New Renewable Energy Alternatives

Quick Information
1. “New” renewable are a group of alternative energy sources that include the sun, wind, geothermal heat, and ocean water
2. New renewable provide energy for electricity, heating, fuel for vehicles
3. New renewables provide only 1% of energy
  1. Only 20% of our electricity is from renewable sources (Four-fifths of that is from hydropower)
    1. Wind power is growing at 50% per year
  2. Most renewable energy is more expensive than non-renewables
Benefits For Renewable Energy
1. Alleviating air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
2. They are inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels
3. They help diversify a country’s energy economy
4. They create jobs, income, and taxes, especially in rural areas
  1. Green-collar jobs: design, installation, maintenance, and management of renewable energy technologies
Solar Energy
1. Def: Energy from the sun
  1. Each square meter of Earth receives about 1 kilowatt of solar energy = 17 times the energy of a lightbulb
2. Benefits
  1. PV cells and other technologies are use no fuel, are quiet and safe, contain no moving parts, require little maintenance, and do not require a turbine or generator
    1. An average unit can produce energy for 20–30 years
  2. They allow local, decentralized control over power
  3. Developing nations can use solar cookers to replace the gathering of firewood, decreasing environmental and social stress
    1. Low cost ($2–10 each) makes them available to impoverished areas
  4. Green-collar jobs are being created
3. They reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and air pollution compared to fossil fuels
4. Drawbacks
  1. Not all regions are sunny enough to provide enough power, given current technology
  2. Solar power is an intermittent source
    1. Daily and seasonal variation can limit stand-alone systems
      1. They need storage (e.g., batteries) and backup power
  3. Up-front costs are high
    1. Fossil fuels and nuclear energy are favored over solar
      1. Prices are declining and technologies are improving
Wind Power
1. Def: A source of renewable energy, in which kinetic energy from the passage of the wind through wind turbines is used to generate
  1. Wind Turbines: A mechanical assembly that converts the wind's kinetic energy into electrical energy
    1. Wind farms: A development involving a group of wind turbines
      1. Turbines yaw— rotate back and forth with wind direction
2. Benefits
  1. Wind produces no emissions once installed
    1. Wind power can be used on many scales
  2. It is more efficient than conventional power sources
  3. Turbines use less water than conventional power plants
    1. Advancing technology is also reducing the cost of wind farm construction
  4. Farmers and ranchers can lease their land
3. Offshore Sites
  1. Wind speeds are 20% greater over water than over land
  2. Currently, turbines are limited to shallow water
  3. Over 1800 wind turbines are operating in 65 wind farms in the waters of 10 European countries
4. Drawbacks
  1. An intermittent resource; no control over when it will occur
  2. Varies place to place
  3. Contient-wide transmission networks need to be enhanced
  4. NIMBY (Not in my backyard)
5. 15% of U.S. energy demand could be met using 16,600 mi2 of land
Geothermal power reduces greenhouse gas emissions
1. But it may not be sustainable if the plant withdraws water faster than it can be recharged
  1. Water of many hot springs has salts and minerals that corrode equipment and pollute the air
Wave energy = the notion of wave is harnessed and converted from mechanical energy into electricity
1. Some designs are for offshore facilities and involve floating devices that move up and down the waves
  1. Kinetic energy from the natural motion of ocean water can generate electrical power
Tidal energy = energy harnessed from dams that cross the outlets of tidal basins
1. Water is trapped behind gates
2. Outgoing tides turn turbines to generate electricity
3. Tidal stations release few or no pollutant emissions
4. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC): uses temperature differences between the ocean’s warm surface water and cold deep water

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New Renewable Energy Alternatives

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	Created by Ashley Sadler about 8 years ago