Wind power essentially has no cost for fuel, but has a high cost of production per kWh it can produce as well as a low energy capacity. It is also limited to the main areas of the wind stream for fully effective use. Wind farms also require a large amount of land dedication, whether they are on land or offshore turbines. Wind power has essentially no waste production, greenhouse or otherwise.
Natural gas has the second highest cost of production per kWh, with solar being the most expensive. It has a cost of energy production comparable to petroleum. Natural gas would use about the same amount of land as coal or nuclear, as it would need a standard power plant to burn the gas. Natural gas also has waste gas production, although it is much lower than coal or petroleum.
Coal is currently the largest producer of energy, because it is cheap and has a decent energy density. However, the impact it is having on the environment is cause for concern. Greenhouse gases as well as the effect of mining make it necessary to be phased out of use. Coal is a fossil fuel, meaning there is finite amount of fuel reserves, which are predicted to be depleted in less than 100 years.
Petroleum has production cost similar to coal, and has the same problem of greenhouse gas emissions, although to a lesser degree. It also has a relatively high energy density compared to other forms of energy production. Petroleum uses power plants, so the land use is the same as coal as well. It is also a fossil fuel like coal, so there is a finite amount of fuel reserves.
Nuclear power has very many advantages to it. It’s cost of electricity production is on par with the cost from coal, which is considered one of the cheapest methods of production. Nuclear has by far the best energy density and capacity factor compared to the other methods of energy production, nearly two million times more than that of coal! It has a very low to no greenhouse gas emission, but the toxic waste it produces still does not have a great means of disposal.
Biofuels use waste from other products, so it has a much cheaper cost of fuel. It also means that there is not a finite limit to how much fuel is available. It uses power plants like many others, so the land use is comparable to current coal power plant land use. Biofuels have a lower energy density than other methods as well. There is very little waste produced compared to burning coal or petroleum.
Solar has no fuel cost either, but has a huge production cost per kWh. It is still a very inefficient power source as well, with the best converters at about 20% efficiency. The solar panels are still very expensive to produce as well as maintain, which is the largest obstacle preventing more solar energy production. Because there is no fuel being used, solar energy is extremely clean. Depending on implementation, solar power can have a large or small land area usage. If made into PV farms, they would use a lot of land area. However, if they are installed in places such as rooftops, house sidings, etc. they would use very little land area. Another problem with solar is the unpredictability of sources, as the solar radiation depends on time of year, cloud cover, time of day, etc.
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