Renewable energy sources no longer represent an economically viable dream of the future. They are here now, being implemented on mass across the globe. From Japan to Argentina, South Africa to Norway, nearly every country has a policy to generate at least 10% of their energy from renewable energy sources by 2020.
In this article we bring you a list of renewable energy sources, and summarize the 5 best renewable energy sources.
Turbine Core
1) Solar energy
The sun is the ultimate source of almost everything that is alive on this world. The sheer quantity of energy that it releases means that solar power has the potential to be the biggest renewable energy resource.
The big challenge of course is to develop products which are capable of viably turning this energy into power, and in recent years big leaps have been made in this field. It is now possible to purchase solar panels from Chinese companies at half the price of just 3 years ago, and which are twice as efficient.
2) Geothermal energy
There is an immeasurably large amount of heat circulating up from the earth's crust, as the earth's core is super hot - about 70,000 C. Just under the crust is vast amounts of hot water, and by pumping this water up to the ground this energy has been tapped into in many countries in the form of Geothermal power stations, particularly in areas where the crust is thin. Individual homes have also tapped into the energy source and use it for heating and cooling.
3) Wind energy
Yet another unlimited source of power, wind power generators (turbines) have actually been around for many decades. One of the simplest ways to generate power from a renewable source, it does however require a lot of land to install wind turbines. The acquisition of suitable land has severely limited the application of wind energy. However, now a lot of research is been put into to developing wind turbine farms offshore.
4) Ocean energy
This includes wave energy and tidal energy. Both of these turn the movement of water into power. Wave energy buoys use the up and down movement of waves to compress air in and out of a cylinder which then powers a turbine. Tidal energy typically uses a large barrage which traps water as it ebbs and flows, and then passes over a turbine to generate power.
5) Biomass energy
This means exploiting the energy inherent in any living thing, typically plant material, such as oilseed rape. The material is specially grown and then burnt to generate electricity. Alternatively, it can be directly used as a fuel for vehicles. Biomass energy sources are effectively used like fossil fuels, but they are carbon neutral, as they release only the amount of CO2 that they absorbed when alive.
All of these energy sources are being heavily researched as we speak, and it follows that they will become yet more economically viable over the next few years. Finally, humanity is ready to move away from fossil fuels - but are the politicians ready?
List of Renewable Energy Sources - The 5 Best Renewable Energy Sources
