What are the Sources of Renewable Energy?

24 June 2010
Posted in Alternative Energy

For many years people have been burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas to generate energy, except now sources of fossil fuels are running out - and they create pollution to the environment when they are burned too. People are now realizing that we have to find sources of renewable energy. These types of sources include solar, wind and marine energy.

One of the most widely used and well-known sources of renewable energy is solar power. Everyday the sun produces a vast amount of energy and that sunlight can be utilized and converted into electricity using different technologies. It can be absorbed in solar collectors. These are the heat-absorbing panels that you see installed on many rooftops. The way these solar collectors work is that they absorb solar energy and convert it to heat energy. Water is heated by the heat energy and stored in tanks. Solar collectors are being used to heat the water in your home as well as to heat swimming pool. Both uses take advantage of the same technologies.

Wind power is another main sources of renewable energy. The energy contained in the wind comes indirectly from the sun, that is the sun heats the surface of the atmosphere and causes the wind to blow. Wind power is preferred to the use of fossil fuels because it does not produce any greenhouse gases and it is an abundant resource.  The concept of using wind energy is not new. Wind power was initially being used to produce electricity by the ancient Egyptians and by the beginning of the 20th century wind power was used extensively in Europe, in particular Denmark.  But it was the introduction of cheap oil and gas that ruined the wind power industry. It is only at this time that people are getting interested in wind power once again because of the issues with pollution and green house gas emissions.

Scientists are working at developing technologies that obtain energy/power from the waves and the tides. Marine energy is thus another of the main sources of renewable energy. As an energy source it is sustainable and has very little impact on the environment. Using water to generate energy is a relatively new idea and there are no commercial wave energy devices on the market at this point of time. However, there is some technology that is being used and experimented. One example that is producing power on the Scottish island of Islay is a device called a LIMPET. More and more technologies are being developed all the time. Look out for any new innovations in marine energy technology next time you pick up the newspaper or an environmental magazine.  

Geothermal energy is the last in the sources of renewable energy that will be talked about in this article. The simplest way to make full use of geothermal energy is by salt water and steam that is trapped in the many layers of rock below the earth’s core. Natural hot springs are the most common type of geothermal energy that has been used in the last few centuries. But, geothermal heat pumps are the new "it" energy product.  Although geothermal energy is sustainable, it is not readily available. This is because not everybody lives by a geothermal reservoir and that often the technology is far too costly. But it is still good to have this as an option.