SOLAR ENERGY
Solar energy is a renewable resource, and many technologies can harvest it directly for use in homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals. Some solar energy technologies include photovoltaic cells and panels, concentrated solar energy, and solar architecture. There are different ways of capturing solar radiation and converting it into usable energy. The methods use either active solar energy or passive solar energy. Active solar technologies use electrical or mechanical devices to actively convert solar energy into another form of energy, most often heat or electricity. Passive solar technologies do not use any external devices. Instead, they take advantage of the local climate to heat structures during the winter, and reflect heat during the summer.
WIND ENERGY
Advantages of wind energy. Wind Power is Economical: The land-based utility-scale wind is one of the cheapest available energy sources today. It’s a Clean Fuel Source: Wind energy does not contaminate the air like fossil fuels, such as natural gas, coal, or oil, which release particulate elements, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, creating human health issues and economic disasters. Wind turbines don’t create atmospheric emissions that let acid rain, greenhouse gases, or smog. It’s Sustainable: The wind is truly a form of solar energy. The heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the Earth’s rotation, and the Earth’s surface irregularities cause winds. For as long as the sun illuminates and the wind flows, the energy generated can be harnessed to transmit power across the grid.
BIOGAS
Biogas is an environmentally-friendly, renewable energy source. It’s produced when organic matter, such as food or animal waste, is broken down by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen, in a process called anaerobic digestion.Biogas can occur naturally or as part of an industrial process to intentionally create it as a fuel. Biogas consists mainly of methane and carbon dioxide. It can also include small amounts of hydrogen sulphide, siloxanes and some moisture. The relative quantities of these vary depending on the type of waste involved in the production of the resulting biogas. As a replacement for natural gas – if biogas is cleaned up and upgraded to natural gas standards, it’s then known as biomethane and can be used for cooking and heating.
ENERGY FROM WASTE
Bio-chemical conversion. Energy can also be extracted from waste by utilising bio-chemical processes. The energy content of the primary source can be converted, through bio-decomposition of waste, into energy-rich fuels which can be utilized for different purposes.
Bio-ethanol can be produced by treating a certain range of organic fractions of waste. Different technologies exist; each of which involving separate stages for hydrolysis (by enzymatic treatment), fermentation (by use of microorganisms) and distillation.
