Introduction
A regular dependable source of energy is one of the most important factors in modern life. A normal day, people constantly consume energy for heating lighting cooking,transport and powering all kinds of electrical equipment. Furthermore,energy is used by industries to produce all the goods that we buy and provide all the services that we use. In this unit, we will examine difeerent sources of energy and look at the advantages and disadvantages of using theese forms of energy.
A)FOSSIL FUELS
Fossil fuels are the most common source of energy used in the World. Industries make use of these fossil fuels for many processes. In power stations , fossil fuels like coal or oil are burnt. This way , the heat of energy of combustion is converted into mechanical energy. This mechanical energy helps generate electricity. Organisms that lived hundreds of millions years ago become fossilized under successive layers of rock , soil and bacteria;and fossil fuels were eventually formed. Since their formation takes millions of years fossil fuels cannot easily be renewed. This , in fact , is the main problem associated with fossil fuels:they are none-renawable. At the current rate of consumption scientists estimate that fossil fuel reservers will be exhausted in the coming centuries. Another problem associated with the consumption of fossil fuels is the release of carbon dioxide. Because fossil fuels contain carbon , when they burn ,carbondioxide is produced and released into the athmosphere. Carbondioxide is referred to as a Greenhouse Gas.Grenhouse Gases ,like carbondioxide,allow the suns’s infrared radiation to enter the atmosphere and trip it. In the same way that a greenhouse traps heat , carbondioxide contributes to the greenhouse ...
... middle of paper ...
...mention to hydroelectric dams.
2)Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity: which secures the kinetic energy in rivers or streams, without the using of dams.
3)Small hydro : projects are 10 megawatts or less and often have no factitous reservoirs.
4)Micro hydro : projects supply a few kilowatts to a few hundred kilowatts to isolated homes, villages, or small industries.
5)Conduit hydroelectricity : projects utilize water which has already been converted for use elsewhere; in a municipal water system for example.
6)Pumped-storage hydroelectricity : stores water pumped during periods of low demand to be lounched for generation when demand is high.
COMPONENTS
1 Silicon Boule & Solar Cell
2 Amorphous Silicon Cell
3 Photovoltaic modules
4 Photovoltaic arrays
5 Mounting systems
6 Trackers
7 Inverters
8 Maximum power point tracking and charge control
9 Monitoring and metering
Carbon dioxide or CO2 is known to be one of a number of gases that are astonishingly transparent to the visible light that falls on the Earth from the Sun, but it absorb the infra-red radiation that emitted by the warm surface of our Earth, to prevents its loss into space. Moreover, CO2 has varied considerably and this affected the Earth’s temperature. Most common source of this CO2 is known as the fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are primarily coal, hydrocarbons, natural gas, or fuel oil that formed from the remains of the dead plants and also animals. The burning fossil fuel that has been created by humans is the largest source of emissions of the carbon dioxide.
3. Hydroelectric energy was to satisfy the requirements of millions and millions of people in adjacent regions.
Energy is the basic necessity of daily life. Nowadays, dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs becoming lower in numerous countries due to the potential of renewable energy to supply sustainable energy to the huge populations in many developing countries who are short of clean and continues energy. Generally, renewable energy can be defined as energy that is derived from natural resources which are constantly replenished and theoretically inexhaustible. Fossil fuels on the other hand can be described as energy that cannot be renewed and will eventually diminish. Thus, in many developing countries renewable energy is the alternative energy to replace non-renewable energy or commonly known as fossil fuels. In addition, according to Sorensen (2004), there is a greater demand for renewable energy sources nowadays due to the uncertainty of fuel price rise in living expenses. Commonly, there are many types of renewable energy available in our world such as wind power, biomass energy, solar energy, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. However, the main three example of renewable energy are hydroelectric power, solar and biomass energy (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
Over the last two centuries, humanity has become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels. Over that time, the consequences of constantly burning fossil fuels have accumulated into a threat to industrialized cities. The burning of fossil fuels causes acid rain to shower on cities and ecosystems around the world, tormenting their inhabitants. The increasingly deadly pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels has caused the deaths of many people around the world by causing respiratory problems. Not only has the pollution worsened, but the supply of fossil fuels is not limitless – as humanity’s reliance increases the supply decreases, and that is all the more reason to break humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels should be replaced with cleaner alternatives because fossil fuels cause environmental hazards, are non-renewable, and are detrimental to human health.
Hydro power is one of many examples of alternative energy source. Hydro power is producing energy by moving
The International energy agency defines renewable energy as energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, water and geothermal heat of which are all considered renewable (Pelman, 2014). People day in and day out find ways to answer the questions of “how do I fully insulate my house?” or “what energy options do I have to save money?”, and then also comes the “what energy options are good for the environment?” There are many things that can be done to tackle most of these questions, but then none of them come close to the ones offered by Hydroelectric Energy. It’s always been documented that there is an increasing trend of an average of about 6.5% per year in consumer bills over the last thirty years in the United States. Global demand is expected to increase by as much as 59% in the next 15 years. With such a demand, there is clearly supposed to be an expected rise in energy bills (Wate...
One efficient way to acquire energy is Hydropower. Hydropower is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water. This energy converter is harmless to the environment. Other ways will affect the atmosphere and the environment in a negative way. The most common device for hydropower is a dam. It relies on the water cycle. This is one of the oldest sources of energy.
Today our society is using more energy than ever. With the increase in demand for energy, problems are presented that have to be addressed. One of the biggest and most prevalent problems is the need for clean, renewable, sustainable energy. On the forefront of these problems comes the following solutions: nuclear energy, hydro-electric energy, and photovoltaic energy. With the need of energy in today’s current world, exploring different ways of producing power are necessary. The differences and similarities of nuclear energy and alternative energy are important to look over and examine in depth, so that it is plain to see the positive and negative effects of energy production.
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...
...r wildlife and generates revenue for state as well. There are 472 reservoirs in the U.S that contains 32-48 trillion gallons of flood contained water, which is enough to meet the needs of 900 million people. There are 116 of the 472 reservoirs that generate hydropower, with improved technology and advancements that this project projects there could be a significant increase in electricity production with little investments in new infrastructure. Local people living around these improved waterways also see enhanced recreational activity and improved health and productivity of tens of thousands of river miles across the whole country. This project if continued with the passion it has seen so far can greatly help revitalize our water infrastructure and provide substantial economic, social and environmental returns today and well into the future of the United States.
How exactly does hydropower work, though? As it turns out, dams are the main source of harvesting energy via hydropower. There are about 80,000 dams in the United States, although not all are active producers of power. There are four main types of hydropower facilities, which all require turbines: impoundment, diversion, run-of-river, and pumped storage. Also, there are two main types of hydro turbines: impulse turbines and reaction turbines ("Hydropower…”).
The three fossil fuels- coal, crude oil, and gas slowly formed over millions of years. These days, we use fossil fuels to power everything- homes, buildings, cars, computers, lights, etc. However, fossil fuels deposits will run out soon, which is a huge problem. Extracting, transporting, and burning fossil fuels are dangerous. There are also many negative biological and environmental impacts that result from the use of fossil fuels, such as ocean acidification, groundwater contamination, land subsidence, oil spills, and global warming. Therefore, we should be trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and explore alternative energy sources such as wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy instead. Our world depends on fossil fuels, but they can also hurt us. Fossil fuels are both a blessing and a curse.
...niques, cultures everywhere can construct these new ideas for sustainable energy. By using hydropower, solar power, and wind power can expect to see a sustainable life for everyone.
Hydroelectricity is a known renewable energy resource that provides substantial benefits for our wealth, our health, and for our global economy. There are five types of renewable energy we can use on a daily basis throughout our lives, but the most widely installed form of renewable energy is hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity is electricity created by converting the kinetic energy of flowing water. Best thing about this source of energy is that it’s timeless and renewable, which means it will never run out, however we had to figure ways to store this energy. In order for them to harness this energy for other people, they had to build generators that convert all the potential energy of rapid moving water into electrical energy. (http://www.ems.psu.edu/~elsworth/courses/cause2003/finalprojects/vikingpaper.pdf)
Alternative Energy - Wind, Solar, Hydro and Other Alt Energy Sources for Home Power. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. .