Renewable energy
From Environment & Energy Wiki
This page is incomplete and is still being worked on. If you think there is nothing more to add, please delete this banner, in the edit tab.
Contents |
Description
Renewable energy is a rather arbitrary term meaning any energy that is harnessed and does not deplete the earth's resources nor create any serious pollution problems. It is usually applied to heat and electricity generation.
Detailed description
There are two basic types of renewable energy: that which can be generated continuously at a more or less constant rate and that which has an intermittent or variable output level.
Continuous generation
Examples of this include thermal power stations using household garbage as fuel or biofuels, hydroelectricity etc.
Variable generation
Common forms of variable generation are solar energy used for heating or electricity generation, wind, wave or tidal generation etc. Of these, tidal generation is the most predictable but is still very variable on daily, monthly and annual cycles, with weather also influencing the energy available (for example, sea levels vary with both barometric pressure and wind).
Variable generation is sometimes termed intermittent generation but, as the latter implies "all or nothing", this is non-preferential. Hazy sun or moderate wind can still generate some electricity, but not to the full capacity.
