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Technology Advantages Disadvantages Solar Pannels Easy maintenance No Noise No dangerous emissions Easy to impliment Off at night. Currently expensive high land requirements Energy needs to be stored Silicon is in short supply Wind Power Cost Effective Always On Large output variations visually intrusive Some worry about the noise birds occasionally fly into the rotor blades Sites need to have a reliable source of wind Can be expensive to maintain Hydro Always On well-established No bi-products One of the most efficient energy sources Electricity can be stored by pumping water back to the top. Large construction costs Some need massive structures that can result in widespread disturbance and damage. Waves Inexpensive Easy to maintain Always On Need a suitable site Some Designs are noisy Must withstand bad weather Geothermal stable energy source Large resource Always On can be set up only in volcanic regions Can be large setup costs Biomass Can be used to make liquid fuels no sulphur emissions Reduced methane emissions helps reduce the need for waste disposal Carbon neutral Possible increased afforestation Large volumes of biomass are needed Energy and food crops may compete Still in its early stages Currently Expensive Can undermine biodiversity Landfill Reduces methane emissions Efficient use of waste products Larger volumes of landfill are needed Passive Solar Solar Towers On its way, commercial power plants are just about here. Cost Effective Always On Takes up a large area of land Needs the right site Large Construction (will be the tallest man made structures in the world) Solar Furnaces Tidal Always On No Emissions Expensive to construct Environmental effects of altering natural watercourses Blue Energy Very Clean Very little spaced used. Reliable constant source of energy Needs to have constant stream of fresh water so there may be limited sites. Not quite here yet

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