Технические науки/5. Энергетика
V.Marteniuk, K.Chala
National University of Food Technologies,
Kyiv, Ukraine
What are Alternative Energy Sources?
Alternative
energy encompasses all those things that do not consume fossil fuel. They are
widely available and environment friendly. They cause little or
almost no pollution. There have been several
alternative energy projects running in various countries to reduce
our dependence on traditional fossil fuels. There are many impressive options
that you can take into consideration such as solar
tankless water heater reviews. Here in you will learn more about alternative energy
sources that you can take into consideration.
Solar Energy
Solar energy is one the alternative energy
source that is used most widely across the globe. About 70% of the sunlight
gets reflected back into the space and we have only 30% of sunlight to meet up
our energy demands. While solar energy is used for producing solar energy, it
is also used for drying clothes, used by plants during the process of
photosynthesis and also used by human beings during winter seasons to make
their body temperature warm. Solar energy can be extracted either by Solar
Thermal or using Photovoltaic (PV) Cells.
Solar
energy does not create any pollution and is widely used by many countries. It
is renewable source of power since sun will continue to produce sunlight all
the years. Solar panels, which are required to harness this energy can be used
for long time and require little or no maintenance. Solar energy proves to be
ineffective in colder regions which don’t receive good sunlight. Solar energy advantages are much more than its disadvantages .
Geothermal energy
‘Geo’ means Earth and ‘thermal’ means energy. Geothermal energy means energy drawn or harnessed
from beneath the earth. It is completely clean and renewable. Geothermal energy
has been in used since last several years. The earth contains a molten rock
called magma. Heat is continuously produced from there. The temperature
increases about 3 degrees Celsius, for every 100 meters you go below ground.
Below, 10,000 meters the temperature is so high, that it can be used to boil
water. Water makes its way deep inside the earth and hot rock boils that water.
The boiling water then produces steam which is captured by geothermal heat pumps. The steam turns the turbines which
in turn activates generators. Geothermal energy produces no pollution, reduces
our alliance on fossil fuels.
Hydroelectric
Energy
Hydroelectric power stations capture the kinetic energy of moving water and
give mechanical energy to turbines. The moving turbines then convert mechanical
energy into electrical energy through generators. Dams around the world have
been built for this purpose only. Hydropower is the largest producer of
alternative energy in the world.
There are different types of hydropower plants. The selection of hydropower plant
depends on many volume and flow of water. Hydropower is renewable, constant,
predictable and controllable source of energy. They emit no greenhouse gases
and are environment friendly. On the negative side, they may cause adverse
effect on aquatic life, reduce flow of water which may affect agriculture,
require huge costs to build and may cause havoc if they get breakdown.
Biomass Energy
This is the process by which an alternative energy is generated through
conversion of biological materials and wastes into forms that can be used as
energy sources for heating, power generation and transportation. Those carbon
based substances or materials converted over a long period of time to fossil
fuels are not regarded as biomass. However, in their original state they are
regarded as biomass. This is because of the separation of the carbon they
previously contained from the carbon cycle. This makes them figure differently
affecting carbon dioxide levels in air. Biomass is renewable source of energy
as we would be able to produce it as long as crops, plants and waste exist.
Another advantage of biomass is that it helps to reduce landfills. Biomass is
comparatively ineffective as compared to fossil fuels. They release methane
gases which can be harmful to the environment.
Ocean Energy
The waves produced by the ocean and tides that hit the sea shore has enormous
potential in them. If they are harnessed with full capacity they can go a long
way in reducing world’s energy problems. There are 3 ways i.e. Tidal energy,
Wave energy and Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) via which ocean
energy can be harnessed. Tidal power
basically involves using kinetic energy from the incoming and outgoing tides.
The difference in high tides and low tides are also important in this respect.
The rise and fall of ocean tides are captured by tidal energy generators which
turn turbines.
Hydrogen
Energy
Hydrogen is the most abundant element available on earth but it is rarely
alone. Even water contains two third of hydrogen. It is usually available with
other elements and have to separated before we can make use of it. Hydrogen has
tremendous potential and can be used to power up homes, vehicles and even space
rockets. It takes a lot of energy to separate hydrogen from other elements and
therefore it proves to quite expensive to extract it.
The main benefit of hydrogen energy is that it is clean source of fuel
and does not leave any waste elements behind except water. There are no harmful
emissions and is environment friendly. It is completely renewable and can be
produced over and over again on demand. Dependency on fossil fuels still
remains as we need them to extract hydrogen from other elements. These are some
of the alternative energy sources that can be taken into consideration when
planning your energy production and usage.
Literature:
1.
( 2012 , 10) .Alternative Energy Sources
Researchomatic .Retrieved 10 , 2012, from http://www.researchomatic.com/Alternative-Energy-Sources-53253.html
2.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/alternativeenergysources.php
3. Alternative Energy
Sources Authors: Michaelides,
Efstathios E. Stathis ,2012,
4.
The Hype About Hydrogen Fact and Fiction in the Race to Save the Climate Joseph J. Romm
5.
Alternative Energy: Political, Economic, and Social FeasibilityPaperback. , December 28, 2006,