Renewable Energy

Renewable EnergyRenewable energy on the other hand quickly replaces itself and is usually available in a never-ending supply. Renewable energy comes from the natural flow of sunlight, wind, or water around the Earth. With the help of special collectors, we can capture some of this energy and put it to use in our homes and businesses. As long as sunlight, water and wind continue to flow and trees and other plants continue to grow, we have access to a ready of supply of energy.


Kinds of Renewable Energy :



Solar energy

Photo courtesy of DOE/NREL

Solar energy is being used to generate useful amounts of heat and electricity around the world. Photo courtesy of DOE/NREL Solar energyFor billions of years, the sun has poured out huge amounts of energy in several forms, including light, heat, radio waves, and even x-rays. The Earth, in orbit around the sun, intercepts a very small part of the sun's immense output. On Earth, direct sunlight is available from sunrise until sunset, except during solar eclipses. Solar collectors and modules are designed to capture some of the sun's energy and change it from radiation into more usable forms such as heat or electricity. In fact, sunlight is an excellent source of heat and electricity, the two most important forms of energy we consume. Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular for remote power needs such as telecommunication towers, agricultural applications (irrigation and pasture management), in tropical countries that are not connected to an electrical grid, for heating swimming pools, and many other applications around the world.

Wind energy

Wind energy is really just another form of solar energy. Sunlight falling on oceans and continents causes air to warm and rise, which in turn generates surface winds. The wind has been used by humans for thousands of years, first to carry ships across oceans and, later, to pump water and grind grain. More recently, wind has been harnessed as a clean, safe source of electricity.

Wind energy is proving to be an economical way to make electricity. Photo courtesy ofJim Hamm Productions

Biomass energy

The term "biomass" refers to any form of plant or animal tissue. In the energy industry, biomass refers to wood, straw, biological waste products such as manure, and other natural materials that contain stored energy. The energy stored in biomass can be released by burning the material directly, or by feeding it to micro-organisms that use it to make biogas, a form of natural gas. Energy from biomass is still used around the world, for everything from cooking and heating to generating electricity. This hybrid biodigester in Cambodia, uses pig dung as an energy source. Photo courtesy of Royal Universityof Agriculture of Cambodia