Both reliable and affordable energy has become fundamental to commerce and modern life. Briefly, advanced technology refers to both established and emerging services as well as technologies that deliver the 21st-century energy system that is affordable, secure, and environmentally friendly. It is essential to comprehend why advanced energy technology is potentially better. The rising needs for energy reliability, increasing costs of economic blackouts, and the increasingly critical threats of cyber-attacks are some of the factors that can only be addressed through responsive and flexible energy systems drawing on various resources and offering a variety of choices in energy decisions. The energy system in question is not only about collections of transmission lines and power plants, pipelines and refineries, or automobiles and gas stations but it should cover the complex and dynamic assortment of technology, resources, as well as services to collectively satisfy the evolving needs in the 21st century (Liserre, 2010). Advanced energy efficiency technologies can be divided into six classes. The first is electricity generation. It comprises all the power plants (small and large) that are used to generate electric energy used in homesteads and industrial setups. Secondly is electricity management and delivery. This encompasses wires and poles that convey electricity as well as the growing software and hardware used in managing power quality and power supply with high precision and greater flexibility. The third class is about building efficiency. It includes all the technologies and tools used to manage and reduce consumption and costs of building energy while at the same time improving building performance as well as comfort. Water efficiency is another classification. It encompasses all the available technologies and services that reduce water consumption and the quantity of energy used to extract, transport, treat, and dispose of water needed for domestic, industrial, and agricultural use, and generation of power (Wang, 2013). Fifth is transportation. This covers the technologies that cheaply and efficiently power trains, cars, boats, and trucks including improvements and innovations in traditional vehicles. Finally is about fuel production and delivery. Here, the increasing varieties of feedstocks, and conversion processes, as well as delivery infrastructure in the transport system, and at times where they are used in the generation of electricity like micro-turbines or fuel cells. Each category covers the services and technologies that deliver various benefits to the energy system and enhance changes that will result in affordability, reliability, and consumer choice in the economy (Wang, 2013). The availability of various advanced technologies in the economy is one thing. The other side is about the barriers that could hinder its implementation and usage. Some result from skewed regulations and markets, while others are inherent with the advancement in technology. To begin with, the obstacles to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and capital costs (for building and installation) are the most obvious. Substantial construction costs might render them financially risky to institutions and make the investment harder to be justified by developers or utilities. The costs of fuels may be transmitted to consumers as well (Painuly, 2001). Also, there are misconceptions about energy reliability for some sources such as wind and solar. Opponents love to talk about the variability of these sources to bolster support for gas, coal, and nuclear plants which can easily run on demand. The argument presents rhetorical barriers to the adoption of solar and wind energy. Therefore, increased awareness is sorely required to go beyond the myths of reliability. Market entry is another barrier. Reliable and renewable sources of energy are competing with wealthier industries that are benefiting from existing expertise, policy, and infrastructure (Painuly, 2001). Additionally, access to technology could be restricted in the market It is difficult to enter such a market. To help out, the government should increase its investment in clean energy through loan assistance, subsidies, development, and research. Institutional barriers include a lack of mechanisms used to disseminate information. Advanced energy technology information will not be available to consumers and producers and therefore hindering its adoption (Painuly, 2001). Also, unstable macroeconomic environments might increase environmental uncertainty and risks for new investments which will only make products with low periods of payback to be acceptable. Lack of professional institutions and private sector participation will prevent producers’ problems and views from reaching the policy, and hinder competition respectively. Technical barriers, lack of training, and skilled personnel for producers will be huge constraints. Additionally, a lack of entrepreneurs in the market means no competition and hence supply constraints. When standard codes and certification lacks it will affect product quality and acceptability, which in turn increases commercial and purchase risks as well as negative perceptions about the technology involved. Producers will not realize the market where there are system constraints. Social and cultural mindset is another huge barrier. For instance, when consumers do not accept a product it decreases its market size. Also, social acceptance of a product, say gas produced from urban waste to be used for cooking might not be accepted in some areas (Painuly, 2001). Unequal playfields are another barrier. Besides, the wealthiest industries are political influences, and renewable energy sources such as the fossil fuel industry are not exempted. The United States spends approximately $37.5 billion in subsidizing fossil fuels yearly. The subsidies have not only increased domestic production but have also diverted from energy-efficient activities and constrained their growth. Despite the comprehensive scientific consensus, climate action has become the major issue in the U. S Congress hindering the strategies to go for clean energy. Renewable energy sources have an unequal playfield, that is, they are competing with directly subsidized (through government incentives) and indirectly subsidized (polluters are not penalized). This barrier could be removed by imposing equal emission fees on total pollution, with tradable emission licenses (Painuly, 2001). A balance must be attained between the environment, competitiveness, and supply security in supplying society with energy (Liserre, 2010). There is no optimal source of energy from any dimension. The future of advanced energy technology lies on renewable sources of energy and here is a discussion of some of their pros and cons. To begin with, wind power, is environmentally friendly, naturally available, and non-depletable with no fuel costs. However, it emits noise and has negative impacts on the landscape. Its supply relies on available wind, so it is not reliable when the weather is calm. Also, it has high initial costs of investment. Biomass has diverse geographical resources and limited political risks (Liserre, 2010). The use of biomass in power supply instead of fossil fuels reduces the emission of carbon dioxide into the environment. It is carbon-neutral when adequately managed. Nonetheless, it has its disadvantages. One is it is difficult to secure a supply of larger volumes. It is relatively expensive when compared with energy sources such as gas, coal, or nuclear power. Hydropower is environmentally-friendly, There are no emissions that could impact on climate as well. It provides both stable and large-scale electricity generation. Many hydropower plants have a very long economic lifetime which assures the reliability of power. There are no fuel costs in hydroelectric power generation and considered as balancing power. However, substantial investments are required to construct the hydropower plants. They are also significant encroachments on the landscape, as well as impacting river ecosystems (Liserre, 2010). Natural gas is a great transition fuel for transforming into a sustainable energy system. It allows a high degree of flexibility. It will be more competitive and cost-friendly when carbon dioxide prices skyrocket (Liserre, 2010). Natural gas emits carbon dioxide, although is minimal compared to the combustion of other fossil fuels. Sometimes political instability faces the regions which export the gas. It is more expensive than other fossil fuels. Nuclear power is another potential for the future of reliable and affordable energy sources. It emits low levels of carbon dioxide throughout its life cycle. Power generation is reliable and on large scale as well. Operational, fuel, and maintenance costs are relatively low (Liserre, 2010). However, high-level waste management requires secure storage facilities, and storage is for very long periods. New construction of power plants requires enormous investments. Solar energy demands will continue to increase due to low costs, low carbon dioxide emissions, and high public support. The sun offers an unlimited source, unlike fossil fuels. Solar panels are easy to install and have long lives. Thus solar energy is a cheap and reliable source of electricity when combined with efficient energy storage and good software solutions. It is not optimal though. Electricity generation depends on sunlight; solar energy is, therefore, intermittent. It is expensive to install many solar panels when a larger amount of energy is required. Sunlight varies with seasons and location. Therefore, it is unpredictable, unlike fossil fuels, though it is better than wind energy (Liserre, 2010). I think advanced energy technology will be implemented in the future. The fact that such companies have been established ascertains their future implementation. For instance, Renewable Plus Co. Inc. is an energy efficiency and distributed electricity generation company that was founded by the developers of a successful renewable energy power plant. It promotes the application of more efficient and advanced energy systems, and power drivers for the developing power sector in Southeast Asia. In the sector of biomass, the company founders started biomass projects with cocoa residues, rice husks, and woody biomass as the major feed-stocks in the Philippines. Recently, a boiler project based on cocoa residue in Tacloban, and another gasifier project (2.3 MW) have been done with coco shells for big copra as well as a coconut oil refiner in Samar. This is a great indicator of the adoption of advanced energy technologies. Also, algae have been proposed as a platform for generating renewable energy. Its impacts do not hit heavily on agriculture. In this platform, micro-algal biomass is processed into other biofuels like methane, bio-hydrogen, syngas, electricity, and charcoal through various processes. For water treatments, bioremediation, and integrated systems are used to capture nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus from agricultural, municipal, and industrial wastes. Thus algae are one route, among many, toward the establishment of a sustainable community (Sivakumar, 2012). In conclusion, the changes from fossil-based to renewable energy resources are being addressed worldwide. On one side, advanced sciences are generating economically viable and, to generate energy with minimal environmental damage. In 2010, Liserre noted that transitional paths toward the future of energy incorporate progressive integration of renewable energy sources into the current energy grids. So the other side of renewable energy involves technologies required for integrating the increasing array of sources of renewable energy.
References
Sivakumar, G., Xu, J., Thompson, R. W., Yang, Y., Randol-Smith, P., & Weathers, P. J. (2012). Integrated green algal technology for bioremediation and biofuel. Bioresource Technology, 107, 1-9. Painuly, J. P. (2001). Barriers to renewable energy penetration; a framework for analysis. Renewable energy, 24 (1), 73-89. Sivakumar, G., Xu, J., Thompson, R. W., Yang, Y., Randol-Smith, P., & Weathers, P. J. (2012). Integrated green algal technology for bioremediation and biofuel.
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Bioresource Technology, 107, 1-9. Wang, Q., Zhao, Z., Zhou, P., & Zhou, D. (2013). Energy efficiency and production technology heterogeneity in China: a meta-frontier DEA approach. Economic Modelling, 35, 283-289
