The 4 Major Types Of Renewable Energy
As the world's energy supplies dwindle, it is our duty to start producing renewable energy on a larger scale.
Currently there are 4 major types of renewable energy available at our disposal: solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, and geothermal energy.
From The Wind:
Wind energy has been used for thousands of years. Initially windmills were built to tow boats, grind flour and pump water. But as industry developed, wind turbines were put into operation to generate electric power.
Some people still imagine windmills as the ornate ones found in the Netherlands, or the small wind pumps on farmland, but wind power technology has come a long way. Today, massive windmills, better known as wind turbines can generate millions of watts of electric energy, and smaller ones can be used at home as a substitute to grid-tied power.
Solar Energy:
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.
Passive solar design, solar power and solar heating are some of the the best ways to reduce your power consumption at home - these systems need very little upkeep, and they are also great for the environment. Solar cooking is a healthy alternative to using an oven or stove - the food is cooked slowly so more minerals and vitamins are retained, and no electric power is needed. This makes it ideal for camping and outdoor cooking in the summer months.
Hydro 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.
There have been some social and environmental concerns about building dams for hydroelectricity since entire village and communities are flooded by the dam, and the walls prevent certain species of fish from swimming upstream to spawn.
Geothermal (Volcanic) Power:
It is normally in volcanic areas where you will find geothermal power being used. In places like Iceland, hot, molten lava is close to the surface, that heats large bodies of water and creates steam for geothermal electricity.
How geothermal energy basically works is the lava heats a lot of underground water, creating geysers with hot steam. The pressure from the steam is used to spin turbines and generate power. Power plants are usually built right over these geysers, where they reuse the water by pumping it underground to produce more steam. And so the process continues...
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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