Renewable Energy
Any energy resource that is naturally regenerated over a short time scale and derived directly from the sun (such as thermal, photochemical, and photoelectric), indirectly from the sun (such as wind, hydropower, and photosynthetic energy stored in biomass), or from other natural movements and mechanisms of the environment (such as geothermal and tidal energy). Renewable energy does not include energy resources derived from fossil fuels, waste products from fossil sources, or waste products from inorganic sources.
Advantages
Disadvantages
• Located in desert/high intensity/long sunlight hours
• Parabolic mirrors reflect/focus sun’s rays onto metal water pipe located along focal axis of mirrors.
• High temperature produced - steam - electrical power generated .
• Solar power plants
• Steam produced to turn turbine
• Solar heating
• Active and passive systems
• Photovoltaic cells
• “Solar batteries” use special semiconductors
Advantages
• Renewable and free
• High energy yield
• A very clean source of energy
• No air/water pollution during operation
• Low operating costs
• Will pay for themselves over time
Disadvantages
• Intermittent source
• Energy storage issues
• Low energy density
• Requires pretty much land
Hydroelectric
• Currently largest source of electricity from renewables.
• Needs guaranteed supply of water.
• Kinetic energy of water rotates turbines which generate electricity.
Advantages
Biomass Energy
§ Possible decrease in agricultural food productivity
Any energy resource that is naturally regenerated over a short time scale and derived directly from the sun (such as thermal, photochemical, and photoelectric), indirectly from the sun (such as wind, hydropower, and photosynthetic energy stored in biomass), or from other natural movements and mechanisms of the environment (such as geothermal and tidal energy). Renewable energy does not include energy resources derived from fossil fuels, waste products from fossil sources, or waste products from inorganic sources.
Advantages
- Fuel used for these renewable resource equipments are completely natural and readily available in nature.
- Renewable energy can be used continuously without even the need of depleting it.
- There are no waste products produced with the help of renewable energy.
- Investing in renewable energy products can help you gain a lot of income.
- it is renewable it is therefore sustainable and so will never run out.
- It has no harmful impact on the environment.
- It helps in conserving or preserving nature.
- They are healthy and good for earth.
- It reduces the cost of operation.
- It doesn’t have any impact on the global warming effect.
- There will be no contribution towards global warming.
Disadvantages
- we need to reduce the amount of energy we use or simply build more energy facilities.
- They are not reliable in supplying energy.
- It depends entirely on the climatic conditions. Only if the weather is good, it will help you in supplying adequate power.
- The cost of the renewable energy products can be very expensive sometimes and thus a common man might not be able to afford it.
- Have to reduce the quantity of energy that we consume.
- Compared to those fossil-fuel generators, the renewable energy will face hard times to produce electricity in large quantities.
• Located in desert/high intensity/long sunlight hours
• Parabolic mirrors reflect/focus sun’s rays onto metal water pipe located along focal axis of mirrors.
• High temperature produced - steam - electrical power generated .
• Solar power plants
• Steam produced to turn turbine
• Solar heating
• Active and passive systems
• Photovoltaic cells
• “Solar batteries” use special semiconductors
Advantages
• Renewable and free
• High energy yield
• A very clean source of energy
• No air/water pollution during operation
• Low operating costs
• Will pay for themselves over time
Disadvantages
• Intermittent source
• Energy storage issues
• Low energy density
• Requires pretty much land
Hydroelectric
• Currently largest source of electricity from renewables.
• Needs guaranteed supply of water.
• Kinetic energy of water rotates turbines which generate electricity.
Advantages
- Cheap to operate
- Long life and lower operating costs than all other power plants
- Renewable
- High yield
- Lower energy cost than any other method
- Pretty plentiful
- Some countries depend almost entirely on it
- Reservoirs have multiple uses
- Flood control, drinking water, aquaculture, recreation
- Less air pollution than fossil fuel combustion
- Human population displacement
- More significant breeding ground for diseas
- Reduces availability of water downstream
- Ecosystem impacts
- Barriers to migrating fish
- Loss of biodiversity both upstream and downstream
- Coastal erosion
- Reduces nutrient flow (dissolved and particulate)
- Water pollution problems
- Low dissolved oxygen (DO)
- Increased H2S toxicity; other DO-related problems
- Wind turbines directly generate electricity
- Quite efficient (not a heat engine)
- High net energy yield
- Renewable and free
- Very clean source of energy
- Long operating life
- Low operating/maintenance costs
- Can be quickly built; not too expensive
- Energy storage issues
- An intermittent source of energy; need backup (eg stored energy) for low-wind day Or must be connected to the electrical grid.
- Only practical in areas that are windy enough
Biomass Energy
- Biomass energy is the use of living and recently dead biological material as an energy source
- Ultimately dependent on the capture of solar energy and conversion to a chemical (carbohydrate) fuel
- Theoretically it is a carbon neutral and renewable source of energy
- Versatile
- Renewable
- Low energy density/yield
§ Possible decrease in agricultural food productivity
- Usual problems associated with intensive agriculture