4 Most Commonly used Types of Green Energy

Solar energy, wind energy, hydropower and geothermal energy are the top four forms of Green Energy that are being used today as an alternative to traditional non-renewable source of energy.

Green Energy is generated from natural resources that don’t cause any harm to the environment. The increasing effects of global warming and the depletion in the levels of fossil fuel has made it more important than ever to find some environment-friendly alternative sources of energy. Solar Energy, wind power and water have been used as sources of energy in one form or the other for centuries. Find out the various types of Green Energy sources that are being used and also developed for future use.

1. Hydropower

Hydropower uses river water that is converted into useful energy through the use of turbines. Even though hydropower is now used extensively for generation of electricity, it has been traditionally in use for irrigation and even for running machinery. In addition, water wheels as well as water mills have been used for producing flour from grain and for sawing wood and stone. Even though this source of energy supplies most of the electricity requirements to the world, it is highly expensive.

2. Wind Energy

Wind energy is another Green Energy source that is harnessed by rotating propellers that further rotate a generator for producing electricity. This energy source is used globally at a very small scale with the two main reasons being that the machinery creates noise and that the technology is relatively expensive. The electricity produced is pollution-free and is used for meeting power requirements of farms, homes and even ranches. The current limitation is that there are not many companies that produce electricity from wind, and most of them are private ventures and sell to public utility companies.

3. Geothermal Energy

This form of Green Energy is produced using the earth’s heat that is released through hot underwater springs that release steam. This steam released is used for running electric generators through the use of turbines. Geothermal energy is not available on a wide scale because of limitation of steam-producing underground springs. However, this form of energy is used mostly for heating buildings. It doesn’t get affected due to changes in weather can is available both during daytime and nighttime.

4. Solar Energy

Solar energy is perhaps the form of Green Energy that holds the most potential for replacing fossil fuel and traditional form of energy in near future. Photovoltaic (PV) cells are used for absorbing the sun’s light which his then used for generating electricity. Solar energy especially received more importance after the 1973 energy crisis. Even though it is still a costly technology, the research and development work is promising and it is considered that in future homes, agriculture and vehicles would be all powered by this unlimited source of energy.