Alternative Energy Products

Alternative Energy Resources

The term ‘alternative energy resources’ refers to renewable energy sources apart from current sources such as fossil fuels. Wind mills, solar panels, geothermal plants and hydropower plants are the main ways in which we generate energy from these renewable resources. The latest news in the hydropower field involves generation of electricity through wave power. Wave stations though rare aren’t unheard of but here’s a new method devised to harness energy from waves.

A giant rubber snake, dubbed the ‘Anaconda,’ produces alternative energy resources when it is squeezed by the waves. This ‘Anaconda’ is predicted to generate more energy than existing wave energy methods and at a much lesser cost.

The concept grew in the minds of retired physicist Francis Farley and Rod Rainey of Atkins Global. They dreamt of sausage like structures which were flexible and filled with seawater. Just like a windsock is pushed by the wind this giant tube streams out in waves. Each wave squeezes the tube and creates bulging pressure that runs down the tube’s length. When the bulge reaches the end it spins the turbines and produces alternative energy resources.

How much alternative energy does it produce? A full-size tube should be able to generate 1 megawatt, which in layman’s term means it can provide electricity to about 2000 houses.

The environment in the seas and oceans can be very intimidating but the Anaconda’s are designed to settle in these conditions. The researchers say that these devices will work well even in the largest storms. The rubber structure also means less maintenance as compared to metal structures which are prone to corrosion from sea water.

Researchers hope to start testing a full-size Anaconda soon and hope to put this concept into commercial use within the next five years.
To see how this technology works, click this link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VamSAbwgJKk

We all are now trying to find out alternatives to our fossil fuels which are a product of non renewable source of energy. Once we deplete these resources we will not get them again for thousands of years; when they will be produced again by chemical processes of the earth. Hence there is an urgent need to slow down their consumption and find Alternative energy resources.

Alternative Energy Resources are Eco-Friendly

To overcome this problem we have now shifted our focus to alternative energy resources which do not get depleted even after their repeated usage. Besides this they are free gifts provided to us by the nature and they do not cause any harm to the nature as well. They can be used safely and repeatedly without the tension of their stock being used up.
Why We Need Alternative Energy Resources
There is an immediate need to shift to these alternative energy sources because it is estimated that all our coal and petrol resaves would be exhausted in the next 50 years and after that we will head straight towards energy crisis with absolutely no supply of coal, petrol, diesel or electricity. We can not increase the quantity of available reserves of these fuels but we surely can delay the energy crisis with these alternative energy resources. It is for this reason that our focus has now shifted towards them.
Types of Renewable Resources of energy

The various alternative energy resources are as follows:

1) Solar power: the energy derived from the sun; s rays are used to produce electricity with the help of photo voltaic cells and silicon wafers. The costs of conversion here is very less as the sunlight is available in abundance but the installation costs are high and places that do not receive enough sunlight, over there it can’t work properly. So careful judgment has to be made well in advance.

2) Hydel power: renewable energy is produced when the water coming with the high speed falls on the blade of the turbine. The blades of the turbine rotate and as a result electricity is produced with the help of generators. This method can only be used where water is available in large quantities.

3) Wind energy: as the wind blows with a speed of about 11 kilowatts per hour the blades of the turbine rotate and thus the renewable energy is produced. This is a great way of producing electricity but the speed of the wind that is required is not suitable for all locations.

4) Biomass: the energy is produced with the help of natural products like sugarcane, algae, sweet grass etc. even biomass fuel is produced using these materials as a substitute of fuel.

5) Geothermal power: electricity is produced because of the heat produced by the hot magma found deep inside the earth’s crust by digging wells on the surface of the earth.
Thus alternative energy resources can be produced in number of ways but the only thing that is to be remembered is to make the correct choice for your lifestyle and geographic location.