The need for alternative sources of energy has become urgent in today's world. Global reserves of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are diminishing quickly with reserves left to last for only a few decades. In addition, due to the high prices of standard sources of energy and the environmental hazards presented by them, alternative sources of energy have come as a welcome relief.
Most alternative energy sources are clean and can be used in a variety of applications. I have listed some major sources of alternative energy for your reference below.
Hydroelectricity - Currently, this is the most prevalent form of alternative energy where the pressure of the water falling is used to rotate heavy turbines, which in turn, produce electricity. Energy from this method has been used all over the planet to power entire cities. A large size hydro electric power plant is costly but serves the purpose well.
A hydroelectric power plant does not produce any kind of hazardous waste and emissions of green house gases are minimal compared to fossil fuel power plants.
Tidal Energy - This is a form of hydropower in which the kinetic energy of the tides is converted into electricity or other types of energy.
Tidal power is not widely in use but has immense promise since tides are created through gravitational forces and energy from them would in no way deplete.Wind Energy - This is one of the few renewable sources of energy available in abundance. Kinetic energy of the wind is used to run windmills connected with turbines. The energy obtained from wind is directly converted into electricity and can be used for various tasks such as water pumping and providing electricity to individual homes. On a commercial scale, large wind farms constituting thousands of windmills are set up to generate thousands of megawatts of power every year for industrial and other conventional uses.
Solar Energy - Solar energy is more or less based on the concept of photo-electricity produced through the help of sunlight through a process called photovoltaic. Sunlight shines on a number of photovoltaic cells directly converting it into electricity. Solar power plants have been set up all over the world on a large scale and, today, solar energy accounts for a significant fraction of the power generated collectively.
Solar power is also used for other purposes by homeowners like water heating, to power attic fans and space heating. Through technological advancement, it is being applied to the development of solar vehicles and hybrid locomotives.
Nuclear Energy - Nuclear energy is a huge source of energy and, as of today, provides 85% of France's power needs. On a single fill, a nuclear power plant can operate up to a span of 5 years.
However, nuclear energy is controversial. The largest drawback of using nuclear energy is that it produces a lot of toxic waste and the raw material is very expensive and is difficult to acquire, given its function in weapons of mass destruction.
In addition to the sources of energy mentioned above, biofuels, hydrogen and geothermal energy are also widely used nowadays.
Alternative Energy - A Primer