Austin Redilla

Dr. Semih Eser

18 April 2019
EGEE 101H
Final Essay
It has been a long semester, but one with much learning about energy. When I started this

course, I was looking forward to finding out about all of the renewable sources of energy as well

as other sectors that I was less familiar with, including nuclear energy. Moreover, my main

concept of energy when beginning the course solely focused around electricity. While I still

believe electricity is a big part, this course has shown me that the methods of producing the

electricity are just as important, if not more, than the end product itself. Overall, I really enjoyed

learning about the different means of energy and electricity generation, especially nuclear energy

which was assigned as my semester topic.

Growing up near the Limerick Power Plant, I was always aware of nuclear energy and

pretty much saw it as a good thing. I was aware of the concerns of nuclear waste and accidents,

but I never really looked into them further. Thus, I was very happy when I got to be a part of the

nuclear group for the semester research project. I learned more about the positives of nuclear

energy, like its extremely low carbon footprint and its constant generation of power. However, I

was also able to see the negatives of nuclear energy in a new light. Specifically, the issue of how

and where to store all of the highly radioactive nuclear waste that has been piling up since the

1960s became very concerning to me. While I have faith those in the government and private

industry will one day come up with a viable solution, like the deep geological reservoir almost

complete in Finland, I understand that the solution needs to be found quickly before more waste

piles up. While I would still classify myself as a proponent of nuclear energy, this class and my
own research on the topic has given me a more nuanced and thorough understanding of the

industry.

In addition, I have really enjoyed hearing about other sources of energy from my fellow

classmates. I have learned so many interesting things about renewable sources, like tidal energy

sources used in the hydropower industry and thermal energy conversion plants in the geothermal

industry. All of these novel, renewable technologies show a lot of promise, but what is

interesting to me is the relatively low maximum efficiency many of these newer technologies

have. From what I have gathered from these presentations, it appears traditional wind, solar, and

hydropower have the highest efficiencies of today’s renewable energy sources. Therefore, I

believe we should continue investing money into these sectors and looking to expand our use of

these green technologies. I also found it interesting to hear that the groups which presented on

traditional fossil fuel sources, like petroleum and coal, did not become advocates for these

sources, but rather advocated against them. No matter which energy source one champions, there

is no doubt that the next few decades will be an exciting time for energy policy and science as

changes must happen to stop and hopefully reverse the damaging effects on the environment that

humans have had. I am grateful that this class has given me a better understanding of all types of

energy sources as we enter into this critical point in our history.