What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy sources include the sun, wind, water, earth's heat, and plants, all of which are constantly renewed by nature. These fuels are converted into useful forms of energy using renewable energy technologies, most frequently electricity but also heat, chemicals, or mechanical power.

Why Use Renewable Energy?

Fossil fuels are what we largely utilize today to heat and power our houses and to drive our automobiles. Although using coal, oil, and natural gas to meet our energy demands is practical, there is a finite amount of these fuels available on Earth. They are being used much faster than they are being made. They will eventually run out. Furthermore, a large portion of the nuclear power in several countries will be retired by 2030 due to safety concerns and issues with waste disposal. The country's energy requirements are anticipated to increase by 33% over the following 20 years. The use of renewable energy can cover the gap. Even if fossil fuels were infinitely abundant, utilizing renewable energy is better for the environment. Because they produce few, if any, pollutants, renewable energy technologies are frequently referred to as "clean" or "green." On the other hand, burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, trapping solar heat and causing global warming. The majority of climatologists concur that the Earth's average temperature has increased during the past century. Scientists expect that as sea levels rise, extreme weather events such as floods, heat waves, droughts, and other natural disasters may become more frequent. When fossil fuels are burned, more contaminants are released into the air, soil, and water.

These contaminants have a severe negative impact on both humans and the environment. Diseases like asthma are made worse by air pollution. Fish and vegetation are harmed by acid rain caused by nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.Smog is also caused by nitrogen oxides, and other severe weather conditions could happen more frequently as a result. Replacing some of our petroleum with fuels made from plant matter, for example, could save money and strengthen our energy security. Renewable energy is plentiful, and the technologies are improving all the time. There are many ways to use renewable energy. Most of us already use renewable energy in our daily lives.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

Solar Energy.

The most plentiful source of energy is solar energy, which may even be used under cloudy conditions. The rate at which the Earth absorbs solar energy is around 10,000 times higher than the rate at which people use energy. For a wide range of applications, solar systems can provide heat, cooling, natural lighting, power, and fuels. Solar technologies can use photovoltaic panels or solar radiation-concentrating mirrors to turn sunlight into electrical energy. Although not all nations have the same access to solar energy, direct solar energy can nevertheless make a major contribution to any nation's energy mix. Solar panels are now not only accessible, but frequently the cheapest source of electricity because to a sharp decline in the cost of solar panel production over the past ten years. Solar panels come in a range of colors based on the type of material used in their manufacture and have an average lifespan of 30 years.

Wind Energy

Using enormous wind turbines that are installed on land (onshore), in saltwater, or freshwater, wind energy captures the kinetic energy of flowing air (offshore). Although wind energy has been used for thousands of years, onshore and offshore wind energy technology have advanced recently to maximize the amount of electricity produced, using higher turbines and bigger rotor diameters. Despite the fact that average wind speeds vary greatly from place to place, most locations of the world have the potential for considerable wind energy deployment. In fact, the technical potential for wind energy is more than the global power production.Strong winds can be found in many locations around the world, but often distant areas are the greatest for producing wind energy. Offshore wind energy has a lot of potential.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy makes use of the thermal energy that is available from the Earth's interior. Geothermal reservoirs can be heated using wells or other methods. Hydrothermal reservoirs are those that are naturally sufficiently hot and permeable, whereas enhanced geothermal systems are those that are naturally adequately hot but improved by hydraulic stimulation. Different temperature fluids can be used to produce electricity once they reach the surface. Since it has been in use for more than a century, the technology for producing energy from hydrothermal reservoirs is established, dependable, and mature.

Hydropower

The energy of water flowing from higher elevations to lower elevations is captured by hydropower. It can be produced by rivers and reservoirs. Run-of-river hydropower facilities rely on the river's available flow, whereas reservoir hydropower plants use water that has been stored in a reservoir. In addition to supplying energy, hydropower reservoirs frequently serve as sources of drinking water, irrigation water, flood and drought control, navigation services, and energy. The largest renewable energy source in the electricity sector at the moment is hydropower. It depends on relatively consistent rainfall patterns, which can be adversely affected by droughts brought on by climate change or by changes to ecosystems that affect rainfall patterns. Hydropower infrastructure also has the potential to negatively affect ecosystems. Because of this, many people view small-scale hydro as a more environmentally benign choice that is well-suited for distant populations.

Ocean Energy

Ocean energy comes from processes that use the kinetic and thermal energy of the ocean's waves and currents to generate heat or electricity. The development of ocean energy systems is still in its infancy, and several waves and tidal current prototypes are being investigated. Theoretically, ocean energy could easily provide all of the world's energy needs.

Bioenergy

Bioenergy is made from various organic resources, known as biomass, including wood, charcoal, dung, and other manures for the production of heat and power, as well as agricultural crops for the creation of liquid biofuels. The majority of biomass is utilized by impoverished populations in developing nations in rural regions for cooking, lighting, and space heating. Dedicated plants or trees, agricultural and forestry waste products, and diverse organic waste streams are all used in modern biomass systems. When biomass is used for energy, greenhouse gas emissions are produced, although at a lesser rate than when fossil fuels like coal, oil, or gas are burned. However, given potential adverse environmental effects connected to significant expansions in forest and bioenergy plantations, and the ensuing deforestation and land-use change, bioenergy should only be employed in limited applications.

Cheers from Ghana.

References

https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-renewable-energy

Jaradat, M., Jarrah, M., Jararweh, Y., Al-Ayyoub, M., Bousselham, A.. Integration of renewable energy in demand-side management for home appliances. In: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference (IRSEC), 2014 International. 2014, p. 571–576.