Whether it's for your home, business, or community, there's never been a better — or cheaper — time to switch to renewables for all your energy needs. The future habitability of the planet, brought about by the elimination of carbon emissions that renewables afford, is at stake. Contact online >>
Whether it''s for your home, business, or community, there''s never been a better — or cheaper — time to switch to renewables for all your energy needs. The future habitability of the planet, brought about by the elimination of carbon emissions that renewables afford, is at stake.
For the first time, according to the International Energy Agency, (IEA), in its World Energy Outlook 2020 published in October 2020, renewable solar is the "new king," beating non-renewable coal at its own game.
In fact, solar has surpassed IEA''s predictions made last year by 20-50%(though the range varies with location). On- and offshore wind projects also enjoyed similarly large cost reductions from previous estimates, surprising the naysayers as well.
Solar and wind represent just two of several types of renewable energy. Here you''ll discover tons of clean energy facts and stats about all the major forms of green energy — including how one or more fit into your home, business, or community.
Making the switch to renewables will not only save you money. It will reduce your carbon footprint. As our climate crisis intensifies, a clean energy transformation will help curb negative outcomes for people and the planet.
Renewable energy is a general term for all forms of energy that can be naturally replenished — like sunlight, wind, waves, or the Earth''s own heat. They never run out.
Bioenergy derived from biomass is another type of renewable energy. However, it requires that people perform some additional work to extract the energy from plant or animal sources, usually by burning them.
All forms of renewable energy are also referred to as alternative energy. These clean (or green) types of energy have no significant undesirable consequences. They offer a choice compared to conventional, "dirty" forms of energy that are non-renewable.
Non-renewable fossil fuels (coal, crude oil, and fracked gas) supply people with about 80% of all energy consumed globally and in the United States. Their burning releases carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas that''s accelerating climate change.
Nuclear energy is a second type of non-renewable energy that makes up only 2% of global energy, but 8% in the U.S. It produces radioactive waste that remains hazardous for thousands of years.
By contrast, renewable energy consumption across all sectors (transportation, heating, electricity, etc.) is approximately 18% worldwide, but only 11% in the U.S. In terms of electricity production alone, renewables in the U.S. stand at about 17%.
For this list, the breakdown of the 17% (mentioned in the preceding section) devoted to renewables used for electricity production in the U.S. (2019) is given by the most common to least.
Harvesting energy from wind is a technique first used by humans over 1,000 years ago. Windmills on farms to pump water or grind cereals are age-old practices common even today.
Would you believe that wind is a form of solar energy? Due to pressure gradients caused by uneven solar heating of the Earth and its atmosphere as well as by the Earth''s rotation, large masses of air movements called wind result.
To generate electricity, the wind''s kinetic energy causes a turbine''s blades to turn around a rotor attached to a main shaft. The mechanical energy of the rotating shaft, connected to a gearbox, spins a generator and is transformed into electricity.
Using the power of moving water to perform work dates back to Ancient China and Greece. In these civilizations, and later in Europe and Colonial America, grinding wheat into flour, pounding metal ores, or sawing wood were common uses of hydropower.
This large system consists of a dam which stores water in a reservoir. When water is released, it falls through turbines connected to a generator and produces electricity. Mega-dams can store several month''s worth of electricity at a time.
Billed as the world''s water battery, pumped storage hydropower is considered the superior form of energy storage compared to other battery types because of its long life, low cost, and non-reliance on raw material extraction.
Using upper and lower reservoirs, water circulates between them, moving over turbines and creating electricity when needed. At low peak usage times, this electricity is used to pump the water back to the upper reservoir.
Researchers are developing several new technologies using pumped storage hydropower to store solar and wind energy so that there''s a stable and constant energy supply.
For environmentalists, mega-dam hydroelectric projects are harmful to the animals and plants living in or around rivers. In their view, hydropower is a non-renewable energy except on microscales.
Humans'' ability to harness sun power began as early as the 7th century B.C. when our ancestors used a magnifying glass to concentrate sunlight enough to create fire.
Today, we capture the sun''s power and convert it to electricity with photovoltaic (PV) cells. There are several types of PV panels on the market. In all of them, silicon is the main element used in current solar cells, but technology into cheaper and easier-to-scale alternative materials like halide perovskites is evolving fast.
In the U.S., over the last decade, solar energy has had an average growth rate of 49% every year. A major reason for this is the cost drop for installation in that time: 70%!
About Major types of renewable energy
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Major types of renewable energy have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
When you're looking for the latest and most efficient Major types of renewable energy for your PV project, our website offers a comprehensive selection of cutting-edge products designed to meet your specific requirements. Whether you're a renewable energy developer, utility company, or commercial enterprise looking to reduce your carbon footprint, we have the solutions to help you harness the full potential of solar energy.
By interacting with our online customer service, you'll gain a deep understanding of the various Major types of renewable energy featured in our extensive catalog, such as high-efficiency storage batteries and intelligent energy management systems, and how they work together to provide a stable and reliable power supply for your PV projects.
