Alternative Energy
1- Wind Power :
Wind power has been used as long as humans have put sails into the
wind. For more than two millennia wind-powered machines have ground
grain and pumped water. Wind power was widely available and not
confined to the banks of fast-flowing streams, or later, requiring sources of
fuel. Wind-powered pumps drained the polders of the Netherlands. In arid
regions such as the American mid-west or the Australian outback, wind
pumps provided water for live stock and steam engines.
The Earth is unevenly heated by the sun, such that the poles receive
less energy from the sun than the equator; along with this, dry land heats
up (and cools down) more quickly than the seas do. The differential
heating drives a global atmospheric convection system reaching from
the Earth's surface to the stratosphere which acts as a virtual ceiling.
Most of the energy stored in these wind movements can be found at high
altitudes where continuous wind speeds of over 160 km/h (99 mph) occur.
Eventually, the wind energy is converted through friction into diffuse heat
throughout the Earth's surface and the atmosphere.
For more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wind_power
2- Solar Energy:
Solar Power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly
using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power
(CSP) or to split water and create hydrogen fuel using techniques of
artificial photosynthesis. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses
or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a
small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the
photoelectric effect.
For more info http://www.energy.gov/energysources/solar.htm
3- Wave Energy:
Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and
the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example, electricity
generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water (into reservoirs).
Wave power is distinct from the diurnal flux of tidal power and the steady
gyre of ocean currents. Wave power generation is not currently a widely
employed commercial technology although there have been attempts at
using it since at least 1890.[1] In 2008, the first experimental wave farm
was opened in Portugal, at the Aguçadoura Wave Park.
For more info http://www.outsidelands.org/wave-tidal3.php
4- Geothermal Energy:
Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the
Earth. Thermal energy is energy that determines the temperature of
matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation
of the planet, from radioactive decay of minerals, from volcanic activity,
and from solar energy absorbed at the surface. The geothermal
gradient, which is the difference in temperature between the core of
the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal
energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface.
From hot springs, geothermal energy has been used for bathing since
Paleolithic times and for space heating since ancient Roman times,
but it is now better known for electricity generation. Worldwide, about
10,715 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power is online in 24 countries.
An additional 28 gigawatts of direct geothermal heating capacity is
installed for district heating, space heating, spas, industrial processes,
desalination and agricultural applications.
For more info http://www.geothermal-energy.org/
Wind power has been used as long as humans have put sails into the
wind. For more than two millennia wind-powered machines have ground
grain and pumped water. Wind power was widely available and not
confined to the banks of fast-flowing streams, or later, requiring sources of
fuel. Wind-powered pumps drained the polders of the Netherlands. In arid
regions such as the American mid-west or the Australian outback, wind
pumps provided water for live stock and steam engines.
The Earth is unevenly heated by the sun, such that the poles receive
less energy from the sun than the equator; along with this, dry land heats
up (and cools down) more quickly than the seas do. The differential
heating drives a global atmospheric convection system reaching from
the Earth's surface to the stratosphere which acts as a virtual ceiling.
Most of the energy stored in these wind movements can be found at high
altitudes where continuous wind speeds of over 160 km/h (99 mph) occur.
Eventually, the wind energy is converted through friction into diffuse heat
throughout the Earth's surface and the atmosphere.
For more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wind_power
2- Solar Energy:
Solar Power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly
using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power
(CSP) or to split water and create hydrogen fuel using techniques of
artificial photosynthesis. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses
or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a
small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the
photoelectric effect.
For more info http://www.energy.gov/energysources/solar.htm
3- Wave Energy:
Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and
the capture of that energy to do useful work — for example, electricity
generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water (into reservoirs).
Wave power is distinct from the diurnal flux of tidal power and the steady
gyre of ocean currents. Wave power generation is not currently a widely
employed commercial technology although there have been attempts at
using it since at least 1890.[1] In 2008, the first experimental wave farm
was opened in Portugal, at the Aguçadoura Wave Park.
For more info http://www.outsidelands.org/wave-tidal3.php
4- Geothermal Energy:
Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the
Earth. Thermal energy is energy that determines the temperature of
matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation
of the planet, from radioactive decay of minerals, from volcanic activity,
and from solar energy absorbed at the surface. The geothermal
gradient, which is the difference in temperature between the core of
the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal
energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface.
From hot springs, geothermal energy has been used for bathing since
Paleolithic times and for space heating since ancient Roman times,
but it is now better known for electricity generation. Worldwide, about
10,715 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power is online in 24 countries.
An additional 28 gigawatts of direct geothermal heating capacity is
installed for district heating, space heating, spas, industrial processes,
desalination and agricultural applications.
For more info http://www.geothermal-energy.org/
