Economic, Societal, and Environmental Impacts of Available Energy Sources: A Review

作者：Faisal A. Mubarak, Reza Rezaee, David A. Wood · 发表于：Eng—Advances in Engineering · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.3390/eng5030067 · 被引用次数：87 · 研究领域：Photovoltaic Systems and Sustainability、Energy and Environment Impacts、Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

The impacts that the available energy sources have had on society, the environment, and the economy have become a focus of attention in recent years, generating polarization of opinions. Understanding these impacts is crucial for rational evaluation and the development of strategies for economic growth and energy security. This review examines such impacts of the main energy resources currently exploited or in development, including fossil fuels, geothermal, biomass, solar, hydropower, hydrogen, nuclear, ocean, and wind energies on society through analysis and comparison. It is essential to consider how high energy demand influences energy prices, the workforce, and the environment and to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each energy source. One significant finding from this review is that the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) may vary substantially depending on the energy source used and show substantial ranges for different applications of the same energy source. Nuclear energy has the lowest LCOE range whereas ocean energy has the highest LCOE range among the nine energy sources considered. Fossil fuels were found to have the most substantial societal impacts, which involved on the positive side providing by far the largest number of jobs and highest tax revenues. However, on the negative side, fossil fuels, biomass, and nuclear energy sources pose the most significant health threats and social well-being impacts on communities and societies compared to other energy...