Renewable resources
Submitted by Aheli Chandra
(Department of BCA, Batch :2017-2020)
University Roll No : 15201217116
What is renewable resources?
Renewable energy, often referred to as clean energy, comes from natural sources or processes that are constantly replenished. For example, sunlight or wind keep shining and blowing, even if their availability depends on time and weather.
While renewable energy is often thought of as a new technology, harnessing nature’s power has long been used for heating, transportation, lighting, and more. Wind has powered boats to sail the seas and windmills to grind grain. The sun has provided warmth during the day and helped kindle fires to last into the evening. But over the past 500 years or so, humans increasingly turned to cheaper, dirtier energy sources such as coal and fracked gas.
Now that we have increasingly innovative and less-expensive ways to capture and retain wind and solar energy, renewables are becoming a more important power source, accounting for more than one-eighth of U.S. generation. The expansion in renewables is also happening at scales large and small, from rooftop solar panels on homes that can sell power back to the grid to giant offshore wind farms. Even some entire rural communities rely on renewable energy for heating and lighting.
Most popular renewable energy in india
Hydropower
Hydropower is the most widely-used renewable power source, with the global hydroelectric installed capacity exceeding 1,295GW, accounting for more than 18% of the world’s total installed power generation capacity and more than 54% of the global renewable power generation capacity.
The most common method of hydropower generation involves construction of dams on rivers and releasing water from the reservoir to drive turbines. Pumped-storage type plants represent another method of hydroelectricity generation.
Wind energy
Wind is the second most widely used renewable energy source, as global installed wind power capacity exceeded 563GW in 2018, accounting for approximately 24% of the world’s total renewable energy generation capacity.
Solar power
More than 486GW of installed capacity makes solar the third biggest renewable power source in the world, with photovoltaic (PV) technology being dominant. The use of concentrating solar power (CSP) technology is also on the rise, with global CSP installed capacity reaching 5.5GW by the end of 2018.
Bio-power
Bio-power is the fourth biggest renewable power source after hydro, wind and solar. The world’s net electricity production capacity from bio-mass currently exceeds 117GW, while global bio-power generation increased from 317TWh in 2010 to more than 495TWh in 2018.
Modern biomass, especially biofuels and wood pellets, are increasingly being used for heat and power generation, alongside traditional biomass sources such as agricultural by-products.
Geothermal power
Global geothermal power generation capacity exceeded 13.2GW in 2018 making it the fifth-biggest renewable source for electricity generation. Geothermal electricity generation exceeded 85TWh in 2018.
One-third of the green energy generated using geothermal sources is electricity, while the remaining two-third is direct heat.
Why renewable energy source is needed?
Although there has been much progress in the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency, and expanding energy access over the past decade, the world is not on track to meet international climate goals established under the Paris Agreement, or international goals for sustainable development.
We are facing a climate crisis: the IPCC 2018 Special Report on 1.5°C found that roughly a decade remains to keep global warming below this level and avoid the worst effects of climate change. Most countries are still subsidising the consumption of fossil fuels, and fossil fuel consumption subsidies increased 11% in 2017.
Urgent action is needed now to change our energy systems. Moreover, we will never meet the objectives under UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 for increasing renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy access if we continue down our current energy path.
Why are renewable energies important for reaching climate goals?
Renewable energy is central to achieving these international goals. Using renewables (as oppose to fossil fuels) brings other advantages and opportunities, ranging from environmental to socio-economic and political.
Combatting climate change. The burning of fossil fuels for energy results in a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Most sources of renewable energy result in little to no emissions, even when considering the full life cycle of the technologies.
Reducing air pollution and improving public health by decreasing pollution and emissions. Worldwide increases in fossil fuel-based road transport, industrial activity, and power generation (as well as the open burning of waste in many cities) contributes to elevated levels of air pollution. In many developing countries, the use of charcoal and fuelwood for heating and cooking also contributes to poor indoor air quality.
Bringing added advantages. Renewables can offer lower costs and stable energy prices. There also are opportunities for the development of local industry, and increased job opportunities. Renewables can bring increased reliability and resilience of the energy system and energy supply, including resilience to weather-related impacts of climate change. For example, after hurricanes Irene and Sandy hit the US east coast in 2012, locations within the New York metropolitan area began investing in renewables and microgrids to help prevent power shortages during future storms.
Benefits of Renewable Energy
Environmental and economic benefits of using renewable energy include:
- Generating energy that produces no greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and reduces some types of air pollution
- Diversifying energy supply and reducing dependence on imported fuels
- Creating economic development and jobs in manufacturing, installation, and more
Implementing On-site Renewable Energy Projects
On-site power generation provides local governments with the most direct access to renewable energy. In addition to the overall benefits, on-site projects also provide a hedge against financial risks and improve power quality and supply reliability.
However, local governments considering on-site generation may face possible technical, financial, and regulatory challenges. To overcome these challenges, local governments can:
- Assess the availability of local renewable resources
- Consider the costs of different renewable technologies
- Examine the aggregate costs and benefits of on-site green power
- Consider permitting requirements for locations where the facility could be sited
- Involve local stakeholders, particularly concerning siting
- Assess available sources of financing and other incentives