CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
(CCRES)
Sources of Alternative Energy
Alternative energy or renewable
energy is important for creating clean energy future not only for the
individual nations but the whole world. It offers excellent alternatives to the
fossil fuels to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.
The sources of the alternative energy are inexhaustible and one can rely on
them for long-term basis Here are some important sources of alternative energy:
1)
Solar energy:
The
energy obtained from the radiations of the sun is called as solar energy. Sun
is the massive source of energy releasing radiations since billions of years
non-stop. The radiations emitted by sun are vital for all the plant, animal and
human lives on the earth. At present solar energy is being tapped successfully
for a number of applications.
Solar cooker is
small box type equipment used for cooking of the food without requiring any
additional fuel. There are number of variations of solar cooker with different
efficiencies and different sizes. Solar water heaters are used extensively for
heating water that can be used for bathing, domestic use and industrial
purposes. It saves lots of electricity costs and the burning of other fuels like
wood, coal, LPG etc. Another very important application of the solar energy is
the photovoltaic or PV cells. The PV cells comprise of the solar panels that
absorb solar energy and store them in the batteries. The energy from the
batteries can be used for different domestic as well industrial applications
Besides these,
there are number of other applications of solar energy like solar street
lights, solar lanterns, calculators, mobiles etc. Solar energy is available
abundantly in countries like India, China, US and others. It is considered to
be one of the most resourceful sources of energy for future.
2) Wind energy:
The energy obtained from naturally flowing wind in the atmosphere is
called as wind energy. Wind energy is available extensively in specific
geographical locations without any costs. The wind in motion carries kinetic
energy and it can be converted into mechanical and electrical energy. Presently
wind energy is widely used for the generation of electricity.
To tap the energy
from wind turbines are used. The wind turbine comprises of large blades looking
like the fan. The blades are attached to the hub, which in turn is mounted on a
shaft When the moving wind comes in contact with the blades it causes the
rotation of the blades, which in turn causes the rotation of the shaft at low
speeds. This shaft is connected to the gear box and causes slow rotation of the
input gears and fast rotation of output gears and shaft. The output shaft
rotates in an alternator that produces electricity. To get sufficient amount of
grid power, large number of wind turbines are required at a specific location,
which is called as wind farm or wind power plant.
3) Hydropower:
The power obtained from the flow of water is called as
hydraulic power or hydro power or water power. The alternative energy from
water can be obtained in a number of ways, the most popular being the
hydroelectric power plants. In these power plants huge dams are built across
the flow of the river. The water is stored in the dam at large heights and it
carries potential energy. When the water flows down the potential energy is
converted into kinetic energy. The flowing water comes in contacts with the
large water turbines and makes them rotate in the transformer that produces
electricity. Hydroelectric power plants are important source of electricity in
a number of countries including US, China, India, Russia, and others.
Alternative
energy obtained from the tides of the oceans is called as tidal energy. The
waves in the waters of the oceans can also be utilized to produce electricity.
4) Geothermal
Energy:
The heat energy obtained from the
deep layers of earth is called as geothermal energy. The heat is produced
continuously in the deep layers of earth, which can be utilized for various
purposes like heating water, operating the heat pumps, producing electricity
etc. Large amount of heat is generated in the core of earth and it gets
conducted through the surrounding layers of rock. It comes to the surface of
the earth in various forms like lava, hot springs etc, while other heat is
stored below the surface of the earth. This heat is the geothermal energy and
is available in unlimited quantity.
5) Biomass
energy:
Biomass is the organic material
obtained from the plants. The plants absorb energy from the sun by the process
of photosynthesis so the energy is store in them. The biomass is the garbage
leftover by the plants in the form of fallen leaves, broken branches, dead
trees, wood chips, wasted crops etc. A number of other garbage and waste materials
can be considered to be biomass. The energy obtained from the biomass is called
as the biomass energy.
When the biomass
is heated, the chemical energy within it is converted into heat energy, which
can be used for heating water, producing steam, cooking food etc. Biomass can
also be used to produce the methane gas, which can be used as the fuel. Rotten
garbage and human waste can also be considered as biomass that can be used to
produce methane, which is called as landfill gas or biogas. Biomass can also be
converted biodiesel, which can be mixed with the traditional diesel fuel to run
the vehicles.
CCRES
special thanks to
Escapeartist, Inc
CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
(CCRES)
