Learning About Renewable Energy, Power for the Future
Learning about renewable energy!
by Willie Hayes, Author of Legendary Women’s Self Defense.
There are many online courses to learn more about renewable energy. If your wish is for more information or professional reasons the information is available. For years the world has obtained energy to support the ever-growing boom in agriculture, manufacturing and transportation by using fossil fuels. The three most common sources of fossil fuels are:
•Coal
•Oil
•Natural gas
But there are problems with fossil fuels such as:
•Finite or limited supply
•Air and water pollution
•Greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming
We must understand how important fossil fuels have been to the world since the Industrial Revolution and with a basic understanding of the limited nature of such “natural” energy sources, we can grasp why new, renewable energy sources are key to supporting the incredible global growth in population that we have witnessed in the past 100 years. There is a reluctance for the average person to appreciate renewable energy.
Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global financial crisis better than many other sectors.
A solar panel (photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel) is a packaged assembly of solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells. A solar panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic system to generate electricity in commercial and residential applications. A single solar panel can only produce a limited amount of power, many installations contain several panels. This is known as a photovoltaic array. A photovoltaic installation typically includes an array of solar panels, an inverter, batteries and interconnection wiring.
Photovoltaic systems are used for either on- or off-grid applications, and on spacecraft. Solar energy adoption worldwide is rising as more and more homes and business realize the benefits of installing solar panels to capture clean renewable energy from the sun. With the increased focus on solar energy technology the need for education for solar energy contractors and installers has risen. Get the education on solar energy to make a responsible decision to hire a contractor or install your own solar panels.
Online courses offer training on how solar energy works, the difference between solar thermal systems and solar photovoltaic and zoning considerations. Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished).
In 2008, about 19% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.2% from hydroelectricity. New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) accounted for another 2.7% and are growing very rapidly. The share of renewables in electricity generation is around 18%, with 15% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3% from new renewables. Wind power is growing at the rate of 30% annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 158 gigawatts (GW) in 2009, and is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
At the end of 2009, cumulative global photovoltaic (installations surpassed 21 GW and PV power stations are popular in Germany and Spain. Solar thermal power stations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 megawatt (MW) SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert.The world’s largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane, and ethanol now provides 18% of the country’s automotive fuel. Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.
While some renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. Globally, an estimated 3 million households get power from small solar PV systems. Micro-hydro systems configured into village-scale or county-scale mini-grids serve many areas. More than 30 million rural households get lighting and cooking from biogas made in household-scale digesters. Biomass cook stoves are used by 160 million households.
Willie Hayes is the Author of Legendary Women’s Self Defense.