MRS. REESE

Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable

Renewable Energy = energy that can come from natural resources and can be replenished in a short period of time (compared to how fast we use it up.)

Biomass

Biomass is organic material made from plants and animals. Biomass contains stored energy from the sun.

Source: The National Energy Education Project

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Fuel is cheap because its waste materials

Burn it to create electricity

Can be used in diesel engines.

Collecting enough waste to create enough heat/electricity is hard

Burning the fuel produces pollution (due to the release of CO2)

Some material such as leaf litter is not available at all times of the year.

Biomass

Wind Energy

Wind is simply air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface by the sun. Because the Earth's surface is made of very different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun's heat at different rates.

Wind Energy

Wind energy is energy from moving air.

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Wind is free/renewableMakes electricityThe land used for wind

can still be used for farming.

Produces no waste/pollution that would increase greenhouse gases.

Wind farms can tourist attractions

Some days are not windy enough and it may not produce a steady source of electricity.

Windmills are huge, can be unsightly, can be noisy

Can kill birds migrating

Wind Energy

Water Cycle StepsWater Cycle Steps Water Cycle DiagramWater Cycle Diagram

Solar energy heats water on the surface, causing it to evaporate.

This water vapor condenses into clouds and falls back onto the surface as precipitation (rain, snow, etc.).

The water flows through rivers back into the oceans, where it can evaporate and begin the cycle over again.

Hydroelectric Power

Hydroelectric Power

Hydroelectric energy is energy that comes from moving water.

Hydroelectric Power

Hydroelectric Power is the most commonly used method out of the renewable energies to create electricity.

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RenewableWater can be used for

recreation or irrigation.

Once the dam is built, it is virtually free and lasts a very long time

Produces no waste/pollution

Very reliable method to create electricity

Dam is expensive to built.

Building dams leads to flooding upstream.

Dams can affect wildlife living in the rivers (ex salmon spawning).

Hydroelectric Power

Solar Energy

Solar energy is energy that comes from the sun. Solar energy can be used create heat OR to create electricity.

Solar Energy

A photovoltaic cell, commonly called a solar cell or PV, is the technology used to convert solar energy directly into electrical power.

Passive Solar Energy

Besides creating electricity with solar energy, the sun’s energy can simply be used to heat. Some homes in very sunny climate use the sun’s energy to heat the water in their pipes to get hot water.

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Free and RenewableProduces no

waste/pollutionHandy for low power

devices such as garden lights.

Makes no noise while collecting energy.

Does not work at nightVery expensive to build

solar power stations or to install solar panels in homes. ($16,000-$32,000 is the present cost to retrofit a house to be completely solar efficient)

Need very sunny climate

Solar Energy

Geothermal Energy

The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). So, geothermal energy is heat from within the Earth. We can recover this heat as steam or hot water and use it to heat buildings or generate electricity.

Where is it found?Where is it found? Where is it found?Where is it found?

Naturally occurring large areas of hydrothermal resources are called geothermal reservoirs. 

Most geothermal reservoirs are deep underground with no visible clues showing above ground. But geothermal energy sometimes finds its way to the surface in the form of:

Volcanoes and fumaroles (holes where volcanic gases are released)

Hot springs Geysers

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Energy

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No waste/PollutionUsed to create

electricity.Power stations do

not need much room.

Once the power station is built, its virtually free.

Very few places where you can build geothermal power stations.

Sometimes the stations “run out” of energy.

Hazardous gases may come up from underground.

Geothermal Energy

Hydrogen Power

Hydrogen fuel cells (batteries) make electricity. They are very efficient, but expensive to build. Small fuel cells can power electric cars. Large fuel cells can provide electricity in remote places with no power lines.

Because of the high cost to build fuel cells, large hydrogen power plants won't be built for a while. However, fuel cells are being used in some places as a source of emergency power, from hospitals to wilderness locations.

Hydrogen Power