prices and dependency on foreign suppliers.
Other sources
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These are not the only ways to produce energy. Other methods of producing power include hydropower, biomass fuels, landfill gas, wind power, geothermal energy, natural gas, waste-to-energy plants and fuel cells.
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Tony
