As the world continues to age, mankind persists on developing different sources of energy. However, not all of what has been created by the human mind is valuable to the earth. Many of these pose danger to the existing life forms, and created social and ethical dilemmas around the globe. It is about time to sort out these energy sources and retain those that are geared towards the green power generation.
There are many energy sources that will help sustain the environment and keep it free from harmful materials. Some of these are the following:
Plant matter - this energy source is also referred to as biomass. It uses biological materials from living organisms, such as decaying plants, animal remains, and even biodegradable waste products or garbage. These materials are capable of generating heat that in turn can produce electricity.
Wind power - this is another exceptional example of green power source that works well in breezy places. It involves the use of wind mills, wind turbines, and wind pumps to turn on an electric power generator. It is widely used in several countries in Europe and in some parts of Asia. It is a good source of energy because it does not release green house gasses.
Geothermal power - this type of energy comes directly from the extreme heat transmitted from the core of the earth. It is cost effective and more reliable compared to other green power sources. However, not all countries around the world can avail this kind of energy because some are located at a remote distance from the core.
Solar power - this energy source is capable of powering the entire world if at least one fourth of the total number of countries will use it. It is available in most nations and it is as reliable as the geothermal source. However, it is more expensive to put up.
Tidal power - this is a promising source of energy. It uses the current of the tides or waves to power turbines that in turn generate electricity. It is still limited to some countries that has frequent occurrence of large waves.
These green power sources can replace the current source of energy that the world is using. These are cost-effective and can surely save the planet from the perils of green house gasses and global warming.
What Is Biomass Energy and How Can It Help You?
Every tree, crop and living plant on earth has energy inside. This energy is stored in the form of carbohydrates, including sugars, starches and cellulose that are produced as part of the process of photosynthesis. These plants, crops and living matter are collectively known as organic matter and it is possible to harness the energy in this organic matter. One way of doing this is through making use of biomass energy.
What is Biomass Energy?
Biomass is essentially a term used for all living matter that is storing energy as a result of photosynthesis. This biomass has been used for centuries in order to produce energy that is used for people to perform various tasks. For instance, when early man built a fire and burned sticks, this was an early form of biomass energy because it harnessed and made use of the energy in the sticks that were burned.
Today, biomass energy is a lot more advanced than just burning sticks at a camp fire; although the premise is the same and the biomass is still burned in order to release the energy stored within it. Biomass is now used to produce fuel, power and electricity. The energy produced can be enough to operate full factories or even to be used by power plants.
How is Biomass Used?
The first step to using biomass as a source of energy is to find a source of biomass from which energy can be harvested. Biomass can be collected from many different places. For instance, many paper plants or printing presses will produce a lot of organic waste products. In many cases, these plants produce enough organic waste to provide a sufficient amount of biomass to power their entire operations. Many companies in the wood products industry also make use of biomass, not only to provide sufficient electricity to power their mills but also to create enough heat for operations necessary to dry their wood products.
In any case, once the biomass has been collected in the form of a sufficient amount of organic matter and organic waste products, it can be changed into easy-to-use forms so that it can be used in combustion units or otherwise easily used in various locations to produce necessary energy. For instance, the biomass can be pelletized, chipped, hogged or baled through various processes, including gasifying, fluidizing, combusting with a Bubbling Bed Conductor, or being placed in a stoker-fired boiler.
The processed biomass is then shipped or transported to the companies that make use of it to produce heat, hot air, steam, hot water as well as electricity.
Benefits of Biomass
Biomass is a great option because it makes use of organic waste products. This means it can help to reduce dependence on foreign oil, limit the use of important and finite non-renewable resources and serve as a reliable and time-tested source of green energy. More and more companies today are turning to biomass to save money, do their part for the Earth and comply with ever-tightening government energy regulations, so biomass energy should become even more popular and prevalent in the near future. Get in on the "ground floor" so to speak, and consider how using biomass as energy might help you.
Wind Generator and Types of Wind Turbine
Due to the variety and range of heat radiation over the surface and the continuous rotation of the earth, air, which is called wind, moves through one place to another place. Wind, which has kinetic energy, is a form of solar energy. It is possible to capture and convert this kinetic energy into other form of energy such as mechanical energy or electrical energy by using proper technology. If the kinetic energy of wind power is converted directly to mechanical power for cutting lumber, pumping water or grinding stones, the system is called windmill. And if the kinetic energy of wind power is converted to electricity by running turbine, the system is called wind generator or wind turbine.
Types of wind turbines.
Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines
The generator and the main shaft of rotor are placed at the top of the turbine tower and must be directly pointed into the direction of the flow of wind. It is so-called horizontal axis turbine because the rotor's rotation axis is parallel to the direction of air flow and the ground. All commercial wind energy grid-connection have been developed with horizontal system. The rotor is used for converting the kinetic wind energy into rotational energy which is used to rotate the generator to generate the electricity. Though commercial turbines are rotated by sensor coupled servo motor, small home used turbines are rotated with small wind vane. Most of the time, gearbox is used in order to quicker rotation which is efficient for electrical generation.
Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
The main rotor of these types of turbines is arranged perpendicular with the ground. The main advantage of this arrangement is that it is totally Omni directional. It doesn't need to be pointed towards the flow of wind. It can capture any directional flow of wind. Due to its perpendicular placement shape, it is possible to place the gearbox and generator near the ground, so any kind of support doesn't need for the tower. The major disadvantage of using this is that it has low rotational speed. Hence cost will increase due to low power coefficient.
Turbine Construction and Design
Actually wind turbine converts wind kinetic energy into electrical energy. Two blade rotor and three blade rotor are the most necessary part of these types of turbine. It is the main part where kinetic energy transforms into the electrical energy. Conventionally, horizontal axis turbines are very popular at commercial use. The major components of these types of turbines are mentioned below.
Rotor - It is the main visible part which contains around 20% of the cost.
Generator Component - It is the generation part where generates the electricity from mechanical power. It contains approximately 34% cost including control circuits, gear boxes.
Structural Supportive component - It bears around 15% of the total cost including rotor raw mechanism and tower structure.
Understanding Energy - What Is Geothermal Power?
Today, electricity and power generation have become an indispensable part of most of our daily lives. With automation of many manual activities, demand for power has increased many times more than in the past and is constantly increasing, due to the rapid increase in population and developments in science and technology.
Conventional sources of power are basically coal and other fossil fuels. There are only limited known reserves of these fuels and they are rapidly being depleted. Moreover, coal and other fossil fuels burn to produce carbon compounds which pollute the air and the environment.
This necessitates the need to develop alternate non-conventional sources of power in the future when fossil fuels will be exhausted. Tapping the geothermal energy to generate power is an excellent option to meet the world's future power.
"Geo" means earth and "thermal" means heat. So, geothermal energy is basically the energy derived from the heat already present inside the earth. The earth has a lot of heat energy stored internally because of the extremely high temperatures and pressures in the interior of the earth.
Hot springs in many parts of the world are testimonial to this fact. Geothermal energy involves tapping into this heat as a means of producing steam to power electricity generators, and replaces the need to burn coal or other fuels to provide such a heat source.
The main advantage of geothermal energy is that it is clean, i.e. does not cause any pollution. Moreover, it is renewable and inexhaustible as the temperature inside the earth's surface is not expected to decrease. Also, it doesn't require any conventional fuel and hence, once the site is established with necessary infrastructure in place, it is much cheaper to run.
The main problem associated with geothermal energy is that it can be harnessed only at a few places where the underlying rocks are soft enough to be drilled through and the heat is expected to be sustainable for a significant time period. These places are called "hot spots".
Finding hot spots involves land surveys which can take years to complete. Some hot spots may be found in remote areas where setting up of power stations is not financially feasible.
Merely finding hot spots is not enough. It has to be seen whether that heat can be extracted to generate power. Only after meeting these requirements, can a power plant be set up to generate geothermal power.
All these activities involve a huge installation cost, although the maintenance cost following set up is very low. Due to unavailability of suitable hot spots, only a fraction of the total power needs of the world can be met by geothermal power at present.
Another major problem associated with geothermal power may crop up during the operation of the power plant. In order to extract the heat from the interior of the earth, holes are drilled through which steam issues and this steam is used to drive the turbines and generate power.
Sometimes along with steam harmful gases may also issue out. So, the power plant must be designed in a way to handle such situations and eliminate those gases safely.
While some challenges remain with geothermal energy production, the benefits of switching to this source of power seem likely to outweigh the expected teething problems in bringing them into general usage.
What Exactly Is Solar Power and How Does It Work?
There are a huge amount of resources out there that are currently talking about renewable energy sources. Because of this, it can sometimes be hard to keep it all straight. One of the most popular and common renewable energy sources is actually the sun, which is harvest with solar panels. Your average solar panel will absorb raw sunlight and convert it into electricity with the help of photovoltaic cells. You can find this type of solar panel in fields dedicated to the generation of solar power. A great thing about solar panels, however, is that they can also be installed directly onto your home by a qualified installer or electrician. This is becoming a popular option for homeowners who want to become more self-reliant, energy efficient and lower their electrical bills.
The Use and Installation of Solar Panels
You have two basic options when it comes to installing solar panels on your home. You can either connect them to a battery array that will store the power for you, or you can connect them directly to the existing power grid. Both methods have pros and cons, which you can discuss in detail with the electrician that you choose to install them.
One of the greatest benefits of having your own solar power storage system is that you have an energy reserve if you ever experience a power outage. Your installer will place the solar panel in the best position on your home. They will then connect this panel array to a voltage controller, which will control the flow of electrical current into the battery array. The battery array will then connect to a power inverter that will convert the DC power from your solar panels into AC current that you can use throughout your home. Systems that are setup in this manner are typically used to power just a handful of devices, such as essential appliances and lights. If you have a power outage, you will keep a few hours of reserve power in the battery array whenever you use it properly. The batteries will also continue to regenerate whenever the sun is shining on your panels.
The most popular method of installation for most homeowners is to connect the solar panel array directly to the power grid. Your electrician or solar installer can actually hook your panels directly into your electrical service so that it will feed the electricity back into the power grid, as well as into your home. This is a benefit for most people, because you can often sell any electricity that you do not use back to the utility company. This results in a credit on your electric bill, and provides for one of the most seamless operations possible.
Adding a solar panel array can be a great investment for your home, regardless of the type of installation that you choose. You will not only have greater peace of mind when it comes to the source of your electrical energy, but you can even reduce or eliminate your electrical bills altogether.
Tidal Power As an Energy Source
Can you even use tidal power as an alternative energy source, and if so how would it work? The reality is that while not always as effective as say solar or wind farms, tidal energy is already being used as a form of alternative power. In fact the largest and only one of its kind in Europe is the Rance estuary tidal power station near St. Malo, in northern France. This doesn't mean there aren't others, and ones being planned out. Some of these that are proposed sites are around Britain, such as Dee, Solway, and the Humber estuaries, just to name a few. There are also around 20 or so sites that are identified as possible tidal power stations around the world.
What tidal power meant up to just a few years ago was a tidal barage, which is similar to a dam, but on a much bigger scale. These would work just like a hydro electric plant, almost. It is basically a dam that is built all the way across an estuary, with tunnels underneath to let water pass through and power turbines to produce electricity. Each time the tide comes in and out, it would spin the turbines.
There are other ideas for using different methods to harness the seas tides, from underwater turbines, like those used in wind farms, a tidal reef type turbine, which is similar to a barrage but doesn't block off the water totally, and even vertical axis underwater turbines. While all of these other options sound good, they are barely coming out of the concept stages, and putting them into use is a long way off. The barrage is at this point a viable solution, but has both advantages, as well as disadvantages.
Of course we all know many of the advantages of using these mechanisms for harnessing tidal power. It is a massive amount of energy, for one. It can take over up to twenty percent of other conventional fossil fuel using plants. It is free energy, and causes no pollution, and it can give road access across these estuaries in many areas. However, there are disadvantages that may be more costly.
For one, this energy is not totally reliable, and you would realistically have only about ten hours of usable energy per day. These are costly to build, in the billions of dollars, for such short term energy usage. Because they block off the seas access to an estuary, this could have a negative long term impact on the vital estuary ecosystem, like birds that feed on the tidal flats when the water goes out, since this would no longer empty out as before. There would also be no way for fish and other aquatic animals to have access to these unique bodies of water, killing many species.
While tidal power as an energy source does have a potential for the future, at this point more research and development has to be done to find the best low cost, highly energy efficient way of harnessing the ocean's tidal powers. There is such a limited availability of viable sites, compiled with the relatively high costs of building barrages, that this is not yet considered a long term source of alternative energy.
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