Overview of Renewable Energy Technologies

Description

Renewable energy uses natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat which are naturally replenished. Most forms of renewable energy are cheap to operate, but relatively expensive to install, as they have to take quite dispersed energy and concentrate it into a useful form. The heat from solar energy can be captured by solar thermal panels. These panels absorb the energy from the sun and transfer it to heat water. Solar water heating systems are the most popular form of solar energy used in the UK. Plentiful and inexhaustible in the United States and around the world, wind power is one of the fastest growing renewable technologies and has the potential to provide a significant portion of our electricity needs. Heat from the earth can be used as an energy source in many ways, from large and complex power stations to small and relatively simple residential pumping systems. Renewable energy technologies enable us to create electricity, heat and fuel from renewable sources. The book covers the wide spectrum of solar radiation, elements of heat transfer, solar collectors and application of solar collectors. It contains chapter on energy from biomass and biogas digesters, photovoltaic generation of electricity and its applications and wind energy besides impact of energy production and use on environment.