Archive for Category Renewable Energy

1. Renewable Energy from the Sun-Facts

Solar Power is an ecologically sound and desirable source of energy. Sunlight has been used by microbial, plant, and animal life as a primary energy supply. Photosynthesis is a process which also requires sunlight.

Earth's atmosphere absorbs about 3.85 million exajoules of solar energy. However by comparison, the entire use of electric energy, world-wide is about 56.7 exajoules annually. Thus, within a few hours, the earth receives more solar energy than people expend annually!

Renewable energy from the sun is a clean source of energy. In contrast to fossil fuels, using Solar energy doesn't discharge carbon dioxide or other types of harmful toxins into the environment. Furthermore solar energy is collected by almost every single form of life. Even animals bask in sunshine to warm themselves. Solar power is probably the most environmentally sound energy option attainable right now.

Every year, humans consume 467 exajoules of energy, mostly derived from fossil fuels. However, if we could capture just 10% of the renewable energy from the sun, we could replace all fossil fuel sources.

Solar Energy is the collective energy in form of heat and light energy emitted from the sun. Approximately 30% of this is immediately deflected by the atmosphere, and another 20% is absorbed into the atmosphere. However, approximately 50% of the solar energy reaches the earth's surface, where it fuels photosynthesis in plants, creates and maintains weather patterns and climates, as well as the temperature of the ocean, and generally speaking keeps our planet alive. All of this is accomplished without creating any pollution or destruction of natural resources.

In the last three decades, solar energy technology has developed at an accelerated rate. Solar energy is harnessed using PV solar power plants. Home Solar Power generation is now possible with rooftop installation of Solar panels. Solar energy can be employed to power practically any procedure you can visualize, from large-scale power generation for towns and cities to boiling a single pot of water.

Photovoltaic solar power plants use PV panel systems to produce electricity. This electric current may be used immediately or alternatively stored in batteries for later use. Battery storage is incredibly significant since it means it is possible to store solar power for use through the night or during cloudy or rainy days.

2. Can Renewable Energy help stall the Climate Change

Burning of Fossil Fuels is causing damage to our environment as well as precipitating an irreversible climate change, the biggest ever study of the available science concluded in a report. The rising global temperatures poses a high risk of widespread harm, including floods, drought, extinction of species and ocean acidification, if the trend for increasing carbon emissions continues. “We must act quickly and decisively if we want to avoid increasingly disruptive outcomes.

We also observed that -

  • Green-house gases have pushed atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide to levels “unprecedented” in the past 800,000 years.
  • The global average sea level has risen by about 19 centimeters (7.5 inches) since 1901 and is likely to rise by 26 centimeters to 82 centimeters this century.
  • The global average temperature has risen by 0.85 of a degree Celsius since 1880, and the panel predicts a gain of 0.3 degrees to 4.8 degrees for this century.

“We need to get to zero emissions by the end of this century” to keep global warming below dangerous levels, Ottmar Edenhofer, chief economist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Institute, outside Berlin, and a co-author of the report, said in a telephone interview. “This requires a huge transformation, but it doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice economic growth.