What You Should Know About Alternative Energy Resources

By Lucille Green

Alternative energy is everywhere around us and it's possible to use it in many different ways. An example that can be sited is one that is driven by photovoltaic cells called the solar power which in time can get more advanced and affordable. Solar power does not harm the environment and can be used for all our energy requirements including generating vast amounts of electricity with the added benefit of being environmentally friendly. Although there is still a great deal of work to be done to make this an economically viable solution for the long term. Since solar energy cannot be used during the evening and on gloomy days, provisions on the resource is unavoidable that is why backups in the form of storage batteries are utilized.

Usually for now, a large number of private investors as well as the government take pride and support in investing for the utilization of wind energy as an alternative energy source. The great arrays of triple-bladed windmills are being placed all over as "wind farms" to capture the motion of the wind and use its kinetic energy for conversion to mechanical or electrical energy. The idea of using a windmill to exploit energy is something that we all are already aware about.

With the growing developments in our technology and everything that we use, it is so unlikely for us not to use the more sophisticated modern wind turbines as an alternative to the old theme being used. There is always a negative aspect to everything and with wind farms it is they become useless when you have days without any or little wind. When the wind doesn't blow we have other power stations that can make up the energy deficit so we cannot, at present use wind farms as a primary source of power.

A massive quantity of power can be obtained from another source of alternative energy which is the hydroelectric energy. The downhill motion of water implying its flow in response to gravity is used to turn turbines and as a result, generate electrical energy and this is the process in which hydroelectric energy works. Water is the driving source to power up hydroelectric turbines and since it is readily available everywhere, there couldn't be much of a problem using it. On the other hand, producing hydroelectricity as a source of alternative energy is not that undemanding as it can be costly and intricate.

Dams are often built in order to be able to control the flow of the water sufficiently to generate the needed power. Conservationists are starting to be worried about operating a dam as it not only requires a lot of labour building it to store and control water's potential and kinetic energy but it can also be risky and complicated. To provide the electrical needs of a city or other heavily populated area, certainly a dam is quite essential otherwise, one should settle for something less than that of the dam. There are a number of run-of-river, hydroelectric converters available which can easily service smaller communities without much environmental impact.

Some countries have harnessed the power of geothermal energy (energy from inside the planet) to heat water under the ground although this is still an under-utilised energy source generally. The transfer of heat into the water is caused by the earth's inner molten core. Power plants use a number of ways to draw this water to the surface and harness it into 'free' energy. The purpose of this procedure is to gather the steam that is generated when it reaches the surface. Approximately one hundred miles north of San Francisco lies 'The Geysers', probably the most famous of geo-thermal power fields where they use what is known as 'dry steam' power plant technology.

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