Alternative Energy Products

Renewable Energy Resources

The alarming rate of Greenhouse gas generation and global warming have indeed managed to catch everyone’s attention. In response to this massive problem, several governments and private companies are driving technology based on various renewable energy resources like the sun, wind, water and biomass based fuels.

Several noteworthy advances have already been made in each of these fields to make renewable energy resources cost-effective and energy efficient. This growth, though, cannot prosper, especially in these troubled financial times, unless governments make a dedicated effort to support and encourage such initiatives.
Let’s take a look at how the US government has been achieving this lately:

Since the induction of President Barack Obama, the renewable energy resources industry has received a significant boost by his ideal to stabilize the economy through energy innovation. To this effect, he reiterated his promise, in his speech to the nation on 24th March, 2009, of investing $15 billion annually. He also announced that the federal Research and Experimentation tax credit will now be a permanent feature thereby providing an incentive for private companies to invest in such innovation which will in turn stimulate long-term economic growth. In a bid to drive this effort in an informed and organized manner, President Obama has included in his team such people as Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, (a Nobel laureate and former director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which has received $1.2 billion from the government), chief science adviser, John Holdern (Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy) and other informal advisers like Susan Hockfield (President, MIT) and Dan Kammen (engery expert from UC Berkeley).

Other laws have also been formulated to encourage individuals and commercial establishments to play their part such as the Economic Stabilization Act effective the 1st of January, 2009 which provides a 30% rebate on investments in renewable energy resources and extends the Solar investment tax credit for an additional eight year period.

What Are Renewable Energy Resources?

Renewable energy is a type of energy which is produced from the natural resources. These natural resources may be wind, sunlight, rain, geothermal heat and tides. These are renewable energy resources. According to the data of 2006, 18% of global energy was consumed from renewable energy resources out of which traditional biomass made 13% which included wood burning.

Main sources of renewable energy:

The main source of renewable energy is sun. The system of earth atmosphere has maintained equilibrium showcasing that heat emission is equal to solar radiations which enter the earth. Earth’s climate is the rough description of the resultant level of renewable energy resources in the earth’s atmosphere. The major fraction of the radiations entering the earth’s surface is absorbed by the hydrosphere which is a water body. The low attitudes absorb most of the emissions. These renewable energy resources are degenerated around the earth in the shape of ocean currents and winds. A major role is played by the wave motion in the course of relocating the mechanical energy between the ocean and the atmosphere with the help of wind stress.

The renewable energy resources involve natural phenomenon like wind, geothermal heat, wind, sunlight and tides as is explained by the International Agency of Energy. They explain that “renewable energy is obtained from the natural procedures that are refilled constantly. It is derived in various forms like from heat produced deep inside the earth or from solar energy resources.

To widen environment friendly means in generating power an incandescent source of energy is the non renewable source of energy.

Examples of Renewable Energy Sources

Five renewable energy sources:

• Solar panels: These are available in all sizes in order to meet every household’s need. These solar panels are so small that they can only manage to control a calculator.

Further there are two types of solar panels. These are:

1) Solar thermal collector – This collector heats water at homes which is used for consumption. The thermal collector is basically made up of a black metal absorber and an insulator box. With the help of panels natural convection seizes which is widely used in the European countries in order to cut down the cost of heating water.

2) Photovoltaic panel – This solar panel is made up of crystalline silicon cells or a slender film of silicone or cadmium telluride. It converts the solar energy to electric currents. These are also known as PV cells. They reduce the emission of the carbon in the atmosphere which further promotes cleaner energy.

• Windmill: This is one of the renewable energy resources to which the man is acquainted since 600 AD. Windmills are used to draw up water. Wind turbines are the wind mills used in the modern times. These turbines convert the kinetic energy to mechanical energy and the mechanical energy into electricity.

• Biomass generator: It refers to the decayed biological material that can be renewed and can be used as a fuel or can be used in industrial production. For example the dead trees and wood chips are biofuel. These are biodegradable wastes.

• Tidal power: These are the generators that produce renewable energy resources with the use of high density of the ocean water. It is one of the long term methods of renewable energy resources.

• Nuclear power generators: It produces twice the energy produced by the fuel or by the combination of other resources. This is by far the best source of energy and saves resources while being used.