The following table shows advantages and disadvantages of power stations that use renewable and

 non renewable energy sources to generate electricity.

Power Stations	Advantages	Disadvantages
Fossil fuels : Gas	Very reliable. Generate electricity whatever  the weather. Quick to generate electricity any time. Cost to build is low. Cost of fuel of gas fired power station is low.	Give out carbon dioxide that increases greenhouse effect. Fuel will run out soon.
Fossil fuels: Coal	Very reliable. Generate electricity whatever  the weather. Quick to generate electricity  any time. Cost to build is higher than gas fired power station. Cost of fuel is high.	Give out sulphur dioxide that causes acid rain. Give out more carbon dioxide than gas fired power station. Fuel will run out soon.
Nuclear fuel	Very reliable. Nuclear fuels do not produce gases that cause the greenhouse effect and acid rain.  Generates electricity whatever  the weather.	Problems with storing nuclear radioactive waste safely and for a long time. Risk of accidents, like Chernobyl. Fuel will run out. Capital cost and operating cost are high. Cost of electricity is high.
Hydroelectric	Very reliable. Quick to generate electricity any time. Surplus electricity from the power station is used to pump water from a lower reservoir to a higher one. This means that most of the energy from the surplus electricity is stored rather than being wasted. Cost of electricity is low.	Large areas have to be flooded. Only possible in hill areas. Cost to build is high.
Tidal and Waves	Free energy source. Renewable. Do not produce gases that cause the greenhouse effect and acid rain.	High tides are needed. Unsightly. Cost to build is very high. Cost of electricity is high.
The wind	Free energy source. Renewable. Do not produce gases that cause the greenhouse effect and acid rain.	Turbine noisy and unsightly. Turbine only works if there is wind. To generate enough electricity, many turbines are needed. Set up cost is high.
Sunlight	Free energy source. Renewable. The best energy source for producing electricity in remote locations (e.g. on satellites) or where only small amounts of electricity are needed (e.g. for watches or calculators).	The amount of electricity produced by solar cells depends on the intensity of light that falls on them. Solar cells have a very high cost per unit of electricity produced over their lifetime compared to all other sources of electricity.