CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
(CCRES)
Alternative
Energy
Energy has become integral parts of
our day-to-day lives. Energy is required to produce electricity for domestic
and industrial applications. We need energy to drive our vehicles, to run the
machines, keep our houses cool and hot, run the computers and mobiles, and for
a number of other purposes.
Comparison of
Traditional and Alternative Energy Sources:
Traditionally we have been using
fossil fuels for production of electric power and driving our vehicles. The
fuels used for the generation of electric power are fossil fuels like coal and
oil, and nuclear fuels like uranium. The fuels used commonly for running the
vehicles are crude oils like gasoline and diesel. Alternative energy refers to the energy that
is not dependent on fossil fuels, crude oil and nuclear fuels. Alternative energy, also called as renewable
energy, is obtained from various sources like radiations of the sun (solar
energy), wind, water, geothermal heat and tides in the oceans. Burning of
fossil fuels is one of the major causes of environmental pollution and
greenhouse effect. They release lots of carbon dioxide and particulate matter.
The alternative or renewable energy is considered to be the clean energy since
extracting energy from its sources does not produce any pollution.
The
sources of energy like fossil fuels, crude oil and nuclear fuels are also
called as non-renewable sources of energy since their deposits are reducing in
the nature as they are being used extensively throughout the world. Fuels like
coal, natural gas and oil took millions of years to develop but once used they
cannot be replaced immediately. The alternative energy on the other hand is
available in abundance from various sources and they get replaced easily
immediately or within short period of time.
Alternative sources of energy
provide unending supply of energy. For instance the solar energy from the sun
will be available for unlimited period of time till the sun keeps shining.
Solar energy can be collected by the collectors and it can be used for a number
of applications like cooking food, heating water, generating electricity,
running the vehicles etc. Similarly, the wind will keep on blowing on the surface
of the earth tills its atmosphere is in place so it can be utilized for
unlimited period of time. The ability of the wind to produce motion can be
utilized to run the fans of the windmill and produce electricity from them.
The tidal energy is obtained from
waves of the oceans having huge quantity of water that would last forever. One
of the important sources of alternative energy is hydro-power used for the
generation of electricity in hydroelectric power plants. Throughout the world,
the hydroelectric power plants are one of the major sources for the generation
of electricity. In these plants the flow of river is blocked at certain places
and water is allowed to be collected at large height in the dam. The rivers
have been flowing since thousands of years and continue to exist for unlimited
period of time as they are replenished by rain water from time-to-time.
Geothermal energy is obtained from
the lower layers of the earth usually for producing the heating effect. Once
the energy is obtained from the earth, it is replaced immediately naturally and
it can be used for ending period of time interval.
Another important source of
alternative energy is the biomass like waste wood, leaves of the plants, broken
branches and twigs of the trees, agricultural wastes, garbage, human wastes
etc. The fuels obtained from biomass are called bio-fuels. Some of the common
bio-fuels are ethanol, biodiesel, and natural gas. Biodiesel is a type of
alternative fuel used for running of the vehicles. It is made from renewable
energy sources like plant and animal fats. Biodiesel is not a petroleum fuel,
but it can be easily blended with petroleum fuel diesel in various proportions.
All the above alternative sources of
energy are expected to last for long intervals of time line. While the supply
of coal, oil and natural gas is expected to reduce and stop in the future, the
supply of energy from sources like sun, wind, water, earth, and biomass is
expected to last forever.
Consumption of alternative energy in
US has been increasing over the years. In the year 2009 the consumption of
alternative energy in US was 7.7 quadrillion Btu, which was 8% of all the
energy used in the whole nation. Half of the alternative energy was used for
producing electricity, while 10% of the total electricity produced was from
alternative energy sources. Besides this alternative energy sources were also
used for production of heat and steam. Alternative energy was also used for
transportation, and to provide heat for homes and businesses.
Alternative energy sources reduce
the pressure on fossil fuels and also help keep environment clean. The only
major problem is that alternative energy is expensive compared to the fossil
fuels mainly because they are located in remote places and its difficult to bring
them to the main grid. Some of the sources like wind and solar are not uniform
during various periods of the day and the year. However, their demand has been
increasing and various technologies are being developed to utilize alternative
energy sources more efficiently.
CCRES
special thanks to
Escapeartist, Inc
CROATIAN CENTER of RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
(CCRES)
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ReplyDeleteNice article, The growing energy demands of the urban and rural areas of the developing and developed nations can be met by the use of conventional energy resources as well as the alternative energy sources. The various conventional sources of energy are coal, petroleum and natural gas. The alternative energy sources that are known to the mankind are solar energy, tidal energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, thunder bolt energy etc. Traditional sources of energy are not available everywhere. They are available at a central location from which they are distributed and so these cannot be put to use everywhere in the world apart from locations where they are abundantly available. The cost of using renewable alternative energy sources is less as compared to the use of conventional energy sources. Business Report
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