Alternative Sources of Energy
We hear a lot about renewable and alternative energy sources in the news these days, but few people really know exactly what these terms encompass beyond the use of solar panels. Alternative energy sources are any energy source that isn’t a fossil fuel, and in most cases, this also means they’re a renewable energy source.
Let’s look at 6 alternative energy sources and discover exactly what they are, how they work, and see how they compare to the other energy sources you should know about.
What are the 6 alternative energy sources?
Hydropower
Hydropower is one of the oldest forms of energy used by humans and has been used worldwide throughout history. Hydropower harnesses the natural energy of water to create electricity. Today, we see this most frequently in the form of dams. This alternative energy source is one of the most reliable, especially in naturally wet areas.
Wind energy
Wind energy is one of the cleanest forms of alternative energy available. It has one of the lowest negative impacts on the environment of any energy source, and its use reduces the need for energy sources that create carbon emissions and pollution. So, how do they work? Basically, wind turbines capture kinetic energy from the wind and use it to generate electricity. Over the last decade, wind power has been lauded as one of the most environmentally beneficial energy sources available. In 2019 alone, wind energy reduced the water consumption of existing power plants by around 103 billion gallons, equivalent to about 723 billion bottles of water.
Biomass
Biomass is reliable, but not quite as clean as the other sources on this list. It is generated from wood, straw, energy crops, agricultural byproducts, and municipal and industrial waste. Biomass is used in the same way as fossil fuels: it is burned to produce steam, which can be used for electricity generation.
Biomass is helpful to the environment because it reduces waste, is carbon neutral, and is widely available. One downside is that this energy source still requires the burning of materials, which isn’t ideal for the environment, but it is still a far cleaner process than the use of fossil fuels.
Solar energy
Solar power is the alternative energy source most people know about because it’s the most common form to see around our homes. While the term solar power actually includes harnessing both the sun’s light and its heat, harnessing sunlight through solar panels is the most efficient.
Solar power also has the unique benefit of being extremely scalable. We can install solar panels on any rooftop anywhere in the world, so there’s a lot of potential for solar power in the future, especially when panels become more effective at harnessing the sun’s energy.
Solar thermal energy is less efficient but is ideal for single buildings. A solar thermal device collects the sun’s heat and is typically used to heat water for the building it is installed on.
Geothermal
Geothermal energy is harnessed from the natural heat beneath the Earth’s surface to create steam to power generators. The power plants for geothermal energy can even be built underground, which means they take up very little space. One of the environmental benefits of geothermal energy is that it produces virtually no carbon emissions. It is also very reliable and requires little maintenance once established.
Tidal energy
Tidal power is another form of hydropower, but instead of dams, it uses the natural pattern of ocean and river currents to drive turbines. Tidal power is even more reliable than hydropower but less common because tidal power plants have to be built in what are often areas of outstanding natural beauty.