Over the centuries, energy has become a necessity rather than as a luxury to mankind.
After the discovery of electricity, different energy specialists and scientists as well started to use the Earth’s natural resources to generate energy. They have started digging the Earth’s crust and used coals and others that have potentials in producing power. They have also explored the sea, and used natural gas deposits and converting it into different forms of fuels to power not only our homes but also other structures and inventions as well.
As the population of the world increases and the development of technology as well is inevitable, there will come a time that we will be returning back to the primitive era before electricity was discovered. We will be using fire once again to light our homes and there will be no more televisions, game consoles, automobiles, cruise ships, airplanes, mobile phones, computers, digital audio and video players, and other similar technologies.
Coals, natural gas, and fuels are only limited resources. Energy specialists and advocates work in hand to find other alternatives to these limited energy resources.
Fortunately, we are now enjoying the benefits of these alternative energy resources. We enjoy bathing in a hot spring instead of heating the water in our swimming pool. We are not worrying about blackouts or high monthly electricity bills because of our solar power system. These are just some of the benefits that we derived from harnessing the power around us—almost unlimited, clean, and renewable energy.
This article will discuss what renewable energy is and its different forms in a way that a common people will understand. We will stay away from the technicalities concerns of such energy. This will provide each of us better understanding about the enhancement of renewable energy and its role in the near future.
Renewable Energy: An Overview
Renewable energy is also called an alternative energy source which replenishes itself naturally. In other words, it is similar to the energy sources we are using today in a sense that they are all came from the Earth’s national resources. However, coals and natural gas are considered to be non-renewables because these are consumed at a rapid rate than they are replenished. Studies show that these fossil fuels replenish itself by hundreds of years.
What is the impact of this renewable energy? Mostly, it is considered to be more on environmental impact. It is pollution free because there are no harmful chemical reactions when a renewable energy is transformed to electricity. It is relatively true, since the production of electricity from coal and natural gas requires burning, which results to harmful emissions that cause different harmful effects in our atmosphere as well as in water and land.
Common Renewable Energy Sources
• Wind- electricity is produced from strong winds. It rotates turbines (windmills) placed on tall towers. This form of renewable energy is one of the rapidly-growing resources worldwide and free from any kind of pollution.
• Solar- sunlight is directly converted either to electricity or heat through the use of photovoltaic applications which contains semiconductors. It can also be used to create steam to run a turbine or a generator.
• Biomass- this includes the burning of different organic matters (plants, woods, and agricultural wastes) to produce electricity. Burning of such matters is not causing the global warming phenomenon.
• Water- river flows and high-cliff falls are used to rotate turbines to generate electricity.
• Geothermal- energy is produced through drilling and tapping into hot spring or surfaces that lies beneath the Earth’s surface and transforming it into electricity.
The Future of Renewable Energy
As the depletion of Earth’s fossil fuel supply increases, many areas are now starting to harness renewable energy sources. For instance, in California, 12 percent of their electrical power is produced from renewable energy. Other European countries are also making efficient ways on the production of this renewable energy.
Because of these moves, do not wonder if the car that you will use in the near future will be powered by the sun. Renewable energy will be our power after some time.
Renewable energy is getting its way ahead. Most international energy ministers and advocates together with different non-governmental organizations and environmentalists are joining efforts to promote utilization of renewable energy source as a substitute to nearly-depleting fossil fuel reserves. Different legislative bodies around the world pass resolutions and laws urging government to award grants and incentives for the development of renewable energy systems.
However, do we fully understand what renewable energy is? How does it work in solving our energy supply problems? Why do our lawmakers and other government officials support the development of such energy source? This and other related questions will be answered through this article.
Renewable Energy - An Overview
This new energy source is not new to us. We see this and use this everyday, although for other reasons. For instance, sunlight provides us light during the day, dries our wet clothes, and make trees and other plants grow. But don’t you know that sunlight can actually provide you the electricity you need? Sunlight is considered as one of new energy sources.
If you prefer a hard water adventure such as kayaking, you look for a place with extreme flowing water. But don’t you know that flowing water can actually generate energy?
These are just some of the forms of renewable energy. We are using it every now and then but we are not aware that it can actually generate energy that we can use. These sources come from natural processes in our ecosystem that replenishes itself such as the sunlight and the flowing water. Other forms include wind energy, biological processes (such as bio-fuels from decaying plants and organic matters), and geothermal heat that comes from the surface of the Earth.
Unlike the conventional fossil fuels that present power plants are using as its main fuel, renewable energy is free energy. It is free in a sense that it is abundantly available in the open environment. Sunlight and wind is everywhere. Extreme flowing waters can be found on particular areas. You do not need to excavate beneath the ground. It doesn’t need to be imported nor exported.
In addition, renewable energy have almost unlimited resources. Our sun still has a remaining life span of around 4.5 billion years. The volume of water present in Earth is constant. The same also goes with the wind, bio-fuels, and geothermal heat.
How Renewable Energy Works
There is a distinction in energy generation between fossil fuels and the “renewables”. The former produces energy by combustion or burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil to generate power. The latter directly converts renewable energy into useful forms. For instance, sunlight is directly converted into electricity which can be used by a regular household.
Impacts of Fossil Fuels: Renewable Energy as an Alternative
Interest in developing renewable energy is related to concerns on extensive use of fossil fuels. The demand for such fuels is increasing while its reserves are limited in quantity. It will result in fossil fuel supply shortage and high fossil fuel prices in the energy market. In addition, other factors such as the quantity of production, weather, and economics also affect the prices of fossil fuels.
Environmentalists have also spotted environmental impacts with regards to the use of fossil fuels. Its combustion results in emission of harmful gases in our atmosphere that causes drastic changes in our climate. These reasons also prompt different governments to prioritize the use of renewable energy to avoid energy shortage, economic, and environmental problems.
Renewable energy can go a long way in helping us achieve a stable and reliable energy supply in the future.
This website uses cookies that are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the privacy policy. By accepting this OR scrolling this page OR continuing to browse, you agree to our Privacy Policy