Renewable energy sources
Renewable energy sources are all around us
About 80 percent of the global population lives in countries that are net importers of fossil fuels — that’s about 6 billion people who are dependent on fossil fuels from other countries, which makes them vulnerable to geopolitical shocks and crises.
In contrast, renewable energy sources are available in all countries, and their potential is yet to be fully harnessed.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that 90 percent of the world’s electricity can and should come from renewable energy by 2050.
Renewables offer a way out of import dependency, allowing countries to diversify their economies and protect them from the unpredictable price swings of fossil fuels while driving inclusive economic growth, new jobs, and poverty alleviation.
The most popular renewable energy sources currently are:
- Solar energy
- Wind energy
- Hydro energy
- Tidal energy
- Geothermal energy
- Biomass energy
How these types of renewable energy work
Solar energy
Sunlight is one of our planet’s most abundant and freely available energy resources. The amount of solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface in one hour is more than the planet’s total energy requirements for a whole year.
Although it sounds like a perfect renewable energy source, the amount of solar energy we can use varies according to the time of day and the season of the year as well as geographical location. In the UK, solar energy is an increasingly popular way to supplement your energy usage. Find out if it’s right for you by reading our guide to solar power.
Wind energy
The wind is a plentiful source of clean energy. Wind farms are an increasingly familiar sight in the UK with wind power making an ever-increasing contribution to the National Grid. To harness electricity from wind energy, turbines are used to drive generators which then feed electricity into the National Grid.
Although domestic or ‘off-grid’ generation systems are available, not every property is suitable for a domestic wind turbine. Find out more about wind energy on our wind power page
Hydro energy
As a renewable energy resource, hydropower is one of the most commercially developed. By building a dam or barrier, a large reservoir can be used to create a controlled flow of water that will drive a turbine, generating electricity. This energy source can often be more reliable than solar or wind power (especially if it’s tidal rather than river) and also allows electricity to be stored for use when demand reaches a peak.
Like wind energy, in certain situations hydro can be more viable as a commercial energy source (dependant on the type and compared to other sources of energy) but depending very much on the type of property, it can be used for domestic, ‘off-grid’ generation. Find out more by visiting our hydropower page.
Tidal energy
This is another form of hydro energy that uses twice-daily tidal currents to drive turbine generators. Although tidal flow unlike some other hydro energy sources isn’t constant, it is highly predictable and can therefore compensate for the periods when the tide current is low. Find out more by visiting our marine energy page.
Geothermal energy
By harnessing the natural heat below the earth’s surface, geothermal energy can be used to heat homes directly or to generate electricity. Although it harnesses power directly below our feet, geothermal energy is of negligible importance in the UK compared to countries such as Iceland, where geothermal heat is much more freely available.
Biomass Energy
This is the conversion of solid fuel made from plant materials into electricity. Although fundamentally, biomass involves burning organic materials to produce electricity, nowadays this is a much cleaner, more energy-efficient process. By converting agricultural, industrial and domestic waste into solid, liquid, and gas fuel, biomass generates power at a much lower economic and environmental cost.
For example, The solar tracker device’s major drawback is that it requires two types of voltage, 24V to power its DC motor and 5V for sensors. Thus, it is necessary to adopt a power conversion device that can convert a high voltage (hundred to thousand stable 24V or 5V DC voltage to grant optimal operations.
There are two possible solutions to this challenge. However, both of them have their pros and cons.
The first option is to have the power from the main inlet and convert the voltage using an AC-DC SMPS. In this case, complex as many solar panels are in the plant, and all are placed far away from the inlet.
Having multiple branches of the multiple SMPS for each panel is impractical and expensive to maintain.
WEHO has contributed to creating a more environmental-friendly and efficient world by providing reliable and efficient power supplies, which can benefit homeowners, business owners, and entire communities.
