Title: Critical review of energy options

Authors: Sarim Al-Zubaidy; F.S. Bhinder

Addresses: School of Engineering, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Ave, Astana, Kazakhstan ' University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB, UK

Abstract: Short term measure for dealing with energy crisis is reducing consumption by: 1) improving the efficiency of all energy consuming machines; 2) eliminating the wasteful use of energy. Renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, tidal, waves, etc., do make a significant contribution to demand for energy but they are unlikely to meet the ever increasing consumption. Long term measures may require exploitation of hydrogen to replace fossil fuels or to opt for nuclear energy. Since 3/4 of the earth is covered with water, we have inexhaustible source of hydrogen to meet our energy needs. The purpose of this paper is to promote public awareness of the methods of large scale generation of electricity and to examine critically the pros and cons of both short term and long term measures.

Keywords: energy options; energy demand; environmental impact; environmental impact assessments; energy crises; consumption reduction; efficiency improvements; energy efficiency; energy consuming machines; energy usage; waste elimination; wasteful usage; renewable energy; energy sources; solar energy; wind energy; tidal energy; wave energy; hydrogen exploitation; fossil fuels; nuclear energy; water; tides; energy needs; public awareness; large scale generation; electricity generation; short term measures; long term measures; energy technology; energy policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETP.2012.052108

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy, 2012 Vol.8 No.3/4/5/6, pp.336 - 344

Received: 01 Feb 2012
Accepted: 18 Mar 2012
Published online: 27 Aug 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article