Everyone knows renewable energy helps the Earth, but it does more than reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. It also immediately improves the quality of life for all living things that rely on water. If you don’t know how renewable energy benefits water quality, this guide will teach you everything you need to know.
Below, check out why renewable energy is essential for the world’s water supply. There’s always been a lack of access to drinking water and the resource-threatening increase in human pollution, but sustainable energy sources will give you hope for a better future. As more people become aware of environmental concerns, water quality will improve through green technologies.
It Uses Less Water
Fossil fuels produce CO2, but they also rely on water to produce electricity. Thermoelectric generating facilities convert water into steam, which powers the turbines creating electricity. Some plants use additional water to cool the steam. In 2017, these facilities used 52.8 trillion gallons of water while making fossil-fuel-based electricity.
Renewable energy doesn’t need water to cool machinery or produce steam. It draws on sustainable sources like ground heat, wind and sunshine instead. People immediately get broader access to clean water without compromising on the electricity modern life requires. It’s the best way forward for a world that would shudder to a stop without internet access and all the other conveniences powered by electricity.
It Improves Water Transportation
Water doesn’t just reach people through faucets. People also need it in bottles or multi-gallon containers. Water distribution processes use carbon-intensive transportation methods to ship water where people need it most. Anyone who can’t access clean city or groundwater needs bottled alternatives for cooking and hygiene. It’s crucial to find sustainable solutions for this necessary resource that also pollutes the atmosphere.
Replacing these transportation methods with energy-efficient cars or trucks that run on biofuel would significantly reduce the CO2 created during distribution. Anyone who needed water could access it without fueling part of the industry that still hurts the planet.
It Fuels More Treatment Plants
Basic survival necessities require water, like bathing or flushing the toilet. Even though people can make modifications to reduce how much water those habits use, they’re still part of everyday life. Wastewater treatment plants purify used water and release it back into the environment, so humans don’t pull water cycle resources away.
Treatment pumps and tanks use fossil fuels to clean water, but renewable energy would boost water quality and save the environment. If these plants used green energy solutions like solar irradiation, they would improve total microbial destruction compared to conventional chlorine tanks and minimize their annual pollution.
It Changes Manufacturing Processes
Switching to renewable energy is a big decision. It requires time and financial investment, but that’s a good thing. Significant changes become permanent solutions instead of short-term efforts for companies that want to appear sustainably minded to consumers who demand green efforts.
Manufacturing plants use fossil fuels every day, which need water for cooling and production. Even a minor change to renewable energy improves water availability and quality for local and global communities.
It Produces Less Contamination
Nuclear power plants were supposed to be the futuristic green energy everyone wanted. Nuclear fission doesn’t produce CO2, but thermal energy production does contaminate local waterways.
After water cools the reaction chambers, it heats up and releases back into the environment. Even though it looks clean, the water causes a rise in pH levels that destabilizes aquatic environments and creates hypoxic dead zones.
Food chain disruptions echo across the world. Replacing these plants with equally sizable green energy sources would prevent water contamination and preserve the balance of life.
Renewable Energy Benefits Water Quality
These are the top five reasons why renewable energy benefits water quality. As more people and corporations invest in green technology, the world will become a better place for all the living things that rely on water.
Author bio:
Jane is the Editor-in-Chief of Environment.co and an environmental writer covering green technology, sustainability and environmental news.
