Harnessing Different Types Of Renewable Energy To Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

As the world reaches its energy crisis we need to reduce our dependence on non-renewable energy sources, and start generating renewable energy on a massive scale.

So far we are able to produce 4 types of renewable energy: hydro energy, wind energy, solar energy, and geothermal energy.

Wind Energy:

Wind energy has been used for thousands of years. Initially windmills were built to tow boats, grind flour and pump water. But as industry developed, wind turbines were put into operation to generate electric power.

You may still see windmills as those small wind pumps dotted all over farms, or the large ones in the Netherlands, but the technology has really evolved. Now the wind is harnessed with large wind turbines to produce thousands of kilowatts of electricity, and can even be scaled right down to produce power for a single household.

The Sun:

If it were not for the sun we would not have wind, and better yet, we would not have solar energy – the most abundant renewable energy source we have. Although we should be harnessing more of it, technology has enabled us to use the sun’s power in a variety of ways – solar power, solar water heating, solar cooking, passive solar design, and solar drying.

Passive solar design, solar power and solar heating are some of the the best ways to reduce your power consumption at home – these systems need very little upkeep, and they are also great for the environment. Solar cooking is a healthy alternative to using an oven or stove – the food is cooked slowly so more minerals and vitamins are retained, and no electric power is needed. This makes it ideal for camping and outdoor cooking in the summer months.

Hydro Energy:

Initially hydro or water power was used industrially in rivers and waterfalls to power waterwheels that would then be used to move water for irrigation or grind flour.

Today hydro power is used in dams to produce electricity for households and businesses. Hydro-electric power is generate on a large scale where dammed up water is channeled through turbines, which spins a dynamo as it gushes through. The best example of hydro-electric power would be the Hoover Dam, which was built to provide electricity to Las Vegas. In fact hydro-electric power is efficient is popular nowadays that it accounts for over 90% of the worlds renewable energy.

There have been some social and environmental concerns about building dams for hydroelectricity since entire village and communities are flooded by the dam, and the walls prevent certain species of fish from swimming upstream to spawn.

Geothermal Power:

It is normally in volcanic areas where you will find geothermal power being used. In places like Iceland, hot, molten lava is close to the surface, that heats large bodies of water and creates steam for geothermal electricity.

Where this lava comes into contact with water, it super heats it and causes large volumes of steam to burst to the surface through geysers. The pressure from this steam is diverted and passed through turbines to generate electricity. Once the steam has passed through it is sometimes cooled, turned back into water, which is then pumped back into the geyser to make more steam. This makes it everlasting cycle…

Now that you have read this brief outline of the various types of renewable energy, you can learn more about each type by visiting our website in one of the links below.