Renewable vs Nonrenewable
This resource will not run out quickly
Renewable
Turns sunlight into electricity
Solar panels
Advantage of renewable
Won’t run out / clean
Coal, oil, gas are
Nonrenewable
Changes flowing water into electrical energy
hydropower dams
Solar disadvantage
No sun at night
Why are fossil fuels nonrenewable
Take millions of years to form
Uses moving water to spin turbines and produce electricity
hydropower
Fossil fuel disadvantage
Pollution
Why wood is renewable
Can be replanted
Turns heat from inside the Earth into electrical energy
geothermal energy
Wind disadvantage
Inconsistent / harms wildlife
A company cuts down trees faster than they can regrow.
Is wood still a renewable resource in this situation, and why?
No, because even though wood is normally renewable, it becomes nonrenewable if it is not replaced fast enough.
A neighborhood installs new solar panels that produce more electricity and store energy.
It improves efficiency and reduces cost.
A city wants to switch completely to wind energy. Wind is clean and renewable, but not always available.
Should the city rely only on wind energy? Explain using BOTH an advantage and a disadvantage.
wind is clean and renewable (advantage)
it is inconsistent and not always available (disadvantage).