Although fossil fuels are still the dominant raw material in electricity production, countries around the world are making efforts to increase the share of renewable sources as much as possible, in order to achieve long-term sustainability of electricity production, which includes environmental protection and the carbon footprint we leave for future generations.
In parallel with the development of new commercial technologies for the production of electricity from wind, water, solar, wave and bioenergy and other renewable sources, the trend of building small power plants for the needs of small communities, or even individual households, is developing.
In addition to the contribution that these plants make to the reduction of harmful gas emissions, they also create new, high-quality jobs, strengthen the distribution network and energy independence, and make electricity cheaper and more accessible for communities that live far from the distribution network.
At the same time, each of these technologies, whether it is commercial or small renewable energy power plants, has its own advantages and disadvantages, both when it comes to supply stability, but also when it comes to indirect impacts on the environment.
Wind farms - too bulky and not very attractive to the eye
Wind farms are considered to be the solution with the least impact on the environment because they are often built on top of hilly areas and mountain gorges and require no fuel other than suitable wind. However, windmills are demanding in terms of space, because the distance between the turbines is necessary so that they do not block the wind from each other.
That is why critics of wind farms often emphasize how they destroy landscapes, especially near cultural sites, and thus deter tourists, while at the same time disrupting indigenous flora and fauna, such as birds and bats.
Those who live near wind farms will certainly first emphasize the unpleasant sound that can be heard for kilometers around the turbines, which some critics, although there is no evidence for this, blame for the appearance of "vibroacoustic disease".
From the point of view of electricity production, wind farms do not represent a particular security due to the variable nature of the wind, so they rarely exist as the only source of electricity.
Unlike thousands of large turbines that power entire cities, there are also small turbines of several hundred to several tens of watts, which can power in example a yacht, a remote caravan or meet the needs of several households.
Hydropower plants - danger to watercourses and river habitats
With a share of about 20 percent in global electricity production, hydropower plants are the most common way of producing electricity from renewable sources, and like wind farms, their operation does not release even slightest amount harmful gases.
The construction of a commercial hydroelectric power plant requires a dam and a reservoir with water whose level can be controlled, if necessary, which usually requires flooding a certain river valley, including households and fertile land, and displacing the population.
On the other hand, small modern hydroelectric power plants (up to a few tens of megawatts) are assembled from standardized parts in steep areas in order to conduct the water flow through a pipe to the turbines that produce electricity.
Small hydro plants can be an excellent solution for small, isolated communities that do not have access to electricity, but a good balance needs to be found between the need for electricity generation and water flow. The smallest hydroelectric plants (known as micro- and pico-hydroelectric plants) generate cheap energy for a small number of households, who often use them as a supplement to other renewable energy systems.
Bioenergy - renewable but unsustainable
Electricity can also be generated from biological sources such as biomass and bio-fuel, although it is much more often used for heating, and only 5% of bioenergy is used for electricity production.
The advantage of bio-based power plants is that they offer a stable supply, but given their carbon footprint, they are not a long-term solution in the planet's fight to reduce emissions. Namely, most of these plants burn biomass to generate gas that passes through the turbine under high pressure.
Most critics of bioenergy base their arguments on the fact that biomass, although renewable, is not sustainable, and that its use releases carbon dioxide and at the same time takes up agricultural land that could be used for food.
Even so, small modular biofuel systems can power communities in rural or remote areas that live without electricity, as biomass represents a cleaner alternative to traditional fossil fuels.
Photovoltaic cells - good energy for households and businesses
Photovoltaic systems generate electricity for 4% of humanity. Although this technology was created in the nineteenth century, innovations have only recently made it the most cost-effective technology for generating electricity that exists, so it is expected that in this decade solar systems will become the most represented among newly built capacities on renewable sources.
As in other examples, solar systems can be large solar power plants - but they are more and more common and smaller systems for use in households or businesses, because at the time of the energy crisis and rising electricity prices around the world - they make electricity almost free.
Many users of such systems also use a home energy storage system in order to be able to independently use the energy they produce, and some users combine solar energy with another renewable energy source, such as water, wind or biomass.
Solar systems have a low carbon footprint, but on a commercial scale they require large areas, leading to deforestation and loss of arable land.
On the other hand, small solar systems such as those used on the roofs of houses, residential buildings and businesses, use already existing infrastructure and make it more efficient, and the owners more energy independent, and are therefore a solution that will definitely mark the decades ahead.
Each building - its own power plant
Bearing in mind the existing trends in electricity price growth, the overloading of production and distribution capacities as well as the constantly growing need for electricity - the decentralization of electricity production is not only desirable - it is also necessary.
In the coming decades, almost every consumer of electricity will become a producer, and the term prosumer is probably the word that will mark the 21st century.
Considering that most buildings or households do not have access to a wind rose or a mountain stream, solar energy represents the best, if not the only, solution that will enable the energy transformation the world is striving for.