Today I want to talk about a very important topic. In today’s article we will talk about Renewable Energies. A detail that must be taken into account is that although a few years ago it was considered the future, today it can be considered that this future has been reached.
Let’s start!
What are Renewable Energies?
Renewable Energy or Renewable Energies are those obtained from inexhaustible or re-generable natural resources. One of their most important characteristics is that they do not use any type of fossil fuel for their generation and the best peculiarity they have is that they are capable of being renewed in an unlimited way. The main sources of this renewable energy are the sun, water, wind, biomass, among others.
What are the types of Renewable Energies?
After having made clear what Renewable Energies are, let’s explain in depth each one of them.
Solar Energy
Solar Energy is obtained from the maximum use of the radiation emitted by the Sun. We have to clarify that there are two main ways of using solar energy:
- Photovoltaic Solar Energy: It is nothing more than obtaining electricity from a semiconductor element called a photoelectric cell. Solar panels are the union of many of these cells, which are usually made of silicon. These panels capture the photons coming from sunlight, creating an electric field between them, and therefore producing current.
- Solar Thermal Energy: This type of energy consists of taking advantage of the energy of the Sun as much as possible, but in this case to generate heat. Mainly it is usually used in the production or heating of water, either for consumption in a house, from the kitchen, heating and even production of electricity through the same hot water produced.
Wind Energy
Another of the most important Renewable Energies is Wind Energy, which transforms the force of the wind into electricity. We are talking about wind turbines, which are driven by the wind, transforming kinetic energy into electrical energy. All this is possible thanks to the rotor that these wind turbines have, accompanied also by a generator, which is ultimately responsible for the generation of electricity. This will finally be sent to transformation centers where it will be injected into the electric distribution network.
The sites where these wind turbines are installed are called Wind Farms.
According to the website statista.com, by the end of 2021 Spain ranked fifth in wind power generation, preceded by India, Germany, United States, and as the largest producer of Wind Energy in the world, almost doubling the production of the U.S. is China.
Hydraulic Energy
Another of the best known Renewable Energies is Hydraulic Energy, which is obtained from the movement of water currents, tides, waves, among many other forms. One of the most common ways of generating electricity through water is through hydroelectric power plants, which use these large bodies of water to their advantage. Water is usually stored in reservoirs or dams and then released in a controlled manner. This moving water causes a turbine to move which, together with an alternator, generates electricity with this movement.
Hydropower is one of the cleanest and safest renewable energies available. It only uses water to generate electricity, it does not release any type of gas into the atmosphere or pollutants into the water.
Tidal Energy
Closely related to Hydraulic Energy is Tidal Energy. In this case the production of electricity is generated from the movement of the tides. When the up and down movements occur, they are used to move turbines that act on the rest of the mechanical system, starting it up. Through an alternator installed in the system it is possible to create Electric Energy through the tides.
Although it may seem the same, and tends to be confusing, we are referring to Electrical Energy generated by the tides, not by ocean waves, which occur only at the surface.
Geothermal Energy
The time has come for Geothermal Energy. This Renewable Energy is obtained by taking advantage of the temperature of the interior of the Earth. It is mostly used for air conditioning systems and also to generate clean and environmentally friendly electricity.
This energy can be harnessed in various ways depending on the user’s needs and the reservoir from which it is to be obtained. For example: Higher temperature reservoirs are optimal for the installation of turbines that transform this heat into electricity. Also in the deposits that do not usually have high temperatures can be exploited with the installation of heat pumps to expand the heat output, thus enabling its use in heating systems, etc..
Although this is a Renewable Energy, the installation method of the systems entails some risks that can be harmful to the Environment. There may be fuel leaks, dust generation and the risk of contamination of springs due to leaks or spills during drilling.
Biomass
Biomass is a Renewable Energy, which takes advantage of the waste and remains of organic matter to produce energy, in a much cleaner way than traditional hydrocarbons or fossil fuels. In addition to its other benefits, can be used to generate electricity. In this case, very high technology equipment is needed, which is capable of using organic matter to convert water into steam. This steam moves the turbines, which in turn have generators connected to them. This movement finally generates electricity from the organic matter.
Green Hydrogen
We have to remember that Hydrogen is obtained from water. Specifically, Green Hydrogen is produced from water and Renewable Energies. The process for obtaining hydrogen is called electrolysis, where electricity intervenes as an active element to ensure the process of separation of molecules. It is not a new procedure at all, but it has as an advantage in this case, the use of renewable energy sources. If we now use the Electrolysis procedure with electricity generated in a clean way, we would be obtaining a Hydrogen totally from Renewable Energies, and therefore a Green Hydrogen.
As I mentioned before, obtaining Hydrogen by Electrolysis is nothing new technologically speaking, but we are reaching a moment where the technologies involved in this procedure have begun to become cheaper, so this kind of practices are booming.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energies
We have already seen the main Renewable Energies and their methods of obtaining and operating. I think the time has come to put on the table the good and bad things of this type of energy, and that you can come to a conclusion by yourself at the end of this article.
Advantages of Renewable Energies |
Disadvantages of Renewable Energies |
|
|
Conclusions
If you have reached this point of this article then you already know a little more about Renewable Energies, their characteristics, obtaining, use, advantages and disadvantages. Surely you are already able to tell us in the comments if it is a bet worth making.
From our point of view we have full confidence that every day that passes we must migrate much more to this type of electricity generation. Soon we will be talking about a specific Renewable Energy in depth and you will not want to miss that reading. From here I invite you directly to sign up to our Newsletter so you can receive our article notifications directly in the comfort of your email. It won’t take you more than 20 seconds and you can do it directly from here.
Also remind you that we have a great Community in our Official Telegram Channel, where we share numerous content related to Automation, if you want to continue learning a little more about these topics you can join our Community directly by clicking here.
Until the next article!
