Renewable energy is the energy that is derived from sources in the atmosphere and around that are available in abundance and thus can never be depleted. Examples of this include sunlight, geothermal energy, tidal energy, and wind. This energy is taken directly from these sources and used to power many industries and businesses and is fast replacing resources like petroleum and coal. It is also a much more efficient method to derive and use energy as well as cheaper as everything is available naturally.
Solar energy as a means of renewable energy
Solar energy is the most widespread and largest form of renewable energy that can replenish modern society’s growing energy needs. However, it still needs to be implemented in many parts of the world in an effective manner to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and natural gas to produce energy in a cheap and effective manner. Solar energy is collected from the nuclear fission of the sun’s core energy and converted for either domestic or more large scale uses. In domestic usage, the solar energy is collected to heat waters with solar collectors or used to cool attics with solar fans. Large scale firms and business use more complex methods to derive solar energy. For instance, they use photovoltaic cells, mirrors, or boilers, to collect the sun’s energy and converts it to power big machines and industrial centers or to distribute it to different parts of
the region. Other forms of renewable energy are wind, biomass, and geothermal energy which are described below.
Wind and biomass are renewable energy sources
Wind energy is created indirectly due to sunlight as the sun heats up the earth’s surface and this varying temperature causes a variation in the atmosphere creating wind and thus creating a lot of energy. If this energy is collected on a large scale in huge areas, it can be used to create electricity or to pump water.
Biomass is the energy that is derived directly from the plants. Plants are used to produce alcohol and generate methane that can then be used as energy sources to fuel automobiles or to backup power plants.
Geothermal energy use as a temperature moderator
Geothermal energy is generally derived from the earth’s surface as the heat is encompassed below the earth’s layers over a large period of time. This heat can then be collected and the energy can be used to cool down buildings during the harsh summer heat or to warm up a building during the cold winter season. Besides these sources, there are other forms of renewable energy sources like fuel cells and hydrogen, hydroelectric energy, and tidal energy, although these are not being used as much as the above renewable sources of energy.