what is altenative energy?

Alternative energy is sweeping the nation, and the world, as today's biggest environmental topic. Alternative energy topics no longer revolve around nuclear energy for electricity, but also include the use of products such as Ethanol in cars. It is important to learn what alternative energy is, how it works, and the different types to stay on top of environmental legislations and presidential campaign policy, and to make the best choices for your home and family.

Basic Definition

Alternative energy is the process of energy being formed from sources that do not harm the environment or deplete the Earth's natural resources. So, polluting and wasteful forms of energy producing, such as coal and nuclear, do not fit with the definition of what an alternative energy source is.

Renewable energy is a class of alternative energy that uses natural resources such as geothermal heat, tides, sunlight, and wind, which are naturally replenished through the earth and sun and never run out. About 13 percent of the world's energy comes from renewable energy. Renewable energy is what many call not very reliable because of its dependence on nature, but if one uses a combination of renewable energy sources, it can be every bit as reliable as traditional energy sources.

Kinds Of Alternatives

When people first really started talking about alternative forms of energy, they never could have realized how many would come about. What is alternative energy, today? Here is a short list of all the latest forms:

Hydro Power - Hydro power is formed by small water generators called micro-hydro turbines that are set into flowing water's stream.
Solar Power - Solar power is made by converting sunlight into electricity using cells made from silicon, which, when exposed to sunlight, creates and electric charge.
Wind Power - Wind power is created by a turbine on a tall tower using the wind to kinetically make electricity.
Ethanol - Ethanol is an alternative fuel to replace gasoline, made from ethyl alcohol, a common alcohol made from corn or wheat.
Biodiesel - Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for petroleum diesel and is produced from vegetable oils and animal fats.
Hydrogen - What this alternative energy is is the most abundant element in the universe and can be produced from fossil fuels, biomass, or by electrolyzing water.
As you can see, there are many alternative energy sources out there. What they can be used for is just about as limitless as traditional forms of energy.

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Alternative Energy - Why do we Need it?

Why Do We Need Alternatives?

To answer that question, we need to start by discussing fossil fuels-what they are, where they come from, how they are used and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Within this context, the pressing need for alternatives becomes quite clear.

What are fossil fuels?

Most fossil fuels are formed from the remains of long-dead creatures and plants. Buried over the course of hundreds of millions of years, these carbon-based deposits have been converted by heat and pressure over time into such combustible substances as crude oil, coal, natural gas, oil shales and tar sands. A smaller portion of fossil fuels is the handful of other naturally occurring substances that contain carbon but do not come from organic sources.

To make more fossil fuels would require both the creation of new topsoil filled with hydrocarbons, and time-lots of time. Given estimates of current fossil fuel reserves worldwide, it's not possible we can wait out the problem, and continue our dependence on fossil fuels until new reserves are built. At current consumption rates, the reserves of oil and coal and other fossil fuels won't last hundreds of years, let alone hundreds of millions of years.

As for creating more, experts have pointed out that it can take close to five centuries to replace a single inch of topsoil as plants decay and rocks weather. Yet in the United States, at least, much of the topsoil has been disturbed by farming, leading still more experts to the disturbing conclusion that in areas once covered by prairie, the past hundred years of agriculture have caused America's "bread basket' to lose half of its topsoil as it erodes thirty times faster than it can form.

The Advantages of Fossil Fuels in Energy Production

There are many reasons why the world became dependent on fossil fuels, and continues to rely on them. For example, it has so far been relatively cost-effective in the short run to burn fossil fuels to generate electricity at strategic centralized parts of the grid and to deliver the electricity in bulk to nearby substations; these in turn deliver electricity directly to consumers. These big power plants burn gas or, less efficiently, coal. Since so much electricity can be lost over long-distance transmission, when power needs to be concentrated more in one region than another, the fuels are generally transported instead to distant power plants and burned there. Liquid fuels are particularly easy to transport.

Thus far, fossil fuels have been abundant and easily procured. Petroleum reserves worldwide are estimated at somewhere between 1 and 3.5 trillion barrels. Proven coal reserves at the end of 2005, as estimated by British, were 909,064 million tons worldwide. Coal, furthermore, is relatively cheap.

Perhaps the simplest reason why the world continues to depend on fossil fuels is that to do anything else requires change: physical, economical, and-perhaps the most difficult-psychological. The basic technology for extracting and burning fossil fuels is already in place, not only in the large power plants but at the consumer level, too. Retrofitting factories would be cost-prohibitive, but perhaps even more daunting would be replacing heating systems in every home, factory and building. Ultimately, however, the true resistance may be our nature. We humans tend to resist change in general, and in particular those changes that require us to give up longstanding traditions, alter our ways of thinking and living, and learn new information and practices after generations of being assured that everything was "fine" with the old ways.

Why Do We Need Alternatives?

If there are so many reasons to use fossil fuels, why even consider alternatives? Anyone who has paid the least bit of attention to the issue over the past few decades could probably answer that question. If nothing else, most people could come up with the first and most obvious reason: fossil fuels are not, for all practical purposes, renewable. At current rates, the world uses fossil fuels 100,000 times faster than they can form. The demand for them will far outstrip their availability in a matter of centuries-or less.

And although technology has made extracting fossil fuels easier and more cost effective in some cases than ever before, such is not always the case. As we deplete the more easily accessible oil reserves, new ones must be found and tapped into. This means locating oil rigs much farther offshore or in less accessible regions; burrowing deeper and deeper into the earth to reach coal seams or scraping off ever more layers of precious topsoil; and entering into uncertain agreements with countries and cartels with whom it may not be in our best political interests to forge such commitments.

Finally, there are human and environmental costs involved in the reliance on fossil fuels. Drilling for oil, tunneling into coalmines, transporting volatile liquids and explosive gases-all these can and have led to tragic accidents resulting in the destruction of acres of ocean, shoreline and land, killing humans as well as wildlife and plant life. Even when properly extracted and handled, fossil fuels take a toll on the atmosphere, as the combustion processes release many pollutants, including sulfur dioxide-a major component in acid rain. When another common emission, carbon dioxide, is released into the atmosphere, it contributes to the "greenhouse effect," in which the atmosphere captures and reflects back the energy radiating from the earth's surface rather than allowing it to escape back into space. Scientists agree that this has led to global warming, an incremental rise in average temperatures beyond those that could be predicted from patterns of the past. This affects everything from weather patterns to the stability of the polar ice caps.

Conclusion

Clearly, something must change. As with many complex problems, however, the solution to supplying the world's ever-growing hunger for more energy will not be as simple as abandoning all the old methods and beliefs and adopting new ones overnight. Partly this is a matter of practicality-the weaning process would take considerable investments of money, education and, most of all, time. The main reason, however, is that there is no one perfect alternative energy source. Alternative will not mean substitute.

What needs to change?

It seems simplistic to say that what really needs to change is our attitude, but in fact the basis of a sound energy plan does come down to the inescapable fact that we must change our way of thinking about the issue. In the old paradigm, we sought ways to provide massive amounts of power and distribute it to the end users, knowing that while much would be lost in the transmission, the advantages would be great as well: power plants could be located away from residential areas, fuels could be delivered to central locations, and for consumers, the obvious bonus was convenience. For the most part our only personal connection with the process would be calling the providers of heating fuel and electricity, and pulling up to the pumps at the gas station. And the only time we would think about the problem would be when prices rose noticeably, or the power went out.

There are people who have tried to convince us that there is no problem, and that those tree-hugging Chicken Littles who talk about renewable and alternative energy want us all to go back to nature. More often than not these skeptics' motivations for perpetuating this myth falls into one of two categories: one, they fear what they don't understand and are resistant to being told what to do, or two, they have some political or financial stake in enabling our fossil-fuel addiction. (And sometimes both.)

The reality is that except for altering our ways of thinking, there will not be one major change but a great many smaller ones. A comprehensive and successful energy plan will necessarily include these things:

Supplementing the energy produced at existing power plants with alternative energy means, and converting some of those plants to operate on different "feedstock" (fuels)
Shifting away from complete reliance on a few concentrated energy production facilities to adding many new and alternative sources, some feeding into the existing "grid" and some of supplying local or even individual needs
Providing practical, economical and convenient ways for consumers-residences, commercial users, everyone-to adapt and adopt new technologies to provide for some or all of their own energy needs
Learning ways in which we can use less energy now ("reduce, reuse, recycle"), using advances in technology as well as simple changes in human behavior to reduce consumption without requiring people to make major compromises or sacrifices

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Alternative Energy Solutions For the Home

The new trend nowadays for homes is to install alternative energy solutions inside it, from the wind turbines producing electricity and the solar collection cells that include hydrogen cells. This is a new technology that continues in the twenty first century and to be continued. There is a lot of need to become energy independent and therefore, households need to rely less on energy derived from fossil fuels and be able to produce alternative energy. Unstable nations are usually the ones who supply fossil fuels; therefore, there is the constant need to become off grid and thus, become independent from this type of production. The fossil fuel industry is maintained by corporation interests, giant oil company directors and some of them are even involved in background conspiracy, therefore creating a vicious circle which cannot give up relying on fossil fuel. There is therefore, a constant pressure on the fossil fuel industry and many alternative energies are thus, overlooked.

However, as many specialists in the field point out, there is the need to develop the distributed generation of alternative energies. We need to restructure the electricity market and do even more research on transmission, distribution infrastructure and diversify the existing means of producing market. Power providers can diversify their businesses by earning back lost revenues through micro generation in the household energy. Therefore, UK analysts have conducted some research and have found out that there are more and more people trying to adopt alternative energies to suit ever-growing energy demands. This trend into adopting alternative energies is encouraged by government recommendation concerning environmental degradation; there is the desire to become energy independent and this is encouraged at all costs. It is therefore, possible to produce all the energy needed in a household by just using alternative energies, such as solar and wind energies combined. These solutions, the solar panels as well as the wind turbines, are likely to become the next big thing in energy suppliers industry.

Alternative energy companies have presumed until now that since traditional prices for energy have remained at the same levels for some time now, it is then possible for micro generation to come in and institute its own prices. After all, if you plan to produce energy at home then through the solar panels and wind turbines, you will only consume what you produce. Therefore, this will make the alternative market very lucrative and thus, a competitor for the traditional energy market.

Current analyses have pointed out that companies should institute techniques through which to encourage the potential of alternative. By opening up the market, success is more likely to be established. For instance, electrical companies in Great Britain have been researching and discovering idea on how to facilitate the wide scale use of geothermal energy; these companies though that geothermal energy could become the energy norm in the future therefore, they were willing to invest in this idea. Through constant effort, one day, alternative energies will become the norm. Another analysis has pointed out that heating through solar energy can be another lucrative alternative to implement in the future. While initially expensive to install such as system, it would become profitable for the long run to use this alternative in the long term, because the benefits obtained from the technology would eventually outweigh the costs. Therefore, one should pay careful attention before installing such a system and especially, make sure they are really eager to pursue that step and not another.

While solar powers has not yet become cost effective to install at larger scales, for instance in corporations, it has become nonetheless an idea worth considering. There are a lot of downfalls to it nonetheless, because especially at a wider scale, one would have to modify a lot of plumbing systems to implement the foundation for the solar energy heating system. In the home however, individual users can reduce the costs for the long run by constantly saving up money from the bills they pay for energy. Therefore, even though the prices for installing alternative energies remain high, the idea will surely catch on in the future.

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Solar Stirling Plant review everything you need to know

What is a stirling engine?

If you haven’t heard of a stirling engine previously, it is a heat engine that converts heat energy to mechanical energy by cyclic compression and expansion of a gas. Solar stirling engine is a device which converts solar thermal energy to mechanical energy which is converted to electrical energy.

It is a cost effective and promising gadget for solar electricity compared to the photovoltaic panels.

Types:  There are two types of stirling engines.  They are alpha Stirling and beta Stirling engines.  Alpha Stirling engine has two power pistons in separate cylinders, one hot and other cold. The beta type has a single power piston within the same cylinder on the same shaft. This is known as displacer piston.

How does it work?

Solar Stirling engine components: Solar parabolic collector and Stirling engine.
The parabolic collector will focus the sunlight to a point focus.  The directed sun rays heat the gas contained by a piston, causing its expansion in the piston of the Stirling plant.  The compression of the gas at the colder region of the Stirling engine completes the reversible cycle of mechanical power generation, generating electricity.

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What is the book “Solar stirling plant” about?

The Solar Stirling Plant is a book with all essentials for designing the components of the solar stirling plant. The ebook presents the essential detail for designing the complete stirling plant setup. The book is an interesting read, at least that’s what I felt.
The engineering drawings of the components, will be able to guide the reader to design the system to scale. Support materials for stirling schematics and stirling assembly are helpful.

What will I get from the book?

The guide has four chapters and the first chapter presents a useful introduction to the Stirling Engine. The second chapter discusses the details of the components, the Stirling engine and the parabolic collector.

The third chapter elaborated on the construction process giving details of building the parabolic reflector dish and the designing the stirling engine. The simple and step by step procedure to construct the parabolic reflector with different materials for gaining experience and to precisely design the ultimate is a useful exercise.

The fourth chapter covers the assembly of the stirling motor generator elaborating on the required components and a flow chart of the energy conversion using a layout of the assembly.  The role of each component in the assembly is explained.

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How much does it cost to build a solar stirling plant?

The actual fabrication cost of the Stirling plant will vary from place to place. However an estimate of USD 100/- for a small plant is projected by the author.
A small plant can reduce the electricity consumption of a family of four persons, from the grid by about 40%. In order to meet the whole electricity demand from the Solar Stirling Plant, the number of the Stirling plants can be increased as the plant is modular.

Pros

The image of the fabricated parabolic collector has been provided which could serve as the reference material during fabrication of the solar parabolic collector. The author has also provided the additional information on maintenance and future improvements with regard to the material choice and addition of more number of solar stirling plants to meet the increase in need of energy.

Cons

The image of the assembled Solar Stirling plant is not available. The engineering drawing of the components though will be useful, the individual image of the parabolic collector, stirling plant and the system as a whole will make the comparison informative during the fabrication.

Conclusion

The book provides what it promises, it teaches you how to build a stirling plant and provides with the necessary information. You can get the book here : click here

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Alternative Energy Sources for Your Home

Alternative energy research has led to the development of state of the art alternative energy sources for the home. One of the advantages of using alternative energy is that it is a renewable resource whereas our supply of coal and other fossil fuels is depleting. This advantage of renewable energy and alternative energies has many companies and people looking for different ways to power up.

Sometimes called renewable resources, alternative energy does not need fossil fuel or even the splitting of the atom to be produced. It is called renewable because the sources of it are constantly being produced. It does not cause the pollution that oil and gas cause. This kind of energy is not really new. What is new is that we now categorize these forms of energy as alternative energy.

The forms that alternative energy may take are fuel cells, geothermal energy, wind power, biomass, hydroelectric energy, solar energy and water energy such as wave and tidal energy.

*Fuel cells as a type of alternative energy is usually associated with electric cars, or hybrid cars. Electrochemical devices produce power through a chemical reaction. The primary benefit of fuel cells technology is that power is produced without the production of harmful pollutants. They are still very expensive to produce, however.

*Geothermal energy can be a powerful source of energy. It is ideal for small scale use to heat houses, businesses and small industry. On a larger scale, geothermal plants extract the heat from the earth and use it to create steam to power turbine engines.

*Wind turbines produce energy using the same principal as windmills. Blades are moved by the wind, and a shaft attached to the blades rotate a generator that produces energy. This energy is stored in batteries. Wind is, of course required to run this type of alternative energy, so the more wind you have the better it will work. Sites where there is a lot of wind, such as open farmland are good for wind turbines, or other locations that cannot be reached by powerlines.

*Biomass is organic material that can be converted to fuel. There are many types, such as animal waste, crops and grains, wood and other byproducts from mills and forests as well as from aquatic plants. One type uses the matter to burn to produce steam power; another type transforms the matter into a gas or liquid.

*Solar energy is probably the most well known form of alternate energy. It is the safe and efficient use of the heat from the sun to form energy.

*Energy from water. Hydroelectric energy is the energy produced by dams. The movement of the water causes turbines to generate power instantaneously. The initial cost of a dam is very high, but after that the power is free. Tidal energy works on the same concept as dams. The turbines are put directly in the water and the motion of the tides over them powers the turbines. Wave energy uses the motion of the waves in the same way.

As alternative energy research continues, more alternative energy sources will be found. Perhaps one day we will heat our homes by transforming our refuse into a usable source of energy.

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Alternative Energy and Alternative Energy Sources

The term Alternative Energy is generally used to indicate non-traditional energy systems which
do not use fossil fuels and have low environmental impact. There are many non-fossil fuel based energy systems either already in use or being evolved and developed to counter the harmful effects of increasing use of fossil fuels.

We shall briefly look at the major alternative energy systems.

Solar energy

Wind energy

Tidal (Wave) Power

Biomass

Geothermal

Nuclear
Solar Power as Alternative Energy Source

Solar radiations cover a very wide spectrum of frequencies - from infrared through the visible to ultraviolet frequencies. The visible radiations give us light and the infrared radiations give us warmth.

From ancient times people have been using the solar radiation for heating - heating water and warming houses in winter. In recent years many developments have taken place; now apart from domestic hot water supply or space heating of large buildings, solar energy is being used to provide hot water and steam for industrial processes and even to supplement power generation in large thermal power stations.

Photovoltaic generation of electricity as an alternative energy source is a modern development. A photovoltaic (PV) cell is made of Silicon metal; it exhibits strong photovoltaic properties converting visible solar radiation into electricity.

Individual solar cells are small and give only a small amount of power. Now PV cells are assembled in different configurations as arrays and panels; these solar arrays and panels can be used for generating sufficient electricity for practical applications. Arrays or panels of solar cells are being used in remote and inaccessible communities to obtain clean power; they are being used to run cars, to supply power on satellites and space stations and even to supplement power generation in large power stations of hundreds of MW.

Since the year 2000 solar electric production has grown at an average rate of 40% per year and by 2007, the installed capacity is about 10.6 GW.

Wind Power as Alternative Energy Source

Wind energy for pumping water and grinding grains has been used since the medieval times. Wind energy is now mainly used for generation of electricity; wind mills drive turbines for generation of electricity which is connected into the grid of the local utility. Due to variability of wind speeds from time to time, generally wind energy supplies only a small proportion of the total utility load.

By the end of the last year, the total wind-powered generator-capacity worldwide was 94.1 GW contributing only 1% of world-wide electricity use. Wind power generation has increased by over 500% since 2000 and is expected to spiral upward.

Tidal Power as Alternative Energy Source

Tidal power utilizes the rise and fall in sea levels due to the tides. This alternative energy source had been realized by man long ago and in Europe tide mills had been in use for grinding grains over a thousand years ago. It is possible to utilize this energy for generating of electricity and efforts are on in many countries around the world to harness this energy.

Tidal energy, being derived directly from the interaction of the sun and the moon and the earth's rotation, is an inexhaustible alternative energy source. The only limitation is that it can be put to use only in select places around the world.

The two methods by which energy of the tides can be harnessed are:

The tidal stream system which will make use of moving water in much the same manner as wind energy being used by windmills; and

The barrage system which will use the difference in the height between the low and the high tide in an estuary.
Both these methods are being actively tried out in various places. Experts feel that tidal energy has a great potential as an alternative energy source. .

Biomass Power as Alternative Energy Source

Biomass refers to biological materials including trees, grass, agricultural and urban waste matter, etc. Biomass contains energy received from the sun. Chlorophyll in plants uses solar energy to convert carbon dioxide (from air) and water (from ground) into carbohydrates. When these carbohydrates are burnt they release carbon dioxide and water, and energy that had been trapped in it is released. This is as if the carbohydrates act as storage battery for solar energy - they hold the energy and release it at a later time when burnt as an effective alternative energy source in place of fossil fuels.
From time immemorial biomass has been burnt to recover sun's energy as heat. By using modern technology we can produce heat, steam and electricity from biomass more efficiently and cleanly; we can also convert it into liquid fuels or produce combustible gases from it.
In US alone, about 50 billion kWh of electricity (about 1.2% of total consumption), about four billion gallons of ethanol (about 2% of the liquid fuel used in vehicles) are produced from biomass. DOE believes that by 2030 about 20% of transportation fuel could be produced from biomass. There is obviously a vast potential for use of biomass the world over.

Geothermal Power as Alternative Energy Source

The most recent (1994) estimate of temperature at the core of earth is about 7500 deg. C. Energy obtained by tapping into the hot interior of the earth is called the geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is an alternative energy source for generation of electricity; it is also used for heating houses in cold countries, and for supplying process heat requirements.

Building a geothermal power station is expensive but the low operating costs and absence of carbon emission into atmosphere are two major benefits of this system.
Power plants based on geothermal energy fall into three types depending upon the method used:

Those plants that take steam directly from fractures/holes in the ground and drive turbines directly from this steam are called Dry steam plants.

In a Flash plant hot water, usually at more than 200 deg C, , is taken out of the ground and allowed to boil as it rises to the surface; steam is separated from it and run through turbines.

In binary plants, hot water taken from ground flows through heat exchangers, where it imparts heat to an organic fluid to boil it; this organic fluid runs through turbines driving them.
In all the three types, the remaining geothermal fluid and condensed steam are injected back into the hot rock crust to recycle.

A 1999 study shows that the worldwide geothermal electrical generation capacity using existing technologies is between 35,000 to 70,000 MW; using the new technologies it could be twice as much.

Nuclear Power as Alternative Energy Source

Popularly nuclear reaction is equated with atom bombs. However, controlled nuclear reaction is used as an alternative energy source for generation of electricity for the last 50 years. Nuclear reaction releases enormous energy which is used to raise steam as is done by burning oil or coal in conventional thermal power stations and this in turn is used to generate electricity. Today more than 50 countries are generating over 370 000 MW of electricity by using nuclear power reactors.
Constructing and maintaining nuclear power plants is expensive. Moreover they produce nuclear waste which is hazardous, and there is the potential for enormous nuclear disasters. The nuclear waste is highly toxic and can not be destroyed or recycled. Unless properly stored in a secure location it can create hazardous environment.

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Alternative Energy Sources for a Cleaner World

The search for "alternative energy sources" is a worldwide effort. There are many government bodies, universities and scientists around the world all working to find ways of replacing conventional fossil fuels with the newest green energy. Most people are in agreement that as the world slowly moves to depleting the Earth of its natural resources, we need to reduce our dependency on non-renewable sources of energy such as the common types of fossil fuels known as coal, petroleum oil and natural gas.

Alternative energies fill the gap between non-realistic free energy sources and the more traditional fossil fuels. Once upon a time nuclear energy was seen as the answer to our global energy problem. The huge amounts of energy that could be produced from a small amount of uranium was seen as the future way to power our planet as it produces a clean energy with no contribution to global warming. But as we know, like fossil fuels, uranium is also a finite natural resource that over time will run out.

Alternative Energy generally refers to any group of non-traditional fuel sources that do not burn fossil fuels or use up any natural resources that will result in damage or harm to the environment. In other words "Alternative Energy" is a cleaner and greener energy, well at least in theory.

Alternative energy sources provide many advantages and benefits over the use of the more traditional fossil fuels such as less pollution and cheaper fuel costs, but the downside is that these alternative energy sources are not always available when we need them as sometimes the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine. But with the aid of modern technologies available today can make full use of these alternatives when they are available. So let's take a look at some of the most common alternative energy sources and see how each one works.

1. The Power of the Sun

The sun has always provided the Earth with a great source of heat and light energy. In its simplest terms, solar energy is the radiant energy derived from sunlight and by using several different methods we can convert this solar energy into electrical energy using solar photovoltaic cells. These photovoltaic cells produce an alternative source of energy commonly known as "Solar Power". Solar power pollution free since its source comes completely from the sun's rays.

Solar thermal heating uses the heat energy of the sun to heat water or other such thermally conductive fluids such as oil which flow through a set of thermally conducting metal pipes enclosed within a solar panel or reflective dish. Solar hot water heating using roof mounted flat pate solar panels is a cost effective way to generate lots of cheap hot water for your home just using the power of the sun.

We all know the benefits of using the suns energy to heat water, but the suns energy can also be used in solar pool heating systems to help heat the large quantities of cold water in an outdoor swimming pool without the need for expensive electrical pool heating units. Heating a pool with flat plate collectors can also increase the recreational use of an outdoor swimming pool by up to four months during the year just by using the free energy from the sun.

2. The Force of the Wind

Wind energy is power or energy derived from the movement of the wind which is harnessed by windmills, sails, and more commonly wind turbines. Windmills have been in existence for many thousands of years long before the birth of Christ, helping to power sailing boats, pump water and grind corn. Wind Power is all about converting the motional kinetic energy of the wind into physical mechanical energy for driving machines or pumps, or converting it into electricity energy to power our homes.

Wind energy has the ability to generate many megawatts of electricity and is quickly becoming the most invested in alternative energy resource. Wind farms are being erected everywhere with enormous arrays of three bladed windmills dotted across the landscape. Of course, there is nothing new in using windmills or wind turbines for capturing energy. Today's wind turbines are just more modern variations on the old theme. But these monsters of the landscape can help do away with conventional coal fired power stations. Wind energy is an excellent renewable source of energy and will go a long way in promising a good future to generations to come.

3. The Movement of Water

Hydro energy or water energy is an effective renewable energy that harnesses the energy or power produced by moving water using waterwheels and water turbines. The most common form of hydro energy is hydro-electric power which uses the potential energy of the water in large reservoirs held behind huge dams. The energy stored in the water is then used to rotate large electrical turbines to generate electricity. It's estimated that about 90 percent of all the electrical energy produced by renewable resources is generated solely by hydro electric power.

Tidal energy or tidal power as it is also called is another hydro energy resource which uses the movement or kinetic energy of the seas and oceans to generate electricity. New water power technologies such as marine and hydro-kinetic devices can transform the energy of the waves, tides, ocean currents and the natural flow of estuaries into sustainable clean energy. Tidal energy requires a large capital investment in dams, turbines and support ships, but once a "tidal power" plant is built the energy it generates is essentially free with the system being relatively inexpensive to run.

4. Fuel from the Earth

Another interesting alternative energy source that can also be classed as a "renewable energy resource" is the development of Biomass and Bioenergy. Biomass energy is made from agricultural crops and organic plant materials such as wood, peat, grasses and straw grown specifically to be burnt as fuels to generate heat and power as well as organic waste in the form of biodegradable materials, garbage, compost, animal manure and other waste products which can be converted into usable energy. Bioenergy is the energy derived from the Biomass (organic matter) which is sustainable as new crops and forests can be grown to replace those that have been harvested.

Geothermal is an alternative energy source that uses the natural buried heat from within the Earths core. Geothermal energy makes use of the enormous amount of energy stored as heat in the water deep below the Earths surface with the most prominent and visual example of this coming from "Geysers" and "Hot Springs" ejecting large columns of very hot water, steam and gases high up into the air. Water heated by underground magmatic activity is pumped to the surface and used to generate electricity or to heat buildings using geothermal heat pumps.

We have seen that the sun's energy can be used to create other forms of energy. Some of these alternative fuel sources above are not new. For centuries people have harnessed the power of running water in rivers and streams for a variety of needs, particularly for farming and transport. Water wheels and windmills have been used for many thousands of years to grind corn and husks to make flour for bread and a variety of different foods. Even passive solar energy was used to warm homes and dry clothes. Some forms of these "alternative energy sources" above are really just improvements of long-existing older technologies. But with the advancement of technology in the modern age other types of alternative energies are genuinely new, such as bioenergy, fuel cells and solar panels.

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