Date. 1st December 2023
Renewable energy is defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,renewable energy includes resources that rely on fuel sources that restore themselves over short periods of time and do not diminish.
It should be clear how most of these sources fit the definition of renewable energy resources that rely on fuel sources that restore themselves over short periods of time, do not diminish and have various benefits and drawbacks. Please note that some advantages and disadvantages is provided that will give you a solid idea of them.
Solar energy comes directly from the sun, which comes every day in most locations and does not diminish appreciably over time. Yes, the intensity does ebb and flow on short and long timescales, but it is hopefully not going away anytime soon. If the sun burns out and stops shining, we have bigger problems than solar panels not working.
Solar Energy
Wind Energy
Hydro Energy
Tidal Energy
Geothermal Energy
Biomass and Biofuels Energy
Sunlight is one of our planet’s most abundant and freely available energy resources. The amount of solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface in one hour is more than the planet’s total energy requirements for a whole year. Although it sounds like a perfect renewable energy source, the amount of solar energy we can use varies according to the time of day and the season of the year as well as geographical location. In the UK, solar energy is an increasingly popular way to supplement energy usages.
Wind is a plentiful source of clean energy. Wind farms are an increasingly familiar sight in the UK with wind power making an ever-increasing contribution to the National Grid. To harness electricity from wind energy, turbines are used to drive generators which then feed electricity into the National Grid. Although domestic or off-grid generation systems are available, not every property is suitable for a domestic wind turbine.
As a renewable energy resource, hydro power is one of the most commercially developed. By building a dam or barrier, a large reservoir can be used to create a controlled flow of water that will drive a turbine, generating electricity. This energy source can often be reliable as much as solar or wind power especially if it's tidal rather than river and also allows electricity to be stored for use when demand reaches a peak. Like wind energy, in certain situations hydro can be more viable as a commercial energy source, dependent on type and compared to other sources of energy but depending very much on the type of property, it can be used for domestic and commercial purposes.
This is another form of hydro energy that uses twice-daily, tidal currents is use to drive turbine generators. Although tidal flow unlike some other hydro energy sources, it is highly predictable and can therefore compensate for the periods when the tide current is low.
By harnessing the natural heat below the earth’s surface, geothermal energy can be used to heat homes directly or to generate electricity. Although it harnesses a power directly below our feet, geothermal energy is of negligible importance in the UK compared to countries such as Iceland, where geothermal heat is much more freely available.
They are both derived from living or recently living things trees, corn, algae, sugarcane, etc. They also get their energy from the sun anyone sensing a pattern here and plants are usually pretty good at regenerating themselves.
All forms of biomass and biofuels are renewable. Corn-based ethanol is the most-used source of bio-based energy in the U.S. Corn can be grown in the same field year after year, so it is renewable. The primary source of bioenergy in Brazil is sugarcane. Nearly all of Brazil's vehicles are able to use 100% sugarcane ethanol for fuel. Contrast this with the U.S., where most automobile engines are only required to be able to handle up to 10% ethanol. Sugarcane grows year-round in Brazil, so is definitely renewable.
There are many other biomass sources of renewable, including animal dung, algae for biodiesel, jatropha nut, soybean, switchgrass, and more. Wood is used around the world as a source of heat, particularly for cooking. Most trees and shrubs regrow relatively quickly, so they are generally considered renewable. But even a fast-growing tree like an oak up to two feet per year, according to the National Arbor Day Foundation has limits. Though most biomass sources are considered renewable, keep this in mind. If youharvest a renewable resource faster than it regenerates, it will not be able to renew itself over time efficiently.
Some benefits of solar energy are that it is relatively predictable and reliable, it is effectively limitless, and that it does not create any emissions or pollution when generating energy.
More good news is that the wind will never disappear as long as the sun shines and the earth is spherical, and like solar, wind does not generate emissions.
The main drawback is that it is intermittent, both in terms of the sun only being in the sky 50% of the time, and that weather can impact it significantly. Solar is also very diffuse, meaning that it is not very concentrated, and so, usually a large area is required to provide a lot of useful energy. Solar PV used to be very expensive but is now cost-competitive.
The wind gets its energy from the sun, it is caused mostly by differential heating across the surface of the earth so cannot be used up either.
In terms of other benefits, like solar and wind, hydropower does not generate emissions, and is very consistent and reliable in most locations. Though it should be noted that some methane emissions result when organic material behind dams decomposes.
Wind is variable more in some locations than others and is less predictable than solar energy in most locations.
Hydropower is the power in moving water and gets its energy from the sun as well and is even more consistent in most locations than the wind.
Think for a moment how the energy in moving water started out as solar energy. This is a good thought experiment in energy conversion. Remember that water flows downhill, and so the motion energy in flowing water started out as gravitational potential energy. How does water get this potential energy, i.e., how does it get uphill? Mostly from evaporation caused by the sun!
In terms of other benefits, like solar and wind, hydropower does not generate emissions, and is very consistent and reliable in most locations. Though it should be noted that some methane emissions result when organic material behind dams decomposes.
There are some drawbacks associated with large hydropower installations for some examples, and in some cases, very big environmental and social drawbacks e.g., in the Three Gorges Damlink is external in China. All of these factors are important to keep in mind. Hydroelectricity is the single biggest source of renewable electricity in the world.
One additional drawback of all of the above sources is that they are each location-specific. In other words, some locations may have a lot of sun, wind, and hydro, while others may have very little. This problem can be at least partially solved by transporting electricity, but that is not always easy, and often expensive.
All of these sources renew themselves over short periods of time and do not diminish. And though intermittent, none of these sources are going to disappear in the foreseeable future.
Agrivoltaics are a burgeoning system. Agrivotaics combines its agriculture and photovoltaics. Ground-mounted solar arrays are a great application of solar PV technology, but they do take up a lot of space relative to their energy output. So why not find a way to use all of this space. Enter agrivoltaics! With some careful design considerations e.g., knowing which plants are shade-tolerant or even prefer some shade, crops can not only be successful but in some cases more successful in terms of production than when planted in an open field. This is particularly helpful in hot, dry climates, such as the eastern part of Colorado, which is pictured below. But it can be successful in more humid and cooler climates as well.
Agrivoltaics are becoming increasingly recognized and researched throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Most renewable energy sources are carbonfree. This means that they do not emit any carbon dioxide when they generate energy. Solar, wind, and hydroelectric are carbon-free. Nuclear, though not renewable, is also considered a carbon-free energy source, because unlike coal and natural gas, it does not burn. As noted in a previous study, nuclear energy generates heat through fission, not combustion. Biomass and biofuels are often considered carbon-neutral because they emit carbon dioxide when they are burned. So, why are they carbon neutral.
Neutral wood pellets. This is printed on a bag of wood pellets, which are used for heating in a pellet stove. These emit CO2 when burned, but effectively do not impact the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The pellets are made of leftover sawdust from timber operations. Note that CO2 was emitted in processing, packaging, and shipping.
This refers to all original or primary energy consumed. For example, if your electricity is supplied by a power plant, the energy your electronic device is using right now is not primary energy because the electricity was converted from an original source, example coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear. Given that electricity generation is always less than 100% efficient sometimes much less, per the previous section, the primary energy used by your device is greater than what shows up on your electric bill.
Another interesting thing to point out is that biofuels are lumped together with waste. In many parts of the world, including many states in the U.S., if you burn garbage to produce heat andor electricity, it is considered a biofuel, and thus renewable. To note that biofuels and biomass constitute the majority of the global energy.
Hydro is at only 2.5%. But wind and solar in the U.S., and in other parts of the world. contribution was so small that it was lumped into the category at a measly 1.7%. This has improved since 2015 and was 1.1% of the total in 2012, and in fact has been growing at an all-time high rate, but there is still a long way to go before wind and solar make a major dent in the global energy regime.
Is a good source of information for international energy data. The US EIA publishes international data, but IEA is usually the first place to look. Note that the energy unit they use is Mtoe, which stands for million tons of oil equivalent. A Mtoe is equivalent to about 0.04 quads. In other words, there are about 25 Mtoe in a quad. The amount of energy is not important for our purposes, but please take note of the percent of the total that each energy source provides.
FYI, another good, reliable source of global energy data is BP's annual "Statistical Review of World Energy.
Renewable energies such as solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal and biomass and biofuels energyhave the potential to create far more energy than the world currently needs. Yet, this potential does not match what we can currently achieve. One challenge is to set up enough capacity to capture the energy of, for example, sunlight or wind and convert it to a usable format, such as electricity. Another challenge is to be able transport the energy to where it is needed or store it for later use.
A future energy system needs to be resilient and adaptable to the impacts of climate change, such as droughts, heatwaves and storms. As these energy power increases, the system also needs to be flexible enough to function well even when the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine.A flexible power system can ensure a steady supply of energy and reduce peak demand. Apart from ensuring diversity in energy sources, the system can be improved, by energy storage.Efficient integration of the energies, especially solar inresidential industrialand commercial sectors which will address the demand through cost analysis and obtained market shares and profitability.
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