The energy industry is a prominent player in the fight against climate change. People look to it for leadership in green electricity and new technologies, but experts can continue paving new ways forward with sustainable concrete.
An eco-friendly alternative to traditional concrete would revolutionize numerous industries, especially those dealing with construction. Here’s how the energy industry can use the greener resource to demonstrate a greater commitment to the planet while advancing every internal sector.
Sustainable Concrete Is Versatile
Eco-friendly concrete does more than support the planet. It offers numerous benefits for various industries, making it a versatile material. These are a few ways its versatility serves everyone, especially the power industry.
It Fortifies All Buildings
Earth experiences more intense weather systems as the climate warms. The U.S. alone dealt with 18 billion-dollar events in 2022, causing residential and commercial destruction and requiring new concrete repairs. Replacing buildings after such disasters also increases the use of conventional concrete.
Sustainable concrete is more durable than traditional alternatives, proving it can better withstand environmental effects growing more powerful due to global warming. The same research shows it also creates less CO2 during manufacturing, so the emissions created during more frequent repairs would have less of an adverse planetary effect.
It Improves Home Renovations and Solar Power Storage
Homeowners can substitute eco-friendly concrete for numerous home renovation projects, such as concrete flooring, stairways and extended driveways. The renewable materials within the concrete ensure each project’s longevity.
Power industry leaders partnering with construction crews could offer additional advantages to solar power customers. Researchers are currently working on an energy-storing concrete that absorbs UV rays and stores them in carbon wires within fine charcoal concrete. It could amplify existing and new power storage options with one single driveway renovation project.
It Could Redefine the Energy Industry
The power industry’s various projects could adapt to sustainable concrete in numerous ways. It could be the foundational material used to build traditional electric plants. Although the electricity wouldn’t benefit the planet, the plant’s total carbon footprint would shrink due to the stronger, easily repaired concrete used to build it.
Green concrete might also save money. Traditional concrete is still a viable construction material and well-trusted. People have used it since 700 B.C.E., so many industry professionals might feel uneasy about switching to a seemingly new product.
Combining the two would advance the energy industry as well. Traditional concrete could be the structural support for buildings, while green concrete might be the base of the wind farms or ground-based solar panel arrangements nearby. It depends on the individual projects.
The Environmental Benefits of Sustainable Concrete
Eco-friendly concrete helps the environment in numerous ways. Here’s how the planet will benefit from the power industry using the material more widely.
It Uses Multiple Materials
There are many types of eco-friendly concrete. Instead of relying on singular resources, the varied green materials utilize numerous sources to create more durable concrete. Natural resources used for traditional concrete, like rock, sand and water, won’t need replenishing as badly if more industries use eco-friendly alternatives.
Some of those green resources even help the environment before they become concrete. Hemp concrete uses hemp as its primary ingredient. During its growth cycle, this plant absorbs heavy metals from the soil to purify it. Surrounding biomes benefit from the cleaner soil and fewer metals spread through water runoff.
It Minimizes Electricity Per Property
Whether residential or commercial, concrete efficiently insulates buildings even during periods of changing temperatures. If the energy industry used eco-friendly concrete as the primary material for new construction, it could inspire people in other sectors to do the same.
More buildings would insulate themselves efficiently, decreasing the electricity needed to maintain each property’s interior temperatures. Power plants wouldn’t have to work as hard to power surrounding areas or create as much CO2 as places with high electricity demand.
It Reduces Fossil Fuel Usage
Green concrete doesn’t need repairs as frequently. It’s easier to maintain and creates a smaller long-term carbon footprint. Repair crews wouldn’t need to use fossil-fuel-burning machinery to conduct repairs as often. The change would ultimately reduce the amount of gasoline in machinery that becomes gases clogging the atmosphere.
This benefit also includes the power industry. Experts estimate sustainable electricity will replace 90% of global power by 2025, overtaking coal and traditional power plants. Global communities will need renewable energy plants quickly, leading to an increase in construction. Using sustainable concrete for those projects would make each site better for the environment before energy production begins.
Eco-friendly concrete even makes projects more sustainable when they include traditional concrete. Substituting half would reduce the natural resources used for the construction project. It’s another way to become more Earth-friendly when sites made with entirely green concrete aren’t an option.
Can the Energy Industry Use Traditional Concrete More Sustainably?
Industry leaders can use traditional concrete more sustainably while it remains a leading construction material. Precast concrete minimizes natural resource usage on each site and prevents factors like wind from carrying powder into surrounding ecosystems.
Recycled concrete is another alternative for sustainably minded energy industry leaders. Some companies take concrete from demolition sites or unused concrete from projects and crush them. The result is a fine mixture that turns into new concrete without requiring sand or rock.
Site leaders might also set up rain barrels on a project site or around green energy buildings. Crew members could use the resulting water cache to mix traditional concrete at upcoming construction sites. It depends on the project timeline and weather conditions.
Watch for Green Opportunities
The energy industry can find inspiration in sustainable concrete. Using it for new construction or repairs would show other working professionals and consumers that it’s a reliable material. Others might feel more encouraged to follow the same path, ultimately making the power industry a leader in another form of sustainability.
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