Tessier 1

Travis Tessier Malcolm Cambell English 1102 February 12, 2014 Fast Draft: Renewable energy Society uses energy in their everyday lives. Without energy we would not be able to use any of our technology. Renewable energy is the energy that we will not run out of. The world is slowly depleting its everyday supply of energy sources, which is making it a greater need for renewable sources. Also there are multiple types of renewable sources. These sources range from the sun all the way to the ocean. The main types of renewable energy sources are, solar, wind, hydroelectric, and the ocean. These energies are what is going to make the world last longer and make energy more attainable. Solar energy comes from the sun, which is one of the most efficient of the renewable sources. (Most renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from the sun, says the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and The Department of Energy, Sunlight, or solar energy, can be used directly for heating and lighting homes and other buildings, for generating electricity, and for hot water heating, solar cooling, and a variety of commercial and industrial uses.). Solar energy is harnessed by solar panels which can be put up anywhere. (The cells in the panels are made of semiconductor materials like those found in computer chips. When sunlight hits the cells, it knocks electrons loose from their atoms. As the electrons flow through the cell, they generate electricity says National Geographic).Some people who want to be green, buy panels to put on the roofs of their houses. With doing this if you harness more energy then you use, you can actually sell it back to energy companies. This makes the world use less energy and

Tessier 2

saves the homeowners money on their electrical bills. (The average sq feet of solar panels needed to power a home is about 600sqft states statisticbrain.com/solar-energy, and costs $55,000 to install and pay for the solar panels.) When panels are not placed on houses they are usually placed in very big fields in big groups to harness as much solar energy possible. These solar panels however are very expensive and take up a mass amount of space. Electrical engineers are working on trying to make the solar panels more efficient, so that people can harness more energy off each panel so there are not so many needed. Panels take up a lot of space which could be used for farm land or even houses. Along with solar panels and energy however, there is also wind energy. Wind energy is another very efficient way to obtain energy. We put gigantic wind turbines in a open field to utilize the wind to make energy. (The U.S. wind industry had over 60,007 MW of wind energy capacity operating at the end of 2012. The fourth quarter of 2012 saw 8,385 megawatts of wind power capacity installed, bringing total 2012 additions to 13,131 MW for the largest installation in U.S. history representing a $25 billion investment. Reports the American Wind Energy Association, At the end of 2012, there are 45,100 operating wind turbines in the U.S. which are able to power the equivalent of over 15 million American homes.). Each wind turbine that produces 2 Mega Watts, costs from 3 to 4 million dollars to buy and install. This wind turbine however can power a vast amount of area. 20 wind turbines take up about 1 sq Kilometer, although in that sq kilometer it is possible to have roads and small farms. Animals are not affected by the turbines so it is possible to raise livestock around them. Overall I believe that the turbines are a great source or renewable energy and they do not take up too much needed space. (According to the University of Delaware's Cristina Archer, about 4 million turbines could provide the world with 7.5 terawatts of energy annually, about half of the

Tessier 3

estimated power necessary to run earth's power grids in 2030.) If these turbines were perfected and made more efficient there would be less amount of turbines and it could generate power for a more vast area of land. Hydro electric and ocean energy are very similar but are not exactly the same. The most common Hydroelectric power that we see every day are dams. The dams hold the water, and make the water travel through it and that spins turbines. The dams can also store energy by spinning the turbines backwards and making the water go to upper reservoirs, and then when needed the upper reservoir releases and the water comes down and spins the turbines the right direction again. (The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and The Department of Energy state that A small or micro-hydroelectric power system can produce enough electricity for a home, farm, or ranch.). A small or micro-hydroelectric system would be a little dam that is in a nearby creek, built to obtain energy. Ocean energy however, is a tad bit different, they both deal with water but the energy is obtained in different ways. Ocean energy is obtained through two different ways, tidal power, and wave power. Tidal power is achieved by turbines under water, as the tide comes in or out it spins the turbines which produce energy. (If all suitable tidal sites in the world were exploited for tidal power, its estimated that 100 TWh of electricity could be produced each year, says Alstom Energy). Wave energy is produced by a floating device that uses waves to make energy. As the waves go by it, it makes energy which powers turbines to create clean electricity. These three renewable resources could change the world. They are costly but they do not take up crucial living space and they can produce vast amount of electricity for the world. Wave technology can produce 300 to 400 Megawatts of energy, tidal power can produce up to 100 Tetra Watts if used in all the capable locations. Dams produce Gig Watts of

Tessier 4

energy. All of these if perfected could be more efficient and could end up powering the world and saving the little non-renewable resources we have left. Everyday Renewable resources get used for energy more and more. If only it was all perfected, and the whole world was running off of clean energy. Energy prices would be at a all time low, and the environment would be in a lot better shape. Turbines and solar panels do take up space, but after research the only problem with turbines is they aren't very appealing. It is suitable to live around them, have farms and raise cattle, these things are not affected by the turbines. However I still believe that solar panels could be a issue because they cover a vast amount of land to harness the needed amount of electricity. People can put solar panels on their house which could help with the amount needed in fields, but the main issue is, is that solar panels are way too expensive for the amount of energy obtained by them. If engineers could figure out a way to be more efficient or cheaper, I believe more citizens would use them to power their own homes.