Types Of Renewable Energy Explored
May 9, 2009 by Tim McDonald
Filed under Alternative Power
As the planet’s non-renewable energy sources start to run dry, everyone needs to do their part in making more use of abundant renewable energy instead.
To date there are four main types of renewable energy that we can produce: wind power, solar power, hydro power, and geothermic power.
Wind Energy:
Wind turbines have been around for millennia, further back than the birth of Christ. Over the years they have been used to pump water, drag boats and grind flour. But at the turn of the industrial revolution, wind turbines were made to produce electricity.
Although many people envision windmills as those ornate ones in Holland or the small wind-pumps on farms, they have been developed tremendously in the past decade. Now wind turbines are able to generate thousands of megawatts of power, and when used on a small scale at home, wind power can substitute conventional energy sources, helping households to get off the grid.
Solar Power:
Sunlight is the most abundant form of energy we have available, so there is no excuse for us not using more of it. But thanks to extensive research and development, we can make use of the sun in various ways – solar heating and passive solar design, solar electric power, and solar cooking and solar drying.
Solar water heating, solar electricity, and passive solar design are some the simplest and cost-effective ways to reduce your conventional energy use. They do not need much maintenance, and are really environmentally friendly. With solar cooking, no gas or electricity is needed, just some good sunshine. making it very popular for campers and travelers alike. Also, the food is cooked at a muhc lowere temperature, which helps to stop vital nutrients from being lost.
Water Power:
Like the ancient windmills, the power of the water was once used to grind flour or to power machines for irrigation.
Today hydro power is used in dams to produce electricity for households and businesses. Hydro-electric power is generate on a large scale where dammed up water is channeled through turbines, which spins a dynamo as it gushes through. The best example of hydro-electric power would be the Hoover Dam, which was built to provide electricity to Las Vegas. In fact hydro-electric power is efficient is popular nowadays that it accounts for over 90% of the worlds renewable energy.
Many environmentalists and socialists are against hydro-electric dams, since they affect the natural forna and flora and can cause the forced removal of entire cities.
Geothermal Energy:
Geothermal power is typically produced in areas with ongoing volcanic activity, where magma is relatively close to the surface. One such area is Iceland, where a large proportion of its power is produced from volcanic geysers.
Where this lava comes into contact with water, it super heats it and causes large volumes of steam to burst to the surface through geysers. The pressure from this steam is diverted and passed through turbines to generate electricity. Once the steam has passed through it is sometimes cooled, turned back into water, which is then pumped back into the geyser to make more steam. This makes it everlasting cycle…
Well, this concludes our brief overview of the 4 main types of renewable energy. You can find out more in-depth information on each type by reading our other articles or browsing our website in the link below.
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