Renewable Energy is slowly becoming a buzzword that gets used all over the place. But most of the people that call for renewable energy technologies haven’t got the slightest idea of what they are and how they can be implemented.
We are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, no doubt about it. And we cannot simply ditch them in favor of renewable energies. While we do agree that the future is bright and we will, at some point, go “full solar”, that has to be done in a meaningful way without rushing it.
But what exactly is renewable energy and what are these technologies? Renewable energy simply refers to the energy that can be collected and re-collected from sources that are renewable in nature. These sources replenish naturally and do not require us, humans, to do it.
Even if you understood what this means, very few people understand the types that exist. In this article, we are going to talk about the 3 best renewable energy technologies that will propel the industry and consolidate it.
Without further ado, let’s begin.
1. Biomass
Biomass isn’t really a hot topic in the world of renewable energy, but it is one that is touted by experts as an excellent choice. Biomass is essentially everything that can be found on plants and animals. Every leaf, every branch, every root, every meat, every cell coming from animals and plants is considered biomass.
Biomass energy is a type of renewable energy that comes from animals and plants and is burned to produce fuel.
This fuel is mostly used to heat buildings, but it can be used in a variety of other ways. Biomass as a source can be produced in a number of ways, and those are:
· Biogas and Landfill Gas
Biomass can be produced by allowing bacteria to break down trash thrown in landfills. The bacteria degrade the trash and produce gas which can then be used as fuel.
· Ethanol
Ethanol is very important as it is used to power your car in the form of fuel. Ethanol is a type of liquid that is alcoholic in nature but colorless and very strong. Ethanol is made when grains undergo fermentation, and there is a lot of potentials for it to be the next-best fuel.
· Biodiesel
When it comes to replacing or offering an alternative to petroleum, none do it better than biodiesel. Biodiesel is created from vegetable oil and animal fat, and it is an excellent alternative that can power your vehicle.
Biodiesel is becoming very popular nowadays and is much cheaper than traditional petroleum.
· Wood and Wood Waste
Waste from wood can be used the same way as you normally use wood for your fireplace. When used on a greater scale, wood and waste from wood can power and heat entire factories and buildings.
But we can also burn garbage to produce energy. Garbage is effective biomass that has the potential to solve a fundamental environmental issue that is plaguing our world.
2. Solar
Before we move forward, there is much to learn about clean energy and what we can do to move humanity forward and separate from fossil fuels.
These topics of discussion are very interesting and attract the eyes of large crowds. For more information on everything renewable energy-alike, we suggest you check this.
Solar energy is quite possibly the one with the highest potential out of all.
We don’t need to explain to you what solar energy is, as this has been a major topic of discussion in the US for the past four years.
A lot of people are in favor of solar technologies to power up our entire homes and offices.
There are a few ways we can capture the sun’s energy and transform it into solar power. Those ways are:
· Solar Panels for Personal Use
Solar panels are the most common way of generating power thanks to the sun. They can be mounted on your roof as ordinary panels, or even have a solar roof made entirely out of them. These generate a lot of power but do know that you’ll need a battery to store that power.
· Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Plants
CSP plants are effectively giant farms that are constructed out of mirrors that re-direct the sun’s rays into a single point that generates a lot of power. This single point usually has large tanks full of water that produce steam when the light from the sun gets redirected through hundreds of mirrors.
The heat is so strong that it can instantly turn water into steam and then the steam is used to generate electricity.
· Solar Space Heating and Cooling
Solar Space Heating and Cooling systems are newer but very effective. They use a solar liquid collector that is very effective in collecting heat and then re-directing that heat throughout your entire home.
Solar space heating and cooling are traditionally used for residential buildings, but it does have its use on a commercial level.
3. Wind
And the last technology that we will discuss comes from the wind. Wind renewable technologies do not require an external source because the wind itself is the source. If we needed panels or mirrors to lit up a single point that boils water to produce energy or electricity, then that is simply not the case with wind.
In the case of wind technologies, there is only one winner and that’s wind turbines.
Wind turbines are giant constructions that resemble giant fans and they’re mostly found in the countryside where there are fewer obstacles for the wind to interact with it.
They operate brilliantly in areas with high wind speeds, but too they perform very poorly in extreme wind conditions.
These wind turbines are effective in transforming kinetic energy into electricity through the technology used in its creation. The blades on these constructions are powered by the wind and they effectively spin them. Every time a solar blade is spinning, electricity is generated through a generator that is powered with every turn of the blade.
