Introduction to solar, wind and geothermal energy:
Renewable energy comes from natural resources like sunlight, tides, wind, rain and geothermal heat. Three major renewable energy resources are wind power, solar energy and geothermal energy. Advantage of renewable energy is that they are inexhaustible, environmentally friendly with low dangerous pollutant emissions.
Solar energy
Solar energy is derived from the sun in the form of solar radiation. Electrical generation by solar power relies on heat engines and photovoltaic. Solar applications include day lighting, solar architecture, solar cooking, solar hot water and for industrial purposes.
Solar technologies can be classified as passive or active, depending on the method of intake, conversion and distribution of solar energy. Active solar techniques include solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include selecting materials, orienting to the Sun, light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy
Flow of air is used to run wind turbines which provide a source of clean and renewable energy for homes or business. Small wind energy devices generate power very cost effectively.
Wind turbines range from 600 kW to 5 MW of power. The power output is the cube of the wind speed, hence power output increases as the wind speed increases. Offshore and high altitude areas where winds are stronger are preferred for wind farms.
Advantages:
Wind energy is friendly to the surrounding environment,
Wind turbines take up less space than a power station.
The wind is free.
Wind turbines can generate energy in remote locations.
Disadvantages:
The winds unreliability factor, which can be too low to support a wind turbine or wind farm,
Wind turbines produce less electricity than fossil- fueled power station; hence multiple wind turbines are needed to make an impact.
Construction can be very expensive.
The noise pollution from commercial wind turbines is sometimes similar to a small jet engine.
Geothermal power energy
The earth contains a large amount of energy in the form of heat. Geothermal energy is obtained by using the earth's heat from kilometers deep into the Earth's crust or from some meters. All this geothermal energy has the potential to generate power to provide electricity.
Three different types of geothermal energy power plants are used to generate power: flash, dry steam and binary.
The best advantage of geothermal energy is that they are useful even in cold regions like Norway and Sweden by using ground source heat pumps.
Renewable energy comes from natural resources like sunlight, tides, wind, rain and geothermal heat. Three major renewable energy resources are wind power, solar energy and geothermal energy. Advantage of renewable energy is that they are inexhaustible, environmentally friendly with low dangerous pollutant emissions.
Solar energy
Solar energy is derived from the sun in the form of solar radiation. Electrical generation by solar power relies on heat engines and photovoltaic. Solar applications include day lighting, solar architecture, solar cooking, solar hot water and for industrial purposes.
Solar technologies can be classified as passive or active, depending on the method of intake, conversion and distribution of solar energy. Active solar techniques include solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include selecting materials, orienting to the Sun, light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
Advantages and disadvantages of wind energy
Flow of air is used to run wind turbines which provide a source of clean and renewable energy for homes or business. Small wind energy devices generate power very cost effectively.
Wind turbines range from 600 kW to 5 MW of power. The power output is the cube of the wind speed, hence power output increases as the wind speed increases. Offshore and high altitude areas where winds are stronger are preferred for wind farms.
Advantages:
Wind energy is friendly to the surrounding environment,
Wind turbines take up less space than a power station.
The wind is free.
Wind turbines can generate energy in remote locations.
Disadvantages:
The winds unreliability factor, which can be too low to support a wind turbine or wind farm,
Wind turbines produce less electricity than fossil- fueled power station; hence multiple wind turbines are needed to make an impact.
Construction can be very expensive.
The noise pollution from commercial wind turbines is sometimes similar to a small jet engine.
Geothermal power energy
The earth contains a large amount of energy in the form of heat. Geothermal energy is obtained by using the earth's heat from kilometers deep into the Earth's crust or from some meters. All this geothermal energy has the potential to generate power to provide electricity.
Three different types of geothermal energy power plants are used to generate power: flash, dry steam and binary.
The best advantage of geothermal energy is that they are useful even in cold regions like Norway and Sweden by using ground source heat pumps.
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