Solar Energy: What´s Renewable Energy?

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Renewable energy comes from the sun directly or indirectly. Sunlight, or solar energy, can be captured and used directly for generating electricity, other buildings and lighting and heating homes, and for, solar cooling, hot water heating and a variety of industrial and commercial uses. Wind turbines are used to capture the wind and convert it to energy which is driven by the sun’s heat. Then, the heat from the winds and sun causes water to evaporate. Energy can be captured using hydroelectric power when this water vapor turns into rain or snow and flows downhill into rivers or streams. Plants grow using sunlight along with the snow and rain. Biomass is defined as the organic matter that makes up those plants. Biomass can be used to produce …show more content…

The use of the term small hydro varies considerably around the world, the maximum limit is usually somewhere between 10 and 30 MW. While a minimum limit is not usually set, the US National Hydropower Association specifies a minimum limit of 5 MW (En.wikipedia.org, 2017). Due to the limited supply the number of policies fluctuate. Solar PV starts at 9 MW/Year in 2011 then increases gradually every year and is predicted to have 280 policies by 2030. Some new solar cells use plastic lenses or mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a very small piece of high efficiency PV material. The PV material is more expensive, but because so little is needed, these systems are becoming cost effective for use by utilities and industry (Nrel.gov, 2017). Solar power plant starts at 20 MW/year in 2011 and keeps expanding until 360 MW/Year by the year 2030. Technology in the solar power industry is constantly advancing and improvements will intensify in the future. Innovations in quantum physics and nanotechnology can potentially increase the effectiveness of solar panels and double, or even triple, the electrical input of the solar power systems (Greenmatch.co.uk, 2017). Solar PV and Solar PP is the one holding most policies by the year 2030 because it is the most cost efficient system. As a conclusion for policies, the government is expected to invest up to 580 MW/Year by 2030 which proves that the world is moving towards eco-friendly

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