What Are Renewable Sources of Energy?
In its early stages, the costs and limitations of alternative energy didn’t make it as practical for widespread commercial use as it is now. Fortunately, renewable energy source options are steadily growing and improving. Plus, as the demand for improved energy efficiency and clean sources of energy grows, it’s becoming easier and more beneficial for consumers to go green.
Let’s take a look at some of the sustainable energy resources that we’re using today to fulfill our energy needs:
- Solar energy
- Hydroelectric energy
- Geothermal energy
- Wind energy
- Bioenergy
- Nuclear power
- Hydrogen energy
- Tidal energy
- Wave energy
What Are Different Ways To Generate Renewable Power?
We now know that we use the Earth’s naturally occurring resources like the sun, wind, and water to source our energy needs. But how does that work? Here, we’ll look at some of the ways we use alternative energy to generate renewable power.
How Do We Use Solar Energy To Generate Power?
Solar energy technologies refer to any solar-based system that captures radiant energy from the sun and converts it into another form of energy, like electrical or thermal energy. Solar energy includes solar power for electricity generation, passive solar systems, and solar-thermal systems for space heating and heating water.
There are two main solar power system types. The first type is through photovoltaics (PV), which is the technology used in solar panels. Here, direct sunlight is converted by the PV system into electricity with solar cells. The other type is called a concentrated solar-thermal power (CSP) system, which converts sunlight to heat first using mirrors and receivers, then using that heat to produce or store electricity. Zip CodeSee Plans
Solar energy very well may be the best renewable energy source we have today. As of now, it is the most abundant and cleanest alternative energy resource available as well as one of the cheapest. The United States is home to some of the best solar resources available throughout the world.