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TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................................................4
Solar Energy:............................................................................................................................................4
Photovoltaics...........................................................................................................................................4
Figure 1............................................................................................................................................4
Solar Thermal Energy:..............................................................................................................................5
Parabolic Trough Design......................................................................................................................5
Figure 2............................................................................................................................................5
Power tower Designs...........................................................................................................................6
Geothermal Power..................................................................................................................................6
Figure 3............................................................................................................................................6
Figure 4............................................................................................................................................6
Figure 5............................................................................................................................................6
Biofuel:....................................................................................................................................................7
Green diesel:........................................................................................................................................7
Figure 6............................................................................................................................................7
Tidal Power..............................................................................................................................................8
1. Wave Energy....................................................................................................................................8
2.Tidal Energy......................................................................................................................................8
Figure 7............................................................................................................................................8
Figure 8............................................................................................................................................8
3. Ocean Thermal Energy.....................................................................................................................9
Wind energy:...........................................................................................................................................9
Figure 9............................................................................................................................................9
Figure 10..........................................................................................................................................9
Figure 11........................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCE................................................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain,
tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). In 2006, about 18% of
global final energy consumption came from renewable, with 13% coming from traditional
biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3% from hydroelectricity. The share of
renewables in electricity generation is around 18%, with 15% of global electricity coming from
hydroelectricity and 3.4% from new renewables.
1. Solar energy
2. Geothermal
3. Biofuel
4. Tidal power
5. Wind power
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DISCUSSION
Solar Energy:
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient
times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-
powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for
most of the available renewable energy on earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available
solar energy is used.
Solar powered electrical generation relies on heat engines and photovoltaics. Solar energy's
uses are limited only by human ingenuity. A partial list of solar applications includes space
heating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water via distillation and disinfection,
day lighting, solar hot water, solar cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial
purposes. To harvest the solar energy, the most common way is to use solar panels.
Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on
the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the
use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar
techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal
mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
A. Photovoltaics
B. Solar thermal energy
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating
electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from
the sun into electricity. The photovoltaic effect refers to
photons of light knocking electrons into a higher state of
energy to create electricity. The term photovoltaic denotes
the unbiased operating mode of a photodiode in which
current through the device is entirely due to the transduced
light energy. Virtually all photovoltaic devices are some
type of photodiode. Figure 1
Solar cells produce direct current electricity from light,
which can be used to power equipment or to recharge a battery. The first practical application
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of photovoltaics was to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft, but today the majority of
photovoltaic modules are used for grid connected power generation. In this case an inverter is
required to convert the DC to AC. There is a smaller market for off-grid power for remote
dwellings, boats, recreational vehicles, electric cars, roadside emergency telephones, remote
sensing, and cathodic protection of pipelines.
Solar thermal technologies can be used for water heating, space heating, space cooling and process heat
generation. But mainly it is used of electricity.
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The receiver may be enclosed in a glass vacuum chamber. The vacuum significantly reduces convective
heat loss.
A fluid (also called heat transfer fluid) passes through the receiver
and becomes very hot. Common fluids are synthetic oil, molten
salt and pressurized steam. The fluid containing the heat is
transported to a heat engine where about a third of the heat is
converted to electricity.
Figure 3
Power tower Designs
Power towers (also known as 'central tower' power plants or 'heliostat' power plants) use an
array of flat, moveable mirrors (called heliostats) to focus the sun's
rays upon a collector tower (the receiver).
Geothermal Power
Geothermal power (from the Greek roots geo, meaning earth, and thermos, meaning heat) is
power extracted from heat stored in the earth. This geothermal energy originates from the
original formation of the planet, from radioactive decay of
minerals, and from solar energy absorbed at the surface. It
has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for
space heating since ancient Roman times, but is now better
known for generating electricity. Worldwide, geothermal
plants have the capacity to generate about 10 gigawatts of
electricity as of 2007, and in practice supply 0.3% of global
electricity demand. An additional 28 gigawatts of direct
geothermal heating capacity is installed for district heating,
space heating, spas, industrial processes, desalination and Figure 5
agricultural applications.
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Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, but has
historically been limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries. Recent technological advances
have dramatically expanded the range and size of viable resources, especially for applications
such as home heating, opening a potential for widespread exploitation. Geothermal wells
release greenhouse gases trapped deep within the earth, but these emissions are much lower
per energy unit than those of fossil fuels. As a result, geothermal power has the potential to
help mitigate global warming if widely deployed in place of fossil fuels.
Biofuel:
Biofuels are a wide range of fuels which are in some way derived from biomass. The term
covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases. Biofuels are gaining increased public and
scientific attention, driven by factors such as oil price spikes and the need for increased energy
security.
Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of plant materials and it is
made mostly from sugar and starch crops. With advanced technology being developed,
cellulosic biomass, such as trees and grasses, are also used as feedstocks for ethanol
production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its
pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to
increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bioethanol is
widely used in the USA and in Brazil.
Green diesel feedstock can be sourced from a variety oils including canola, algae, jatropha and
salicornia in addition to tallow.
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Tidal Power
Tidal power traditionally involves erecting a dam across the opening to a tidal basin. The dam
includes a sluice that is opened to allow the tide to flow into the basin; the sluice is then closed,
and as the sea level drops, traditional hydropower technologies can be used to generate
electricity from the elevated water in the basin. Some researchers are also trying to extract
energy directly from tidal flow streams.
The energy potential of tidal basins is large the largest facility, the La Rance station in France,
generates 240 megawatts of power. Currently, France is the only country that successfully uses
this power source. French engineers have noted that if the use of tidal power on a global level
was brought to high enough levels, the Earth would slow its rotation by 24 hours every 2,000
years.
Tidal energy systems can have environmental impacts on tidal basins because of reduced tidal
flow and silt buildup.
1. Wave Energy
Kinetic energy (movement) exists in the moving waves of the ocean. That energy can be used to
power a turbine. In this simple example, (illustrated to the right) the
wave rises into a chamber. The rising water forces the air out of the
chamber. The moving air spins a turbine which can turn a generator.
When the wave goes down, air flows through the turbine and back
into the chamber through doors that are normally closed.
This is only one type of wave-energy system. Others actually use the
up and down motion of the wave to power a piston that moves up
and down inside a cylinder. That piston can also turn a generator.
Most wave-energy systems are very small. But, they can be used to
Figure 7
power a warning buoy or a small light house.
2.Tidal Energy
Another form of ocean energy is called tidal energy. When tides comes into the shore, they can
be trapped in reservoirs behind dams. Then when the tide drops, the
water behind the dam can be let out just like in a regular
hydroelectric power plant.
In order for this to work well, you need large increases in tides. An
increase of at least 16 feet between low tide to high tide is needed.
There are only a few places where this tide change occurs around the
earth. Some power plants are already operating using this idea. One
Figure 8
plant in France makes enough energy from tides to power 240,000
homes.
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3. Ocean Thermal Energy
The final ocean energy idea uses temperature differences in the ocean. If you ever went
swimming in the ocean and dove deep below the surface, you would have noticed that the
water gets colder the deeper you go. It's warmer on the
surface because sunlight warms the water. But below the
surface, the ocean gets very cold. That's why scuba divers
wear wet suits when they dive down deep. Their wet suits
trapped their body heat to keep them warm.
Power plants can be built that use this difference in
temperature to make energy. A difference of at least 38
degrees Fahrenheit is needed between the warmer surface
water and the colder deep ocean water.
Using this type of energy source is called Ocean Thermal
Energy Conversion or OTEC. It is being used in both Japan
and in Hawaii in some demonstration projects.
Figure 9
Wind energy:
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind
turbines to make electricity, wind mills for mechanical power, wind pumps for pumping water
or drainage, or sails to propel ships.
Wind power is derived from the conversion of the energy contained in wind into electricity. A
wind turbine is similar to its forerunner the windmill. However, windmills are typically used to
directly power a piece of machinery for
example: a pump or a grinder for grain; wind
turbines are dedicated to the production of
electric power for use off-site.
Wind turbines, like windmills, are mounted on
a tower to capture the most energy. At 100
feet (30 meters) or more aboveground, they
can take advantage of the faster and less
turbulent wind. Turbines catch the wind's
energy with their propeller-like blades. Usually, Figure 10
two or three blades are mounted on a shaft to
form a rotor.
A blade acts much like an airplane wing. When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air
forms on the downwind side of the blade. The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade
toward it, causing the rotor to turn. This is called lift. The force of the lift is actually much
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stronger than the wind's force against the front side of the blade, which is called drag. The
combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a propeller, and the turning shaft spins
a generator to make electricity.
Wind turbines can be used as stand-alone applications, or they can be connected to a utility
power grid or even combined with a photovoltaic (solar cell) system. For utility-scale sources of
wind energy, a large number of wind turbines are usually built close together to form a wind
plant.
Large-scale wind farms are connected to the electric power transmission network; smaller
facilities are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy
back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines. Wind energy as a power source is
attractive as an alternative to fossil fuels, because it is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed,
clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions.
However, the construction of wind farms is not
universally welcomed because of their visual impact and
other effects on the environment.
REFERENCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy
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http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/tidal_power.
http://inventors.about.com/od/greeninventions/a/wind_turbine.htm
www.google.com.pk
www.image.google.com
WORK DIVISION:
Intorduction And Solar Energy BY BILAL MUHAMMAD.
Geothermal And Bio Fuel BY MUHAMMAD FAZIAN.
Tidal And Wind Power BY ANNAS RAFIQUE.
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