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Clean Energy
With the increasing costs of fossil fuels and also their impact on the environment, people are looking to more environmentally friendly means of power. This is done through clean energy, also known as renewable energy. Read on to learn more about some types of clean energy.
What is Clean Energy and how is it used?
Clean energy can be defined as energy that is created from renewable resources with a low environmental impact. Such resources may include sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat.
Clean energy is used to generate electricity for domestic and commercial usage, for heating and cooling buildings, for transportation fuels, and for heat in industrial processes.
Hydropower
Hydropower is one of the largest sources of renewable energy. Hydropower is produced when flowing water is converted into usable energy. Most of the water comes from rivers and is released through turbines to produce energy. This type of energy does not release pollution into the air but it can potentially harm fish and wildlife and alter the quality of the water. Hydropower technology is currently being developed further in order to harness the energy in ocean tides, waves, and currents.
Biomass
Biomass is plant or animal material, and biomass gasification is a way of drawing renewable energy from it. The gasification process produces negligible amounts of greenhouse gases and polluting emissions and generates bioenergy – stored solar energy that can be converted to fuel or electricity.
Some types of biomass include:
• wood waste
• paper waste
• yard clippings
• agricultural residues
• used vegetable oils
• fast growing trees and grasses
• animal waste
Geothermal Heat
Geothermal energy is produced from the naturally occurring steam and hot water that lies underneath the earth’s surface. The steam escapes to the surface in a controlled manner through wells drilled into the earth and rotates a turbine, which in turn powers an electric generator. Also, hot water can be used to directly heat buildings. One disadvantage to geothermal energy is that land sites are rare and hard to find. However, this form of energy is very cost effective and reliable.
Wind Power
In wind energy, the wind rotates blades around a hub which is connected to a main shaft. The main shaft then spins a generator. The size of the turbines will depend on how much energy is required. Small wind turbines are used in homes and farms. While wind energy is very environmentally friendly, the technology is very expensive, the machinery can be noisy, and you are reliant on how much wind there is.
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