Renewable Energy - A Brief Explanation



Posted: Thursday, October 28, 2010

by Daniel Hoffman
http://energycreation.net

Renewable resourcesGreen power...What exactly are renewable energy sources? We are being bombarded with the phrases "renewable energy" and "renewable energy sources" in the news and in political discussions, not to mention seeing documentaries left and right about the topic. But what is meant by these terms?

Renewable resources are, simply, the sources of energy that we have at our disposal that can be renewed at a later date. Short of blowing up the earth, these energy sources would constantly renew themselves, extracting energy from the ecosystem, and delivering it to us in easily accessible forms.

This is in direct contradiction to the fossil fuels we use so much of today. It is true that someday fossil fuels will be replenished. But the timespan for this to occur is on the order of eons. Because the time span is so long, we consider that these resources, such as coal, and petroleum are non-renewable.

But let's get back on topic. What are the different renewable resources?

There are :

- nuclear energy

- hydroelectric energy

- wind energy

- geothermal energy

- biomass energy

- solar energy

to name just a few. Let's examine these a little more, shall we.

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy as a renewable resource is a bit of a misnomer as we really completely destroy matter to get usable energy. But nuclear energy is sometimes considered one of the renewables simply because we will probably never run out of nuclear material. Not only do we have a seemingly infinite supply of fissionable material, but each atom we use has an incredibly large amount of energy. Einstein was kind enough to actually tell us how much energy we would get. Hint : e = mc^2.

Incredibly, even though we get such an amazing benefit from nuclear power, there is an all important hazard which we must watch for. (Enter radiation) It can make your day a little less pleasant. No joke. Another extreme hazard is nuclear meltdown. Chernobyl is a fine example of this. It just may be that nuclear energy is extremely beneficial in terms of giving us energy, but I'm sure we could find another option without the inherent risks.

HydroElectric Energy

Hydroelectric energy is the capturing of the motion of falling water. Normally what happens is a dam is built to capture the energy of water and then water flow is regulated and turns a turbine or turbines as it is released downstream. We can see that this is a renewable source of energy because rain will continue to fall and run downhill, in a perfect world, forever. Or at least as long as we haven't completely accidentally re-engineered the natural processes that are taking place on this planet.

Unfortunately, there is a little bit of a problem which is inherent in this type of dam. Namely, upon building them, there is an initial and necessary relocation of the local indigineous residents. The people there are usually just asked to leave and don't bother trying to get any help from officials or planners with this life changing move, you won't get it. The local wildlife is also $#it out of luck. The area is just flooded and the local ecosystem destroyed in the name of progress.

Wind Energy

Wind energy is pretty cool. Wind turbines have begun popping up all over the world, but most specifically where there is wind. The only problem with wind turbines is that sometimes there is electricity being produced, and sometimes there isn't. Sometimes the wind blows, sometimes it doesn't.

Geothermal Energy

This is the use of thermal energy from the earth for producing work. This might be around for a very long time, or at least until we freeze the core of the earth.

Biomass Energy

This one is composed of wood, leaves, tobacco, grains, dung, farts, wool gloves. Basically any organic matter that can be burned. Another aspect of biomass energy is that you can collect the gases of decomposing matter and burn that. This is a renewable resource for one easy and unavoidable reason; life reproduces.

Solar Energy

This type of energy will be coming to us for quite a while here on planet earth, so we consider it renewable. It is going to be a few million years before the sun burns out. Believe it or not, all the energy for every living organism originally came from the sun. Every source of energy here on planet earth actually originated with the sun to begin with. But solar cells convert the sun's energy directly into electricity. And for that, we thank you Seor Photovoltaic Cell.

-Think that renewable energy costs too much to implement? Think again. Visit my site on renewable energy sources to find out more.
Daniel Hoffman has spent 6 years working on electronics in the Air Force, and has recently decided to take his knowledge of electronic theory and apply it to creating a greener future. His current plans include the development of a business model to help feed and empower the poor in developing nations with a focus on energy creation.
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