Types Of Renewable Energy – Going Beyond Solar

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 turbines have been around for millennia, further back than the birth of Christ. Over the years they have been used to pump water, drag boats and grind flour. But at the turn of the industrial revolution, wind turbines were made to produce electricity.

Some people still imagine windmills as the ornate ones found in the Netherlands, or the small wind pumps on farmland, but wind power technology has come a long way. Today, massive windmills, better known as wind turbines can generate millions of watts of electric energy, and smaller ones can be used at home as a substitute to grid-tied power.

Solar Energy:

Sunlight is the most abundant form of energy we have available, so there is no excuse for us not using more of it. But thanks to extensive research and development, we can make use of the sun in various ways – solar heating and passive solar design, solar electric power, and solar cooking and solar drying.

solar water heating, solar electricity, and passive solar design are some the simplest and cost-effective ways to reduce your conventional energy use. They do not need much maintenance, and are really environmentally friendly. With solar cooking, no gas or electricity is needed, just some good sunshine. making it very popular for campers and travelers alike. Also, the food is cooked at a much lower temperature, which helps to stop vital nutrients from being lost.

Hydro Power:

Like the ancient windmills, the power of the water was once used to grind flour or to power machines for irrigation.

But nowadays, hydro energy is mainly harnessed in hydro-electric dams to power nearby cities. How it works is the dam channels water through large turbines, that cause them to spin and generate power. The most popular hydro-electric dam is the Hoover Dam, that produces power for Las Vegas. Hydro power is very widely used, and produces over 90% of all renewable energy.

The have been numerous concerns with building dams for hydro-power. They can lead to the extinction of various plant and animals, and entire villages and communities have to relocate when dammed up rivers flood their land.

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.

How geothermal energy basically works is the lava heats a lot of underground water, creating geysers with hot steam. The pressure from the steam is used to spin turbines and generate power. Power plants are usually built right over these geysers, where they reuse the water by pumping it underground to produce more steam. And so the process continues…

Well, this concludes our brief overview of the 4 main types of renewable energy. You can find out more in-depth information on each type by reading our other articles or browsing our website in the link below.