ENERGY

RENEWABLE ENERGY:
A renewable energy source means energy that is sustainable; resources will practically
never run out. 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. 

Renewable power is booming, as innovation brings down costs and

starts to deliver on the promise of a clean energy future.

1. Solar Energy
Sunlight is one of our planet’s most abundant and freely available
energy resources. The amount of solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface in one hour
is more than the planet’s total energy requirements for a whole year.

WORKING
common ways (indirectly or directly):

1. Sunlight can be changed into electricity by the use of solar cells( from silicon or other
materials ). – Ex: solar calculator, solar panels (large panels made up of many solar cells wired together)

2. Solar collectors- dark-colored boxes with glass or plastic tops used to directly heat

3. Solar mirrors- mirrors that use sunlight to produce electricity for large-scale solar power

Solar Energy arrives from the Sun by electromagnetic radiation. Solar power
harvests the energy of the sun by using collector panels to create
conditions that can then be turned into a kind of power. Large solar
panel fields are often used in the desert to gather enough power .
Combining both both solar energy and gravity provides other useful sources of
energy. Solar radiation heats air and evaporates water.
Gravity causes cooler air to sink and condense water vapor. Gravity then pulls
condensed water back to Earth, where it flows downhill. The circulation of the
atmosphere by the process is what we call the wind.  Energy can be extracted from
the wind using windmills
 USES
solar systems to provide for hot water, cooling and
supplement their electricity.  Distributed solar systems generate electricity locally for
homes and businesses, either through rooftop panels or community projects that power entire
neighborhoods. Solar farms can generate power for thousands of homes, using mirrors to
concentrate sunlight across acres of solar cells. Floating solar farms—or “floatovoltaics”—can
be an effective use of wastewater facilities and bodies of water that aren’t ecologically
sensitive.  

ADVANTAGES
Almost limitless source of energy –

LESS OUTPUT COST

Does not produce pollution

DISADVANTAGES
The issue with solar is that while there is plentiful amounts
of sunlight available, only certain geographical ranges of the world get
enough of the direct power of the sun for long enough to generate
usable power from this source
Its availability is also dependent on the change in seasons and weather
when they may not always be used. It requires high initial investments
for productive use as solar electricity storage technology has not
reached its optimum potential yet.

2. Wind Energy
The emergence of wind as an important source of the World’s energy has taken a
commanding lead among renewable sources. Wind exists everywhere in the world, in some places with
considerable energy density (Manwell, McGowan, & Rogers, 2010).  Today, turbines as tall as
skyscrapers—with turbines nearly as wide in diameter

WORKING
  To harness electricity from wind energy, turbines are used to drive generators
which then feed electricity into the National Grid. Uses wind turbines to convert kinetic energy into
electrical energy by rotating a generator.

Onshore wind energy technologies are already being manufactured and deployed on large scale
Offshore wind energy produces more
(Edenhofer et al., 2011) ALSO OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY.
energy than onshore wind energy, but costs much more to establish. The primary
costs of wind turbines include construction and maintenance

ADVANTAGES
The main advantages include an unlimited, free, renewable resource (the
wind itself), economic value, maintenance cost, and placement of wind harvesting
facilities

DISADVANTAGES
The two major disadvantages of wind power include initial cost and
technology immaturity.
Only practical in windy areas (require strong, steady breezes to be effective), so there are limited
locations for wind farms.

OFFSHORE PRODUCE MUCH BUT EXPENSIVE

ew technology is needed to lower costs, increase reliability and energy production,

solve regional deployment issues, expand the resource area, develop infrastructure
and manufacturing facilities, and mitigate known environmental impacts

 Aesthetic impact: Many people are concerned with the visual effects that wind
turbines have on the beautiful scenery of nature. They believe that giant wind
turbines distract viewers from the beautiful surroundings. Fig. 2 shows just how
big wind turbines can be.
 Wildlife: Wind turbines may be dangerous to flying animals. Many birds and
bats have been killed by flying into the rotors. Experts are now conducting
research to learn more about the effects that wind turbines have on marine
habitats.
 Remoteness of location: Although this may be an advantage (placing wind
turbines in desolate areas, far away from people), it may also be a disadvantage.
The cost of travel and maintenance on the turbines increases and is time
 consuming. Offshore wind turbines require boats and can be dangerous to
manage.
 Noise: Some wind turbines tend to generate a lot of noise which can be
unpleasant
 Safety at Sea: In the darkness/at night it may be difficult for incoming boats to
see wind turbines thus leading to collisions.

3. Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is the energy that is produced from
beneath the earth. Decay of radioactive elements has produced heat throughout
Earth history. It is this heat that causes the temperature to increase with depth in the
Earth and is responsible for melting of mantle rocks to form magmas. Magmas can
carry the heat upward into the crust. Geothermal gradient averages about 30 °C/km. There are
areas of the earth’s interior which are accessible by drilling, and where the gradient is well above the
average gradient (Barbier, 2002

WORKING

High temperatures are produced continuously inside the earth’s crust

by the slow delay of radioactive particles. Hot rocks present below the
earth heats up the water that produces steam. The steam is then
captured, which helps to move turbines. The rotating turbines then
power the generators.
). Heat is mined from geothermal reservoirs using wells and other means. Reservoirs that are naturally
adequately hot and permeable are called hydrothermal reservoirs, while reservoirs that are satisfactorily
hot but are improved with hydraulic stimulation are called enhanced geothermal systems (ESG). Once
drawn to the surface, fluids of various temperatures can be used to generate electricity and other
purposes that require the use of heat energy

USES
Geothermal energy can be used by a residential unit or on a large
scale by an industrial application. It was used during ancient times for
bathing and space heating.
 Groundwater circulating in the vicinity of igneous intrusions carries the heat back
toward the surface. If this hot water can be tapped, it can be used directly to heat
homes, or if trapped at great depth under pressure it can be turned into steam which
will expand and drive a turbine to generate electricity

ADVANTAGES
Almost limitless source of energy – Power plants require little land

LOW COST OUT PUT

No Fuel Required

Geothermal plants typically have low emissions if they pump the

steam and water they use back into the reservoir. 
DISADVANTAGES
 Location Restricted
Only practical in locations near hot spots (Hot spots are volcanic regions with a hotter mantle than
most places.)

Environmental Side Effects

Although geothermal energy does not typically
Waste water can damage soil,

release greenhouse gases, there are many of these gases stored

under the Earth’s surface which are released into the atmosphere
during digging. While these gases are also released into the
atmosphere naturally, the rate increases near geothermal plants.
However, these gas emissions are still far lower than those
associated with fossil fuels.
Earthquakes

Geothermal energy also runs the risk of triggering earthquakes.

This is due to alterations in the Earth’s structure as a result of
digging. This problem is more prevalent with enhanced
geothermal power plants, which force water into the Earth’s crust
to open up fissures to greater exploitation of the resource.
However, since most geothermal plants are away from population
centres, the implications of these earthquakes are relatively minor.

High Costs

Geothermal energy is an expensive resource to tap into, with price

tags ranging from around $2-$7 million for a plant with a 1
megawatt capacity. However, where the upfront costs are high, the
outlay can be recouped as part of a long-term investment.

. Sustainability

In order to maintain the sustainability of geothermal energy fluid

needs to be pumped back into the underground reservoirs faster
than it is depleted. This means that geothermal energy needs to be
properly managed to maintain its sustainability.

, NEED ADVANCEMENT IN TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE IT LESS COSTY

4 Energy Stored in Chemical Bonds

Energy stored in chemical bonds drives chemical reactions.  When the reactions take
place this energy is either released or absorbed.  If it is absorbed, it is stored in the
chemical bond for later use.  If it is released, it can produce useful heat energy.
electricity, and light. 
A) Hydrogen Energy
Hydrogen is available with water (H2O) and is the most common
element available on earth. Water contains two-thirds of hydrogen
and can be found in combination with other elements. Once it is
separated, it can be used as a fuel for generating electricity

USES
 Hydrogen is a tremendous source of energy and can be used as a
source of fuel to power ships, vehicles, homes, industries and rockets
ADVANTAGES
It is completely renewable, can be produced on demand and does
not leave any toxic emissions in the atmosphere.
DISADVANTAGES
The reaction is non-polluting, but currently has problems, such as safely storing and
distributing compressed hydrogen gas, and producing hydrogen efficiently.
HIGH INITIAL COST+MAINTENANCE + TECHNOLOGY NEEDED

B) biomass Energy
It involves burning (a chemical reaction) of wood, or other organic
byproducts Biomass energy is produced from organic material and is
commonly used throughout the world. Chlorophyll present in plants
captures the sun’s energy by converting carbon dioxide from the air
and water from the ground into carbohydrates through the process of
photosynthesis. When the plants are burned, the water and carbon
dioxide are again released back into the atmosphere
Biomass generally includes crops, plants, trees, yard clippings, wood
chips and animal wastes
Biomass energy that is buried within the Earth where it is stored until humans
extract and burn it to release the energy. Among these sources are petroleum (Oil &
natural gas), oil shale, tar sands, and coal.  Gasohol- Plant material that is changed into liquid
fuel • Ex: Plants containing sugar or starch can be made into alcohol. The alcohol is burned as a fuel or
mixed with gasoline to form the gasohol

SOURCES OF ENERGY;

Biomass sources for energy include:

 Wood and wood processing wastes—firewood, wood pellets, and wood chips, lumber
and furniture mill sawdust and waste, and black liquor from pulp and paper mills
 Agricultural crops and waste materials—corn, soybeans, sugar cane, switchgrass,
woody plants, and algae, and crop and food processing residues
 Biogenic materials in municipal solid waste—paper, cotton, and wool products, and
food, yard, and wood wastes
 Animal manure and human sewage

USES
nowadays this is a much cleaner, more energy-efficient process. By converting agricultural,
industrial and domestic waste into solid, liquid and gas fuel,
ADVANTAGES
biomass generates power at a much lower economic and environmental cost.
Waste reduction
Reliability

DISADVANTAGES

However, the collection of fuel involved drudgery. This type of

energy produces a large amount of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. In the absence of sufficient ventilation, while cooking
indoor, fuels such as dung cause air pollution, which is a serious health
hazard. Moreover, unsustainable and inefficient use of biomass leads
to the destruction of vegetation and hence degradation of the
environment.
Requires large areas of farmland
High costs; compared to other sources for electricity, biomass can be expensive to gather, transport,
and store. 

Some adverse environmental impact (LANDFIL,PEAT ETC); ntamination of nearby air, soil and
water, and the emission of greenhouse gases.; it emits methane–one of the most potent greenhouse
gases–as well as carbon dioxide and other compounds.  

Converting biomass to energy

Biomass is converted to energy through various processes, including:

 Direct combustion (burning) to produce heat

 Thermochemical conversion to produce solid, gaseous, and liquid fuels
 Chemical conversion to produce liquid fuels
 Biological conversion to produce liquid and gaseous fuels
Direct combustion is the most common method for converting biomass to useful energy.
All biomass can be burned directly for heating buildings and water, for industrial process
heat, and for generating electricity in steam turbines.

Thermochemical conversion of biomass includes pyrolysis and gasification. Both are

thermal decomposition processes in which biomass feedstock materials are heated in
closed, pressurized vessels called gassifiers at high temperatures. They mainly differ in
the process temperatures and amount of oxygen present during the conversion
process.

 Pyrolysis entails heating organic materials to 800–900 F (400–500  C) in the near

o o

complete absence of free oxygen. Biomass pyrolysis produces fuels such as

charcoal, bio-oil, renewable diesel, methane, and hydrogen.
 Hydrotreating is used to process bio-oil (produced by fast pyrolysis) with hydrogen
under elevated temperatures and pressures in the presence of a catalyst to produce
renewable diesel, renewable gasoline, and renewable jet fuel.
 Gasification entails heating organic materials to 1,400–1700 F (800–900 C) with
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injections of controlled amounts of free oxygen and/or steam into the vessel to
produce a carbon monoxide and hydrogen rich gas called synthesis gas or syngas.
Syngas can be used as a fuel for diesel engines, for heating, and for generating
electricity in gas turbines. It can also be treated to separate the hydrogen from the
gas, and the hydrogen can be burned or used in fuel cells. The syngas can be further
processed to produce liquid fuels using the Fischer–Tropsch process.
A chemical conversion process known as transesterification is used for converting
vegetable oils, animal fats, and greases into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), which are
used to produce biodiesel.

Biological conversion includes fermentation to convert biomass into ethanol and

anaerobic digestion to produce renewable natural gas. Ethanol is used as a vehicle fuel.
Renewable natural gas—also called biogas or biomethane—is produced in anaerobic
digesters at sewage treatment plants and at dairy and livestock operations. It also forms
in and may be captured from solid waste landfills. Properly treated renewable natural
gas has the same uses as fossil fuel natural gas.

Researchers are working on ways to improve these methods and to develop other ways
to convert and use more biomass for energy.

5 Ocean energy (tide and wave)

There are presently four ways of obtaining energy from sea areas, namely from Wind, Tides,
Waves and Thermal differences between deep and shallow Sea water (Esteban & Leary, 2012).

A) Tidal Energy
Surface waves are created when wind passes over water (Ocean). The faster the wind speed, the longer
the wind is sustained, the greater distance the wind travels, the greater the wave height, and the
greater the wave energy produced (Jacobson & Delucchi

PROCESS
Tidal flow can be harnessed to drive turbines.Tidal energy uses
the rise and fall of tides to convert the kinetic energy of
incoming and outgoing tides into electrical energy., 2011). The
generation of energy through tidal power is most prevalent in
coastal areas. When there is an increased height of water levels
in the ocean, tides are produced, which rush back and forth in
the ocean. In order to capture sufficient power from the tidal
energy potential, the altitude of high tide needs to be at least
five meters (around 16 feet) greater than low tide. Tidal energy is
 one of the renewable sources of energy and produces large
energy even when the tides are at low speed.
The year 2008 saw the beginning of the first generation of commercial Ocean energy devices,
with the first units being installed in the UK-SeaGen and Portugal-Pelamis.

Pros of Tidal Energy Cons of Tidal Energy

Environmental Impact

Clean and Renewable Underwater construction can result

in habitat destruction.ROTATORY
MOTION_MENACE TO MARINE LIFE

Predictable and Reliable

TIDES ALWAYS High Construction Costs

Long-lasting Equipment

average estimate for most tidal

systems is 75-100 years of working Scarcity of Suitable Locations
use. In comparison, a solar
panel usually degrades after an
average of 25-30 years
 Pros of Tidal Energy Cons of Tidal Energy

Inconsistent
Effective at Low Speeds
 excessive turbine failure rates

B) Wave Energy
Wave energy is produced from the waves that are
produced in the oceans. As the ocean is ruled by the moon’s
gravity, it makes harnessing its power an attractive option.
Different techniques for transforming wave energy to electric power
have been studied with dam-like structures or ocean floor–anchored
devices on or just below the water’s surface.

Wave energy is renewable, environment friendly and causes no harm

to the atmosphere. It can be harnessed along coastal regions of many
countries and can help a country to reduce its dependence on foreign
countries for fuel.

Producing wave energy can damage the marine ecosystem and can
also be a source of disturbance to private and commercial vessels. It is
highly dependent on wavelength and can also be a source of visual
and noise pollution. This energy is also less intensive as compared to
what is available in more northern and southern latitudes.
6)  Hydroelectric Energy
The power of the water is used to turn generators to produce
the electricity that is then used: Recycled through the water cycle.

Hydropower is an essential energy source harnessed from water moving from higher to lower
elevation levels, primarily to turn turbines and generate electricity. Hydropower projects include
Dam project with reservoirs, run-of-river and in-stream projects and cover a range in project
scale. . The primary energy is provided by gravity and the height the water falls down on to the
turbine. The potential energy of the stored water is the mass of the water, the gravity factor
(g = 9.81 ms−2) and the head defined as the difference between the dam level and the tail water
level. The reservoir level to some extent changes downwards when water is released and
accordingly influences electricity production. Turbines are constructed for an optional flow of
water (Førsund, 2015).

USES
The operation of hydropower reservoirs often reflects their multiple uses, for example flood and
drought control (Asumadu-Sarkodie, Owusu, & Jayaweera, 2015; Asumadu-Sarkodie, Owusu, &
Rufangura, 2015), irrigation, drinking water and navigation (Edenhofer et al., 2011).
Hydropower discharges practically no particulate pollution, can upgrade quickly, and it is
capable of storing energy for many hours (Hamann, 2015)

Pros of hydropower Cons of hydropower

Some adverse environmental impact

Renewable energy source HABITATES,ROTARY MOTION,TREES
DISPLACE PEOPLE

Pairs well with other

Expensive up-front
renewables

Lack of available reservoirs

Can meet peak electricity
demand  It’s Not Always Safe

LOW GENERATION COST anqiao Reservoir Dam in China was destroyed by a typhoon in
1975.=CATASTROPHE
7 Nuclear Power
one of the major renewable sources of energy available to the
world.  
Radioactive Uranium is concentrated and made into fuel rods that generate large
amounts of heat as a result of radioactive decay. This heat is used to turn water into
steam. Expansion of the steam can then be used to drive a turbine and generate
electricity. (NUCLEAR FISSION REACTION).

PROS AND CONS

Low carbon
Unlike traditional fossil fuels like coal, nuclear power does
not produce greenhouse gas emissions like methane and
CO2.
Nuclear advocacy group the World Nuclear Association found
that the average emissions for nuclear are 29 tonnes of
CO2 per gigawatt hour (GWh) of energy produces. This
compares favourably with renewable sources like solar (85
tonnes per GWh).
If it goes wrong…
Anti-nuclear campaigners will cite the three major nuclear
meltdowns of recent times, Three Mile Island in 1979,
Chernobyl in 1986 and most recently Fukushima in 2011
Not intermittent
Nuclear, however, is not intermittent, as nuclear power
plants can run without any interruptions for a year and more
without interruptions or maintenance, making it a more
reliable source of energy.
 Nuclear waste
One side effect of nuclear power is the amount of nuclear
waste it produces. It has been estimated that the world
produces some 34,000m3 of nuclear waste each year, waste
that takes years to degrade
Cheap to run
Nuclear power plants are cheaper to run than their coal or gas
rivals. It has been estimated that even factoring in costs such
as managing radioactive fuel and disposal nuclear plants cost
between 33 to 50% of a coal plant and 20 to 25% of a gas
combined-cycle plant.
Expensive to build
The initial costs for building a nuclear power plant are steep.
A recent virtual test reactor in the US estimate rose from
$3.5bn to $6bn alongside huge extra costs to maintain the
facility
URANIUM IS NOT RENEWABLE
some 1.5 million tonnes of depleted uranium seen as little more than a
waste becomes a fuel resource
NON RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY