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Renewable energy, as the name implies, is an energy source that can be renewed or replenished.
- It is also referred to as 'clean energy' since it is less harmful to the environment than nonrenewable energy.
- Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and gas, are nonrenewable resources that develop over hundreds of millions of years.
- When fossil fuels are used for energy, they emit harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
- Renewable energy produces much less emissions than burning fossil fuels.
- The transition from fossil fuels, which now account for the majority of emissions, to renewable energy is essential for addressing the climate crisis.
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Key Terms: Energy, Non-renewable energy, Fossil fuels, Renewable energy, Solar energy, Electricity, Wind energy, Sunlight, Geothermal energy
What is Renewable Energy?
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Renewable energy is energy that is produced by natural processes and is constantly renewed.
- Examples of renewable energy include sunlight, water, wind, tides, geothermal heat, and biomass.
- Major applications of renewable energy resources are air and water cooling/heating, electricity generation, the rural sector, and transportation.
- According to a 2016 REN21 research, the usage of renewable energy resources increased global energy consumption by 19.2% in 2014 and 23.7% in 2015.
- Many countries have started to invest in renewable energy resources, believing that they would contribute to long-term growth.
- In 2015, investment reached around $286 billion, with the primary industries being biofuel, solar power, wind, and hydroelectricity.
- Renewable energy resources appear throughout a large geographical region, compared to conventional energy resources.
- For example, it can often be found in a small number of countries, such as oil and gas, which are mostly concentrated in Middle Eastern countries.
- The use of renewable energy resources in electricity generation reduces pollution while also providing considerable economic advantages and energy security.
Renewable Energy
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Examples of Renewable Energy
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Renewable energy can be defined as energy that will never be exhausted. The advantages of renewable energy are enormous. These types of energy sources differ from fossil fuels including oil, coal, and natural gas. Examples of renewable energy sources are:
- Solar energy
- Wind energy
- Hydropower
- Geothermal energy
- Biomass energy
Examples of Renewable energy
Sources of Renewable Energy
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The sources could exist for a longer period of time and can be renewed generally.
- Biomass, nuclear, geothermal, wind, solar, tidal, and wave power are examples of sustainable energy sources.
- Renewable energy sources are known to be less polluting.
- Thus the entire world is looking forward to new carbon emission standards in which carbon will play an important part in the development of new factories and industries.
- They will be rated based on their carbon emissions, and the products they produce will be rated correspondingly.
Types of Renewable Energy
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Different types of renewable energy are
Solar Energy
One of the most abundant and freely available energy resources on our planet is sunlight.
- Solar collectors are used to collect the radiant light and heat energy from the sun.
- Solar collectors are classified into several categories, including photovoltaics, concentrator photovoltaics, solar heating, concentrated solar power (CSP), artificial photosynthesis, and solar architecture.
- This collected solar energy is then utilized to provide light, heat, and other types of electricity.
Wind Energy
The wind is an abundant and renewable energy source.
- Wind farms are becoming more common in the United Kingdom, as wind power contributes more and more to the National Grid.
- Turbines are used to drive generators, which subsequently feed electricity into the National Grid, allowing wind energy to be harnessed.
- Despite the availability of household or "off-grid" generation solutions, not every property is appropriate for a domestic wind turbine.
Hydroelectricity
According to data, hydroelectricity accounted for around 16.6% of global energy resources and 70% of all renewable electricity.
- This energy is another alternative form of energy that is produced by the construction of dams and reservoirs on flowing water.
- The kinetic energy of the flowing water is used to power turbines that create electricity.
- Tidal power transforms tidal energy, whereas wave power absorbs energy from the ocean's surface waves to produce electricity.
- These two types of hydropower also have enormous potential for electric power generation.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy can be utilized to heat houses or create electricity by harnessing the natural heat beneath the earth's surface. Geothermal energy, despite harnessing a power lying beneath our feet, is of minor importance in the UK as compared to nations like Iceland, where geothermal heat is much more freely available.
Biomass Energy
This is the process of converting plant-based solid fuel into power.
- Although biomass is primarily a technique of burning organic materials to generate electricity, it is now a much cleaner and more energy-efficient process.
- Biomass creates power at a far lower economic and environmental cost by converting agricultural, industrial, and home waste into solid, liquid, and gas fuels.
Benefits of Using Renewable Energy Sources
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The following are the benefits of renewable energy sources:
Assist us in the fight against climate change
Renewable energy assists in mitigating society's impact on the environment, and thus in reducing the consequences of climate change because it does not release greenhouse gases during its production.
Its resources are inexhaustible
Unlike traditional energy sources, renewable energy sources are limitless and adapt to natural cycles (coal, gas, oil, or nuclear energy).
It lowers the level of economic uncertainty
Unlike the costs of producing energy from fossil fuels, which fluctuate and are dependent on the conditions, the costs of producing renewable energy are predictable and less.
It benefits the domestic economy
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), doubling the renewable energy quota globally until it reaches 36% in 2030 will result in an increase in employment from 9.2 million to over 24 million workers in the sector.
It's competitive and well-liked
Renewable energy costs have been declining globally for several years, it is due to the development of new technologies that improve their efficiency, as well as the growing political backing they have gained around the world due to their numerous benefits.
Importance of Renewable Energy
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The significance of renewable energy stems from the necessity for renewable energy over traditional energy sources. The following are some key points to consider.
- Renewable energy is a non-polluting, inexhaustible source of energy.
- It is pollution-free because it does not emit greenhouse gases or other polluting emissions that would otherwise be created by non-renewable sources.
- Renewable energy costs are also declining at a steady rate, in contrast to the trend for fossil fuels.
- It decreases reliance on fossil fuels for energy.
- It is simple to produce because renewable resources are abundant. There is no difficulty with non-availability.
- Renewable technologies are becoming economically and environmentally competitive with traditional energy sources.
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Related Concepts | ||
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Unit of Force | Types of Energy | Work Formula |
Work-Energy Theorem | Potential Energy Formula | Relation between ev and joule |
Things to Remember
- Energy is derived from a non-depleting source, such as wind or solar electricity.
- Renewable energy is a one-hundred percent efficient source of energy.
- Renewable energy has numerous environmental and economic advantages.
- They don't emit any greenhouse gases and help to reduce some types of pollution in the air.
- One downside of renewable energy is that it is difficult to create significant amounts of electricity in the same way that fossil fuel generators do.
- Solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, wave, and tidal power are all examples of sustainable energy sources.
- Solar, wind, hydro, biofuel, and geothermal (energy obtained from heat generated beneath the earth's surface) are the most common forms of renewable energy, and all of these sources are continuously supplied.
Sample Questions
Ques. What is renewable energy? (2 Marks)
Ans. Renewable energy comes from naturally renewing but flow-limited sources; renewable resources are nearly limitless in terms of length but have a finite amount of energy per unit of time. The following are the main categories of renewable energy sources: Biomass. Wood and its by-products.
Ques. What are the different types of renewable energy? (2 Marks)
Ans. The following are the different types of renewable energy
- Solar energy
- Wind energy
- Hydroelectric energy
- Biomass energy
- Hydrogen and fuel cells
- Geothermal power
- Tidal energy
Ques. What are three examples of renewable energy sources? (2 Marks)
Ans. Solar energy, wind, falling water, the earth's heat (geothermal), plant materials (biomass), waves, ocean currents, temperature differences in the oceans, and the energy of the tides are all renewable resources.
Ques. Are biofuels a renewable resource? (2 Marks)
Ans. Biofuels are made from renewable feedstocks, as opposed to fossil fuels, which are finite resources. As a result, their manufacturing and use might theoretically continue perpetually.
Ques. What are green fuels? (2 Marks)
Ans. Green fuels, often known as green hydrocarbons or biofuels, are fuels made from biomass through biological and thermochemical processes. Because these products are identical to gasoline and diesel, they are considered completely infrastructure-compatible fuels.
Ques. Is gasoline a renewable resource or a non-renewable resource? (2 Marks)
Ans. Coal, natural gas, oil, and petroleum are examples of non-renewable energy sources (diesel fuel, propane, gasoline). These non-renewable energy sources are known as fossil fuels because they were created from the remains of animals and plants that existed millions of years ago.
Ques. Is wood a renewable resource or a non-renewable resource? (1 Mark)
Ans. Wood is a renewable resource, more resources can be developed to replace any wood that is chopped down.
Ques. What is the distinction between renewable and non-renewable energy? (2 Marks)
Ans. The distinction between these two types of resources is that renewable resources can replace themselves naturally, but non-renewable resources cannot. Non-renewable materials are therefore limited in supply and cannot be used indefinitely.
Ques. What are the drawbacks of renewable energy? (2 Marks)
Ans. Although renewable energy sources produce comparatively low amounts of GHG emissions and conventional air pollution, they do emit some emissions and pollutants during manufacturing and transportation. Toxic compounds are produced during the manufacturing of some photovoltaic (PV) cells, for example, which may damage water supplies.
Ques. What are the drawbacks of renewable energy? (2 Marks)
Ans. One downside of renewable energy is that it is difficult to create significant amounts of electricity in the same way that traditional fossil fuel generators do. The supply reliability of renewable energy sources is another issue.
Ques. Is renewable energy efficient? (1 Mark)
Ans. Yes, renewable energy is 100% efficient.
Ques. Is renewable energy sustainable? (1 Mark)
Ans. Sustainable energy includes all renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, wave, and tidal power.
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