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RENEWABLE ENERGY. Third Class Environmental Engineering Israa Murtadha Hameed. Scientific Principles of Renewable Energy. Renewable energy is the type of energy that its sources are continuously replenished by natural processes. In another words there is no danger of their
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RENEWABLE ENERGY Third Class Environmental Engineering IsraaMurtadha Hameed
Scientific Principles of Renewable Energy Renewable energy is the type of energy that its sources are continuously replenished by natural processes. In another words there is no danger of their running out. In addition the use of renewable energy entails no (or few) greenhouse gas emissions and by that it does not contribute to global climate change. Fig. 6 depicts the main source of easily accessible renewable energy, from which one can notice that the sun is the main source of renewable energy.
Figure 6 shows that energy flux can be accessed directly using solar thermal or photovoltaic technology, or indirectly in the form of wind, wave, hydro and bio-fuels. Two other energy sources are often regarded as renewable in view of their sustainable nature: energy in the tides caused by the gravitational fields of the moon and the sun which can be tapped using tidal barrages or tidal stream technology; and geothermal energy from the earth's core accessible in some locations through hot springs, geezers or boreholes. The available average power from these resources is a small fraction of that available from the sun. Most renewable energy forms are readily converted to electricity.
Solar energy, geothermal energy and biomass can also be used to supply heat. Renewable energy can in principal provide all the energy services available from conventional energy sources: heating, cooling, electricity and, albeit with some difficulty and cost, transport fuels. It is worth noting that it is not always necessary to convert the renewable energy into electricity. Solar water heating and wind-powered water pumping are fine examples of systems that can work very well without involving electricity at all. However, the major contribution that renewable energy will be increasingly making, in supplying people's needs, will be in electrical form.
Advantages of Renewable energy 1. Renewable energies are sustainable (non depletable). 2. Renewable energies are ubiquitous (found everywhere across the world, in contrast to fossil fuels and minerals). 3. It has the advantage of being a naturally distributed resource. 4. It can provide energy to remote areas without the need for extensive energy transport systems. 5. Renewable energies are essentially nonpolluting. 6. Wind turbines and photovoltaic panels do not need water for the generation of electricity, in contrast to steam plants fired by fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Disadvantages of Renewable energy 1. Renewable energy has higher initial cost due to its variability and low density. 2. Visual pollution. 3. Odor from biomass. 4. Avian and bat mortality with wind turbines. 5. Brine from geothermal energy.
Technical Implications If renewable energy is to be used on a large scale, this will lead to a reduction in the use of conventional energy (fossil, nuclear, etc...) and by that reducing all the side effects produced by using such energies, such as greenhouse gases emission, radioactive substances emissions, etc.
Social Implications The global use of renewable energy should inshore the ability of present generations to access their required energy without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs of energy.
