Why let the powers of darkness go to waste? Let us welcome Anti Solar Panel – a breakthrough in the renewable energy sector, researchers say ‘Anti-Solar Panels’ Could Generate Power at Night.
Isn’t that wonderful? Finally Darkness got a job!!
Get to know about background theories of Anti-solar panel in straightforward words, why this was important to innovate, the excellent scopes it has, and challenges we need to face ahead with this innovation.
Lets find out the process how this ‘reverse-solar cell’ can harness the energy from the darkness of nights.
Stay connected with this write-up…
Anti-Solar Panel: A breakthrough in the renewable energy sector –
Daylights have always enjoyed privileges to be a part of productivity. Why not nights?
Ever wondered about generating light from darkness?
Wouldn’t it be fantastic? Yes!
We are already there!
While developing countries are transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, developed countries are not sitting idle.
Renewable energy is progressing at its peak. Though Trump administration pulled out from the Paris Agreement, American researchers and the public are continuing their efforts.
Researchers and engineers from UCLA and Stanford University, California, paved the way to more progress on renewables. Their idea was very thoughtful.
To produce electricity from the darkness was unbelievable until now. It’s great news for us because we do not need to be sad bidding bye to the sun.
Nights are also a part of generating electric clean energy now. We have more hopes for sustainability in the energy sector, and this is the hotcake now!
Now its time to introduce What is the meaning of Anti Solar panel?
What is an Anti Solar Panel? Is it similar the terms of ‘Reverse-solar cell?
It is a fantastic device that uses the temperature difference between the panel and ambient temperature to generate power at night. When solar panels exhaust at a certain point at night, the anti-solar panel can be the savior. It uses the same method as Solar Panel but with the exact inverse process.
Anti-Solar Panel producing cleaner energy at night:Credit: Wei Li
This device is currently a breakthrough in the renewable energy sector. We are on the way to end the struggles to keep out lights on. At present, this is a prototype device, but if we can overcome the challenges, we can expect to install on our rooftops soon!
How Anti solar Panel Work?Turning Tides(Explanation of the theory used) –
An innovation is remarkable only if it is smart but simple. This is no exception. The background theory came from the natural process of Earth radiating the same amount of radiations that it absorbed from outer space; that is, cooler place.
Lighting up nights with Anti-Solar Panels
Anti solar panel radiate heat to the night sky. By using the passive cooling method, the upper part of the plate becomes cooler than the lower part of the plate.
Thus a temperature difference is created. This difference leads to power generation.
So, we are using coolness of the night by radiating infrared rays. We are also creating the same type of temperature difference, as seen in solar panels, to generate power. We do not depend on heat.
Credit: Aaswath Raman
Filling The Gaps –
Behind every invention, we need a reason or something that is pulling us backward. We have commercialized solar panels to generate power from the sunlight. Yet, some limitations also exist, and we needed to overcome that.
This is where Anti-Solar Panels have stepped in.
Let us know why it was essential to have Anti-Solar Panels:
– After massive disasters like a hurricane or tidal surge, we see blackouts in the affected area due to damages electric grids. In 2017, Hurricane Maria left 3 million people without working lights, which lasted for months.
This is when we need Anti-Solar Panels to use nights for generating power so that people do not deprive of electricity in affected areas. So we can use this in disaster management.
– The main drawback of solar plants is the limitation of power generation at night. So Anti-Solar panels fill the gap.
– This is a new technology that is not dependent on heat to generate power. Instead, we are utilizing the coolness.
– For the first time, we can charge electronic devices at completely off-grid places. So, we can avoid the challenges of the grid system.Moreover, in the post-disaster period, damaged grids can cause problems too. Now, we can avoid them also.
– In Polar Regions, we can see sunlight once a month. Thus, the continuous supply of power was not possible earlier without wired electric supply.
Scopes ahead Of Anti solar panel –
Anti-solar panels seem promising for a complete transformation of the energy sector. If you are still thinking that I am over-ambitious, you might need to think twice. Here’s why:
– At a very low cost, this device already produces enough electricity to light an LED bulb from the darkness.
– Wind and solar vary due to the weather and are not dispatched according to the grid’s needs. So, anti-solar panels can give a continued supply of cleaner energy as it does not depend on the weather. This will lead to tackling climate change by reducing GHG emissions.
– We can reduce dependency on daylight. Nighttime applications are possible where sunlight is not available.
Challenges ahead of ‘Anti Solar Cell’ –
– The prototype is in the assessment and research stage. Researchers are trying to find feasibility before we can be commercialized. So this is a challenge at this point.
– While solar panels produce 100W of electricity from one square meter of the panel, anti-solar panels seem to provide only 25MW, which is very less. So, to increase the efficiency of anti-solar panels is a challenge to know the extent of use
– Lowering the cost of materials to make anti-solar panels needs to be lower than solar panels for extensive use by stakeholders, which is in process.
Conclusion –
Researchers are trying to increase the efficiency of the 20-cm prototype of anti-solar panels. We can hope for something amazing to step in the renewable energy sector and leave some resources for our future generations to come. The researchers are hopeful for this sustainable device too! So, let’s join in. For more updates, keep an eye on our blog. We’ll let you know about all the futuristic green tech coming in.
Want to know how renewable energy came in? Bored with opening many tabs for the collecting information? No worries! Get a brief and organized historical review or timeline on the renewable energy era by era.
Along with the types of renewable energy, significant advantages, and many more.
So stay with us!!
You can quickly get a brief about why renewable energy is so important and in what ways renewables can contribute to sustainability and how these clean energy sources impact on the environment.
The importance of sustainability is the core goal of current generations comes at the cost of limited use of fossil fuels and efficient use of renewable power, which you’ll find here in brief and easy words.
Before starting to Brief History of Renewable Energy. Let’s have a quick overview of Renewable energy.
What is Renewable Energy? Why its called Green Energy?
If described simply, renewable energy is the energy that is extracted or used from any naturally occurring processes, can be replenished and thus, is theoretically inexhaustible even if used up without limits on a human time scale. For example, Solar energy is renewable as sunlight never exhausts.
Other names given to renewable energy are ‘green energy”, ‘sustainable or eco-friendly energy’ due to the positive environmental aspects of renewable energy compared to non-renewable energy. Harnessing energy from renewables does not require emitting greenhouse gases responsible for global warming and extracting fossil fuels at an alarming rate while simultaneously being an option to combat climate change.
To ensure sustainability is the main highlight of renewable energy from an ecological point of view. Along with this, many other important aspects can be discussed:
resort to the global threat of energy scarcity as it is inexhaustible
a feasible option for energy security for future generations is a competitive market at present
an important platform for all nations pledging to reduce global emissions within 1.5 degrees according to the Paris Agreement to combat climate change
stable energy prices
economic benefits in the long run
safe public health worldwide
Reduced energy dependence
Brief History of Renewable Energy Era by Era :
Though renewable energy was used naturally, for example, sun radiating heat for functioning the ecosystem services, the use of renewable energy needed to be mechanized along with human civilization. With baby steps like identifying solar energy to be embedded in fossil fuels and using it for lighting (9000 years ago), humans developed the use of renewable energies, although not optimum till now. The timeline of the history of renewable energy can be divided into the following six phases:
2000BC-1499: Chinese developed natural gas as an option for renewables while Europeans start using waterwheels in power mills as used by Philon (around 225BC) ultimately decreasing human and animal muscle power and increasing productivity
1500-1799: Enormous windmills developed by the Dutch at its fullest possible degrees acting as a chief agent for land reclamation and generating power
1800-1899: First natural gas well installed in the U.S to uptake natural gas while the windmills operated water pumps to alleviate the problem of water shortage in the western U.S, reaching up to six million in number as traced by authorities. In 1882, we witnessed the installation of a first hydroelectric power plant in Appleton, Wisconsin, for private and commercial customers. The windmill to generate power solely was invented in 1888 by Charles F.Brush
1900-1950: Theories of photoelectric effect explained by Albert Einstein, studies of Ethanol as a better option than fossil fuels led to the development of renewable energy technologies. Development of world’s largest hydroelectric plant, The Hoover Dam in Colorado River, Arizona, world’s first large scale solar thermal plant installation in California, construction of Acts from the judiciary in the energy sector, all these were some remarkable steps taken in this period
1951-1999: first commercial wind turbines sold to remote farmers to generate power, first nuclear power reactor built in Idaho, first US satellite to use solar power are some of the highlights from this period while the world suffered from a massive Chernobyl nuclear explosion and Largest oil spill in the USA
2000-present: IPCC report revealed the anthropogenic reasons to dominate the climate change, American recovery and reinvestment act pledges billions of dollars for energy sector, world’s largest concentrated power generation plant (Ivanpah), withdrawal of investments from fossil fuels by 800 global investors in 2014, New Mexico commits to go for 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Summaries the timeline of Renewable Energy :
If renewable energy is traced back, we get the burning of wood for cooking and other purposes, bringing the concept of nonrenewable sources in the very beginning.
Again, the oil used for lighting brought the idea of solar energy stored in the form of fossil fuels (9000 years ago). Wind energy was used for sailing ships in the Mediterranean region (5000 years ago) After the European Renaissance, and the world felt the urgency of power-operated devices in industrialization as fueled by the slave free Europe. This is how it came along.
In the research field of renewables, Baltimore inventor Clarence Kemp first patented a commercial water heater in 1891, which got the spotlight after physicist Albert Einstein discovered photoelectric effect and published a paper.
Since renewable energy supply is unlimited, can be replenished and used for an uncountable number of times, it can be concluded as infinite. However, the endless demand for renewable energy can be harmful because of all the included costs or economic aspects that come along with the technical issues. It is the system price or value, which is often overlooked in the discussion.
As human civilization advanced, the sources of renewable energy were the only available energy until the middle of the 18th century, but it all changed after the Industrial Revolution when fossil fuels began to be exploited.
For the next 200 years, fossil fuels reigned the energy sector.
However, the drastic change in climate as a result of global warming awakened humans about the environmental impact of the burning of fossil fuels. Moreover, a huge demand for energy resulted in diminishing fossil fuels inside the earth.
As a result, attention went back to renewable power to commercialize as a viable option for sustainability.
Present energy consumption of Renewable Energy :
Today, global renewable energy consumption reaches up to 16,893.54 TWh of all renewable energies combined.
Nearly 200 countries pledging to cut down emissions for a global temperature below 2 degrees are investing in renewable energy and thus increasing the use of renewable electricity even on a domestic scale.
Doubling the renewable energy share mix up to 36% by 2030 will add a growth of 1.3 trillion dollars to the global economy, the well being of 3.7% and employment opportunities of 24 million people compared to 9.2 million people employed today according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
From the realization of the importance of renewable energies to the development of technologies, humans have come a long way to harness energy as much as possible, but there are many more challenges. In developing nations, the renewable energy sector is dominated by donations from international funds with a few of the installations operating properly and them being economically viable. Decentralization is crucial here due to the difference in typical unit sizes or local energy technologies. The energy storage problem should carefully be addressed.
How Renewable energy Impact on Job sector?
Employment opportunities generated by the renewable energy sector are vast.
In 2016, the solar energy industry employed more than 26,000 people.
hydroelectric plants employed about 66,000 people in 2017.
the geothermal industry employed over 5800 people, and
the wind energy industry employed 100,000 people in the U.S alone in 2016.
According to a study from concerned scientists, renewable industry give job opportunities three times more than that provided by fossil fuels.
Renewable energy also solve the problem of varying market prices to a great extent. Thus, looking at all the advantages renewables can be considered as a viable option both ecologically and commercially.
A significant barrier to switching to renewable energy includes insufficient economic capacities of many countries compared to energy demands, dependency on weather and natural systems, waste management, lack of country-specific equipment designs, expensive setup and supporting systems, lack of information dissemination to the public.
Final Thought :
After over viewing the history of renewable energy, now its time to wrap the article with some recommendations.
Although renewables are still to be explored and commercialized in an available form, it is no longer a niche sector promoted by governments or environmentalists.
Significant international investments, public concern for environmental consequences, high oil prices; all these factors are driving elements developing the renewable energy sector.
The fact that coal deposits will deplete within the next 200 to 300 years and petroleum deposits will deplete as well brings us to the emergence of the renewable energy sector to combat the global threat.
Environmental conservation through renewable energy becomes clear if we look at the statistics of emissions and thus give us an idea about the importance.
Burning natural gas for electricity emits 0.6-2 pounds of C02/Kwh and coal emits 1.4-3.6 pounds of CO2E/Kwh
While electricity generated by
Wind energy emits only 0.02-0.04 pounds of CO2E/Kwh
Solar energy generates 0.07-0.2 pounds of CO2E/Kwh
Geothermal energy generates 0.1-0.2 and
Hydroelectric generates 0.1-0.5 pounds of C02E/Kwh only.
While fossil fuels have significant impacts on water, solar, or wind do not necessarily require water to operate and thus do not exploit water resources. Although hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal plants disrupt water ecosystems; there is a possible chance of lessening the impact in the future with high renewables, according to NREL’s renewable energy study.
To know about the history of renewable energy is not enough, we also recommend to adopt this clean and green energy as soon as possible for the seek of energy consumption along with the pollution-free environment.
Want to know how wind energy came in? Frustrated with opening many tabs for the collecting Information about the history of wind energy?
No worries! Get a brief and organized historical timeline on the Wind energy era by era.
In this write up you can easily access to explore wind energy history timeline, along with its advantages, uses, impact, obstacle, and more cool facts and data about wind energy.
Here, also you can quickly get an ultimate overview of wind energy.
Let’s stay with us!!
The renewable industry is now growing faster than you can imagine. This alternative sustainable energy now becomes an absolute necessity for energy security.
Because at the present conserve of traditional sources of energy like coal, oil, gasoline is depleting an insignificant rate.
These conventional sources of energy are non-renewable; that means we cannot renew it in a short duration for our use. Whereas renewable energy sources like solar, wind, tidal, biomass,geothermal, etc. are plenty in nature, and those are renewable, eco-friendly, and sustainable by characteristics.
For ensuring energy for the next generation and combat with global warming or climate change, these renewable sources may be the optimum choice for us.Thus many country now aiming to achieve 100% electricity from renewable sources.
The wind is a popular source of energy. It is clean, free, readily available and renewable. Everyday wind turbines are harnessing the energy of wind and converting it to electricity. Wind power generation is playing a vital role in developing the world as we know today, in a clean and sustainable way. Wind power has been a growing source of electricity from the past few decades.
Wind energy is eco-friendly, sustainable and clean. It does not exhaust any carbon-di-oxide and green-house gases like the other sources of energy. It creates much less pollution than other means. The Best thing about wind energy is that it does not generate any waste or byproduct.
#But how does wind create electricity?
Harnessing the energy from wind its a little bit complex. Wind turbines allow us to generate energy. When the wind blows, the blades of the turbine rotate clockwise to capture energy. This makes the main shaft, attached to a gearbox to spin. The gearbox directs the captured energy to the generator, creating energy. The electricity produced travels through transformers, where voltage levels are adjusted to match the grid. Later on, we discuss briefly the working principle of wind turbines.Let’s dive into the history section of wind power.
Summaries the History of Wind Energy in Developing Electricity-
The first known wind turbine used to produce electricity was built in Scotland in 1887. It was created by Prof. James Blyth of Anderson collage, now know as Strathclyde University. It was built to charge the accumulators in his cottage at Kincardineshire, to power the lightings. Blyth offered the surplus electricity to power the street lights in the area. But the people turned down his offer, saying it “the work of the devil”.
In 1888, inventor Charles Brush built the first wind turbine in the US for his mansion in Ohio. Although Blyth used wind turbines to produce electricity for the first time, Brush is mainly known for inventing wind turbines. His turbine was 17 meters in diameter. It had 144 rotor blades of cedar wood. It could produce about 12 kilowatts of power.
Charles Brush; Image Source: alchetron.com
Charles Brush is known to be the inventor of the turbine. Danish inventor Poul la Cour upgraded wind turbine with fewer blades and more efficiency. He also established the Society of Wind Electrician which contributed to the development of the wind energy sector. Today, wind turbine provides one-third of the total electricity produced in the world.
At present, wind turbine firms use two kinds of wind turbines; vertical-axis turbine, and horizontal axis wind turbine. The horizontal-axis turbine is the most popular one. Major components of a wind turbine are the rotor, gearbox, generators, etc. The total system stands with the help of a tower. The tower can be up to 126 meters long. Offshore turbines can be higher.
Today, wind energy is mostly used to produce electricity. But wind energy has a long tenure with the development of mankind.
Humans are using wind energy for their benefit since 5000 BC. Sails, wind pumps, windmills are the most common examples. Today, wind energy is also used is a sports activity.
The major advantage of wind energy is that it is clean and renewable. Electricity from wind turbines is cheaper than other sources. It is also an eco-friendly source because it does not emit any greenhouse gases. The major cons for wind energy that it requires a lot of land (except offshore). Wind turbines can be noisy sometimes. The turbines have a negative impact on wildlife, especially on birds and bats.
Wind turbine holds a great promise for the future. As fuel reserves will start to decay one day, wind energy is expected to replace the traditional ways. Already, one-third of the total power is generated from wind energy. With economic and environmental advantages, is getting more popular every day.
The Wind Energy History Timeline Era by Era :
1889: A Danish scientist, Poul la Cour developed an electricity-generating wind turbine in. Later he developed a way to supply a steady stream of power by adding a regulator to the turbine, known as the Kratostate.
Wind turbine built by Poul la Cour; Image source: poullacour.com
1895: Poul converted his windmill to a prototype power plant. It was used to light the village of Askov.
1990: Approximately 2500 windmills, generating a peak of 30 megawatts were being used across Denmark. Those were mainly used to power mechanical machines, such as pumps and grinders.
1903: Poul started the Society of Wind Electricians. He is the first person to develop turbines with fewer blades but more efficiency.
1904: The Society of Wind Electrician started their first course.
1908: 72 electricity-generating turbines established across Denmark, ranging from 5 to 25 kilowatts.
1927: Joe Jacob and Marcellus Jacob open ‘Joe Wind’ factory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They produced turbines for farms.
1931: Darrieus wind turbine, a vertical-axis wind turbine was designed by Georges Jean Marie Darrieus, a French aeronautical engineer. This type of turbine is still used for niche applications, like a boat.
1931: Horizontal-axis turbine was built in Yalta with 100 KW of capacity with 32% load factor, similar to the ones that are being used today.
1957: Johannes Juul invented an emergency aerodynamic tip brake which is still used in modern turbines.
1975: A wind turbine program started by NASA to develop utility-scale wind turbines. This started modern-day turbine technology which includes steel tube towers, composite blade materials, variable-speed generators, partial-span pitch control, as well as structural, aerodynamic, and acoustic engineering design capabilities.
1978: World’s first multi-megawatt wind turbine was built with 2 megawatts capacity.
1980: Commercial wind turbine rotors get up to a diameter of 17 meters and a capacity of 75 kilowatts.
2000: Global wind power capacity extents up to 17,400 megawatts.
2002: Global wind power capacity reaches up to 31,100 megawatts.
2005: In the US 226 wind farms are going for online, providing sufficient powers for up to 2.2 million homes.
2007: Global wind power capacity reaches up to 93,820 megawatts.
2011: The Commercial wind turbine rotors get up to a diameter of 126 meters and wind turbines develop up to a capacity of 7500 kilowatts, approximately 100 times more than in the 1980s.
2013: The world’s first hybrid wind/current-powered turbine is installed off the coast of Japan.
Now its time to discuss how this(wind power) renewable sources of energy impact the different sectors such as environment, socio-economic, political, and many more.
After a glimpse of the history of wind energy, let’s kick off the importance of wind energy.
Importance of wind energy- How wind power impact on different sector?
The most important aspect of wind is that it is free. This makes electricity from wind energy cheaper than any other source. Importance of wind energy can be categorized in the following manner:
#Environmental importance of wind energy :
Wind projects are environment-friendly. The world population is aware of the aftermath of spoiling the environment. Side effects of pollution can be reduced by applying eco-friendly. Wind energy comes in handy to tackle the problem. Wind energy does not only reduce pollution problems, provides recovery options too.
#Social importance of wind energy:
our world has an ever-growing need for energy. More and more energy is consumed with the passage of each day. But our sources of energy are limited. Traditional sources for energy will be exhausted one day. The world needs a sustainable source of energy. Wind energy is one, with the capability of meeting the social need of the world.
#Economical importance of wind energy :
Wind provides a cheaper cost of production than most other plants. Less cost means more economic surplus. Many of the world’s 1st world countries have already developed firms for wind energy like the USA, China, Japan, Germany. Others are developing. Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing electricity-generating business; surpassing nuclear power plants.
#Political impact of wind energy :
World needs power, but the sources of it are limited. This raises the pressure for fuel demand. Political tension is always at a peak for the retention of no-renewable fuel. With more development, wind energy can ease this pressure upon fuel and political tension thereby.
#Technical Importance:
Traditional ways of procuring power requires complex technical procedures. In contrast, wind power uses rather simpler procedures. The principle remains the same. With the advancement of technology, it has gained more efficiency. Moreover, it does not require complex technical knowledge to maintain which makes it more preferable.
Now its time to discuss wind turbines lets explore it in the next chapter!!
#What is Wind Turbine and How it converts wind to Electricity?
A turbine is a machine that spins around a flowing fluid, liquid or gas to capture some of the energy passing by. A wind turbine is simply a turbine that captures energy from wind flow with the same principle.
The rotor blades in front of the wind turbine is the actual turbine part. The blades have a curved shape, similar to airfoil wings of a plane. A set of gears or gearbox are attached behind the turbine. Turbines rotate at a relatively slow speed. Gearbox converts the speed in a higher state of motion. If enough speed is produced, driveshaft behind the gears powers the electricity generator. the whole system is supported by a tower. We use two major kinds of wind turbines today:
Vertical-axis wind turbines
Horizontal-axis wind turbines
#How Wind turbine Works?- Working principle of Wind turbine :
A Turbine works in the following manner:
Simplified design of a wind horizontal wind turbine and it’s components; Image source: researchagate.com
Wind blows towards the turbine with kinetic energy.
The rotors of the turbines spin around, capturing some of the kinetic energy from the wind.
Modern turbines use a ‘pitch’ on the rotor hub to better harvest energy by re-correcting the angle of wind flow.
Gearbox attached behind the turbine maximizes rotation speed.
The electricity generator behind the gearbox converts kinetic energy into electricity.
Gearbox of a wind turbine; image source: newsappear.com
The current of electricity produced by the generator is transmitted to a step-up transformer through cables.
Step-up transformer transforms the electricity to a higher voltage, making it usable for homes.
#Major uses of wind energy :
1.To generate electricity:
Today, wind energy is mostly used to produce electricity. Countries all over the world are adopting this cheap, clean and sustainable way of generating electricity. The USA, China, Japan, Denmark have already established a wind-provided electricity market. 591,549 megawatts were produced from wind turbines in 2018, which is almost one-third of the world’s total production.
2. In Transport:
Human civilization has been using wind energy to power transport from ancient times. Sails were discovered as early as 5000 B.C. and still is being used to power ships and boats.
3. In food production:
Another major use of wind energy is to produce food. The windmills were widely used to mill grains to make flour. Though this application is reduced because of better production methods.
4. In Agriculture:
Wind energy can be used in agricultural sectors. Wind pumps can pump water using the flow of the wind. This makes irrigation of the land cheaper. But like windmills, wind pump is a declined technology.
5. In Entertainment:
Wind energy is also used in sports activity. Various sports are played which requires wind energy such as windsurfing, sailing, gliding, kitesurfing, etc.
In the next section, I am trying to give you some ideas about the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy. Here advantages of wind energy come first-
# Advantages of Wind Energy :
Wind energy has a very low rate of carbon-di-oxide emission, effectively zero. It also does not release any CFC.
No air or water pollution since it applies energy from the wind.
It does not require any fuel like coal, patrol, gases, etc.
Completely sustainable because wind is a continuous flow around the globe.
Wind turbines can be used almost anywhere, land or offshore. This removes the problem of land shortage for smaller countries.
Cheaper than most other energy production methods like nuclear power plants and coal plants.
No environmental effects since wind is produced on its own.
Reduces pressure on fuel which can be used in other resource production.
# Disadvantages of Wind Energy :
The high installation cost of turbines because the turbines and towers are costly but does not provide efficient production in proportion.
Economic subsidies needed to make wind energy viable.
Extra cost of upgrading grids and transmission lines.
Uses more land though offshore turbines are in operation now.
Wind turbines hamper wildlife of birds and bats.
Turbines can make noise and aesthetic pollution.
After knowing the advantages and the disadvantages of wind energy, now let’s get a short brief of the impact of the wind electricity.
# Environmental impact of wind energy :
Wind energy is a clean and sustainable source of power. However, it has some negative impact on the environment. First of all, wind turbines need large areas to be sited. This creates pressure on land for smaller sized countries. Bigger countries like China, Canada, the USA face a lesser effect on the land. Offshore turbines are more effective because the majority of earth covers with water.
Wind turbines have a greater impact on the habitat of wildlife, especially for airborne species like birds and bats. Many studies documented the hampering scenario of wildlife because of wind turbines. Offshore turbines have a similar impact.
Another major impact of wind turbines on the environment is, the turbines cause noise therefor aesthetic pollution. Also, aged out turbines produce vibration which is but they are not very severe.
Though wind turbines do not produce any harmful emission, stages of constructing a turbine burn fuel which is associated with emission. This is a minor and rather negligible impact of wind turbines on the environment.
# Socio-Economic Impact Of Wind Energy :
Wind turbines have a great positive impact on the countries socio-economic sector. Wind energy creates more revenue opportunities for firms because of its low-cost production of electricity and maintenance. This allows firms to provide cheaper electricity for the country, shifting expenditure patterns on other sectors.
Wind energy firms can also reduce the problem of unemployment by creating jobs. Idle population can be a burden for a country. The larger the workforce of a country, the quicker the development.
Smaller sized wind turbines are not very costly yet can produce enough electricity to power a house. This can be a source of power for personal consumption, reducing both demand and expense for electricity.
# Some cool data and stats of wind power – Present Scenario of Wind Energy
By the end of 2018, worldwide cumulative production capacity from wind turbines stands at 591,549 megawatts. The capacity is ever-growing, with a 9.6% from 2017. Although the United States was the leading provider of wind electricity until 2010, China has surpassed the USA. Another noticeable growth can be sighted in India.
Statistics of country’s electricity generation capacity of 2018; image source: wikipedia.com
China holds the biggest share of the world’s total wind-generated power of about 211392 megawatts. It is almost 35% of the total wind electricity. They installed another 2300 megawatts capacity turbines by 2018. China is likely to invest more in the sector.
The USA is second in line with a cumulative of 9600 megawatts in 2018. It is about 15% of the world’s total capacity. Another 7000+ megawatts were installed in 2018. As the pioneer of the wind power industry, the USA has always been in a top position in the sector and tries to retain the glory.
After the USA, the Germany is in the 3rd position with 59311 megawatts with 10% of the world’s total. Another 3000 megawatts were installed last year. More investments will be made in the upcoming years.
Wind power is gaining popularity in other countries like Canada, Australia, and others. Although New Zealand had a growing industry for wind energy for past years, it had declined in the past two or three years resulting in no production from wind turbines. Australia and Canada hold a growing position.
# Top 15 Cool Facts of Wind Energy –
Windmills have been in use since 5000 BC and were first developed in Persia and China.
2. Wind energy is still underused but holds potential for the future, although appliance has increased to 25% from previous years.
3. The wind tower can be as long as a 20 storied building.
4. The largest turbine in the USA can power 600 homes.
5. It has a bad reputation for making noise and aesthetic pollution.
6. It is one of the fastest-growing industries across the planet.
7. No water is used in wind turbines.
8. Most of the modern turbines use fewer blades, usually 3.
9. The rotation speed of the blades can reach a peak of 320 kmph.
10. The largest wind turbine in the world you will find in the US in Hawaii. It is actually 20 stories tall and has blades those lengths of a football field.
11. The first modern model of wind turbine was built in Vermont in 1940.
12. Approximately 1300 birds and bats are killed every year because of the turbines.
13. The first-ever book on theories of wind energy was “Wind Energie” by German pioneer
Betz.
14. A modern wind turbine has almost 8000 components.
15. Smaller wind turbines are built for personal consumption, to charge batteries as backup power.
Futuristic Tech of Wind energy : Future of wind energy technology as renewable source
There are two major technologies of wind turbines, land and offshore. Land turbines are usually smaller in size and capacity than offshore turbines.
Current technologies for wind turbines can provide up to 32% efficiency in electricity production. Though it may sound disappointing, it does not bring a deficit as it is renewable.
A commercial turbine with present technology is capable of producing about 1.5 megawatts of power.
Current technologies allow a rotor up to 100 meters based on the type of turbine. Some advanced designed are successfully used in prototype machines to measure solid differences. Perhaps the most ambitious research is seeking to create a rotor blade longer than 650 feet for a 50-MW offshore wind turbine. That’s 2.5X longer and over 6X more output than the largest blades and turbines now in operation.
A concept of advanced Gearbox is under supervision which may provide 20% more efficient than the currently applied ones.
Research suggests a smarter design for blades which will allow turbines to draw more energy from wind, up to 10% extra.
Scientists and engineers are working to develop a noise-free pattern of turbines which will not only reduce sound generation but also increase total energy output by converting sound energy to electricity.
#Why Use Wind Energy ? Benefit of wind energy :
The biggest advantage of wind energy is that it is renewable. Scientists have been looking for renewable sources of energy for a long time. Also, current technologies allow us to use the power of wind more efficiently. Other sources consume some kind of fuel to operate, wind turbines do not but the flowing wind. This not only reduces pressure on fuels but also makes wind energy a clean source. The continuous burn of fuel is continuously polluting the earth’s atmosphere. But wind energy is eco-friendly since pollution caused by a wind turbine is next to zero. There are no byproducts or waste.
Wind energy is also very economical. Since n fuel is required, the cost of fuel is saved. Turbines do not have to be monitored closely like nuclear plants or other plants. The generation of electricity is automatic with the wind flow. The USA and China are successfully applying wind energy with economic surplus.
The future is wind energy is valuable because one-day mankind must narrow the consumption of traditional fuel. Scarcity is an inevitable occurrence. But wind is unlimited, renewable. It has no scarcity and no one can seize control of it. Wind is for everybody, so should energy be.
Final verdict :
After comprehensive brief of wind energy i think you are pretty clear about the historical timeline review of wind energy. Wind energy has been used for millenniums. It holds tremendous potential for the future. The demand for energy is increasing with the increase of population and technology. Wind energy can be converted to power easily with minimal cost. Modern-day turbines are contributing to the world’s total consumption of power satisfactorily.
Wind turbines hold numerous advantages and importance. In contrast, it has fewer drawbacks. The upcoming challenges are to develop better technology for next-generation wind turbines, which can replace traditional ways of power development.
From the past few decades, investments for wind energy have been escalating dramatically. Firms all over world are spending more on R&D of wind energy. The study predicts that it is not very long until wind energy become the most popular source of power for its clean and sustainable nature.
Is it enough to just knowing the history of wind energy?
Nope!!
We should realize the importance of renewable energy along with its environmental impact and try to act fast to adopt renewable energy as soon as possible for a better environment and energy conservation for the next generation.
Nowadays, Renewable energy has become a timely topic for its significant characteristics — the sources of renewable energy much clean than non-renewable energy sources.
In this article, we discussed the major types of renewable energy, and we briefly overview every source of renewable energy along with renewable facts, data, and lots of cool stuff. So keep reading!!
This alternative energy source would be a safeguard to reduce carbon emission and also play a vital role in future energy consumption.
We all have a perception of renewable energy being a paradigm shift to the energy sector as a solution to diminishing fossil fuel stock of the earth.We also think that renewable energy is expensive and cannot be implemented globally on a large scale, and we need a lot of years to do that.
However, all these can be proven wrong to utilize the major sources of renewable energy properly to harness the electricity at the highest level.
List of Major types of renewable energy :
8 types of renewable energy are:
Bio-energy
Geothermal
Hydroelectric
Solar
Wind
Ocean
Hydrogen
Tidal
Brief discussion about the sources of Renewable Energy :
In this chapter, we discuss every component of the types of renewable energy from its history to uses, facts, stats, and obstacles.
Major Sources Of Renewable Energy-ecowowlife.com
1. Hydroelectric power – One of the first sources of renewable energy used for electricity :
People have a long history of using water flowing force of streams and rivers to produce mechanical energy. One of the first sources of energy that used for electricity generation was hydro power. It is the largest single renewable energy source for electricity generation in the U.S.
Hydrogen Energy
Water flowing into water stored or the river in a dam is sources of hydro energy. The Simple method of using hydro energy is to convert it into electrical energy. The amount of precipitation which drains into rivers and streams in a geographic area determines the amount of water available for producing hydropower. Two factors play a significant impact on hydropower production:
Seasonal variations in precipitation
Long-term changes in precipitation patterns, such as droughts
In 2018, total U.S. utility-scale electricity generation sources and their shares-
Hydroelectricity accounted for about 7%
And 41% from renewable energy sources (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
Hydroelectricity’s share of total U.S. electricity production has decreased over time because electricity generation from other sources has increased. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
2. Wind Energy – Commonly used in a windy urban area
Winds are continually being created in nature. Today, wind energy is generally used to produce electricity. These windmills are generally established only at places where most of the days in a year experience strong winds. The energy from this wind is used for grinding grain, pumping water, and producing electricity. Water-pumping windmills were once used throughout the US, and some still operate on farms and ranches, mainly to supply water for livestock. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
3. Hydrogen and fuel cells : Hydrogen energy can produce enormous electricity
It is a decent source of energy because it does not create pollution and produce maximum energy on burning. Hydrogen has the potential to be the answer to all our energy and fuel troubles. Technology is currently being developed to utilize hydrogen efficiency fully.
Hydro Electric Energy- ecowowlife.com
4. Geothermal energy : Is a renewable energy source as heat is continuously produced inside the earth
Geothermal energy is heat within the earth. The word geothermal basically comes from the Greek words “geo” (earth) and “thermal” (heat) (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019).
Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source as heat is continuously produced inside the earth. People can capture geothermal energy through geothermal power plants, which use heat from deep inside the Earth to generate steam to make electricity.
Geothermal heat pumps, which tap into heat close to the Earth’s surface to heat water or provide heat for buildings. People use geothermal heat for heat buildings, bathing, and to generate electricity.
5. Ocean thermal energy : Is another sources of renewable energy which create less pollution when it operate :
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) produces electricity using seawater, is a renewable energy technology. 71% of the world’s surface is covered by ocean Oceanic Institute). It is a process that can produce electricity by using the temperature difference between deep cold ocean water and warm tropical surface waters (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019).
OTEC plants pump large quantities of deep cold seawater and surface seawater to run a power cycle and produce electricity.
6. Bioenergy or Biogas : Biofuel accounting for 60-70% of the total energy
Biogas is produced from biomass done the process of anaerobic decomposition. Anaerobic bacteria—bacteria that live without the existence of free oxygen. It occurs naturally in soils, in water bodies such as swamps and lakes, and the digestive tracts of humans and animals. These bacteria break down, or digest biomass after eating and produce biogas.
Biogas is combination of mostly methane and carbon dioxide. Methane (CH4) is the similar energy-rich compound found in natural gas.
The composition of bio-gas differs from 40%–60% methane to 60%–40% carbon dioxide (CO2), with small volumes of water vapor and other gases. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
Bio-gas forms from municipal-solid-waste landfills and livestock manure holding ponds. Bio-gas can also produce under organized conditions in individual tanks called anaerobic dig esters.
Biogas can be treated to eliminate CO2 and other gases, and it can be used as fuel, just like natural gas. Disgeste is the material that left after anaerobic digestion is complete which is rich in nutrients, can used as a fertilizer. There are several types of bio-energy exist
Types of Bio-energy are:
Wood biomass
Ethanol
Biodiesel
Waste biomass
Wood biomass :
People have used wood for lighting, cooking, and heating for thousands of years. Wood was the main source of energy for the world until the mid-1800s.
Wood continues to be an essential fuel in many countries, especially for cooking and heating in developing countries.
About 2% of total U.S. annual energy consumption was from wood and wood waste—bark, sawdust, paper mill residues and wood chips, wood scrap in 2018 (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019).
In the electric power sector, several power plants that burn mostly wood to generate electricity, and some coal-burning power plants burn wood chips with coal to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. Most of the commercial sector’s use of wood is for heating.
The amounts in trillion British thermal units (TBtu) of wood and wood waste energy consumption by consuming sectors and their percentage shares of total U.S. wood and wood waste energy consumption in 2018 were:
Industrial: 1,540 TBtu 65%
Residential: 517 TBtu 22%
electric power: 215 TBtu 9%
commercial: 84 TBtu 4% (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
Ethanol :
Ethanol is a renewable biofuel as it is made from biomass. Ethanol is clear, colorless alcohol made from a variety of biomass materials called feedstocks (the raw materials used to create a product). Fuel ethanol feedstocks include crops and grains with higier starch and sugar content such as corn, sorghum, barley, sugar cane, and sugar beets.
Ethanol can also be made from trees, grasses, and agricultural and forestry residues such as corn cobs and stocks, sawdust, rice straw, and wood chips. In several way Ethanol is made from these feedstocks.
The most common ethanol manufacture procedures today use yeast to ferment the starch and sugars in corn, sugar cane, and sugar beets. Corn is the primary feedstock for fuel ethanol in the United States because of its abundance and low price. The starch in corn kernels is been fermented into sugar, which is then fermented into alcohol.
Sugar beets & sugar cane are the most common feed stock used to make fuel ethanol in other parts of the world. Because alcohol is made by sugar crops, fermenting sugar are the most accessible ingredients to convert into alcohol.
After the United States, Brazil is the world’s 2nd-largest fuel ethanol producer makes most of its fuel ethanol from sugar cane. Most number of the cars in Brazil can run by pure ethanol or a blend of gasoline and ethanol. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
Bio-diesel :
Bio-diesel is a renewable fuel from biomass. Most U.S. biodiesel is produced from animal fats and vegetable oils. Equipment that customs distillate fuel oil can also use biodiesel. The significant sources of feedstock (raw material) for making biodiesel in the United States and their shares of total biodiesel feedstock in 2018 were:
soybean oil 54%
corn oil 15%
recycled feedstock (such as used cooking oils and yellow grease)13%
canola oil 9%
animal fats 9% (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
Rapeseed oil, palm oil, and sunflower oil are the major feedstock for biodiesel produced in other countries. Biodiesel is most often mixed with petroleum diesel in ratios of 2% (referred to as B2), 5% (B5), or 20% (B20).
Pure biodiesel (B100) can also be recycled in many applications. Diesel engines can use biodiesel fuels without any changes to the engines. Bio-diesel blends are also can be used as heating oil. Petroleum diesel fuel tanks and equipment can also store and transport bio-diesel. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
Waste biomass :
Municipal solid waste (MSW) is often called garbage. They used to produce energy at waste-to-energy plants and landfills in the US. MSW contains:
Biomass or biogenic that are plant or animal products; materials such as paper, cardboard, food waste, grass clippings, leaves, wood, and leather products.
Non-biomass combustible materials such as plastics and also other synthetic materials made from petroleum
Noncombustible materials such as glass and metals
In 2015, MSW(Municipal solid waste) about 262 million tons were generated in the United States:
52.5% land filled
25.8% recycled
12.8% burned with energy recovery
8.9% composted (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
MSW is usually burned at unique waste-to-energy plants that use the heat from the fire to make steam. In this way, they are generating electricity or to heat buildings.
In 2016, 71 US power plants generated about 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from burning approximately 30 million tons of combustible MSW.
Biomass materials are accounted for almost 64% of the weight of the combustible MSW and for about 51% of the electricity generated. The remainder of the combustible MSW was non-biomass combustible material, mainly plastics.
Many large landfills are also generating electricity by using methane gas. Methane gas is usually produced from decomposing biomass in landfills.
Burning MSW reduces the amount of waste by almost 87% that would probably be buried in landfills. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
7.Tidal Energy :
Tidal energy is one of the forms of hydropower that converts the energy from tides into electricity or other useful forms of energy. Tidal power has a relatively high-efficiency rate. Almost 80% of the usable electricity can be harness from tidal.
8. Solar Energy : Solar Power is the most popular renewable sources among others
Solar energy uses captured sunlight to create electricity. They usually use photovoltaic power (PV) or concentrated solar power (CSP). This solar energy used to power auto motives, lights, pools, heaters, and gadgets.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) devices, or solar cells, change sunlight directly into electricity. Small PV cells can power calculators, watches, and other small electronic devices. The PV plant can produce electricity for an entire house. Some PV power plants have large arrays that cover many acres to generate electricity for thousands of homes.
The installation of space solar panels could aid the new era of future civilization. The scientists are investigating in such research and innovative technologies development.
Graphene Energy : Future Renewable Energy Sources which may be lead the Renewable Industry:
Scientists have discovered breakthroughs in renewable sources by using graphene. It is a derivative of graphite. Graphite is also the most major mineral component found in lithium-ion batteries. Graphene is just one atom thick and can both simplify and revolutionize tissue technology to drug delivery applications. When combined with salt water, it has an unexpected potential to generate electric potential.
Final remark about Types of Renewable sources:
After over viewing the type of renewable energy, it’s pretty clear these sources of energy are sustainable and clean power, which tent to reduce pollution. All the sources of renewable energy relatively environment-friendly, thus called it green energy.
The whole world is now concerned about energy security, along with the negative impact of climate change caused mostly by the carbon emission from fossil fuels and industrial pollution. Here renewable energy may be a safeguard for the environment.
Many countries of the world are implementing this renewable energy to secure energy consumption. They are already aiming to produce 100% of electricity from renewable sources.
Artificial Leaf is the latest renewable energy tech that can brings a win-win solution to sustainability. How? Let’s find it through this article.
We all know about the problematic trade-off in the present world between fossil fuels and renewables. While renewable energy are reliable in terms of sustainability but not meeting up the enormous energy demand, we have a limited amount of fossil fuels to rethink the use too.
Artificial Leaf Turning sunlight to fuel and oxygen
Why not a ‘Win-Win’ to satisfy both sides? Yes, get to know everything about the latest innovation called ‘Artificial Leaf’ and meet the brilliant minds that are the inventors behind this innovation in a few minutes of reading this piece. We are more than sure to amaze you beyond your thinking with information about the importance and challenges of this energy technology and many more! Happy reading, and share how amazed you are!
What is Artificial Leaf And How Its Work? Latest energy technology-
The fact is scary that we are running out of fossil fuels, and our existence is threatened. While the whole world is trying to conserve or save resources like fuel, coal, natural gas, water, we all know the rate at which we are losing them is beyond our expectations.
source:istock
I’ll soon give you a ray of hope here. Yes, we do have a fantastic innovation in hand to generate fossil fuel out of sunlight, not just electricity! This innovation is ‘Artificial leaf’ that mimics the natural photosynthesis process but with the benefits of producing energy, invented very recently and in two different ways from two researchers. The innovations are a breakthrough in the renewable energy sector, with the potential of solving the crisis of sustainability. Science has always surprised us, and I’m sure you won’t think otherwise after reading this article! Who knows? You may have an artificial leaf plant on your rooftop soon, having your power plant.
Meet the Artificial Leaf-
The artificial leaf is a device that converts solar energy into other forms of energy or fuel, having the background theory of natural photosynthesis process where plant leaves convert solar energy into glucose and oxygen. This invention is very tricky and simple to give us a permanent solution for energy supply and storage.
source:.cnn.com
From 2017 to 2019, we have got two different types of artificial leaves. The artificial leaf, invented by Daniel Nocera in 2017, uses the sunlight to break the chemical bond in water (H20) to produce hydrogen and oxygen separately. Thus, we can produce oxygen, which is our resort to existence and also hydrogen, which can be stored and used as fuel later on. The device does not look like a leaf, though! Have a look!!
On the other hand, we just got the most recent invention of artificial leaf in 2019 from Yimin Wu, which can produce methanol from harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) of air, which can be used as fuel later on and also oxygen for cleaner air.
Who invent Artificial Leaf? Inventors of Artificial Leaf
Meet the two pioneers of Artificial leaf technologies from two different countries, Mr. Yimin Wu, Professor of Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and Mr. Daniel Nocera, Professor of Energy from Harvard University.
Daniel Nocera is a most influential people in renewable energy circles. He was engaged in the idea of producing energy from leaf since he was in grad school and spent 30 years to work on this technology.
source:vimeo.com
He invented the artificial leaf that produces hydrogen and oxygen from sunlight, leaving virtually no pollutants.
He has Youtube videos, awards, and recognition in the U.S and has been invited to different events in the U.S to present his innovation. Not only that, Times Magazine included him among the top most influential people in 2011.
Coming to his technology, The World Economic Forum listed the artificial leaf among high emerging technologies in 2017.
Now, let’s meet the young and brilliant, Yimin Wu. He conducted researches on this technology in 2015 while working in Illinois with the U.S. Department of Energy. Artificial leaf producing methanol and oxygen from sunlight is his latest in the series of research works that came out in November 2019 in a journal named Nature Energy.
Why innovating Artificial Leaf was important?
You might be wondering why this innovation was even needed, and why it is important. The following facts will tell you why:
– We are presently running out of fossil fuels and also facing a crisis on enough supply of renewable energy. So, the artificial leaf will produce cleaner energy and even methanol or hydrogen fuel as fossil fuels, too which is a win-win to reduce CO2 emission and also ensure sustainability.
– The energy demand of 30 tera watts or 30 trillion watts of energy for an estimated 9 billion people by 2050 needs to be met, which is an emergency. Innovations like an artificial leaf can pave the way for sustainability and necessary changes in energy systems.
– For developed countries, generation is not the problem; storage is. Since the hydrogen produced from the artificial leaf can be stored, so this will lead to quicker entry to the renewable energy market.
– Oil, steel, and automobile companies can take advantage of this technology to produce methanol from carbon dioxide to reduce emissions, which will ensure environmental ethics in those companies.
– In terms of efficiency, artificial leaf uses up 10% of sunlight to produce hydrogen and oxygen, while a plant converts 1% of sunlight into food, which easily proves why the artificial leaf is essential.
– Artificial leaves can be used in arid regions where hydropower is not much feasible. They take up less space than solar panels and also do not need a battery to store energy for later use.
– Last but not least, artificial leaf technology is transportable, and the design is economical.
Challenges ahead :
The reason why we are not getting these artificial leaves in our rooftop is because of many challenges. Since this innovation is at an early stage, a lot of challenges remain to satisfy the current renewable energy market. Replicating a natural process of photosynthesis by satisfying the current energy demand is not easy at all. Let’s go through some of the challenges here:
– Improving the efficiency of artificial leaf technology
Final Thought: Is this new tech “Artificial leaf” brings revolution in Renewable Energy :
The best part about the innovation of Artifical leaf invented by both Yiin Wu and Daniel Nocera is that we do not have the trade-off between saving fossil fuel and producing renewable energy.
If properly executed, this innovation can, on the one hand, reduce GHG emissions and ensure a sustainable supply of energy on the other side. It will be a win-win for the whole world.
By reducing costs and effective institutional partnerships, the technologies can be feasible to developing countries too. We can surely hope for a better and greener world if this works; fingers crossed!
If you feel passionate about researches, go for it because you never know what’s in your head that could change the world. Till then, living green or living eco-friendly days. You’ll find an article on this too on our blog. Happy reading!
The renewable energy sector is racing faster than you think. In this write-up, you can get all the latest, interesting facts and data on renewable energy at one click.
We’ve collected and combined the highest number of latest renewable energy facts and data for you to make your search easy!
Let’s explore amazing new renewable fan facts to be shocked and surprised at the same time!
25 cool facts on renewable energy you’ve never heard of
The first solar-powered plane completed the world tour landing on Abu Dhabi in 2015. Another solar-powered plane took flew in stages using on fuel at all in 1990.
Abu Dhabi Solar Plant
2. The largest wind turbine is located in Hawaii that aims to generate 100% electricity demand within 2045. The wind turbine has blades of the length of a football pitch and stands 20 stories tall.
3. According to WWF (World Wildlife Fund), it is possible to generate electricity enough to meet the global demand from renewable resources by 2050.
4. Investors in Hungary, United States, and Netherlands developed the first battery-powered vehicle during 1800.
5. Google, Apple and Facebook heading towards powering the web through green energy.
6. Fossil fuels receive subsidies 20 times more than of renewables.
7. China built 2 wind turbines every hour, as they did since 2017.
Renewable Energy facts china
8. Renewable energy market is projected to reach worth US 777.6 Billion by 2019.
9. Small nations like Costa Rica and Iceland are generating all of its electricity from renewables.
10. According to IRENA, installed global renewable capacity doubled since 2008.
11. Big nations producing the highest clean energies are Canada and Brazil.
12. Women represent 32% of the global renewable energy workforce.
13. 71% of women face wage disparity in the renewable energy sector according to IRENA.
14. A power plant in Spain captured sun rays in a special salt to distribute during the night over 7 hours, enabling people to see sun rays during night.
15. Sunlight reaching the earth in an hour is enough to meet energy demands for an entire year if harnessed properly.
16. Comparing the continents, Asia generated the highest (200000MW) amount of electricity by solar energy in 2016.
17. Europe stood first in generating the highest electricity by wind energy in 2016 (350000MW).
18. Solar energy can be stored in salt by a technique called Solar Reserve.
19. One wind turbine can provide power to 1400 households.
20. Solar and wind energy do not have input costs.
21. South Africa has some of the best renewable energy resources in the world with the most stable solar radiations.
22. We do not receive the same energy that we purchase.
23. Unless a cost-effective storage system is adopted, even renewables are dependent on firm power that is, indirectly on non-renewables.
24. Birds are more likely to die near wind turbines.
25. ‘Renewable energy is too expensive’ is a myth
25 amazing Renewable energy data or statistics
Modern renewable energy consumption reaches up to 5000Twh globally having 4000twh only for hydropower.
2. The United States invested around 44.11 billion$ while China invested around 102.90 billion$ in renewable energy in 2015.
3. Britain is gradually phasing out coal.
4. Renewables account for only 1.6% of the global energy.
5. Global Solar Atlas is a free, web-based tool to support investors and policymakers classify potential sites for solar power generation virtually every place in the world, at the click of a button.
Source: World Bank
6. India has launched the International Solar Alliance comprised of over 120 nations within the tropic of Capricorn for integration of solar grid systems along with World Bank.
Source: isolaralliance.org
7. The largest operational single-site solar project is located at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with a capacity to generate 1,177MW and is an 870 million$ project.
8. Itiapu hydroelectric dam was the largest until China built The Three Gorges Dam in 2012 with a capacity of 22.500 MW of electricity compared to 14,000 MW generated by Itapúa Dam.
9. Afghanistan stands as the lowest energy-consuming country.
10. Highest renewable installations are in China (700,000 MW).
11. London Array is the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
12. AK-1000, the largest tidal energy turbine in the world is expected to power 200,000 households over half of Scotland; once completed.
13. Siemens, a new data center of United States taps energy from sewage to power the servers.
Source: International Hydropower Assocoation
14. While only 8GW of installed solar power was available ten years ago, the world surpassed 1000GW in 2019.
15. Some of the world’s biggest fund managers said that they would invest in only those companies that welcome climate risks into their strategies.
16. Ireland turns into the first country to deny from fossil fuels.
17. Wind turbines are required to keep motionless during low speed of the wind as bats stay active during low speed of the wind and thus could save the life of bats.
18. Thin-film photo voltaic cells contain toxic materials than the traditional ones that may impose environmental and public health if not handled or disposed of properly.
19. Land use is a challenge for all the renewable installations.
20. 2015 witnessed more than 100 cities to be powered 70% from renewables.
21. Over 310GW of storage capacity will be required by China, India, US, and EU alone, which is twice the installed capacity worldwide.
22. 1GW solar energy is enough to power 100 million LED lights.
23. Community complaints about noise pollution from wind turbines dropped rapidly when they derived income from the renewable energy projects in question.
24. Estimation for fossil fuel depletion shows the period of next the 50-120 years only.
25. The earliest fossil fuel deposits found are traced back to 500 million years ago, when most groups of animals appeared first on earth.
Inexhaustible energy, reducing energy dependence, and competitive technologies globally, international fund transfers for promoting renewable energy to combat climate change are all main factors behind all nations to target towards a sustainable environment.
Moreover, 1.1 billion inhabitants do not have access to electricity and 2.7 billion people use conventional methods at risk to their health which makes it crucial to promote renewable energy; especially in developing countries.
By effective endeavors, governments of all nations are ensuring clean energies as mentioned in the renewable energy facts in this article. Through suitable technologies and solving challenges of this sector, renewable energy can pave towards a successful shield against global warming in the future.
Nowadays, 100% Renewable energy has become a subject of international issues. It is gaining popularity along with world politics and economies all over the world.
We know that climate change conditions are becoming worse day by day. On the other hand, the consumption of non- renewable energy sources like coal, fossil fuel, oil, and gas are decreasing day by day. Here renewable energy sources may safeguard to reduce pollution, and also it can play great roll to energy conservation for the next generation.
In this write up we discuss all the component which related to 100% renewable energy. Lets dive into the article!!
What is 100% renewable energy?
100% renewable energy is a concept which develop for this main three reason-
1. Reduce pollution or carbon emissions
2. Energy security or Conserve energy for next generation
3. Minimize the dependency of traditional energy sources such as fossil fuel, oil, gasoline, etc. And
4. For searching clean alternative renewable energy
It isn’t straightforward to explain 100% renewable energy within a few words. It’s a versatile concept and its main goal of switching the total traditional or primary sources of energy to renewable like solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, etc for a better environment along with searching reliable energy security.
The global primary energy generation in the 100% renewable energy system will consist of the following mix of energy sources:
Solar energy (69%)
Wind power (18%)
Hydro (3%)
Bio-energy (6%) and
Geothermal energy (2%)
100% renewable energy mainly motivated for fighting against global warming, pollution, and other environmental issues along with energy consumption.
Here comes the question of ‘100% renewable energy’ is possible or not?. One can argue that energy produced by fossil fuels is effortless to achieve. Well, it is true. But it can pollute the environment on a large scale.
As a result, the climate of the earth is in danger. So, after a long debate, many countries adopted renewable energy to operate different types of machinery.
But still, the total percentage of renewable energy is not more than 13%. There are many difficulties in installing renewable energy in every sector. ‘100% Renewable Energy’ discusses the problems and possibilities of increasing the percentage of using renewable energy up to 100%.
Famous scientistBent Sorenson published a paper in 1975 on energy consumption. In this paper, he introduced 100% renewable energy first.
In the 1990’sHenrich Lund described on a broader scale of 100% renewable energy and its necessity .
In this decade, many scientific research papers published on this topic in European and American journals.
Wind farm in Canberra, Australia; Image Source: nature.com
Is 100 percent renewable energy fully possible?
Questions raised about whether 100% renewable energy is possible or not?
Well, try to think positively and rationally.
Undoubtedly, renewable energy can reduce environmental pollution on a large scale. But to install it correctly, a useful framework is essential. It’s not that easy to establish a renewable energy system overnight. Non-renewable energy sources cover a large portion of international affairs in today’s world. Businesses of fossil fuels play a very crucial role in world economics.
Many countries maintain their trades by exporting petroleum and gas. Internally, the maximum of the power economy based on fossil fuels.
On the other hand, the present conditions of energy technology are more flexible for non-renewable energy.
In many parts of the world, start to implement renewable energy system. But its total percentage is not very high. Installing a renewable energy system on a large scale technology should be rearranged.
And to do this in real, an economy based on fossil fuels should be changed as well. But it is clear that without political will, these massive activities can’t run at all.
Implementing 100% renewable energy is a difficult task. Moreover, there is no comprehensive worldwide network of renewable energy activists like fossil fuel businesses. Only local initiatives will not be enough to cover up.
Let’s take examples.
The United States is the largest energy consumer on this planet. Renewable energy systems are operating in many parts of this country.
Statistics show that in 2018 California State declared to introduce 100% renewable energy within 2045.
Undoubtedly, this is excellent news for environmental activists. But the reality is not that easy. Only 12% of the energy produced in the country is renewable.
In this picture, 2.7% comes from hydroelectric plants. Wind and solar plants cover only 4% of the total need. And rest 4.6% fulfilled by biomass energy.
Renewable Energy scenario across the United States; Image Source: powur.com
Can a city-run on 100% renewable energy?
Many cities of the world adopt renewable energy and trying to harness maximum electricity from these clean sources. The question is they harnessing the electricity 100% through the renewable sources?
Lets find this question right here!
Although the process of harness the electricity from renewable sources expensive primarily, it gives benefits in the long run. In recent times, several cities in the world are running by renewable energy.
It seems a little bit unbelievable. But the truth is that it is not impossible to run a city on 100% renewable energy.
Let’s take the example of Vermont City in the United States.
From 1980 the city was getting rid of coal-based mining to reduce pollution.
Then biomass energy was mainly encouraged.
Gradually, the use of wind and water to produce energy increased. Inhabitants of the city went through a slightly expensive way to establish a renewable energy system fully. But at last, it became possible.
Nowadays, much of the electricity in a city comes from wind and water power.
Let’s think of a little country. Iceland is an example of a host of 100% renewable energy using the city. Reykjavik city uses 100% renewable sources to fill the need for electricity. Hydro-electric projects fill up 70% of the energy needs of the town. Geothermal energy fills up the rest 30% of the demand.
Itaipu Dam in Brazil and Paraguay is a fine example of hydroelectric project as renewable energy; image Source: mapsofworld.com
Latin America as a poor area. Geographically here, rivers and other sources of water current are available easily. As a result, the tidal flow has become an excellent medium for hydro-electric projects. Let’s think about the capital city of Brazil. Brasilia is an excellent example of a town run by 100% renewable energy. About 2.5 million people live in this city. Most of the demand for electricity in this city, fulfilled by hydropower.
But the condition is not out of problems. Water becomes very rare to generate power in the drought season. As a result, renewable energy sources create many troubles when elements are not available properly.
100% renewable energy Countries, regions, and places
Today no country in the world uses 100% renewable energy in every sector of life. But many countries are producing renewable energy to reduce pollution and ensure healthy living. Thus, cities or areas of different countries using 100% renewable energy have become topics of environmental issues.
Norway and his 100% renewable goal:
This Scandinavian country is an excellent example of the usage of renewable energy. About 96% of the total electricity comes from hydroelectric projects. Geothermal, solar, and wind power provide another 2% of the energy needs.
Image Source: unu.edu
Paraguay
This Latin American country is also renowned for using 100% renewable energy sources in many sectors. About 100% of the needed electricity comes from hydroelectric plants. An interesting fact is that Paraguay sells 90% of its electricity produced by renewable energy. The rest 10% fulfills the internal needs of the country.
Denmark
The country uses 100% renewable energy in many ways. In Samso island, hydroelectricity is operating on a vast scale. As it located in the north of the country, it has to share power with the mainland.
Iceland
This tiny country of Europe showed the excellence of using 100% renewable energy. About 72% of the electricity comes from substantial hydroelectric plants. The rest of the needed power is filled up by 28% geothermal and wind power.
Geothermal Energy plant in Iceland; Image Source:theneweconomy.com
New Zealand
This beautiful country is another excellent example of 100% renewable energy usage. The South Island of the state produces 98.2% of the whole hydroelectricity of the country. Wind power fills up the rest of the needed power. This island exports much electricity to the north island.
Global thoughts of leaders and citizens on 100% renewable energy
Oil, coal, and natural gas didn’t take a short time to cover up most of the energy scenario. History says that petroleum took at least 50 years to act as a world factor. And today, mainly natural gas and oil play a vital role in international fuel matters. As a result, technically and economically, fuel system all over the world has become dependent on non-renewable sources. Not only that, it controls a significant part of the international arena.
Researchers say that non-renewable sources like oil, coal, and gas around the world will finish within 2050. As a result, new movements for establishing renewable energy across the globe have gained a new wave. Environment activists and humanists, along with politicians and pressure groups personalities, are working on the returns on renewable energy.
Even many artists, celebrities, and movie stars are working on this vital issue. In 2015 famous Hollywood star Leonardo De Caprio called for a campaign to increase the usage of renewable energy.
Besides being a movie actor, he is an environmental activist and worked for a long time. He thinks that renewable energy is not a matter of politics or economy, but humanity is the core concept of it.
Leonardo DiCaprio and activist speaks and works for 100% renewable energy; Image Source: businessinsider.com
We all admire the blockbuster movie ‘Titanic,’ which became the icon of the ‘90s. James Cameron, director of this movie, is a great advocate of 100% renewable energy. He also promotes green living and green peace as a positive future for humanity.
He made campaigns for renewable and green energy along with natural living. You can discover his nature-loving philosophy in his famous movie, ‘Avatar.’ Not only him, but international celebrities like Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett share their time and voice for 100% renewable energy.
But politics and economics behind the current situation can’t be denied. Conservative politics and profit-seeking businesses have become a significant obstacle against establishing 100% renewable energy.
Large corporations and fuel companies often provoke politicians through lobbies in different ways. And politicians of the developed countries have to maintain a lot of pressure groups who are actually against environmental issues.
Let’s come to American politics. Many members of the republican and democrat parties advocate for renewable energy.
Statistics show that about 83% of the senators of the Republican Party support 100% renewable energy, especially wind and water, as renewable sources. On the other hand, except for 3%, the rest of the democrats support renewable energy. But at present, US president Donald Trump strongly opposes renewable energy. It shows that radical nationalists are often against environmental issues.
Can 100% renewable energy power the whole world?
At present, power systems around the world based on non-renewable sources. And today’s technology is entirely made up of work with this kind of energy.
The world economy is much supportive of the business of petroleum and natural gas. And most of the politicians of the developed countries favor non-renewable energy rather than renewable.
But as a result of climate change and its fatal sequences, people around the world have become aware of environmental issues. Global warming has become a severe term to handle with. Especially developing and emerging countries are becoming victims of devastating natural calamities. Scientists say that pollution is making the world unworthy of living. For this cause, renewable energy has become a topic of international affairs as a savior of our environment.
You can raise the question of whether 100% renewable energy is possible or not.
One can’t change a system within 50 days, which is working for 50 years. And the current technology systems of the world are not secure and flexible for renewable sources. So it is a little bit complicated to implement 100% renewable energy thoroughly.
Let’s take electricity as an example. Solar energy can fill up the scarcity of electricity. But it has specific problems. Recent models and designs of solar energy systems are often unsuitable with the economy of power. Many experts said that the models must be upgraded to improve solar panels as renewable energy-producing machines.
And cost-effective systems should be introduced. Again, we know that half of the world remains dark while sunlight shines the other half every day. So, if electricity has to send further areas from the plant, storage batteries should be needed. Although batteries are polluting agents, recent updates and changes improved these very much.
The transport sector is a significant factor in installing 100% renewable energy. We know that fossil fuels are very easy to use in the present-day transport sector. Airplanes, Ships, trains, and cars designed to use petroleum and diesel to run on. Here renewable energy can’t work in the present situation.
Moreover, the economy of transportation is based on fossil fuel very much. And here, current technology is tough to convert as renewable ones.
You can experience that non-renewable energy systems are very complex to work in hard situations. For example, take missile defense or spaceship. These systems are so complex that even traditional non-renewable energy systems don’t work here. Artificially made non-renewable fuel like Hydrazine is often used here.
Here the question comes again. Can the whole world depend on 100% renewable energy?
Implementing 100% renewable electricity to run the country is possible, but not free of difficulties.
Along with technical problems, current politics, economics, and legal systems are not flexible for this. At first, these difficulties should be solved by long and effective sustainable planning.
USA pathways to 100%renewable energy
Former president of the USA, Barak Obama advocated for 100% Renewable Energy;Image Source: bigeyedfihhouston.com
Many experts say that 100% of renewable energy is essential because the system cost will remain steady if installed. Well, it’s a debatable topic. But what is undoubted about renewable energy is that it is the future. Not only that, it should be made as a future of human civilization.
The United States is the largest energy consumer in the globe. Recent environmental issues show that this country is much liable for climate change.
But many activists, scientists, and politicians work for renewable energy here. Many policymakers are showing the path to establish 100% renewable energy throughout the country.
In 2007, a report on renewable energy and its possibilities. In this report, 100% renewable energy highly recommended for public health, climate change, and sustainable development.
During his era of the presidency, Barak Obama advocated for renewable energy and took this issue seriously.
In 2009, he said that renewable energy should be increased on a large scale so that dependency on fossil fuels can be reduced. He addressed a new energy plan in which a considerable investment was declared.
Statistics show that in the United States, renewable energy fulfills 11% of the total amount of the needed energy. Here comes the fact about hydroelectric projects. Among many sides of renewable energy, it has been installed all over the country on a large scale. Hydroelectricity fulfills about 6.5% of the total electricity demand.
Today many cities of the state are moving towards clean energy systems. Let’s take Colorado as an example. Here the town of Aspen runs on hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. Renewable energy fulfills about 90% or more of the total energy needed.
The same goes for Washington State. In this province, the cities of Centralia and Chelan produce about 97% renewable energy. And most of this energy comes from hydroelectric projects.
Texas can be a unique example. In this state, wind and solar power fulfill about 100% of the electricity. Not only that, here the grid problems have been solved in many respects.
The same things can be said about Kansas. In Greensburg city, wind power provides about 100% of the electricity.
In 2018, one of the cities in Ohio named Cincinnati became 100% renewable energy using the city. Like this, there are many cities across the country that uses much amount of renewable energy in many sectors.
But those pieces of evidence are a small part of a big thing. Today, US policy is not the support of renewable energy projects. Moreover, ongoing international economic warfare promotes fossil fuel industries very much.
Conclusion
Is renewable energy the future of human civilization? Or Can 100% renewable energy save the climate by reducing pollution and carbon emission?
Well, these questions are very critical. That’s why the answers are not so easy. But, undoubtedly, it is true that the expansion of fossil fuel is very much responsible for climate change and fatal natural calamities.
And today’s energy technology is based on non-renewable energy sources. So, difficulties are not inevitable, though, but very hard to solve indeed.
The initiatives to install 100% renewable energy in different regions are appreciable, but not enough. Technical problems are significant factors here. And big businesses and corporations of the world are yet not so flexible in this issue.
The global political approach also not favorable for the expansion of renewable energy. In the developed world, nationalist and far-right politicians are gaining power in every sector. As a result, conservatism is hampering the climate issues very much.
But developing countries are taking significant steps to establish their rights in climate issues. In developed countries, scientists and activists are raising awareness about carbon footprints and renewable energy. They are seeking worldwide initiatives to install 100% renewable energy to save the climate and for energy security.
In this write-up, let’s have a glimpse of an idea about clean renewable energy. This article is the ultimate overview of alternative green energy such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and more.
Before kickoff, let’s encounter some harsh truth of the primary sources of energy –
Oil deposits could replenish in just over 53 years.
In recent study shows, In the United States, emissions of carbon dioxide are projected to increase by 2.5 percent in 2018 after a decade of declines for excessive uses of non-renewable energy such as oil, gas, and coil.
It’s very alarming right!!
Do you ever imagine if the primary sources of energy used up thoroughly, then what will happen?
Can we replenish them again in a short duration? The answer is simply “NO”.
As non-renewable available in limited quantity, it cannot be renewed or replenished in a short duration.
Non-renewable energy is not environmental-friendly at all; they produce an enormous amount of carbon. Those energy sources are directly involved in causing global warming.
Right now, the Earth is experiencing massive climate change due to increased Carbon dioxide, methane gas, nitrous oxide, and other gases.
Here arise two questions naturally –
How much energy will leave for the next generation? And
How to reduce carbon emission from our daily use?
Let’s find out how clean renewable energy will play a significant role to conserve energy for the next generation? And why it is eco-friendly clean green energy.
Why It’s high time to switch renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, and more?
Let’s crack this out into this reading.
What is renewable energy? The simple definition of clean renewable energy :
Renewable energy is naturally replenishing from sources but flow-limited. Renewable resources are almost inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time.
It’s also called green energy because the sources of renewable energy, produce a very little amount of carbon once operating.
This alternative energy sources are the modern energy roots would be the pioneer to green future civilization. Clear decision-making, a supportive regulatory environment, a strong partnership between the public & private sector is crucial. Also, technological advancement and public awareness will create pathways to implement a sustainable future with renewable energies.
If solar energy is, for say, earth’s God, other energies are its goddesses without which we can’t even exist. Earth is driving through a myriad of energies, which we perceive as our significant resources. Based on the replenishing capacity all the energy resources are divided into two –
Renewable &
Non-renewable energy.
History or evaluation of Renewable energy :
The fire was civilization’s first excellent energy invention, and wood was the primary fuel for a long time.
Since then, different energy sources and technologies evolved. Wood was the source of nearly all the nation’s energy until the mid-1800s.
Wood needed for cooking, lighting, and heating. Fossil fuels (i.e., coal, petroleum, and natural gas) become the primary sources, from the late 1800s until today.
Until the 1990s Hydropower and solid biomass were the most used renewable energy. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019).
As we see, the historical production of renewable energy is dominated by traditional biomass. Those included the burning of wood, forestry materials, and agricultural waste biomass.
Although hydro-power implemented at smaller scales throughout the country for thousands of years. But they did not feature at large production scales.
Hydro-power started to flourish with pumped storage development after the 1920s.
Currently, traditional bio-fuels continue as the largest source of renewable energy. Biofuel accounting for 60-70% of the total energy.
Traditional biomass remains the dominant fuel source. Biomass used for cooking & heating across many low-income households.
The World Bank reports that- Only 7% of the world’s low-income households have access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking. (Ritchie & Roser, 2019)
The average share of clean fuel in Sub-Saharan Africa was 13%. And approximately one-third of clean fuel share existing in South Asia., Hydropower remains dominant of the remaining renewable technologies — hydropower accounting for roughly one-quarter of renewable consumption. (Ritchie & Roser, 2019)
Image source: Modern Global Renewable Energy Consumption. Total renewable energy consumption, measured in terawatt-hours (TWh) per year. This data includes all renewable energy sources with the exclusion of traditional biomass. (Our World in Data)
Now let’s find out what is the major renewable sources of energy
The major renewable energy sources are:
Major Renewable Energy Sources
Solar energy
Wind, like large wind turbines, generates electricity from the power of the wind.
Hydro power: Water or hydro like tidal power
Geothermal
Biomass, Types include:Wood and wood waste,Municipal solid waste,Landfill gas and bio-gas,Ethanol,Bio-diesel
Here we just list down the major sources of renewable energy. Later on, we discuss every component about sources of renewable energy.
Before that, let’s dive into non-renewable energy.
Here we overview every component of non-renewable energy. It will start from definition and cover all the major resources of non-renewable energy along with data and lots of cool stuff.
What is non-renewable energy?
Another energy form is Non-renewable one, which available in limited quantity and cannot be renewed or replenished in a short duration. Therefore they are also known as exhaustible sources.
The four major nonrenewable energy sources are:
Crude oil (petroleum)
Natural gas
Coal
Uranium (nuclear energy)
Renewable energy vs non-renewable energy : Difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy
Difference between Renewable Energy and Non-Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy
Nonrenewable Energy
Definition
Natural energy resources that can renew itself sufficiently. It’s a clean and sustainable source.
Energy resources that do not renew itself sufficiently in meaningful human time-frames. It’s not meant to be sustainable economic extraction.
Limit
Unlimited
Limited
Effect on Environment
They are environmental friendly mostly
Mostly harmful to the environment
Restrictions
Convenient to use
There are restrictions in using these
Cost
Freely available in nature, but usually, installation & implementation are costly
Expensive; but implementation is readily feasible & cheaper than that of renewable one.
Types of nonrenewable energy : Example of non renewable energy
Types Of Non Renewable Energy
The sources of Non-renewable energy will run out easily. Those sources will not be replenished for thousands or even millions of years. Nonrenewable resources are only fall under two main categories:
Fossil fuels
Uranium (radioactive minerals)
The sources of non-renewable energy are mostly fossil fuels. Fossil fuels were created as the remains of marine creatures. They decayed millions of years ago under vast amounts of pressure and heat. Coal, above, is a type of rock that is a fossil fuel. Most fossil fuels include petroleum products such as crude oil, coal, and natural gas. They are burned to create energy and electricity.
Nonrenewable energy sources usually come out of the ground as liquids, gases, and solids. Crude oil are been used to make liquid petroleum products such as fuel, gasoline, heating oil, and diesel. Propane and other hydrocarbon gas liquids are found in natural gas and crude oil.
Image: Petroleum, also called crude oil or just “oil” (by Rebecca Hale, National Geography)
Uranium ore, a solid, is mined and that is converted to a fuel used at nuclear power plants. Uranium is not basically a fossil fuel, but it is categorized as a nonrenewable fuel.
What is the meaning of clean energy and unclean energy? Is renewable energy clean? All sources of renewable energy are clean and sustainable?
Clean energy or green energy is produced through means that do not emit greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. Its primary sources are the renewables like solar energy, hydro energy, and wind energy. We have already found ways to harness the electricity from sun, water, wind, and waves, amongst other renewable sources.
These sources produce only minimal amounts of greenhouse gas once operating if any at all – now that’s called clean! Those are also renewable, that means they can be used over and over again.
The bottom line is very clear, Overall renewable energy creates a lively vibe in the environment. They do not create too much carbon footprint and other toxic pollutants.
Overall renewable energy creates a lively vibe in the environment. They do not create too much carbon footprint and other toxic pollutants. So it’s also called eco-friendly energy.
Global warming is increasing in the average Earth’s temperature caused by GHG emissions. All sources of renewable energy considered sustainable, green power, and eco-friendly. Because they help to negate the effects of global warming, these are also called alternative energy sources.
The dirty or unclean energy are those that produce GHG to lead the cause of climate change. As the burning of fossil fuel is an example of unclean, dirty energy. Our electricity mostly comes from power stations that use fossil fuels like coal and oil.
The power stations burn fossil fuels to make our electricity. In this process, a number greenhouse gas emitted, including carbon dioxide and methane. That’s why they are called dirty or unclean sources of energy — these evil gases causing the Earth’s atmosphere to warm exponentially.
The GHGs are deliberately creating the global issue of climate change. With time it will cause more extreme weather and the spread of diseases.
Climate change will also threaten all living habitats. Coal, gas, and oil are non-renewable sources of energy because once they have been used up, that’s it! We can only use what is available.
Now it’s time to discuss the impact of clean renewable energy.
Impact of Renewable energy : The major impact factor of renewable energy :
Now a day’s impact of renewable energy hugely affected several sectors such as environment, economics, society, job, education, health along with energy consumption perspective
Let’s list down the impact of the Renewable energy:
Impact on the Environment.
Impact on the socio-economic structure
Impact on health sector will improve public health:
Impact on education sector
Impact on energy consumption or conservation
Impact on job sector
Impact on parenting
Impact of renewable energy on the environment : Renewable energy leads to:
Very minor or no carbon imprint of producing GHG
Less production of toxic pollutants
No dependency on fossil fuel combustion
No adverse effect of environment & its biodiversity
Cause to temperature enhance of global warming
Impact of renewable energy on the socio-economic structure
In terms of modern economies and the central need for modern life, energy is the foundation. An important development goal is accessing to energy.It is a prerequisite for economic growth.It is a prerequisite for economic growth.
It improves living conditions and alleviating poverty.
Providing it to developing countries is a daunting task. Such obstacles include high energy costs, unaffordable energy grid infrastructure, and disperse population.
Renewable technologies offer affordable and sustainable energy to millions of people.
Renewable technologies, in particular, offer diverse and economically attractive options for rural electrification.
Impact of renewable energy on health sector will improve public health:
Better health is associated with intake of energy.
Infant mortality and life expectancy improve, those are under population metrics.
Energy availability is also related with health issues at the household level. It’s also impact on “energy security” and “energy poverty”.
Energy security refers to a family’s probability at the household level of heating the home during cold weather, having enough energy to cook food, and cool the house during warm weather. It is a matter of availability, affordability, and capacity.
Energy poverty (or fuel poverty) refers to financial hardship in affording energy for these primary uses. It’s related to economic poverty, including poor health and adverse social outcomes.
Impact of renewable energy on education sector
-With less GHG, the students’ overall absenteeism due to health issues decreases.
– Many schools are being implemented
STEM program: It’s a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It’s an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
DREAMS program: It entails design, research, engineering, art, math science. They form a student research team that works actively with experts. They become child scientists who get recognized with the applied knowledge. With these facilities, students become an active citizen who knows about:
Energy, conservation and waste-water management
Goal net-zero operation across the board
Curriculum forming knowledge & skill to confront local & global issues.
Impact of renewable power on energy consumption
Energy conservation refers to reducing energy using less of an energy service. Energy conservation differs from efficient energy use. Its conservation refers to using less energy for a continuous function.
Impact of renewable energy on job sector
Total energy use is related to economic output and population growth. But there is much difference in the efficiency of energy use across societies.
Economic productivity drive by the amount of energy used, as well as the quality of energy. More efficient and flexible energy sources are associated with higher productivity.
Fuel/energy ladder is the idea that the use of cleaner fuels marks increasing development and wealth.
Energy availability is not the only trigger of development. Education and women’s rights, labor markets, , physical infrastructure, financial institutions, geography, and other factors also play central roles.
Impact on parenting : Renewable energy practices draw on positive impact on parenthood
Renewable energy practices bring a positive impact on parenting, it’s open the door to teach your children about the necessity of the conserve energy and the environmental issue. Adopting renewable energy practices is the sheer statement that you are enough conscious about environmental protection and energy consumption thus your kids will grow up with environmentally friendly practices along with you. The parents can adopt some energy-saving tips-
Adjust the day-to-day behaviors
Replace the light bulbs
Use smart power strips
Install a programmable or smart thermostat
Purchase energy-efficient appliances
Reduce the water heating expenses
Install energy-efficient windows
Upgrade HVAC system
Advantages & disadvantages of renewable energy
Advantages & disadvantages of renewable energy
Unlike non-renewable energy resources that we cannot store what we collect with renewables over long periods.
The United States presently has a stockpile of coal that could last up to 400 years at current consumption levels (Gaille, 2018). With wind or solar energy, a battery is required to store the collected energy.
That can provide sufficent energy for about 24 hours of use if enough power has been stored. There are number of advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy, which must be considered.
By definition Fossil fuels are a finite resource. Exploring options to replace them, they could possibly become in short supply, allows us to continue to progress our society and our lifestyle under modern definitions.
Advantages of Renewable Energy
Renewable power is a safe form of energy:
Renewable energy’s collection and use process are typically more reliable than non-renewable energy methods. If you use wind or solar energy then you don’t have to worry about the risk of a nuclear reaction or particulate pollution from a coal-fired plant.
It is an abundant form of energy:
For Example, one day of sunlight equals one year of energy. We do not have the resources at the moment to collect & store that energy. Wind gives us with constant energy resources, as well.
It is a clean form of energy to use:
Although renewable energy is constructed on an infrastructure that uses fossil fuels, the emissions cost-savings of renewable occurs quite rapidly.
Depending upon the type of renewable energy that are being used, positive gains can be expected between 5-25 years with most options.
That means a five years investment can begin successful how we collect energy for a lifetime.
It can be collected in multiple locations simultaneously:
We use versatile forms of renewable energy today, even without realizing it. One of the most common types of renewable energy in the United States comes from hydropower. Dams are built on rivers, also on the moving water runs turbines that are able to generate electricity.
It is offered in multiple formats:
Energy diversity is possible through renewable energy. New technologies, such as road-based solar panels allow for energy collection within current infrastructure layouts. From small stations to extensive facilities like Hoover Dam, the levels of diversity are much more significant for renewables than non-renewables. That means enormous potential for power generation now and into the future.
It can provide nations with energy independence:
The average country in our world mostly depends on traditional non-renewable energy for its power resources. Transitioning to renewable energy can reduce the dependence on fuel imports or international aid to meet power demands.
It is a stable form of energy:
The electricity it creates can be used with the current infrastructure, as long as there is a link to the renewable facility that easily accesses the leading network. That makes it appropriate for virtually any power need, from computers to automobiles to general heating and cooling.
It is an economic Strength :
In the United States, renewable industry is responsible for about 800,000 jobs. The wind energy industry added 25,000 new manufacturing and installation jobs in 2016. Solar added another 73,000 jobs (Gaille, 2018).
It is a clean technology:
The cause why non-renewable energies tend to be cheaper today is that it is a commodity. Oil, natural gas, petroleum, gasoline– these are products that are bought and sold to be consumed. Renewables are different.
They are a technology, not a fuel. You don’t burn a wind turbine; you have to install it. At present, renewable energy technology, becomes cheaper as production and installation methods are refined.
It is easy to maintain renewable energy collectors:
Once a renewable energy production has been installed, the charges of maintaining that technology are comparatively low. Many clarifications can have a no-maintenance lifestyle for years at a time.
Clean renewable energy able to improve public health:
There are potential health benefits that society may see if it changes to renewable energy use. A research by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discovered that almost $1 trillion is spent each year on situations that could be linked to the consumption of fossil fuels.
That includes heart disease, asthma, certain cancers, neurological disorders, and several other health concerns.
Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels not only helps us live healthier, but it puts more money back into us from related expenses we don’t even think about.
It can be used to recycle our own waste products:
This is one significant benefit that biomass energy inclines to have more than other forms of renewable. Biomass consumes used organic goods to generate energy. It means it can produce power from used vegetable oil, corn and soybean byproducts, or even algae.
It reduces the amount of waste at the same time that goes into landfills while also reducing overall carbon emmision that goes into the atmosphere.
Renewable energy can be profitable in long run:
How much money could solar panels or other forms of renewable energy save the average homeowner?
Over 20 years, the savings on electricity costs alone could be more than $30,000 for some homeowners.
In New York, California, and Massachusetts, the predictable 20-year savings is more than $25,000 with solar panels. Based on the average cost of setting up, that can be as much $17,000 more you’ve earned in that same period. (Gaille, 2018)
List of the Disadvantages of Renewable Energy
It is not as cost-effective:
It has Higher upfront cost; While you can save money by renewable energy, the technologies are typically little bit expensive upfront than traditional electricity generators.
It isn’t always a viable option commercially:
Most renewable energy options must be collected at a specific geographical source. Imagine trying to receive high levels of solar energy while living in Seattle or using tidal energy while living in Nebraska. For renewable energy to be adequate, it must have a distribution network created to transfer the energy to where it is needed.
It is though generates pollution:
Renewable energy souurces may be a better option for reducing emission than fossil fuels, but that doesn’t mean it is free from pollution. Many forms of renewable energy emit particulates into the air. They may emit carbon dioxide, or worse – methane.
It may not be a stable energy resource:
The environment evolves, shifting where renewable resources become available. Some places, such as offshore wind or tidal energy, are generally quite reliable. Solar energy, however, can be challenging to predict. Geothermal energy may change over time. Billions of dollars can be expended to advance renewable energy resources only to have that money go to waste if that resource discontinues producing as expected.
It can often be influenced by politics:
Although renewable energy is common accepted as the future of energy manufacture globally, politics can be a undesirable influence on its development. If renewables are not given a political importance, then the industry tends to falter, and innovation is reduced in favor of non-renewable options.
It is an energy resource that is tough to access for many people:
In the United States, over 30 years, the government-funded more than $100 billion in energy subsidies.
Over half of those subsidies were focused toward nuclear power — just 26% of those subsidies were funneled toward renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency priorities.
Even with solar subsidies of up to 88 cents per kilowatt-hour being provided, accessing that energy is not cost-effective for many low-income families. That means the importance stays on non-renewables, which further prevents innovation within this sector. (Gaille, 2018)
It can take a lot of area to install:
Using current solar energy generation technologies, it takes over 40 hectares of panels to produce about 20 megawatts of energy. In comparison, a nuclear power plant in an average size generates about 1,000 megawatts of energy on 259 hectares. (Gaille, 2018)
It isn’t an endless energy source:
Then, there is the issue with consistency. Nuclear and coal energy can be used at any time. Many renewables can only be collected during definite periods of the day time. Solar energy, for example, isn’t collected at night time.
Wind energy cannot be collected unless there is wind. Even then, wind energy is often ineffective as the turbines have a minimum and maximum wind speed during which they operate.
It has expensive storage costs:
This is one of the pricing factors that are often excluded from the conversation on renewable energy is the storage cost. You must need to store the energy collected, or you will lose it, which means having a battery installed.
The general storage cost for the energy is about 9 cents per kilowatt-hour, but the charge of the battery is upfront.
That means $10,000 to $25,000 upon installation just for the battery. Some types of batteries cannot be useable very quickly, especially if their full capacity is being used on a regular basis.
It has huge capital costs:
If there is a new energy resource needs to be developed for a community right now, the capital cost of the resource will be a primary consideration. Right now, the capital costs of non-renewable energy resources are lower than the capital costs of renewable energy.
This may change over time, but is a main reason why renewable energies are not favored in some parts of the world today.
Why are many countries starting to practice Renewable energy uses? What’re the reasons behind?
The debate over the energy model can continuously be heard on the street. The leading cause of many countries trying to switch to the alternative source of renewable energy are:
Advantages and disadvantages of oil, gas, and coal
The nuclear controversy
The viability of renewables
Among the torrents of arguments, here are the reason for adopting clean energies.
A real alternative to gas, coal & oil which the leading cause of Global warming.
They are clean as renewables produce energy without releasing greenhouse gases (GHG). Thus it fights against climate change.
Renewables are inexhaustible. But fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas do not replenish themselves
Renewable energy generation is safe and does not pose risks for people or the environment. But nuclear energy has safety issues. Fossil fuel use is associated with pollution.
Renewables are available all over the world. That means that the ability for generating enough and a variety of renewables comes from the indigenous supply base for any country.
They reduce energy dependence. As an indigenous resource, they reject the need to import fossil fuels from countries rich in gas and oil. The need to import energy raw materials infers economic and even strategic costs. High dependence on energy from abroad can produce supply uncertainty due to political and economic problems in supplier countries.
Top Renewable Countries
As renewable energies are distributed resources. So territorial & geopolitical conflicts can be avoidable in such circumstances.
Renewable energies create conditions for job creation & economic growth at a decentralized level. Since they avoid imports as such external payments. Having an essential raw material, such as energy, is a reasonable basis for the competitiveness of the industry. By nature, renewable energies increase development in rural areas. They favor a better territorial structuring of the countryside. It can act as an industrial and technological motor in the economy.
US renewable energy consumption : Explanation of the present scenario
In 2018, renewable energy sources is for about –
11% of total US energy consumption
And about 17% of electricity generation. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
Renewable energy has an essential role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Using renewable energy can minimize the use of fossil fuels, which are significant sources of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.
The consumption of bio-fuels & other non-hydroelectric renewable energy sources in the U.S. more than doubled from 2000 to 2018. Because of state and federal government requirements incentives to use renewable energy.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that – “U.S. renewable energy consumption will remain increasing through 2050.” (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2019)
Top 10 countries who achieved the highest electricity production from renewable sources
Countries all around the world are driving towards a low-carbon future by embracing Renewable energy sources. Let’s have a look at which countries are leading the charge:
Sweden and its Clean Renewable energy goal:
Renewable Energy Goal Of Sweden
In 2015, Sweden set the gauntlet with an ambitious goal. They aim to eliminate fossil fuels from electricity generation by 2040 within its borders. They ramped up investment in solar, wind, energy storage, smart grids, and clean transport.
Costa Rica has achieved 95% renewable energy :
Costa Rica achieved 95% Renewable electricity
Costa Rica has produced 95 percent of its electricity from hydro, geothermal, solar, and wind over the past four years. Costa Rica is aiming to be a carbon-free country by 2021.
Nicaragua has aiming 90% renewables by 2020:
Renewable Energy Goal Of Nicaragua
In 2012, Nicaragua invested the 5th highest percentage worldwide of its GDP in developing renewable energy. Next is planning for 90% renewable by 2020. Their majority of electricity coming from wind, solar, and geothermal sources.
Scotland aiming to generate 98% clean renewable electricity by wind power:
Scotland has worlds largest floating wind farm
The answer to Scotland’s energy requirements is blowing in the wind. In October, wind power generated 98 percent of Scotland’s electricity needs.
Germany is leading the world by adopting renewable energy :
Renewable Energy Goal Of Germany
Germany has become world leader in renewable energy. It produced sufficient electricity to power every household in the country for a year, in the first half of 2018. The country has also set an motivated target to get 65% of their electricity from renewables by 2030. For a moderately cloudy country of over 80 million people, Germany is looking forward to a seriously bright future with solar energy! (Climate Council, 2019)
Uruguay is now nearly 100% powered by renewable energy sources:
Renewable Energy Goal Of Uruguay
Uruguay is now mostly 100% powered by renewable energy almost after less than ten years of concerted effort. The country advanced heavily in wind and solar, rising from just 40% renewables as recently as 2012. (Climate Council, 2019)
Denmark receives over half of its electricity from wind and solar power :
Denmark and Her Renewable Practice
Denmark produce nearly half of its electricity from wind and solar power, and in 2017, 43% of its electricity was from wind a new world record! That’s the maximum percentage of wind power ever succeeded worldwide. The country targeted to be 100% fossil-fuel-free by 2050. (Climate Council, 2019)
China is generating 35% electricity from Clean renewable sources:
Renewable Energy Goal Of China
Wondering how the world’s major carbon emitter can also be a leader in renewable energy? It may appear counter-intuitive, but in 2017 China had by far the largest amount of solar PV and wind capacity has been installed of any country – by a long shot. China has also dedicated to generating 35% of its electricity from sources of renewable by 2030 and cleaning up its polluted air.
Morocco aiming to provide half of Morocco’s electricity by 2020 from Renewable:
Renewable Energy Goal Of Morocco
With ample sun, Morocco took a decision to go big. Bigger than anyone else in the world. With its associated hydro and wind plants, the mega-project is expected to provide half of Morocco’s electricity by 2020.
United States earned a fifth place on the installed solar PV capacity global rankings:
Renewable Energy Goal Of United State
In the US, a new type of solar energy system installed in every two minutes and 30 seconds in 2014. US earned a fifth place on the installed solar PV capacity global rankings. America also has the 2nd highest installed wind energy capacity in the world after China.
Kenya and His clean renewable goals:
Renewable Energy Goal Of Keneya
Could you believe it? This country is approaching to geothermal energy to power its future and reduce reliance on costly electricity imports. Kenya receives around half its electricity from geothermal– up from only 13% in 2010.
Not only those countries adopt this alternative energy but also a lot of leading companies such as Google, Apple, Intel, Facebook, IBM, Tesla, Amazon so on are starting to invest and adopt renewable energy.
List of big giant Companies with renewable energy goals :
Apple, Google, Intel, Facebook, Amazon, Target lot of big giant companies already start to invest a lot of money in the renewable energy sector. They are running a lot of renewable projects, and below, we discuss some of them.
Intel with their renewable energy goal:
Intel’s promise to renewable energy is carried into sharp focus by its Global Climate Change Policy Statement:
“Climate change is happening, and human actions have played a strong contributing role – that is the consensus among climate scientists.
The main questions today concern what footsteps can be taken to mitigate the warming trend and help communities and regions adapt to the present day and anticipated impacts of the warming that already is occurring.
Intel Corporation agrees that global climate change is a serious environmental, economic, and social challenge that warrants an equally severe response by governments and the private sector.” (The climate reality project, 2016)
Apple with its renewable energy goal:
Like Intel, Apple also has an inclusive climate change plan, where it identifies its carbon footprint and what it is attempting to mitigate it. The tech giant has considered its in-the-works newly build main campus in Cupertino, California. It’s powered by 100 percent renewable energy. Which will primarily be produced at what will become one of the largest onsite corporate solar installations in the world? (The climate reality project, 2016)
Facebook contributes hugely to renewable energy:
Its goal is to, “We’re taking action by setting a science-based target to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 75% in 2020, from 2017 levels. Our operations achieved 75% renewable energy and a 44% reduction in GHG emissions in 2018. We’re proud to work on sustainability solutions that bring the world closer together”. (Nastu, 2018)
Target also invest in Solar Energy :
Target took the top as the leading US corporate solar installer in 2016 with 147.5 megawatts (MW) of installed solar capacity. (Solar energy industries association, 2016)
The 7 Barriers towards Renewable Energy Technologies
After analyzing the data, we found a lot of obstacles and barriers to renewable energy. Here we sort out seven main obstacles for deploying this renewable energy.
Around the world, renewables are in crisis. They are making: electricity more expensive
Subsidies are expiring
Local communities and wildlife conservationists are obstructing projects.
Let’s have a look at 7 major barriers towards renewable energy:
People are still using & dependent upon coal:
Coal contributes one-third of the global energy supply. It is making up about 40% of electricity generation. Also playing a very significant industrial role. Its ready availability mode is making it hard to replace coal as a source of energy. With the advent of technology, the burning of coal has been made cleaner and efficient than it used to be. The kind of infrastructural changes required for switching to renewable sources is costly. And it also needs time.
Political and regulatory barriers:
Lack of policies and regulations are a barrier to renewable source adoption. Its market needs clear policies. Legal procedures also required to increase the interest of investors. But, in some countries like India, there are no complete renewable energy policy declarations. Because most renewable technologies in the country remain in the advancement & immature stage.
Technical barriers:
Technical barriers to renewable energy progress include inadequate technology. Also, the lack of infrastructure necessary to support the technologies. A study conducted by Saskatchewan, Canada. It claimed, technology identified as one of the main barriers to invest in wind-generated electricity.
Renewable energy technologies are not available in many places. They are not sustained well in some areas like in the developing countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa. The reasons are:
-There is a lack of trained personnel
-Maintenance and operational facilities for renewable energy structures
-Those regions have low education levels; people are unwilling to import the technologies for fear of failure.
Currently, in some countries, renewable technologies are costly compared to the use of non-renewable technologies.
Also, lack of physical facilities for transmission and distribution networks. Also, the lack of equipment and services necessary for power companies are some obstacles. These are significant infrastructural challenges for renewable energy development in most developing countries.
Social-cultural barriers
Households’ shows unwillingness to accept renewable energy for fear of unreliability.
General public disinterest
Public’s disengagement in wind energy development identified in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Lack of technical knowledge and awareness of renewable energy technologies amongst rural communities.
Financial and economic barriers:
The crucial factors that determine the rate of renewable energy technologies adoption are:
Initial high capital cost
transaction costs
economic status
availability of incentives
subsidies
Most producers prefer to keep initial investment costs low while maximizing profits. High prices of investment remain a significant barrier for its implementation.
Market-related barriers:
Initial investments for renewable energy systems are generally high. Market prices remain high and unaffordable to many potential customers. Specific problems are generally common in developing countries. Its’ total production also costs relatively high compared to fossil fuels. So the market prices for renewable energy remain relatively high.
Geographical and ecological barriers:
The underlying problems with renewables like solar and wind are given below:
They are too unreliable and energy-dilute.
Wind farms and solar require between 400 and 750 times more land than nuclear and natural gas plants. Renewable energy, like solar panels & windmills, needs massive space for its installation. Usually, for this purpose, the big area of land is deforested, and species are being cleared.
In this way, many birds, insects, and other species are endangered. They are creating problems with the local community too. Moreover, renewable sources causing costly electricity retail prices.
In Nebraska, many birds, insects, and other species are being endangered. They are creating problems with the local community too. (Shellenberger, 2019)
10 Facts of Renewable Energy :
There are several interesting facts about renewable energy, and here we list ten facts of renewable power:
According to WWF(World Wide Fund for Nature), it is possible to generate electricity enough to meet the global demand from renewable resources by 2050
Google, Apple and Facebook heading towards powering the web through green energy
Fossil fuels receive subsidies 20 times more than of renewable
Solar panels cover the pyramids of Giza. (Alux.com, 2018)
Comparing the continents, Asia generated the highest (200000MW) amount of electricity by solar energy in 2016
Michael R. Bloomberg, the last mayor of New York City, said he would donate $500 million to a new promotion to close every coal-fired power plant in the United States and halt the growth of natural gas. (Friedman, 2019)
Mongolia is investing $85 million in wind turbines. (Downing, 2012)
Singapore is launching a blockchain market for renewable energy, as it’s considered as modern energy. (Alux.com, 2018)
Tidal power could be used in the future where a device is installed underwater at the ocean floor to create a hydroelectric turbine. It might give power to roughly 2,500 homes of a residential area. (Almaghraby, 2019)
‘Renewable energy is too expensive’ is a myth
What Does 100% Renewable Energy mean? Here’s what it would take for the US to run on 100% renewable energy?
It’s being aimed to transition to 100% clean, safe, and renewable energy in less than two decades. It means quickly ending the use of fossil fuels, natural gas, and nuclear reactors. The global major energy generation in the 100% renewable energy structure will consist of the following mix of energy sources:
Solar energy (69%)
Wind power (18%)
Hydro (3%)
Bio-energy (6%) and
Geothermal energy (2%)
The endeavor is to use 100% renewable energy for electricity, heating/cooling, and transport. It’s motivated by global warming, pollution, and other environmental issues. Economic and energy security concerns also drive them.
“100% wind and solar power that in conjunction with energy efficiency, energy storage and other advances to complement renewable energy can provide electricity to the continental U.S. more reliably than the current system by 2050, and at lesser projected costs.” (Smith & Walker, 2019)
The analysis also showed why 100 percent of renewables is a feasible and affordable option in the US and concluded:
There’s more than enough wind, solar, and hydro potential – 30 times more than business-as-usual forecasts for energy demand in 2050.
The technology already exists to account for the variability of wind and solar generation. Therefore the lights will halt on even when the weather doesn’t cooperate.
We do not need to change the design of the electric grid radically to accommodate 100% renewables. The shift is well underway and accelerating.
Costs won’t be overwhelming. A grid-based on 100% renewables can compete in price with fossil fuel systems. The renewable cost is not overpowering even before factoring the tremendous costs of pollution, global warming, and water usage. (Smith & Walker, 2019)
Several counties and regions are at or close to 100% renewable energy already, including Denmark, Norway, and Germany. Canada is at 62% renewables, where Brazil is at 76% (Smith & Walker, 2019).
Germany has passeed a emblematic milestone in its energy transition recently. They briefly cover around 100% of electricity use with renewable sources for the first time on 1 January. (Amelang, 2018)
Final thought about Clean Renewable energy :
Now we can see a flipping coin which has two options: One is clean renewable energy & another is non-renewable.
And some studies showed it is effective & efficient to use 100% renewable energy. Other studies also showed to use of Nuclear energy. It could be more cost-effective, efficient & environmental friendly if it’s used with proper storage & caution.
More research on renewable technologies should be done before final installation worldwide so that it doesn’t cost on any species, Environment & its world. Moreover, the renewable technologies should be advanced on that form so that it’s getting cheaper and easily accessible.
Renewable energy sources are the modern energy roots would be the pioneer to future green civilization. Proper policy-making, an incredibly supportive regulatory environment, and a solid partnership between the public & private sector, will create pathways to implement a sustainable future with renewable energies.
