Empower Network

Types of Green Power!!

"Green Power" received its name because it harnesses the natural, renewable power of the Earth. This type of power puts emphasis on sustainability and efficiency. More efficient ways of harnessing and capturing energy are desirable because they reduce the toll on the environment. Sustainable energy sources are also desirable because dependence on non-renewable energy sources cannot meet the needs of the entire human race indefinitely. Renewable or persistent sources can.


Hydroelectric
Hydroelectric dams harness the power of gravity and potential energy to power gigantic turbines that divert energy to generators. This method is the most widespread of all renewable energy sources; it also produces no direct waste, relatively little carbon dioxide and does not use non-renewable fuel. Hydroelectric dams do lead ecosystem damage, however, because huge areas of land are flooded or filled to create dam reservoirs to generate this power.


Geothermal
Geothermal energy is extraordinarily efficient, highly renewable and very environmentally friendly. It's usually generated by capturing the steam and the pressure created in fissures or boreholes. For this reason, geothermal energy is incredibly costly to harness and geographically limited to areas with volcanic activity or proximity to tectonic activity.


Wind Power
Wind power uses turbines, just like hydroelectric power. This type of power is among the oldest, used to power mills and other early forms of human industry. This energy is costly in terms of space needed to set up gigantic wind-farms in prime locations. One increasingly popular location for wind-farms is in offshore areas, sometimes co-existing with tidal energy turbines.


Solar Power
Solar Power is the least efficient of these types, mostly because of the newness of the technology. Photovoltaic panels are expensive to build, deploy and maintain, and the real estate they require to be efficient is huge. Innovations such as concentrated solar towers that focus sunlight narrowly onto panels, point to a promising future for solar energy.