Green energy

Green energy is good for us and the environment. Customers in Texas wish to have more green energy option but the real situation is they do not use 100% green energy because it is powered by solar and wind, and a combination of gas, oil, and coal too. So, the customers have to choose the right retailers. They have to be smart consumers too by learning the way to reduce the cost. They should know when the renewable energy is powering the grid in more quantity.

I agree if Malaysia uses the renewable energy like hydropower electricity. It is friendly towards the environment. It is fuelled by water, which means it will not pollute the air. It does not contribute greenhouse effects and global warming. The U.S. Department of Energy stated that hydropower is a clean, fuel source of water, which does not pollute the air like power plants that burn fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas. Malaysia is suitable to use the energy because we receive rainfall during the year and our rivers are never dry. The water is needed to fill the dam while the dam controls the flow of water. The flowing water is needed to make sure the turbines are functioning. The turbines convert the kinetic energy of falling water into mechanical energy. When the turbines spin, it causes the generator to spin too. So, they will produce electrical energy to us.

I also agree if our country uses solar energy widely. It is supported by Rinkesh (2017) who stated that solar energy is an alternative to fossil fuels as it is a non-polluting, clean, reliable and renewable source of energy. It does not pollute the air by releasing harmful gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide or sulfur oxide. So, the risk of damage to the environment is reduced. As such, the government has to choose the solar energy as a second energy. It is suitable to be implemented in our country because we receive the sunlight throughout the year. So, we have to use the benefit for our nation. It will give several advantages for us. One of them is it can reduce electricity bill because we receive the sunlight free of charge through the systems which already exists in the buildings. Meanwhile, the systems do not use space of land to build them because photovoltaic (PV) systems are placed on the roof. Moreover, if we generate electricity more than we use, the surplus will be exported back to the grid. So, we will not waste the energy. It has many purposes too, not only to generate electricity, but also to distil water in a region with limited clean water suppliers.

We have to increase the use of green energies in our country. They have low or zero greenhouse emission and also toxic waste disposals. So, they will not provide air and water pollution. Solar, hydro, wind, biomass, geothermal and palm oil are examples of unlimited resources. They have no lifetime. So, we never got shortage problem and we do not need to depend on non-renewable energies like oil, gas, and coal. They are limited resources and will extinct. Their prices are also unstable compared to green energy. The green energies need less maintenance too. It is supported by Occupytheory (2014, April 20) which stated that the facilities to be used for renewable energy need less maintenance. The fuel that is derived from available and natural resources limits the overall costs, prior to operations. So, this situation gives good effects for suppliers and users. Besides, the project related to the renewable energies creates more job opportunities for people. Majority of the hydropower, the wind power, and the palm oil projects are situated at rural areas. So, they give jobs for rural people. Meanwhile, the solar energy creates more jobs for urban people too.

Texas did not get 100% green energy. It happened because they purchased the renewable energy credits (RECs) from voluntaries RECs. I think this situation will not happen in Malaysia because we are not using the procedure like them. Our electric power is monopolized by Tenaga Nasional Berhad. However, our country does not use 100% green energy too. As stated by Suruhanjaya Tenaga (2016, April 2), electricity generation fuel mix in 2014 did not change much from the previous year since the share of natural gas is at 43.9%, coal at 43.2%, fuel oil and diesel oil at 2.8%, hydro at 8.7% and renewables at 0.5%. Total installed capacity as at the end of 2014 was 29,938 MW (Megawatt), an increase of 0.6% from 29,748 MW in 2013. However, our ex-Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohammad Najib has launched Dasar Teknologi Hijau Negara to overcome that problem. The policy emphasizes on energy, environment, economic and social. In terms of energy, they want to find out a new green energy to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. For the environment, they want to protect and reduce the effects of greenhouse. In terms of economic, they want to increase country’s economics through technology whereas for social, they emphasise on quality life.  

In conclusion, even though Malaysia has enough fossil fuels, we have to take care of health and safety. As we can see, there are many bad effects happening now like acid rain, global warming, and depletion of ozone layer. All of them happened because of the previous generation. So, all people around the world have to be responsible towards the environment and its future. We have to think about our children and the new generation. If we love them, we must be concerned about their future and the earth where they lived. So, we have to take care of the earth by using green energy. Since Malaysia receives rain and sunshine year-round, we can use them to produce green energy. The government also has to play their role to increase the awareness about the environment among the society.