Clean energy is known alternatively as Green energy, Renewable energy or Alternative energy. Basically, clean energy is non-fossil based. Clean energy is considered to be non-polluting, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly. Generally sources of clean energy are natural sources which are harnessed to produce energy – wind energy, solar power, hydropower, tidal power, geothermal energy and biomass.
Clean energy is increasingly gaining popularity amongst individual consumers as well as businesses and organizations. It’s the best choice for those looking to do their bit for the environment and also increase their nation’s energy independence. In the US nearly one million homes have purchased Green certificates to support this form of energy.
One of the more common sources of clean energy is wind power. For centuries we’ve seen wind energy being harnessed and used by humans in the form of wind mills and sail boats. This source of energy makes use of airflows to run wind turbines. Basically, higher the wind speed more is the power output. Thus wind power is a very good source of energy in areas with strong winds which are constant, such as offshore and high altitude sites. Wind turbines are being used to pump water, for grinding grains and also to charge batteries. Germany, Denmark, India, Spain and the US account for about 80% of the world’s installed wind energy capacity. Find out if your area too is suitable for utilising wind energy.
Water Power, also known as Hydro energy is a very popular and highly effective source of renewable energy. Water has immense potential as an energy source as it about 800 times denser than air. This means that even a slow flow of water or a moderate sea swell has the ability to generate quite a bit of energy. Hydro power is one of the best, cheapest and cleanest sources of energy. Of course, building dams to harness this energy may prove expensive and pose environmental issues. Energy from water can be harnessed using large-scale hydroelectric dams, micro hydro systems, damless hydro systems deriving energy from rivers and oceans, tidal stream power, wave power, saline gradient power etc.
A third source of clean energy, and one that is the most freely available is solar energy. With solar energy there is no issue of boundaries of countries and who the resource belongs to. Solar energy is also very important as it is virtually pollution-free and therefore environmental friendly. Solar energy has gained increasing popularity since the 1970’s ever since oil prices started increasing. In many countries, solar energy is used in daily chores like for drying clothes, vegetables, for pickling etc. Similarly, there are now solar panels available which can be used to absorb sunlight and use the energy for heating and cooking purposes. In fact such is the potential of solar energy that newer factories being set up are using technology to utilise solar energy, helping the environment and reducing their own costs.
Solar energy can be used for cooking, heating, distillation, power generation, cooling, refrigeration, drying etc. For harnessing solar energy products like solar cookers, water heaters, hot air systems, power tower, etc are available. You too can easily setup any of the solar power based equipments in your backyard or on your terrace. While the initial cost of setup may be on a higher side as compared to the AC powered equipments, in the long run solar power run equipments prove highly economical. Apart from that certain states also offer tax rebates, concessions and soft loans on purchase and installation of such clean energy harnessing products at home or in offices.