Alternative Energy Sources Of Electricity

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY A. DEFINITION OF ALTERNATIVE ELECTRICAL ENERGY SOURCES Energy is something abstract that is difficult to prove but can be felt. Energy is the ability to do work. Energy is eternal. Energy can change from one form of energy to another. This change in energy form is called energy transformation (Sutrisno, 1997). Electricity is something that is commonly used every day. The word "electricity" comes from the Greek word electron (Tipler, 1996). In electricity we often hear several words related to electricity, namely electrical conductivity, electrical power, electric current, potential difference and several tools used to measure the amount of electricity such as ammeters, voltmeters and ohmmeters. Alternative energy is a term that refers to all usable energy that aims to replace conventional fuels without the unexpected consequences of it. Generally, this term is used to reduce the use of hydrocarbon fuels that cause environmental damage due to high carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute greatly to global warming according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Over the years, what is actually meant by alternative energy has changed due to the many energy options that can be chosen with different purposes in their use. The term "alternative" refers to a technology other than the technology used in fossil fuels to produce energy. Alternative technologies are used to produce energy by overcoming problems and not causing problems like the use of fossil fuels. The Oxford Dictionary defines alternative energy as energy that is used with the aim of stopping the use of natural resources or environmental damage. Here are some forms of alternative energy today as follows: 1. Environmentally friendly alternative energy Renewable energy sources such as biomass are sometimes referred to as alternatives to fossil fuels that are harmful to the ecology, because if biomass is commercialized it is feared that it will endanger forests as the largest producer of biomass (wood is also biomass). Renewable energy is not necessarily alternative energy with this purpose. For example, in the Netherlands, which used to use palm oil as a biofuel, it is now being stopped due to scientific evidence that its use causes more damage than fossil fuels, such as the possibility of expanding oil palm plantations that can destroy natural forests. Regarding biofuels from food, the realization of converting the entire crop in the United States can only replace 16% of the required automotive fuel, and the destruction of tropical rainforests, which have been absorbing CO2, to be used as fields for producing biofuels, will clearly have a very significant negative effect on the ecology and result in an increase in food prices due to market competition. Currently, alternatives to sustainable biofuels are being pursued in the form of cellulosic ethanol. 2. "Zero carbon" alternatives From the perspective of climate change issues, low-carbon economic fuels are alternative sources to eliminate carbon and methane emissions. For this purpose, renewable and sustainable energy sources such as biomass, and hydrogen produced from natural gas, are not economically available to counteract the increase in carbon globally. Nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage techniques such as clean coal technology are alternative energy technologies that have low carbon emissions, but do not comply with the goal that alternative energy must not damage the environment. 3. Alternative energy independence In Europe, there is a hope to be more independent and no longer dependent on energy supplies (oil and gas) from Russia, as well as in the United States which hopes to be free from imports of oil produced by other countries. From this perspective, domestic natural gas, a fossil fuel, is an alternative energy to fuels imported from abroad. This is the perspective of T. Boone Pickens who explains the Pickens Plan for energy independence, and reflects the law in the State of Florida, United States. Although natural gas is not renewable, from this perspective, it is an alternative energy.