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What is Renewable Energy and how does it work??

Jay Slough - Thursday, December 03, 2009

There are two types of energy. Nonrenewable and Renewable. ( I think renewable energy is what my 5yr old is made of.)

Energy sources are considered nonrenewable if they cannot be replenished (made again) in a short period of time. Some examples of nonrenewable energy include gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, coal, natural gas, and uranium (nuclear energy).

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural-occurring sources that can be constantly replenished in a short period of time. The five renewable sources used most often are Biomass, Water, Geothermal, Wind and Solar.

The use of renewable energy is not new. The oldest and perhaps most common energy is wood. More than 150 years ago, wood, which is one form of biomass, supplied up to 90% of our energy needs. As the use of coal, petroleum, and natural gas expanded, the United States became less reliant on wood as an energy source. Over half of renewable energy goes to producing electricity. About 9% of U.S. electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2008. The next largest use of renewable energy is the production of heat and steam for industrial purposes. Plants have more recently been used to create renewable fuels, such as ethanol (alternative to gasoline) are also used for transportation and to provide heat for homes and businesses. Geothermal energy is another type of renewable energy that involves harnessing the natural heat of the earth's core to produce power.

The largest source of renewable energy currently used is hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power involves harnessing the kinetic energy of flowing water to turn turbines in order to produce electricity. A similar form of renewable energy is wind power, which involves harnessing the kinetic energy of wind currents to turn large fan-like turbines. Solar power, involves using the light and heat produced by the sun as an energy source. The power from the sun is so efficient, and it can be used for everything. Simple examples are things like lighting the pathway in the garden, security lights, or heating the pool. There are so many small devices that run on solar energy, that this alone can save you a lot of money. Together with residential solar panels you can switch from regular electricity to solar renewable energy.

For the future of the earth you need to understand that one of the most important benefits is the environment. The amount of electricity we use is the cause of extreme issues like global warming and pollution of the environment. When we start using the sun to its fullest capacity we are using a completely natural and environmentally friendly energy source.

Given the increasing population of the human race, the importance of renewable energy is likely to continue to increase in the future, as well as a shift toward more cost efficient energy sources. From the standpoint of electrical powersolar energy has a huge potential, considering the amount of energy the sun produces is thousands of times greater than the needs of earth. The world must transform its current energy system on a global scale. It is expected that 60% of all our energy will come from renewable energy by the year 2070.

 


   

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