In this blog, we examine the key advantages of using green energy, including how it can help to save the planet as well as money on your energy bills. Find out what green energy is and how you can implement it in your home by reading about it.
What are the advantages of green energy?
We are in the throes of a global climate emergency, as well as a gas shortage that’s resulting in skyrocketing energy prices and concern over how we will continue to heat our homes going forward into winter. As a result, using green energy is becoming more widespread as people have no other option but to turn to different resources. But what are the advantages of green energy? We outline the main ones below.
Carbon neutralrality
The main reason we should all consider making a switch to green energy is that it harnesses the natural resources of the globe without producing carbon like burning fossil fuels does. Fewer carbon emissions entering the atmosphere means that the greenhouse effect slows down so the ozone layer is not destroyed at the current rate, making our air quality cleaner, lowering the earth’s temperature, and protecting habitats.
For instance, the average household in the UK emits 2.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year (learn more here) just from heating their home. Installing solar panels and harnessing the power that this produces would dramatically reduce the negative impact each home has on the environment by utilising a carbon-neutral green energy source.
Renewability
Green energy is renewable, which means that it’s an infinite resource that will never run out no matter how much we use it. Contrastingly, coal, gas, and oil are fossil fuels and they will eventually run out, especially at the current rate that we use them. Green energy is a natural way to fuel our day-to-day lives without putting a strain on finite resources.
This is why wind turbines are becoming increasingly visible on our horizons and solar panels are popping up more often. Making this switch now protects fossil fuels from being used up and gets us used to this green change that will have to be widely enforced eventually.
Flexibility
Using green energy ensures more equality throughout the world. Solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and bioenergy sources are available across the globe, no matter the location. On the other hand, fossil fuel reserves are only located in certain areas and are difficult and costly to transport to places with limited access, causing global inequality and conflicts. Alternatively, anyone with the right infrastructure can benefit from green energy because it is naturally available everywhere.
Cost efficiency
The above points mean that it is cheaper in the long term to implement green energy because it offers great cost efficiency. Because renewable energy is everywhere, there is no need to keep looking for new sources in costly ways and there is less need for the global transportation of energy sources as areas become more self-sufficient. Plus, once the infrastructure for renewable energy is built, it is more sustainable to upkeep than fossil fuel burning methods which are heavy duty and require maintenance.
If houses were to implement their renewable energy sources, they no longer require energy from the grid and become completely self-sustained. For instance, solar panels tend to pay for themselves in electricity production with a surplus that can often be sold back to the grid for a profit.
Price stability
We all know how much energy prices tend to fluctuate. This is because access to energy reserves changes and so do wholesale prices, resulting in uncertainty on our energy bills. Green energy is consistent, easy to maintain, and easy to predict once it has been implemented. This means that energy bills will not fluctuate as much when green energy is our main source.
Careers
Because green energy is fairly new, the infrastructure and technology behind it are still very much in development. This opens up fresh opportunities in the job market to construct the infrastructure needed and perform research into it, creating new and modern careers that have the scope to last well into the future.
Then, careers are created for those who can maintain and improve this technology going forward, increasing our ability to implement it across the globe. Preparing workers for these green jobs better prepares them for a future where working in the fossil fuel industry could become obsolete.
