Alternative energy represents any source of clean energy that derives from a natural and renewable source of energy such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, waves, tides, waste, biomass, hydrogen, etc.
The alternative sources of energy available today are harvested worldwide using clean and sustainable technology, that must be improved to increase its efficiency.
What is Alternative Energy? – Definition
Alternative energy represents the clean energy source (does not pollute) that derives from a natural and renewable source of energy such as solar, wind, geothermal, waves, tides, waste, biomass, hydrogen and so on.
As the name suggests, alternative energy has appeared as an alternative to fossil fuels because fossil fuels are considered finite sources of energy and are polluting the environment.
Today, we start using alternative sources of energy like solar power, wind power, geothermal, biomass, hydro power, waste energy and so on, because these renewable energy sources are not polluting the environment and are helping us to reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere and to reduce climate change effects.
Of course, is not enough to generate clean energy from green and renewable energy sources like the Sun, wind, water, biomass, etc., because we also need to reduce the level of CO
Plants reduce the level of carbon in the atmosphere
Green plants consume CO
More trees mean less CO
There are more and more companies in the world that produce renewable technology.
There are also a few controversies here because some consider hydropower and nuclear power as alternative energy sources (they are different than fossil fuels represented by coal, oil and gas), while others say that nuclear power produces nuclear waste which is harmful for the environment.
In terms of nuclear power, we can consider as a renewable energy source of the future, only the energy produced by nuclear fusion.
ITER builds a tokamak fusion reactor in southern France.
Examples of Alternative Energy
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear fusion is the atomic reaction in which a number of atoms are combined to create a single, but more massive atom. The new atom created has a slightly smaller mass than the sum of the masses of the atoms used to create the massive atom, and the difference in mass is released in the form of energy during the fusion reaction.
The most common nuclear fusion reaction in the known universe, is the merging of hydrogen nuclei to create helium nuclei. Nuclear fusion is the process that occurs inside the stars including our Sun.
The fusion reaction of hydrogen in the Sun is responsible for the enormous quantity of energy (which includes light and heat) that is released by the star.
Mankind wants to use the nuclear fusion reaction here on Earth to generate massive quantities of clean power, and end the use of fossil fuels.
You can build your own solar panel and generate clean electricity for free.
Solar Power
Solar power represents an abundant source of clean and renewable energy that is produced by the Sun, and can be used here on Earth to cover our energy needs without releasing harmful greenhouse gases.
Solar energy is used as an alternative energy source today because it produces free heat, and free electricity without producing any kind of CO2 emissions.
The power of the Sun is also used by plants and other living organisms in the process called photosynthesis, which helps the plants to produce their own food.
To produce their food in the photosynthesis process all plants will need the presence of sunlight, CO2 and of course, water.
Solar energy is used by mankind in many ways, to produce heat, clean electricity, to turn saltwater into drinkable water, in agriculture and horticulture and so on.
To produce their food in the photosynthesis process all the plants need sunlight, the presence of CO2 and of course, water.
Solar energy is also used in space as the main energy source because the International Space Station (ISS) and many other space missions are using solar panels to gather the energy of the Sun.
Wind turbines are becoming larger every year.
Wind Power
Wind power is considered an alternative source of energy because the wind is also produced by the Sun and today, this clean energy source is harvested offshore and onshore by large wind turbines.
A broad development of the wind power generation capacity in the world will help mankind to diminish the use of fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil in the following decades.
There are also a few issues caused by wind turbines because in some places, the rapid rotation of the turbines can kill birds and bats that fly in the area.
Beside killing birds, some wind turbines are generating noise that can affect the people that live close to wind farms.
Luckily, technology evolves pretty fast every year, and because almost all the countries in the world have realized the importance of the renewable energy sources in the battle against climate change, today there is a great involvement in the research and development of new technologies that can harvest renewable energy in a new and more efficient way.
As time passes, the price of renewable energy goes down, so there are more chances to see a broad development of this sector in the following decades and a phase-out of the fossil fuels.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is the alternative energy source generated by the Earth’s heat.
The underground heat is produced by the presence of the molten rock called magma.
The underground water is heated up by the heated rocks and the steam released is harvested by geothermal heat pumps.
In the world, there are several places where geothermal power represents a reliable and continuous source of clean and renewable energy that can be harvested and used for heating and cooling of the nearby buildings.
In the U.S. most of the geothermal reservoirs of hot water can be found in states like Alaska and Hawaii, and these reservoirs can be used to generate electricity by using the steam to rotate a turbine, or by using the steam to boil a working fluid that vaporizes and turns a turbine.
Hot water located near the surface of the Earth can be used directly for heating.
This is an alternative energy source that can be used to heat buildings, to grow plants in greenhouses, to dry crops, in fish farms, and in several industrial processes like milk pasteurizing.
Using branches to produce wood chips.
Biomass Energy
Biomass represents the green fuel obtained from organic materials like wood, certain crops, green algae, manure and organic waste.
Biomass is considered a renewable energy source because trees regrow and waste will always exist as long as we live here on Earth.
A power station that uses biomass to generate clean electricity will consume at least 75 tons of biomass every hour to generate about 50 MW of green energy.
The power station will consume in an entire year, almost 500,000 tons of biomass, but will generate more than 200,000 MW of clean electricity.
Final thoughts
The alternative sources of energy will evolve along with mankind, and I hope that at least by the year 2050 (the middle of this century), these sources of clean electricity will represent more than 50 percent in the global energy mix.
