There are many sources of renewable energy present in the environment, but the most important and beneficial ones are solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, biomass energy, and geothermal energy.
Energy is the prime requirement of every individual. As technology is enhancing, renewable power is also improving, and innovations are bringing down the costs to provide a stable future. Renewables significantly replace dirty fossil fuels in sectors of energy that offer less emission of harmful agents and carbon.
You should be aware of how to use these advanced technologies at home and what types of things you should know about.
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Table of Contents
ToggleWhat is renewable energy?
Renewable energy is obtained from natural sources like the sun, wind, water, and also from the earth’s surface. It’s not like only renewable energy comes from natural sources. Fossil fuels are also obtained from natural sources, but they vanish at once.
Renewable energy, often known as clean energy, is obtained from natural sources or from specific processes which are replenished completely. For instance, the wind keeps blowing, and the sun keeps shining, even though their availability depends on the weather. Renewable energy never vanishes off.
It is considered new technology and enhancing at an alarming rate. Nature’s power has been used in past years, but recently the usage has increased for the purpose of lighting, heating, transportation, and much more. But, for the past 500 years, humans have turned towards cheap sources like coal.
Sources of renewable energy
Sources of renewable energy mean sustainable sources – which never vanish off, and the sources are endless, just like the sun. The renewable sources will remain till the lifetime of the planet, and you can avail of these resources daily. Let’s learn about these sources of renewable energy, which are helpful as well as essential.
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Solar Energy
Sunlight, one of the freely available sources of energy and most abundant. The amount of the sun’s energy reaching the earth in one hour exceeds the planet’s total energy requirements for a year.
A perfect source of renewable energy and the amount of energy is used according to the time, season, and location. Solar energy has been consumed for many years for various purposes like growing food, staying warm, and much more. Now, solar energy is becoming advanced, like heating homes, using this energy at night, power devices, and many more.
Solar panels are used to transform sunlight into electricity. Now, you will see many solar panels in the country, and solar farms make electricity for many homes. This source of renewable energy is abundant and very helpful. Apart from this, solar power is eco-friendly as it doesn’t produce any harmful pollutants or greenhouse gases.
Hydro Energy
Among renewable sources of energy, hydropower is the best and well commercially developed. Have you ever thought of electricity generation from water? By building a barrier, a large reservoir is used to control the flow of water, which will drive the turbine, and electricity is generated.
A more reliable source of renewable energy than sun and wind, and hydropower allows storing electricity for use when the demand increases.
Hydropower typically relies on fast-flowing water in rivers or on water that is descending from a high point. An environment-friendly energy source, as no harmful products are generated from this source of energy.
Geo thermal Energy
Have you ever relaxed in a hot spring? If yes, then you have experienced geothermal energy. The earth’s core is as hot as the sun’s surface due to the prolonged decay of radioactive particles of rocks.
If you drill deep into the earth’s surface, hot underground water will erupt to the surface, used to generate electricity.
A massive amount of heat is stored in the earth, and sometimes this heat erupts all at once, like in volcanic eruptions. With the help of geothermal energy, you can directly cool or heat your buildings. A huge source of renewable energy with great potential for energy supply.
Bio energy
Biomass energy is the source of renewable energy produced from living organic matter, for instance – animals and plants. It is a renewable source because plants are regrown with the help of the sun’s energy. Many fuels also come from biomass like ethanol and biodiesel.
Eco-friendly source of energy, as it does not produce any extra carbon dioxide into the air.
Bioenergy is dependent on plants, so grow plants in abundance. When new plants are grown, and old plants are harvested, these new plants take carbon dioxide, which is released during the harvesting process. The primary source in producing electricity with low economic charges.
Wind Energy
One type of source of renewable energy is wind, with which an individual interacts every day. You feel that the air is moving from one place to another due to the earth’s heating. Capture this power of wind using turbines, which helps in producing electricity. Wind energy is becoming popular for high-scale applications.
Today, the structure of windmills has changed, now the windmills are built very high so that a large amount of electricity can be produced. Like solar energy, wind energy is also pollution-free, and one of the growing sources of renewable energy which supplies energy is a vast amount.
Importance of Renewable Energy
When it comes to sources of energy, the sustainability question always rises to mind. Sources must provide energy to meet the requirements of people like heating houses, powering cities and many more. Apart from this, it is essential to know how to use these energy sources in the long term.
Renewable energy produces clean energy, emits low pollution, and no emission of greenhouse gases is done. All these sources of renewable energy have some importance in life. The cost of these energies is lowering and is available at sustainable rates.
Renewable energy is essential as with the absence of this natural energy; people can’t power the world. Start replacing the unsustainable methods which you use for generating electricity with more sustainable ones. Otherwise, nothing will be left.
According to a search, it is estimated that the world will run out of fossil fuels in coming years, and the burning of trees or trash will take the world not so far.
Another reason for the importance of renewable energy is that it protects the environment from getting polluted. If you try to convert non-renewable sources into electricity, it causes harm to the environment and the planet and makes the world a difficult place to live. Many negative impacts will surround the world on the burning of non-renewable sources.
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Here are some points which we describe why renewable energy is important
- No emission of greenhouse gases is done by renewable energy, which is a beneficial point for climate. And if no greenhouse gases will emit, no global warming will occur.
- No emission of harmful pollutants is done by renewable energy, which is good for human health.
- The cost of renewable energy is low and at reasonable rates.
- Renewable energy provides jobs which is good for the community as there is much scope in the energy department.
- Accessible for all and that’s good in the development sector. The sources are secure also and provide enough stability.
Conclusion
As the population is increasing, the demand is rising for sources of renewable energy to generate electricity. Innovation is the prime factor in maintaining the stability of energy. So, these are the top 5 sources of renewable energy which are in great demand now. The sources are beneficial as they have less impact on the environment and are eco-friendly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Why don’t we use renewable energy all the time?
With the advancement in technology, most people don’t use renewable energy because they don’t know about it. And renewable energy is likely to be used sometimes, not all the time, as you can’t store sunlight and wind for use. If the sun goes behind clouds or the wind doesn’t blow, how energy will be used all the time.
Q2. How Effective is Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy is greatly effective as the output from solar and wind energy is good and these sources have replaced fossils fuels too much extent. It also has lowered the emission of carbon dioxide very much.
Q3. how renewable energy saves money?
Apart from environmental benefits, renewable energy helps in saving money also in many ways which you can’t expect. For instance, if you use renewable energy there is a reduction of money in your energy bill, you will get protection from price changes, great reliability, and many more ways.
Q4. which renewable energy is the cheapest?
Wind and solar energy is the cheapest form of renewable energy available in the market. These two sources of renewable energy are cheaper than gas and coal. Apart from cheaper energies, these are eco-friendly also.
Q5. Where does renewable energy come from?
Renewable energy comes from natural processes which are continuously replenished. For instance, heat is directly got from the sun, from the deep earth’s surface, from high-speed running water, from natural living organic matter, and much more.