Renewable green energy comes from green sources of energy. These sources are usually harnessed with little pollution. Geothermal power, wind, wave and solar power are some of the renewable green energy sources that are known today. Here we will describe all the kinds of renewable green energy sources currently in use and the efficiency and scale of these sources.

Also, we will look at what’s the best solution for our future energy demands. Will it depend on only one source of energy or will there be a wide range of energy sources we should use instead of the current polluting sources of energy?

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Solar Energy

When we think green we usually think of solar energy. Solar energy is harnessed by converting sunlight into electricity. There are a couple of ways of converting sunlight into electricity. It can be directly converted using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly with concentrating solar power (CSP). If you want to know more about solar energy, look at all the articles that are posted on the  ’Tomorrow is Greener’ website, here for Solar Energy.

Wind Energy

Harnessing the power of the wind is not a new phenomenon. Humans have been using the wind for at least 5,500 years, propelling their sailboats and sailing ships. Nowadays we use the power of the wind to convert it into a useful form of energy, namely electricity. This is done by wind turbines. Wind power produced about 1,5 % of the worlds electricity and is growing rapidly. Click here to see all the articles on the ‘Tomorrow is Greener’ website about Wind Energy.

Biofuel

Biofuel is made of recently lifeless or living biological material. There are two ways of producing biofuel: Growing crops which are high in sugar and then use yeast fermentation to product ethanol or grow plants that contain high amounts of vegetable oil (oil palm, algae, soybean). New biofuel-technologies also make it possible to produce energy from bio-waste. Read more about this topic here.

Wave Energy

Wave energy captures the energy of surface waves and make electricity out of it. The generation of wave power is not currently a widely employed commercial technology. The ‘Tomorrow is greener’ website will explain more on wave energy and tidal power here.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is obtained by extracting heat stored in the earth. Geothermal was firstly used in ancient Roman times for space heating and bathing, but is now used to generate electricity. Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable and environmentally friendly. The downside of geothermal is that it is limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries. Read more about Geothermal Energy here.

Hydro Energy

Hydro Energy or Hydropower is generated through the use of the gravitational force of falling water. It is the most widely used form of renewable green energy. In 2005 it supplied an estimated 816 GWe which was approximately 20% of the world’s electricity. For more on Hydropower click here.