Types of Solar Energy

"Bioproduct" is short for "biomass products" and can be used to describe a chemical, material, or other (non-energy) product such as composites, plastics, and adhesives, although this term usually excludes conventional forest commodities, such as pulp or panels.

Additional Resources on Biomass Energy: For more information on biomass feedstocks, see DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory Biomass Feedstock Research & Analyses Program. Biomass energy content for this section provided in part by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Department of Energy.

Torrefaction is like coffee roasting. It requires no external energy but uses about 8% of the biomass energy to drive the process. Some of that energy is recovered because pelletizing energy is reduced because the heat-softened lignin in the biomass makes it easier to compress into pellets.

But those deregulatory steps do little to offset the mounting long-term challenge that coal faces from cleaner forms of energy, especially solar. By 2040, U.S. power generation from renewable energy is likely to skyrocket by 169%, according to a recent forecast from the research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Currently, fossil fuels are the most widely used energy source in the world. It is used to generate electrical energy but above all it is also used to generate mechanical energy (cars, heat engines, etc.).

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

Geothermal energy—geo (earth) + thermal (heat)—is heat energy from the earth. What is a geothermal resource? To understand the basics of geothermal energy production, geothermal resources are reservoirs of hot water that exist at varying temperatures and depths below the Earth's surface.

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

Hydropower uses a fuel—water—that is not reduced or used up in the process. Because the water cycle is an endless, constantly recharging system, hydropower is considered a renewable energy. When flowing water is captured and turned into electricity, it is called hydroelectric power or hydropower.

The energy of this water cycle, which is driven by the sun, can be tapped to produce electricity or for mechanical tasks like grinding grain. Hydropower uses a fuel—water—that is not reduced or used up in the process.

Electrical energy produced from natural gas is the end product. The raw material is the natural gas itself, it is obtained by drilling wells and removing the gas from deep within the earth. The gas must then be processed to remove undesirable impurities in a gas processing plant.

Nonrenewable and renewable energy sources Energy sources are classified as nonrenewable because they do not form or replenish in a short period of time. Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind replenish naturally in a short period of time.

Nuclear Energy Today Nuclear reactors produce just under 20% of the electricity in the USA. There are over 400 power reactors in the world (about 100 of these are in the USA).

The sun burns hydrogen to produce helium via nuclear fusion, releasing fast amounts of energy. That energy reaches Earth in the forms of ultraviolet light, visible light (the light we see), and infrared light (heat), all of which we term solar energy.

and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) is operated by NCI Information Systems, Inc., for NREL / DOE. The statements contained herein are based on information known to EREC and NREL at the time of printing.

Solar energy works by capturing the sun’s energy and turning it into electricity for your home or business. Our sun is a natural nuclear reactor. It releases tiny packets of energy called photons, which travel the 93 million miles from the sun to Earth in about 8.5 minutes.

Since most tidal generators are only going to be able to create power when the tides are going from high to low tide, and likely only around half of that time will be usable by many of the systems, energy is generated between 3 and 6 hours a day from these systems.

Wave energy is more predictable than the two other competitive RESs, Wind Energy and Solar energy, and it has very power density because of the water in which it is carried across. Relative Strength of Wave Energy. The world map below shows the relative strength of wave energy in KW/m.

Wind energy is now one of the most cost-effective sources of new generation, competing with new installations of coal, gas and nuclear power. Its cost has dropped steadily over the past few years, as wind turbine technology has improved.