Renewable energy is created from naturally occurring events
within our world. These natural events are sunshine, water, wind, and
geothermal heat. Each energy source is created freely but the cost is incurred when
a company harvests the source.
Solar energy comes from the sun and is stored in cells. Many
commercial and residential consumers use solar energy to heat their businesses and
homes. The solar panels are expensive to purchase but they will pay for
themselves as they are used to capture the sun’s rays. Excess energy, which is
created by consumers, can be sold back to the power companies, which helps
lower energy consumption from non-renewable sources.
Hydroelectric power is generated by flowing water, generally
the more forceful flowing of the water the greater the energy output. This is
currently the most popular source used in the United States and supplies forty-nine
percent of the renewable energy need. The cost of harvesting this type of energy
can be costly to the company as well as the local climate. When the Hydroelectric
plants are built on the river, the river is channeled or dammed which may
conflict the local land environment.
Turbines and windmills harness the wind. Kinetic energy is
the air in motion. This type of energy is easy to harness if the climate is
windy. The harvesting of this type of energy can be troublesome if there is
little wind, too much wind or there is a problem with the turbine itself.
Geothermal heat in theory is enough to produce sufficient energy
for the entire populace. However, this type of energy is harder to harvest the
expense of it being deep within the earth’s core. Occasionally geothermal heat is
harvested from the areas where the tectonic plates are located. It is cheaper
to harvest from these areas because the energy is closer to the surface and
does not require drilling into the core.
