Saturday, August 4, 2012
Energy resources in the world we divide on renewable and non-renewable resources. Each of these resources can be used to generate electricity, which is a very useful way of transferring energy from one place to another such as to the home or to industry. Only 7% of our energy use comes from renewable resources, that means 93% of our energy comes from non-renewable resources.
Renewable energy is a source of energy, which can be turned into electricity or fuel to be used by an engine that is constantly available. Now obviously, oil and coal are currently available. But in reality they are limited. Some day they will run out. Many people fear that it will be too soon for societies to adapt. It’s actually one reason why renewable energy has become so popular in the first place. Renewable energy either comes from a source that can’t run out (like the sun for example) or it comes from something that can be reproduced, such as plants that can be converted into biofuel or waste that can be recycled into fuel. These can’t run out for all practical purposes, but you can’t grow more oil.
Non- renewable is energy that we can't renew or replace easily. A non-renewable resource is a natural resource which cannot be reproduced, grown, generated, or used on a scale which can sustain its consumption rate, once depleted there is no more available for future needs. Also considered non-renewable are resources that are consumed much faster than nature can create them. Fossil fuels (such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas), nuclear power (uranium) and certain aquifers are examples. Metal ores are prime examples of non-renewable resources.
The main types of renewable energy:
1. Biomass energy or bioenergy
2. Wind energy
3. Solar energy
4. Geothermal energy
5. Hydropower
Probably the most well-known source of renewable energy is solar power. Specially designed panels are capable of converting sunlight into electrical energy. It’s clean and it’s a nearly constant supply of energy source that will last much longer than even the earth will. Additionally, for many climates of the world, it’s in abundant supply. However, it doesn’t work for many northern or southern climates that get a lot of rain or have low levels of sunlight.
Wind power is another popular source of energy from a renewable source. Again, for many geographies wind is in abundance and the blades spin harmlessly, harnessing a source of energy from the kinetic force of the wind. But also similar to solar power, wind may not be as abundant in all climates or geographies, or it may not be available year round.
Biomass is the energy from plants and plant-derived materials. Bioenergy is derived by harnessing the energy flows gathered by nature's solar collectors. It is this natural storage capacity of organic life that differentiates bioenergy from other types of renewable energy.
Geothermal energy is heat from within the Earth. We can recover this heat as steam or hot water and use it to heat buildings or generate electricity. Geothermal energy is generated in the Earth's core. Temperatures hotter than the sun's surface are continuously produced inside the Earth by the slow decay of radioactive particles, a process that happens in all rocks. We can use this high temperature to produce electricity.
Hydropower is energy that cames from force of moving water. Hydropower is the world's largest source of renewable energy . Historically people used the power of rivers for agriculture and wheat grinding. Today, rivers and streams are re-directed through hydro generators to produce energy.
The main types of non-renewable energy
1. Energy from Petrol and Oil
2. Natural Gas
3. Energy from Coal
4. Nuclear Energy
Energy sources, which include the fossil fuels — oil, natural gas, and coal. They're called fossil fuels because they were formed over millions and millions of years by the action of heat from the Earth's core and pressure from rock and soil on the remains (or "fossils") of dead plants and creatures like microscopic diatoms. Another nonrenewable energy source is the element uranium, whose atoms we split (through a process called nuclear fission) to create heat and ultimately electricity.
