Renewable Energy : The Energy

Renewable energy has the ability to play a major role in the energy industry of the twenty-first century. Shell and other big oil companies are ironically investing in renewable energy sources. Environmental experts realize that renewable energy helps reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. They also predict that by the year 2050, renewable power may grow to supply half the world’s energy. It may seem unreachable, but generating electricity by using the constant power of the sun and wind is already a reality. Solar power relies on the energy produced by the sun, storing energy for nighttime as well. “This energy can be converted in many ways, such as simple water heating or by the direct conversion of sunlight to energy using mirrors or boilers” (Riley).

In the disadvantages of hydro-energy, dams are extremely expensive to build, and must have high standards. People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move out. This means that they lose their farms and businesses. In some countries, people are forcibly removed so that hydropower schemes can go ahead. (Technologystudent.com, 2015). Building dams can also create natural disasters such as earthquakes.

Everyone uses a lot of power for lighting, heating, machines, movements, and so much more. All of that energy has to come from an energy supply. Some energy resources are renewable, while others are non-renewable. Energy has various forms and is a very essential part of our everyday lives.

Renewable energy sources, like hydroelectric, solar, and wind, have proven to be hugely ineffective because they do not generate large enough quantities of electricity (Canadian Nuclear Association, 2013). For instance, a total land area of 40 times the size of Metropolitan Toronto would be needed to generate enough power for the city of Toronto using wind energy (Canadian Nuclear Association, 2013). Moreover, renewable energy sources heavily depend on the weather when generating power. For example, hydroelectric generators require rainfall to flood damns and create flowing water, wind turbines require powerful winds to turn the blades, and solar panels require clear skies and ample amounts of sunshine to produce electricity (Solar Schools, n.d.). Thus, renewable energy sources become unpredictable and inconsistent without these weather conditions.

that are bringing the world closer and closer to global warming. As of right now, America’s economy is mostly dependent on destructive fossil fuels for its energy supply. Our country is producing a quarter of the world’s pollution. Usage of fossil fuels has increasingly contributed to the CO2 emissions, which is polluting our environment. It is destroying natural habitats and causing an increase in health problems. If our harmful methods continue, our planet will eventually become uninhabitable. Fossil fuels are considered a nonrenewable resource, which means we are required to find a new and clean renewable energy source. These new energy sources must be readily available for the world’s energy demands. Our vision should focus on environmentally friendly and efficient energies such as wind and solar power. Becoming more dependent on wind and solar power would mean having an infinite amount of energy and create more job opportunities, which would help the world’s economy as well.

Due to the escalation in prices of the conventional sources of energy such as fossil and nuclear fuels and their harmful effects on the environment, there is a strong motivation to develop and utilize an alternative energy resources such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal sources... etc cite{Karki2001}- cite{Fialho2015}-cite{Zhou2007}. In 2014, renewable energy overall expanded significantly in terms

When the new Southeast Polk High School opened they added many new energy saving products. This included installing geothermal heating under the high school cutting back on the cost of heating such a large building. Many new windows help save on energy used to light the building along with automatic lights that turn off after several minutes without movement. The new high school shows how easy it is to save money and help the environment. Renewable energy is good for all aspects of the U.S, providing jobs, economical growth, environmental cleanliness, and new research for improving energy efficiency. Therefore the United States should use renewable energy to benefit the economy and environment.

Currently in the U.S. we rely on non-renewable sources to produce our energy such as oil, coal, natural gas and nuclear energy. Although these methods do well producing energy, they also have large down falls environmental, economically, and in other ways that fail to show a promising future. This makes it necessary that we adapt alternative renewable energy methods that do not have these effects, and can insure a promising future.

One resource that is essential to produce electricity is renewable energy. Providing one’s own energy consists of utilizing solar panels, wind turbines and micro hydroelectricity. Solar panels absorb energy from the Sun to produce solar energy. A great number of people who live off the grid use solar power. Wind turbines generate electrical power from the wind and functions in the reverse manner as a fan does. Micro hydroelectricity is another source of energy, which fascinatingly “uses a source of running water, like a stream, to generate electricity” (Dunn 3). Between all three sources of renewable energy, micro hydroelectricity is the most efficient, reliable and commonly used form.

For wind, its kinetic energy turns rotor blades of the windmill and the rotor turns and shaft connected to a generator. DC output can be stored in battery or converted to AC and fed into a grid. Minimum wind speeds are required to produce electricity and the Midwest and offshore areas provide such conditions (Hinrichs 398). Like most forms of energy, efficient storage is key. Wind is not constant and money would be put towards research and development to find the most efficient way to store wind energy. For solar, photovoltaic cells convert the suns energy directly into electricity. (Hinrchs 375). Photovoltaic cells are made of silicon, which is plentiful. When radiation hits a cell, electrons are knocked free and this photoelectric effect creates a direct current, which is converted to an alternating current (“Solar Energy”). For solar concentration systems, mirrors are manipulated to redirect the sun’s rays to heat water. The flashing water creates steam and like other energy producing plants, the steam is used to turn a turbine. The mechanical energy is then turned into electrical energy (“How It Works”).

Abstract: Can the Quapaw Tribe Benefit from Renewable Resources? The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) finds low potential for wind and photovoltaic energy, with favorable potential for geothermal. While this is limiting in terms of options which are currently available it is also good for the Quapaw tribe as this means that there is an option available to the tribe. This entails that implantation of geothermal energy can be achieved successfully to mitigate energy cost.

Bilen et al., (2008:1531) predicted that global energy consumption will account for around 85% of the increase in world primary demand over 2002– 2030. The increasing of global energy demand happens the global stock of fossil fuel resources may be adequate for short term period, thus requiring the development of renewable energy sources, which would not decrease the stock of fossil fuel resources available for future generation. There is an increasing interest in the development of renewable energies such as biofuel and wind power, which have a great potential energy to produce enough power for the world’s population demand.

Energy is a crucial necessity and with the ever increasing need for it and the high and fluctuating prices of oil, researchers are constantly coming up with newer and more sophisticated alternative sources of energy. However, energy comes at a cost, as it is either expensive or it possesses high health risks. This essay presents the concept of energy by discussing the two major types of energy, the various forms it could take, including renewable sources of energy, energy conservation and above all it talks about the safest and cleanest alternatives.

The renewable sources of energy listed above have some advantages. They are naturally occurring and thus do not require much effort to harness. Besides, they are natural components of the environment whose use does not contribute to environmental pollution (Tiwari et al., 2012). The fact that they are never depleted also guarantees users who have installed the necessary harnessing machinery, of a continuous supply of energy. Despite these advantages, however, there also exist some demerits. Much as these sources are

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat—which are renewable (naturally replenished). Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity/micro hydro, biomass and biofuels for transportation.