- 1. Renewable energyby Dani Viudez Ryan
2. Renewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from
natural resourcessuch as sunlight,wind,rain,tides, and geothermal
heat, whichare renewable (naturally replenished). About 16% of
global finalenergy consumption comes from renewables, with 10%
comingfrom traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating,
and3.4% from hidroelecticity. New renewables (smallhydro, modern
biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels)account another 2.8%
and are growing very rapidly. The shareof renewables in electricity
generation is around 19%, with 16%of global electricity coming from
hydroelectricity and 3% fromnew renewables. 3. Types of renewable
energy: Wind power: wind Hydropower: water Solar energy: the sun
Biomass: organic material Biofuel:solid biomass,liquid fuels and
biogases Goethermal energy: heat of the Earth Wave power: the ocean
4. Wind power Wind power is the conversionof wind energy into a
usefulform of energy, by usingwind turbines to makeelectricity,
windmills formechanicalpower, windpumps for waterpumping or
drainage, orsails to propel ships. The total amount ofeconomically
extractablepower available from thewind is considerably morethan
present human poweruse from all sources 5.
HidropowerHydroelectricity is the term referring toelectricity
generated by hydropower; theproduction of electrical power through
theuse of the gravitational force of falling orflowing water. It is
the most widely usedform of renewable energy. Once ahydroelectric
complex is constructed, theproject produces no direct waste, and
has aconsiderably lower output level of thegreenhouse gas carbon
dioxide (CO2) thanfossilfuel powered energy plants.Worldwide, an
installed capacity of 1,010GW supplied hydroelectricity in
2010.Approximately 16% of the worldselectricity is renewable, with
hydroelectricityaccounting for 21% of renewable sourcesand 3.4% of
total energy sources. 6. Solar energySolar energy, radiant light
andheat from the sun, has beenharnessed by humans since
ancienttimes using a range of ever-evolving technologies.
Solarradiation, along with secondarysolar-powered resources such
aswind and wavepower, hydroelecticity andbiomass, account for most
of theavailable renewable energy onearth. Only a minuscule
fractionof the available solar energy isused. 7. BiomassBiomass, as
a renewable energy source, is biologicalmaterial from living, or
recently living organisms .As anenergy source, biomass can either
be used directly, orconverted into other energy products such as
biofuel. 8. BiofuelBiofuel is a type of fuel whose energy isderived
from biological carbon fixation.Biofuels include fuels derived from
biomassconversion, as well as solidbiomass, liquidfuels and various
biogases.Although fossil fuels have their origin inancient carbon
fixation , they are notconsidered biofuels by the generally
accepteddefinition because they contain carbon thathas been "out"
of the carbon cycle for a verylong time. Biofuels are gaining
increasedpublic and scientific attention, driven byfactors such as
oil price spikes, the need forincreased energy security, concern
overgreenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, and support from
government subsidies. 9. Goethermal energyGeothermal energy is
thermal energygenerated and stored in the Earth.Thermal energy is
the energy thatdetermines the temperature of matter.Earths
geothermal energy originatesfrom the original formation of
theplanet (20%) and from radioactivedecay of
minerals(80%).Thegeothermal gradient, whichis the difference in
temperature betweenthe core of the planet and itssurface, drives a
continuous conductionof thermal energy in the form of heatfrom the
core to the surface. Theadjective geothermal originates fromthe
Greek roots geo, meaningearth, and thermos, meaning heat. 10. Wave
power Wave power is the transport of energyby ocean surface waves ,
and thecapture of that energy to do usefulwork for
example,electricitygeneration ,water destilation, or thepumping of
water (into reservoirs).Machinery able to exploit wave power
isgenerally known as a wave energyconverter (WEC). Wave power is
distinct from thediurnal flux of tidal power and thesteady gyre of
ocean currents. Wavepower generation is not currently awidely
employed commercial technologyalthough there have been attempts
atusing it since at least 1890. In2008, the first experimental
wavefarmwas opened in Portugal, at theagucadoura wave park.
