Renewable energy
Renewable energy is defined as energy which is generated from available natural resources. Examples of these are the sun, wind, rain, tides, hydroelectricity and geothermal sources.
Energy generated from these renewable sources contributed nearly 20% of our planets annual energy consumption. Over half of that came from the biomass. The main source of this energy is from burning organic materials for heat, light and energy.
Biofuels are derived from biomass material. The term 'biofuels' includes agrofuels which are produced from crops specifically grown to be used as fuels. Plants with a sugar content or containing vegetable oil are grown and processed to produce agrofuels.
Wind energy is a significant source of renewable energy. Wind turbines can extract energy from the wind and generate electricity. In the UK wind energy is an important part of the government's plans to produce electricity from renewable sources. Wind farms are being built on land and offshore. The UK is well positioned to take advantage of wind power.
Solar power is simply the energy of the sun. Focusing that energy to create steam to drive turbines generates electricity. Examples are the 354 MW SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert and the PS10 solar power tower.
Geothermal power uses heat sources within the Earth. These heat sources are used to boil water and the resulting steam is used to generate electricity. The hot water can also be used for central heating for local buildings.
