What Do You Know About Hydropower, Wind Energy, Biomass?

There are plenty of renewable energy (RE) sources other than solar energy. These include hydropower, wind energy and biomass. Investing into these resources could mean big, BIG $$$! Here are some things you should know about Earth’s natural powerhouses if you foresee yourself tapping into them.

Hydropower

Here’s a history lesson for you: the first tool that humans invented to harness the power of water was the waterwheel. That was nearly 2000 years ago! This basic invention gradually evolved into the design of hydropower plants we see today. Also, over 100 cities in the world gain their electricity from renewable energy – mainly hydropower, followed by wind and solar (First Mile, 2020). So don’t wash away your dreams of a cleaner Earth. There’s so much the Earth is already giving us for our usage! Try some of that renewable juice with Sunview’s solar panels today!

Wind Energy

Wind energy, alongside solar energy, are the cleanest and most widely used resources on Earth. Windy places around the globe like the United Kingdom benefit greatly from wind energy. Therefore, the technology used to capture and harness them must be as powerful and efficient as possible. So, wind turbines roughly as tall as the Statue of Liberty (93m) have been built! A single blade of a wind turbine can reach up to 200 ft (roughly 61m), while the turbine itself can be 295 ft (roughly 90m) tall. It is expected that wind turbines will be built taller and longer to generate more energy (Lai, 2022). So, they will have to be built even further apart to prevent them from getting tangled in a whirlwind of movement, if you get what we mean.

Biomass

Biomass is essentially heat and fuel generated from plant and animal material. Cavemen in the prehistoric ages have already been using biomass (creating fires from wood) to cook things. Some of the world’s largest biofuel crops include palm oil, wheat and corn.

The most common organic materials used for energy are plants, wood and waste. These are called “biomass feedstocks”. If these sources are not replenished quickly, biomass can become a non-renewable energy. Meaning, plants and animals will have to continuously die for biomass energy to be created and utilised. Luckily, due to how many organic things die every day, we won’t need to worry about running out of organic matter very soon.

Combustion (burning) of biomass can emit toxic gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide. Inhaling these gases can pollute our bodies as well. They need to be captured and recycled into usable chemicals before they exceed the number of pollutants emitted by burning fossil fuels (Turgeon, Morse, 2022).

There are just some types of renewable energies that exist aside from solar on this planet. Imagine how much power we could generate AND save if we all just went renewable. Sunview is here to help. Visit www.sunview.com.my for tips!