Introduction
Renewable energy is a kind of energy whose origin is a resource that can be recycled or replenished. Examples of renewable energy include; rain, wind, geothermal heat, waves and tides.With the increasing technological progress, many companies, households and even governments are embracing renewable energy. Currently, 16 per cent of the energy used across the world renewable. The share of renewable energy is rising rapidly. For instance, energy derived from wind power is increasing at an annual rate of 20 per cent. Renewable energy is not only cheap but also environmentally friendly. This is why many organizations and governments are resorting to clean energy. However, renewable energy is also being exploited because of the exhaustion of other energy sources that are not renewable. For example, the use of wood as fuel in households has contributed to the decline of forests all over the world. Crude oil consumption has also exceeded the supply hence; forcing people to resort to renewable energy. Renewable energy is increasingly becoming a global trend. Energy is a necessity if human beings are to lead a quality life socially and economically. This paper discusses why renewable sources of energy are increasing becoming popular, the uses of renewable sources of energy, and various examples of renewable sources of energy.
Preference for renewable energy
Over the last decade, the use of renewable energy has increased significantly. The sudden increase in the number of renewable energy users can be attributed to several factors.Because of political instability in northern African countries and in most Middle East nations, the oil prices have shot up in the last few years. This has discouraged people from using oil and has resorted to cheap energy sources such as the sun, wind, water and other renewable energy resources. Another reason why people resorted to renewable energy is climate changes. The exploitation of conventional energy sources such as forests has led to climate changes. Climate change comes with many detrimental impacts on human beings and the environment. Governments and environmental organizations are also responsible for the increasing use of renewable energy. Many governments all over the globe and international environmental organizations are encouraging citizens to use renewable energy because of its benefits to man and the environment. For instance, the Kyoto Protocol which was designed by the United Nations seeks to encourage the use of renewable energy sources that are eco-friendly. Some governments have made policies to ensure that renewable energy is exploited by as many people as possible.
Uses of renewable energy
Renewable energy can be used in the same manner conventional energy is used. Therefore, it can be used in place of conventional energy in four main categories; heating, power generation and transport fuels. The development of solar panels has revolutionized heating. Households and firms can now install water solar heaters in their buildings. Currently about 70 million people harness solar energy for heating purposes. Renewable energy can also be converted to electricity. To generate power, renewable power generators are used to harness wind power, solar energy, geothermal heat and water. Renewable energy also comes in the form of transport fuels. Biofuels are responsible for the massive reduction in oil consumption in most developed countries. For instance, Brazil and USA have successfully managed to develop biofuels such as ethanol fuel from corn and sugar cane. These fuels are used in motor vehicles and in industrial machinery. United Nations records indicate that in 2009, 93 billion liters of biofuels were produced. The biofuel replaces 68 billion liters of gasoline.
Wind power
Wind is one of the most common sources of renewable energy. Wind is a natural resource that can be easily harnessed into different forms of energy. From harnessing wind power, one can get electricity. Usually, windmills are set up in an open area where strong winds blow often such as off shores or high altitude locations. The windmills have wind turbines, which are turned by airflows. Countries such as Iran have set up large scale windmill energy production plants for commercial use. The advantage of harnessing wind energy is that it produces clean energy at a significantly cheap cost. The potential of wind generated energy is reported to be five times the amount of energy consumes today. However, this would require that windmills are set up over a very large area to tap maximum wind power.
Geothermal energy
This is another form of renewable energy that has not yet been fully exploited. This is a form of energy obtained from the thermal resources from beneath the earth’s surface. Some sites on the earth’s surface have hot springs where very hot water comes from beneath the earth at very high pressure. The hot springs may be in the form of steam or just hot water. Springs come about as a result of endogenic activities of the earth. The heat generated from the geothermal springs is used to turn turbines that generate electricity. The amount of electricity generated is usually high depending on the amount of pressure steam or water comes from beneath the earth’s surface.
Solar energy
Solar energy is one of the most common forms of renewable energy. It is derived from the sun through devices called solar panels. The solar panels are able to convert solar radiations into electric power. Other devices that can be used to harness solar energy include photovoltaic, day lighting, solar architecture, solar cooking and water heating. The mode of harnessing solar energy could be active or passive basing on the manner the sun rays are captured, changed and distributed as solar energy. Active techniques include the solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels. Passive techniques are those that do not involve direct harnessing of solar energy.
Bio fuel
These are organic products derived from affordable products and bi-products such as corn, sugar cane and cane wastes. The products from which bio fuels are obtained are called biomass. Bio fuels can be in liquid, solid or gas form. Examples of bio fuels include bio ethanol, bio diesel, bio gas, synthetic gas and landfill gas. In most cases, bio fuels are obtained by fermenting organic products such as plant materials such as sugarcane to obtain bio ethanol. Advanced technology is used to when converting biomass such as grass and trees to produce bio ethanol. This form of renewable energy has been successful implemented in Brazil and USA. This has helped save the government and households vast sums of money on conventional fuel, which is usually more expensive that biofuels. However, it has been discovered that biofuels still contribute to environmental problems such as global warming. 3 per cent of the fuel used for transport in the world is in the form of bio fuels.
Biomass
These are plant material used as a source of renewable energy since plants contain energy derived from the sun. Through photosynthesis, plants convert the sun’s energy and store it. When burnt, the energy contained in the plant is released. Therefore, plants can be used as a natural storage of solar energy. Therefore, a sustainable production of biomass can be beneficial in production of renewable energy. Plants that are cut for energy use should be replaced immediately they are cut. However, with the increasing world population, the use of biomass as a source of renewable energy is risky. This is because forest cover has reduced as people settle in what used to be forests.
Conclusion
The only way to ensure that energy sources are efficiently exploited and conserved equally is to ensure that the public understand the concept of renewable energy. Renewable energy is the best and probably the only alternative source of energy to conventional energy sources. Industrialization and the world’s expanding population mean that conventional sources are becoming scarce, expensive, and there is also the environmental problems resulting from these forms of energy. Therefore, households, firms and governments should embrace the concept of renewable energy. Solar energy, wind power, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and biofuels are some of the renewable energy sources that should be exploited. However, with the increasing world population, the use of biomass as a source of renewable energy is risky. Some of these sources such as wind have so much potential that they can produce surplus energy if fully exploited. To attain economic viability, environmental conservation and social progress, the world must embrace renewable energy for prosperity today and in future.
Works Cited
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