Types of Renewable Energy Sources
For so many years people have been burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas to generate energy, but now sources of fossil fuels are running out – plus they create pollution to the environment when they are burned too. People are now starting to realize that we need to find sources of renewable energy. These various types of sources include solar, wind and marine energy.
One of the most used and commonly known sources of renewable energy is solar power. Everyday the sun produces a vast amount of energy and that sunlight can be utilized and converted into electricity using different technologies. It can be absorbed in solar collectors. These are the heat-absorbing panels that you see on many rooftops. The way these solar collectors work is that they harness solar energy and turn it to heat energy. Water is warmed by the heat energy and stored in tanks. Solar collectors are used to heat the water in your home as well as to heat swimming pool. Both makes use of the same technologies.
Wind power is another major sources of renewable energy. The energy produced by the wind comes indirectly from the sun, that is the sun heats the surface of the atmosphere and causes the wind to blow. Wind power is preferred to the use of fossil fuels because it does not generate any greenhouse gases and it is an abundant resource. The concept of using wind energy is not new. Wind power was initially being used to generate electricity by the ancient Egyptians and by the beginning of the 20th century wind power was used extensively in Europe, in particular Denmark. However it was the introduction of cheap oil and gas that destroyed the wind power industry. It is only at this time that people are becoming interested in wind power once again because of the issues with pollution and green house gas emissions.
Scientists are looking at developing technologies that extract energy/power from the tides and the waves. Marine energy is therefore another of the main sources of renewable energy. As an energy source it is sustainable and has very little effect on the environment. Using water to generate energy is a relatively new idea and there are no commercial wave energy equipment on the market at the moment. But, there is some technology that is being applied and trialled. One example that is producing power on the Scottish island of Islay is an equipment known as LIMPET. There are always new technologies being developed. Watch out for any new development in marine energy technology next time you pick up the newspaper or an environmental magazine.
Geothermal energy is the last in the renewable energy sources that is going to be mentioned in this article. The simplest way to take advantage of geothermal energy is by salt water and steam that is trapped in the many layers of rock underneath the earth’s core. Natural hot springs are the most popularized type of geothermal energy that has been used in the past centuries. But, geothermal heat pumps are the new “it“ energy product. Although geothermal energy is sustainable, it is not readily available. This is due to the fact that not everybody stays by a geothermal reservoir and that often the technology is far too expensive. But it is still good to have this as an option.