DUE MAY 3RD 2010

H O M E W O R K
JUSTIN CHEUNG

R E P O RT TA S K :
R E N E WA B L E E N E R G Y

Renewable Energy Bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources that are renewable. In
2006, 18% of all the global final energy usage was from renewable energy. Some resources
used to create renewable energy are: sunlight, wind, rain, and geothermal heat. These
generate heat and electricity. This report will cover three of many renewable energy
resources, i.e. wind power, solar energy and hydroelectricity, and discuss how they work.

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into energy that is useful. Wind mills, wind
turbines and wind pumps are used to generate this energy. The energy is then used for
making electricity, mechanical power and also pumping water or drainage. Currently there are
thousands of wind turbines operating globally usually put in areas which have high wind
sources but yet are close to transmission lines as wind powered energy cannot be stored like
hydroelectricity and other renewable energy sources. Compared to traditional energy sources
the effects on the environment are relatively low as wind power does not use fuel and emits
no air pollution like fossil fuel power sources.

Solar energy is energy from the sunʼs radiation. It is widely used in the modern world. Its uses
are only limited by human ingenuity. Some uses include solar hot water, solar cooking, solar
heating and a range of other applications involving the use of solar cells. In addition, solar
energy is used in agriculture to help increase crop yields and lower food prices. Greenhouses
use the solar light and convert it into an ideal heat for growing different crops all year round.
Unlike wind energy solar energy can be stored until needed.
People are still trying to research ways to harness energy coming from the sun.

Hydroelectricity is the use of water resources to generate electricity. This type of energy
produces no carbon emissions and green house gases, and therefore does not contribute to
climate change. This type of energy is especially important for countries such as New
Zealand which have a lot of water resources. In hydro-electric generation plants such as the
well known Hoover dam and the largest dam in the world, the Three Gorges Dam on the
Yangtze River in China, water is released in a controlled manner to run a turbine inside a
generator. The Three Gorges Dam project can generate up to 22,500 Megawatts (MW) per
hour once finished. This is enough to power over 2,000,000 homes in the developed world.

Eventually the Earthʼs current exhaustible energy supplies will run out and humankind will
need to find alternative sources of energy most likely from renewable resources. Wind power,
solar energy and hydroelectricity are just three of many renewable resources available to the
modern world as it currently is.