“Non-renewable Energy and Renewable Energy Resources:

Comparative Analysis”

by
Mark A. Quiros
Jungie Malda

Eastern Visayas State University

Ormoc City Campus
Brgy. Don Filepe Larrazabal, Ormoc City, Leyte

April, 2022
 ABSTRACT
This research study is to make a comparative analysis of the two energy

resources- the nonrenewable energy resources and the renewable energy resources. This

study can help the society for a future plan in terms on what energy resources are really

worth investing for according to the resource’s availability in their place. There are places

are rich in fossil fuels so they build a power plant using fossil fuels like coal, crude oil,

and natural gas. Other places are poor in terms of fossil fuels so they use renewable

energy like solar energy, geothermal energy, wind energy, and hydropower from a

waterflow. But there is a place also that a high or a company that can afford on chemical

called uranium and build a nuclear power plant. In this research, a qualitative approach

was selected as the research method for this study the researcher, and will also discuss the

advantage and disadvantage of each energy resources- the effect on it to the environment,

the cost, and the energy sustainability.

 CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM
Rationale
The world is fast becoming a global village due to the increasing daily

requirement of energy by all population across the world while the earth in its form

cannot change. It is often said that food and energy are the two essential resources to

support the modern and civilized society of the mankind. However, if we look at the

likely availability of these two important resources in our future world, limitations are

foreseeable even for the near future. Therefore, we need to take proper action in order to

mitigate these difficulties. The need for energy and its related services to satisfy human

social and economic development, welfare and health is increasing. All societies call for

the services of energy to meet basic human needs such as: health, lighting, cooking, space

comfort, mobility and communication and serve as generative processes. Sustainable

development has become the center of recent national policies, strategies and

development plans of many countries. Conventionally, coal, natural gas, and petroleum

are the more effective and prominent sources of energy. Moreover, 65% of energy has

been produced from traditional energy sources until 2013. Though the early 21st century,

countries have faced various types of energy-related challenges all around the world, and

world dependence on traditional energy sources has become a global concern. There are

other issues that have arisen due to the dependence on traditional energy sources; for

instance, with the rise in income and population, challenges include meeting energy

demand, the volatility in energy prices, and the escalation in carbon emissions due to

production and consumption of energy. Energy experts further claimed that renewable

energy sources could also play an important role in mitigating carbon emissions and
maintaining the environmental quality. Because of that the researcher want to make this

kind of study to elaborate more the advantage(s) and disadvantage(s) of the two energy

resources, to help the developer or government what to do in the near future to secure a

sustainable energy in lowest price. The researcher’s main objectives in this study are to

know (a)what is the best energy resources we do, (b)what kind of powerplant we build,

(c)how long can it sustain and supply the power needed to the community, (d)what is the

effect of it on our ecosystem and environment, (e)and does it affect our economy.

The rest of the paper is arranged as follows. Section II presents the literature

review. Section III will be the Methodology; it discussed the methodology used in the

study. Section IV will be the Results and Discussion; empirically discussed the gathered

data. Conclusion and Recommendation is to be discussed in Section V.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to know what is the best energy resources we do, what kind of

power plant we build, how long can it sustain and supply the power needed to the

community, what is the effect of it on our ecosystem and environment, and does it affect

our economy. Specifically, this study aimed to answer the following questions:

1. Does renewable energy cause pollution?

2.How can renewable energy help climate change?
3.Can clean energy replace fossil fuels?
4.Is clean energy cheaper?
5. Who can use solar energy?
6.Is community solar worth it?
7.How does wind energy work?
 CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The aim of this chapter is to review the available literature related on this research

study of the renewable vs. non-renewable energy. It will discuss the importance of the

two different type energy resources as well as its negative sides. In addition, some of the

related literatures are varies of impact to the readers because of its country where the

study/article was taken.

“When coal, natural gas and oil are burned to produce energy, they emit heat-

trapping gases such as carbon dioxide. This process of trapping heat is what drives

climate change, and the failure to address this problem is what's catalyzing the current

climate crisis. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon-containing materials like coal or gas that are

found in the Earth’s crust and formed in the geological past from the remains of living

organisms. These energy sources account for the majority of the world’s greenhouse gas

emissions. If emissions continue unrestrained, the atmosphere could warm by as much as

2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels by the year 2040, according to the latest

report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of international

scientists empowered by the United Nations to advise world leaders. Scientists say this

increase in the temperature would threaten life on the planet in a myriad of ways,

including severe water shortages; more air pollution; rising sea levels, habitat loss; heat

waves; melting ice sheets in West Antarctica and Greenland; and destruction of the

world’s coral reefs. Over the last 150 years, humans are responsible for the vast majority

of the increase of these gases in the atmosphere, and the burning of fossil fuels through

activities like driving a car is the largest source of these emissions. There is a vocal group

of environmentalists and researchers —Stanford’s Mark Jacobson, who developed a

state-by-state 100% renewable plan for one — who argue that the power grid should be

supported only by renewable resources. Policy makers who invest in renewable energy

often do so with the goal of generating power without emitting these planet-warming

gases.” (Kevin Stark, September 6,2019)

“Renewable energy, often referred to as clean energy, comes from natural sources

or processes that are constantly replenished. For example, sunlight or wind keep shining

and blowing, even if their availability depends on time and weather. While renewable

energy is often thought of as a new technology, harnessing nature’s power has long been

used for heating, transportation, lighting, and more. Wind has powered boats to sail the

seas and windmills to grind grain. The sun has provided warmth during the day and

helped kindle fires to last into the evening. But over the past 500 years or so, humans

increasingly turned to cheaper, dirtier energy sources such as coal and fracked gas. Now

that we have increasingly innovative and less-expensive ways to capture and retain wind

and solar energy, renewables are becoming a more important power source, accounting

for more than one-eighth of U.S. generation. The expansion in renewables is also

happening at scales large and small, from rooftop solar panels on homes that can sell

power back to the grid to giant offshore wind farms. Even some entire rural communities

rely on renewable energy for heating and lighting. As renewable use continues to grow, a

key goal will be to modernize America’s electricity grid, making it smarter, more secure,

and better integrated across regions. Nonrenewable, or “dirty,” energy includes fossil

fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. Nonrenewable sources of energy are only available in

limited amounts and take a long time to replenish. When we pump gas at the station,

we’re using a finite resource refined from crude oil that’s been around since prehistoric
times. Nonrenewable energy sources are also typically found in specific parts of the

world, making them more plentiful in some nations than others. By contrast, every

country has access to sunshine and wind. Prioritizing nonrenewable energy can also

improve national security by reducing a country’s reliance on exports from fossil fuel–

rich nations. Many nonrenewable energy sources can endanger the environment or human

health. For example, oil drilling might require strip-mining Canada’s boreal forest, the

technology associated with fracking can cause earthquakes and water pollution, and coal

power plants foul the air. To top it off, all these activities contribute to global warming.”

(Lora Shinn, June 15,2018)

“Perhaps the most well-known impact of using non-renewable energy sources is

the emission of greenhouse gases, in particular carbon dioxide and methane, which

contribute to climate change. For example, coal is considered the worst emitter of carbon

dioxide. In the US, CO2 emissions from the electric power sector calculated in 2015

indicate that 71 percent were attributable to coal. While for example natural gas produced

around 28 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. Indeed, natural gas emits a lot less carbon

dioxide, specifically 50 to 60 percent less compared to coal, and it also emits 15 to 20

percent fewer heat-trapping gases compared to gasoline when used to power a vehicle.

However, that does not mean that natural gas can help mitigate climate change, as drilling

and extracting natural gas from wells results in the leakage of methane, which is a much

more potent greenhouse gas – it is 34 times stronger than CO2 in terms of its potential for

trapping heat. The concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and climate change are

cross-cutting. It is not just about direct impacts of rising temperatures and changing

weather patterns as floods or dry seasons proliferate that impact human livelihoods.
Climate change is impacting ecosystems, diminishing their capacity to adapt to changing

conditions, threatening biodiversity and the important ecosystem services our lives rely

on.” (Greeentumble, February 23, 2017)

“Investment in renewable energy is increasing globally and isn’t expected to slow

down in the coming decades. About 50 million acres of new land are projected to be

developed for energy production in the United States by 2035, and the majority of the

impact would come from the production of renewable energy. Renewable energy often

requires more land than fossil fuel production, with infrastructure fragmenting or even

eliminating high-quality wildlife habitat, according to Moorman. It can also lead to a

variety of other impacts on wildlife, including behavioral changes and direct mortality. A

few examples: (a)Wind turbines, both land-based and offshore, kill millions of migratory

birds and bats each year from collisions. (b)Hydroelectric dams block migration routes

for fish, preventing them from breeding and causing high juvenile mortality rates.

(c)Concentrating solar plants known as “power towers” produce beams of sunlight

intense enough to incinerate insects and birds. The intensity and magnitude of

environmental impacts from renewable energy development vary depending on the

technology used, the extent of land conversion, and a number of other factors. But one of

the most important determinants is project siting, according to Moorman. “From an

ecological standpoint, we should be building these projects in developed areas that

already have little wildlife habitat,” Moorman said. In the United States, however,

governments agencies at both the state and federal levels have yet to adopt strong

renewable energy policies with regards to wildlife conservation, according to Moorman.

“North Carolina ranks second to California for solar power production,” he said. “But
there’s no regulatory framework in place to prevent bad siting decisions.” Studies show

that utility companies in the U.S. have built renewable energy projects on mostly

undeveloped areas where land prices are less expensive but where risks to biodiversity

may be greater than in more developed regions. However, renewable energy effects on

the environment can be avoided or reduced if development is thoughtfully planned and

implemented, according to Moorman. For example, using native, pollinator-friendly

plantings at solar facilities can increase populations of bees and other insects.” (Andrew

Moore, November 13, 2019)

“Fossil fuels are all nonrenewable. But not all nonrenewable are fossil fuels.

Crude oil, natural gas, and coal are all considered fossil fuels, but uranium is not. Rather,

it is a heavy metal that is extracted as a solid and then converted by nuclear power plants

into a fuel source. All of these nonrenewable resources have proved historically to be

valuable energy sources that are inexpensive to extract. Storage, conversion, and shipping

are easy and cheap. Fuels created from nonrenewable resources are still the primary

source of all the power generated in the world due to their affordability and high energy

content.” (James Chen, October 21, 2021)

The articles sited above are the significant ones that help our study, renewable

energy resources were described by Lora Shinn as a clean energy because of its less

effect to the environment especially to the climate change while the non-renewable

energy resources she also described it as a dirty energy because some power plants can

cause earthquakes, water pollution, and air pollution. Also, it is a major reason of the

global warming. Kevin Stark also stated that when fossil fuels are burned to produce

energy, they emit heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide that can cause greenhouse
gas emission, if emissions continue unrestrained, the atmosphere could warm by as much

as 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels by the year 2040, according to the

latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. According to Andrew

Moore, the investment of renewable energy is increasing globally and it is not going to

slow down in coming decades. But renewable energy often requires more land than fossil

fuel production, with infrastructure fragmenting or even eliminating high-quality wildlife

habitat. However, renewable energy effects on the environment can be avoided or

reduced if development is thoughtfully planned and implemented. But according to James

Chen, not all nonrenewable are fossil fuels because uranium is not a fossil, rather a heavy

metal that is extracted as a solid and then converted by nuclear power plants into a fuel

source. But all of the non-renewable energy power plant the most environmentally

friendly and can sustain more are the nuclear power plant. Renewable and nonrenewable

energy resources are both good to our country but it depends how we going to used it and

preserve it environmentally. However the good outcome it will also having a negative

outcome in different aspect in our nature of lives.

 CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This part elaborates the research that how it was performed. It covers the details

of the research design, locale, respondents, sampling techniques, instrument, and data

gathering procedures, data analysis, and ethical consideration. The aim of this chapter is

to set out the methodological approach undertaken to discover the various effect of

energy resources and compare the to each other. This chapter will present the aim of this

research and the methodological approach adopted.

Design

The research design use is Qualitative methods which emphasize non-numerical

data is collected and analyzed in order to better understand concepts, opinions, or

experiences. Qualitative research is defined as research that employs methods such as

participant observation or case studies to produce a narrative, descriptive account of a

setting or practice.

Locale

The place where the research takes place is Ormoc is a first-class city in the

Philippines' Leyte province. It is the Philippines' very first non-provincial city. It also

serves as western Leyte's economic, cultural, commercial, and transportation hub. The

city is also an autonomous component city, meaning it is not governed by the Leyte

Provincial Government.
Respondents

The Respondents are the following residence of Ormoc City, Philippines , as a

researcher we will always keep their confidentiality.

Sampling Technique

This study utilized frequency and percentage distribution to determine the age,

gender etc. of the respondents that indicate the probability of occurrence in each

conceivable outcomes.

Instrument

The main instrument to be used for data collection are interview type of questions.

This will be designed for the residents in Ormoc City, Philippines.

Interview type of questions will be admitted to the residents after getting the right

permission to do so and the resident will be encouraged to give their best opinion shot in

filling the questions asked.

Data Gathering

The researchers developed a interview questionnaire to gather the required

information. The questionnaire was the main instrument in gathering data. Aside from

that analysis, observations were used to gather the information needed in this study.
Data Analysis

The interview questionnaire was the main instrument in gathering data. In

analysing the data, the researcher will make us of frequency count, percentage and

observation analysis will be used to compare the two variables on the resident of Ormoc

City Philippines.

Ethical Consideration

Ethics must be taken into account when developing the evaluation strategy. One

of the most important parts of the research is ethical considerations. If this component is

missing, dissertations may be doomed to failure. During the evaluation process, there are

several ethical considerations to keep in mind:

There should be no harm done to research participants in any way. Prioritize

respect for the dignity of research subjects. Prior to the study, all participants should have

given their full consent. Researchers' privacy must be protected. The research data should

be kept in a secure environment with adequate confidentiality. Individuals and

organizations involved in the study must maintain their anonymity.

 Chapter IV

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATON OF DATA

This chapter presents the data gathered. This chapter also shows the analysis and

interpretation of data.
 CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations

based on the analysis, and interpretation of the gathered data.

Summary of Findings

Summary

Conclusion

Recommendation