Non-renewable Energy: The Most Common Source of Electricity

By Okoko Chidozie Christian

UNDOUBTEDLY, plants and animals from millions of years ago are being used to power our lights, fuel our cars and heat our homes. Today, large number of industries have these natural resources as their major sources of power. These are called fossil fuels, which are one of the most common types of non-renewable energy sources.

These fossil fuels are all hydrocarbons, and are compounds found from only two elements- Carbon and Hydrogen burned to produce energy. In some of our large power stations like the Alberta in Canada, Nova Scotia in North America, China, Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro dams in the central part of Nigeria, these hydrocarbons are burned in the presence of oxygen. As the fuel burns, the heat energy is used to heat water during which it produces steam which in turn rises and drives a turbine. The energy conversion goes from chemical energy stored in the fuel to heat energy as it burns, and it is converted to kinetic energy which drives large turbines and finally converted to electrical energy.

Globally, with the increase in population and demand for energy, the amount of coal, oil, natural gas and radioactive materials available will get consumed more quickly. And, this source of energy which will eventually run out with time is known as a non-renewable energy source, study reveals.

Basically, non-renewable resources are finite natural resources because they cannot be refilled at the speed of which they are consumed, and are not obtainable in high quantities even when they existed in mineral forms in that rigid mechanically strong, outer layer of the Earth likewise known as lithosphere.

However, non-renewable energy sources have been used by humans for centuries and are critical to understand how our modern world will function without it. This non-renewable energy sources are excavated from the ground and are in limited supply as afore-mentioned.

There is no need avoiding the simple fact that non-renewable energy sources are limited. Possibly, a point will reach where there will not be enough resource available, or it becomes too costly to get what remains in the ground or below the sea or ocean floor.

Non-renewable source of energy (coal, oil, natural gas) has advantage in providing more energy as compared to renewables (solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower among others).

Practically, research reveals that solar collectors are less efficient under clouds. Also, wind and water power plants are not always operating under full load. All these values are only useful in relation to other energy sources or countries. So, for most nations, using non-renewable energy is cost-effective. For example, thirty-seven percent (37%) of the world’s energy consumption comes from oil, according to Mathew R. Fisher. The current world’s reserve is estimated at 826,000 million tons with about thirty percent (30%) of that in the United States.

The production and use of coal to generate about half of the electricity consumed in the United State of America has doubled over the last 60 years. Agree with me that it is a major fuel resource that the United States controls domestically, plentifully, and inexpensively when looking only at the market cost relative to the cost of other sources of electricity.

Information gathered also shows that during construction of natural gas pipelines, mining of coal, selling of oil and petroleum, huge profits are being generated. Hence, non-renewables upon being easy to use, store and transported across the world are helpful in generating employment and can provide significant profit potential with the growth of the global energy demand.

Virtually, everything costs money and non-renewable energy sources are no exceptional. Lots of these non-renewables are in comparison with the renewable energy sources because for most twentieth centuries, the emphasis was laid on building up non-renewable energy and there is an already existing supply of coal plants, nuclear plants and natural gas plants that are currently working. So, with this in mind, it is easy to see why investing money into renewable energy can be discouraging when there are supportive existing non-renewable power plants and infrastructures.

Research has it that the main source of electricity generation in Nigeria comes from fossil fuel especially gas which accounts for eighty-six percent (86%) of the capacity with the remains generated from hydropower sources. In Nigeria’s electricity Consumption, the average per Hour data was reported at 3,689,700 MWh in September 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 3,601,440 MWh for June 2023, (Quarterly update from www.ceic data).

In its mix of conventional energy reserve, Nigeria is simply unmatched by any other country on the African continent. It is not surprising therefore that energy export is the mainstay of the Nigeria economy and the government is targeting ninety percent (90%) electrification rate by the year 2030, research reveals.

Perhaps, one of the biggest drawbacks to non-renewable energy source is the environmental impact. The burning of fossil fuel creates large amounts of pollutants, harming the health of humans and the environment unlike renewable energy sources, (Mathew R. Fisher).

Nevertheless, the global supply of non-renewable energy source is not evenly distributed; some countries control more and some less. Politically, disagreement has led countries to use their access to certain energy resources as a tool and restrict supplies to other countries. Results of researches has proved creditably that Arab countries in 1976, put an oil embargo on dozens of countries that supported Israel, a country the Arab nations conflicted with. This means that they decided to stop the sale of oil to the United Kingdom, United States of America and several other Israel-supporting countries because these countries relied heavily on oil from the Arab world which massively led them to shortage of fuel and economic damage.

I believe that non-renewable energy source is dependable and are not impacted by factors like the wind and sun, hence functions wherever energy is in demand by the people. Notwithstanding, non-renewable energy source remains the most common source of electricity worldwide.