Diverse Technologies with Amazing Potential
Renewable energy technologies (RETs) are a significant part of creating a sustainable electricity system and reducing the harmful effects of electricity generation on our natural environment and our climate.
Unlike conventional forms of generation such as nuclear, coal and gas-fired generators, RETs do not cause harmful emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that contribute to climate change. Also, RETs do not rely on non-renewable carbon-based fuel sources, nor do they produce harmful radioactive waste the way nuclear power does.
The other great thing about renewables is that they require only a relatively simple process and very few conversions to make the energy useful. For example, Hermann Scheer details in his book, The Solar Economy, how many steps and conversions it takes to change a lump of coal to electricity. You have to mine the coal, refine it, and transport it to the generation plant. From there, the coal is converted from chemical to heat energy by burning it, the heat is used to create steam, the steam drives the turbine, converting to mechanical energy, and finally, the mechanical energy is changed to electricity. The electricity is transported through high voltage lines over long distances, and has to be ‘stepped down’ to increasingly lower voltages to make it usable in the home.
There are economic costs, environmental costs, and energy losses associated with all of these steps. In comparison, solar energy is very simple to harness. The fuel (the sun) is free and available at the generating site, and the electricity created is used at the site. The sunlight is converted into direct current by the photovoltaic cell, and then needs only be changed to alternating current to power your home. This represents a much simpler process.
The main RETs used to harness renewable energy today are wind turbines, solar heat and photovoltaic systems, small-scale hydro, tidal, and wave installations, and biomass and biogas installations.
EES believes that a 100% renewable energy is fully achievable. EES’s activities are designed to support the goal of 100% renewables. Our mission is to facilitate the transition to a sustainable energy economy through the development and support of community-based, residential and business sustainable energy initiatives.
For more information on any of these technologies, and other energy technologies not discussed here such as geothermal, consider cotacting EES.
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