Energy is
one of the forms of existence and an essential component of the universe.
Renewable
energy is a type of energy that is inexhaustible and does not run out.
Renewable
energy sources are completely incompatible with their non-renewable sources, such
as natural gas and nuclear fuel.
There are
various types of renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy,
tidal energy, bioenergy, geothermal energy, hydroelectricity, and biofuels.
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| Types of Renewable Energy: A Complete Guide to Renewable Energy sources |
Awesome
Facts about Renewable Energy and Types of Renewable Energy Sources
Overview
Energy is usually derived from both
natural and non-natural sources.
So it is divided into two main
types: renewable energy, which is dependent on natural resources, and
non-renewable energy which is dependent on non-natural sources.
Both of them are formed over time
and under a combination of factors.
All these types of energy require
special mechanisms, tools, and techniques to be extracted and harnessed to give
benefits to humans.
In this article, we will highlight
renewable energy and everything related to it.
What is Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy is a type of energy
that is inexhaustible and does not run out.
It comes from natural resources such
as wind, water, and the sun.
The most important characteristic is
that it is clean and environmentally friendly; as it does not leave harmful
gases such as carbon dioxide, does not adversely affect the surrounding
environment, nor does it play an influential role in the temperature level.
Renewable energy sources are
completely incompatible with their non-renewable sources, such as natural gas
and nuclear fuel.
These sources lead to global warming
and release carbon dioxide when used.
Based on the importance of renewable
energy, a new type of business has recently emerged under the name of
"Renewable Energy Trading".
Most of its work focused on
harnessing renewable sources of energy and exploiting them as a source of
income and material benefit by promoting them.
Despite the high cost of using
renewable energy, the lack of sufficient mechanisms and technologies.
However, there are a large number of
countries that are preparing to start investment projects for renewable energy,
taking care to draw the dimensions of the project policies and work to develop
these projects.
Awesome Facts about Renewable Energy
There is a range of renewable energy
features that make renewable energy a distinct energy source. The most
important features include:
⤇Renewable energy is environmentally friendly and clean.
⤇Renewable energy is well established throughout the world.
⤇It uses uncomplicated techniques and can be manufactured locally in
developing countries.
⤇It exists permanently and is renewable again.
⤇It is easy to use based on simple techniques and mechanisms.
⤇It is very economical.
⤇It is an important factor in environmental, social and all fields.
⤇It helps create new jobs.
⤇It helps mitigate the damage of gas and thermal emissions.
⤇It limits the collection of waste in all its forms.
⤇It prevents harmful acid rain.
⤇It protects crops from chemical contaminants, thus raising
agricultural productivity.
Types of Renewable Energy Sources
Renewable energy comes from several
sources and has different types and can be divided into several categories:
Solar energy:
Solar energy is defined as the light and
heat coming from the sun. It is exploited by humans in their interests and
harnessed by technological means and techniques.
The sun can be harnessed to generate
thermal and electrical power, either electric power.
Solar energy was used in the
prehistoric era when monks used the gilded surfaces to ignite the scale of the
altar.
In 212 BC Archimedes burned the
Roman fleet by exposing the sun from a distance, using reflective mirrors.
In 1888, Edward Weston came up with
a way to convert solar energy into mechanical energy by using a so-called
thermodynamic process, creating an effort between hot and cold contact points
between two different metals, such as nickel and iron.
Solar energy is used by direct
heating or by mechanical and optical methods to convert it into electrical
energy through the use of thermal motors, solar cells, and photovoltaic (PV)
solar panels.
This harness has helped solve many
energy-related problems all around the world.
Bioenergy:
Bioenergy is renewable energy which
is derived from so-called biomass; organic matter that stores solar radiation
and converts it into chemical energy.
Biomass is fuel and bioenergy is the
energy that fuels contain.
The form of fuel can include wood,
sugar cane, straw, manure, and many other by-products from various agricultural
operations.
Biomass used as fuel is classified
into several types, such as animal, wood, fertilizer and grass waste and
biomass has no direct impact on its value as an energy source.
Bioenergy, in its narrowest sense,
is similar to fossil fuels and biofuels, which is derived from vital
sources.
In its broader sense, it includes
biomass, biomaterials that are used as biofuels, as well as the social,
economic, scientific and technical fields associated with the use of biogenic
sources as energy sources.
Sustainable biofuels:
Biofuel is a strong competitor to
oil in light of its high prices, which effectively contributes to the reduction
and moderation of oil prices.
It also plays a role in providing
health supplies from alternative sources of energy.
Biofuels are energy derived from
both plant and animal organisms. They are the most important sources of
renewable energy, unlike other natural resources such as oil, coal, all fossil
fuels, and nuclear fuel.
Biofuels are also obtained from the
industrial analysis of crops, and residues such as straw, wood, manure, rice
husk, sewage, waste decomposition, and food waste, which can be converted into
biogas by anaerobic digestion.
Some countries have begun to grow
certain types of plants specifically for use in biofuels, including corn and
soybeans in the United States, turnip in Europe, sugar cane in Brazil
and palm oil in Southeast Asia.
Wind energy:
People rely on wind turbines to extract
energy from the wind, generate electricity from it and use wind energy to
produce mechanical energy in so-called windmills.
Approximately 2% of the sunlight
that falls on the Earth's surface turns into wind energy.
This is a huge amount of energy,
which exceeds the world's need for consumption in any year.
Wind energy has multiple uses, the
most prominent are:
➤Pumping water with windmills; Windpump irrigation systems are
widely distributed in Australia, parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Wind power may soon be used to
generate electricity on farms and homes, at a lower cost than fuel.
➤It moves ships and pushes their sails.
Wind energy is highly reliable as a
good substitute for fossil fuels, and is available permanently and
continuously, and is considered one of the cleanest and environmentally
friendly sources of energy.
Tidal energy:
This kind of renewable energy
depends on the tidal phenomena, which occur under the influence of gravity
between the moon and the sun, and rotation of the Earth around its own axis.
These phenomena are exploited
depending on the currents stored in the water during the occurrence of tidal
phenomena.
During the process, the height of
the tides must be at least 5 m. Therefore, there are 100 sites in the world where
this condition is available.
The use of this technique in salt
water displays the metal parts used to rust and therefore it is necessary to
care and permanent maintenance as this may raise the costs and therefore low
profit.
Wave and tidal energy technologies
are used in many countries to generate electricity.
This process is done by building
dams or turbines, in order to relieve pressure on thermal power plants to
reduce pollution caused by coal-fired or petrochemical plants.
Hydroelectric energy:
Water has been a source of energy
for centuries. It was used to move flour mills and grains, pump water to the
Nile.
The term hydroelectric is a
comprehensive term for electricity and water.
This type of energy is used in the
exploitation of hydropower to generate electricity, and it is very clean and
widespread energy.
In the process of exploitation of
this energy, it depends entirely on the potential of water or the energy of the
situation, and converted into kinetic energy through the fall of water and flow
from top to bottom, to manage the turbines generation, the generator starts
rotating, and thus produces electricity.
One of the most important advantages
of the use of hydropower is that it is environmentally friendly.
This is useful in the process of regulating
irrigation, besides electricity generation, does not require high costs for
maintenance as water turbines are easy to install and operate and this process
only requires some money to build a dam or a reservoir.
The most important forms of hydropower
are:
- Irrigation channels
- Tidal Energy.
- Wave energy.
- Electric power.
Geothermal energy:
Geothermal energy efficiency and
stations are relatively low.
The temperature of water extracted
from the ground is the main determinant of the efficiency of geothermal power
plants during power generation, as a result of the low water temperature being
lifted.
Geothermal power stations have been
characterized by low efficiency.
The geothermal power plant produces
this type of energy from the Earth's surface.
Geothermal energy is considered
an environmentally friendly species because of its cleanness and regeneration
and it is characterized by high temperature, and increases the higher the depth
in the ground, and depends heavily on the generation of electricity.
This process needs to reach deep
underground, up to five kilometers, through the drilling of pipes and can be
exploited and harnessed for the benefit of the world to supply energy.
The most important sources of heat
include:
- Radioactivity.
- Geothermal power plants.
- Hot dry rock geothermal energy.
Benefits of Renewable Energy
The benefits of renewable energy
vary according to the field in which they are used.
Military
Academy: The most important
applications of renewable energy in the military academies and army training
centers, which can be used to facilitate life in new military cities include:
➞Solar heating system for military colleges, to meet the needs of
students.
➞Supply of units with hot water, through the use of Solar Water
Heaters.
➞Water desalination by solar energy.
➞Fixed wireless broadband solutions for rural electric cooperatives.
Residential and
Commercial Area: Renewable
energy is of great importance to the lives of the population.
⤇Heating water for use for cleaning, bathing, washing, and so using
solar collectors, without converting it to any other form of energy, is the
cheapest energy types altogether.
⤇Solar water heating by using the solar absorber plate.
Agricultural
field: There are many uses of
renewable energy in agricultural use such as:
⤇Drying of agricultural products.
⤇Solar greenhouses for cold climates.
Industrial
area: There are
various applications in the industrial area such as:
➞Water distillation.
➞Charging batteries in TV and wireless terminals.
➞Lighting of navigational passages.
➞Navigational alarms.
➞Operating system speakers.
➞Charging of electric batteries.
➞Electricity generation in remote villages.
Conclusion
Renewable energy is the energy that
is not implemented, permanent and immature, available in nature and constantly
renewable because it is derived from nature and its components, for example,
wind, water, sun and wave movement, and different from other energy sources
such as fossil fuels and nuclear and petroleum and their derivatives.
Renewable energy has many advantages that
encourage its use, as the whole future is now turning to the use of renewable
energy sources in all matters of life, and to dispense with other sources of
energy because they will be depleted sooner or later.