New but old energy
What does that mean? Well, the energy is old, but it is renewed. This is how renewable energy is created. How does it work and how revolutionary is it?
In 2000, the world's population was about 6.1 billion, but we are now at 7.9 billion. With this increase in people, the demand for energy is also growing.
However, our world needs alternative forms of energy. According to statistics, in 2020 the energy industry was the world's largest source of CO2 emissions with a share of 36.5%.
Why is renewable energy better than other energy sources? Renewable energy emits neither greenhouse gases nor pollutants and produces energy in a climate- and health-friendly way.
There are five different types of renewable energy sources:
Solar energy: Solar energy is a classic renewable energy. The energy of the sun or solar radiation is used technically with Photovoltaic modules. These work with semiconductors made of silicon, which convert solar radiation into electricity.
Wind energy: Wind energy is the use of the kinetic energy (=Kinetic energy is the energy released by the movement of a body ) of air currents to generate electrical energy. The kinetic energy of the air masses is generated by solar radiation and the resulting temperature differences.
Hydro energy: Run-of-river power plants use the flow of rivers. They are preferably built on rivers with a high flow velocity and a large water flow.With the help of a dam, water is held back in a reservoir. As soon as the water flows away from there, the energy created by movement can be transferred to a turbine. The turbine in turn transfers the energy to a generator, where mechanical energy is finally converted into electric current.
Biomass energy: Renewable organic waste, which all belong to biomass, can be used to produce heat, electricity and fuels, in short bioenergy. For example, biogas can be obtained by fermenting non-woody biomass. This can be converted into heat and electricity in a combined heat and power plant.
Geothermal energy: Geothermal energy refers to heat from the earth's interior. Its use and application is very versatile. It can be extracted already in a few meters under the earth's surface up to a depth of several kilometers.
Renewable energy in the past and now
Renewable energy, as opposed to fossil fuels like gas, oil, or coal, can be renewed and has been around for over 2,000 years in Europe.
Consequently, the inventors of individual renewable energies:
- William Robert Grove in 1839 discovered the solar energy.
- The first hydroelectric power plant was built in Appleton
- Wind energy was used 9000 AD the first time.
- In the 1940s, the first ethanol plant was built.
- 1921 the world’s first geothermal power plant was built in California but geothermal power really took off in 1970
Continuously, the number of power generation by renewable energy is growing. Nowadays we use renewable energy much more often, it is assumed that it goes to the oil crisis of 973 and 1979, from then the countries began to think first about more environmentally friendly energy procurement possibilities. We need to start using renewable energy to save our planet and our so beloved Mother Nature.
Umwelt und Natur
Calculation
Calculation basis
These are the CO2 emissions by energy source in grams of CO2 equivalent per kWh of electricity.
- 12 Nuclear power (lowest)
- 1150 Lignite (highest)
The formula used to calculate energy consumption is:
Power (watts) x Consumption time (hours) / 1000 = Consumption in kWh
Aim of the calculation
How much power (watts) does the energy from nuclear power and from lignite need as another view for the enormous difference
Calculation
Conversion: Power (Watt) = ( 1000 x consumption in kWh )/ consumption time (hours)
Insert for nuclear power : x = (1000 x 12) / 1
x = 12'000 Watt
Insert for lignite: x = (1000 x 1150) / 1
x= 1'150'000 Watt
Check
One kilowatt-hour (kWh) is equal to 1,000 watts of power in one hour.
Rule of three::
1 – 1000
12 – 12000
1 - 1000
1150 – 1150000