step towards clean and green energy
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Answer:
Green energy is sustainable energy, which means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future[2]. These alternative energy sources are said to be not harmful to humans and environment and also arenon polluting energy sources. It basically reduces pollution and the impact on the environment that the existing energy source is causing now and in the past by conventional energy sources such as fossil fuel, coal and wood. These are non renewable energy sources, also known as the brown energy[1]. These sources are mainly used in the production of electricity, heating and fuel for boilers. They cause excessive amount of pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, together with particles that could harm humans. These pollutants are the main contributors to the greenhouse gases that cause global warning. Brown energy are also types of sources that are typically reducing on our earth, which means it could not be re-produced to be used in future. The main aim for this study on green energy is to literate the reader on what is green energy and the importance of these energy to substitute our current conventional energy resources. These report is also to identify the main types of green energies available for the current technology practised in our world today with the history of energy development that brought to the practice of green energy.
2. Green Energy
Sources of green energy come from the nature itself, being free to be harvested. They are mainly derived from the sun (solar power), wind and water. Wind turbines have been used since old times to grind grains, where the term “windmill” is derived from. A more expensive source would come from nuclear and bioenergy (biofuel and biogas).
Nuclear power is also categorized in green energy as it does not produce greenhouse gases. Waste from nuclear power plants are problematic and dangerous to be handled as it takes hundreds to thousands of years to decay before reaching the level that is not harmful to humans, plants and the animals. But in order to completely wipe out the usage of fossil fuels to produce electricity, the number of nuclear plants has to be increased so that greenhouse gases emissions can be cut down massively.[3] Energy from sun, wind and water are continuous but inconsistent. Rainy days that could affect solar power production and droughts that would affect water levels in dams are the main drawbacks of these energy sources.
As renewable energy is sometimes inconsistent, excellent storage capacity is needed to store energy that are produced. It is usually windier in the night time, but the demand would be lesser. Nuclear plants generate so much power at a particular time that they cannot be used at once. So large battery banks are required in order to mesh with the electricity system and provide a consistent power supply