Renewable Energy and animal habitats

The earth will run out of fossil fuels this century. As a society, we are incredibly dependent on fossil fuels. However, we are not making the transition to renewable energy quickly enough to outpace our reliance on fossil fuels. Not only are we impacting our quality of life by not switching to renewable energy, but we are also damaging the environment and impacting animal habitats.

Conservative estimates show that we will run out of oil by 2052 and gas by 2060. Renewable energy is the way of the future because we are running out of sustainable and clean options. As more homeowners and businesses switch to renewable energy, we are seeing a net positive impact on animals and their habitats.

Solar Power

Solar energy utilizes solar panels to capture the energy from the sun and turn it into a usable form of electricity. Solar energy has a large upfront installation cost but pays for itself in approximately eight years.

Solar energy has an efficiency rating of 15% to 22%, depending on the type of solar panels installed. Newer solar panels, such as monocrystalline solar panels with micro inverters, boast efficiency ratings of up to 22% and are capable of producing electricity in the shade (source).

Depending on the amount of electricity needed for a home or business, solar panels are easily scalable. They are mounted onto the roof to make use of dead space or installed on ground mounts if a larger solar panel array is needed.

Residential solar panels have little to no impact on animals or their habitats. Most homeowners install roof-mounted solar panels, which do not have an impact on animal populations.

However, large-scale solar farms are linked to negative environmental impacts. Large-scale solar farms clear out animal habitats for solar panels. Solar farms cause intense, high heat in the air space directly over the solar panels. Insects or birds that fly into this space will die due to the intense heat.

Hydropower

Hydropower converts the immense power of flowing water into a usable form of energy. Hydropower has an efficiency rating of 90%, which makes it incredibly efficient compared to other forms of renewable energy (source). Hydropower does not collect or impact the water flowing through and does not emit air pollution. This has a high upfront building cost, but hydro plants have a long life span of 50 to 100 years and require little maintenance.

Hydropower does not come without impacts on animal habitats. When a hydroelectric plant is first constructed, the water source must be dammed. This diverts the natural flow of water through the river, which has an impact on local animals. Animals must change their migration paths and search for new food sources. Hydroelectric dams also create new flood zones, which impact animal habitats.

Wind Power

Wind turbines convert the power from wind into a usable form of electricity. The Wind Power rating is 20 – 40% efficient, which makes it more efficient than solar energy but less than hydropower (source). Commercial wind turbines have a life span of 20 years and require ongoing maintenance every six months. This is a highly labor-intensive form of renewable energy.

Wind turbines must be installed on windy, flat ground. The optimal location for wind turbine farms often coincides with the migraine path of birds. Wind farms are linked to bird and bat deaths as they fly near the turbine blades. Advances in wind turbine technology are working towards decreasing animal deaths.

Biomass Power

Biomass power creates energy by burning organic waste that would otherwise be sent to landfills. Biomass energy burns materials such as scrap lumber, manure, leaf debris, etc. As the materials are burned in a kiln, the steam that is produced powers a turbine. This process has an efficiency rating of 70 – 90% (source).

Biomass does have emissions that are produced because it is actively burning materials. However, these biomass kilns have extensive catalytic converters and filter systems to cut down on air emissions.

In theory, biomass power should only burn the materials that would be sent to landfills. However, companies are clear-cutting forests to provide the fuel for biomass kilns (source). This is highly detrimental to animal habitats.

Farmers also grow certain crops that are only used for biomass fuel, using a tremendous amount of water and farming space.

Conclusion

Humanity must move to renewable energy sources out of sheer necessity due to the declining supplies of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are highly detrimental to the environment and directly contribute to the climate change crisis. However, renewable energy sources are not without their fair share of drawbacks.

Overall, the net impact of using renewable energy is positive for animals because it takes away all the negatives of using fossil fuels. More research is needed to further the advancement of renewable energy to where it will have a smaller impact on animals and animal habitats.

In addition to advocating for green and renewable energy, here are a few other things you can do to support animals and their natural habitats.