Green Electricity
From Swikipedia
Introduction
Green electricity is the electricity produced from sources which do not cause any harmful environmental impacts. Though, every type of electricity generation will have some environmental impact, but the sources used for green electricity are much greener and environment friendly than others.
In fact, these sources are usually renewable sources of energy which are known to be the cleanest energy sources that utilize natural energy flows of the earth and will never run out. These include photovoltaics (solar power), wind power, small-scale hydropower, biomass power, tidal power and wave power. Green electricity may also be derived from the incineration of waste.
Brief Description
Sources of Green Electricity:
• Wind Electricity: Wind power being the world’s fastest growing energy source, it can be harnessed by turbines to provide Green electricity. Over the years, this advancement in this technology has resulted in wind power providing a competitive edge to the traditional coal-fired and nuclear power stations.
• Solar Electricity: This can be used in three different ways: a solar photovoltaic (PV) which converts sunlight directly into electricity (even on cloudy days) using semiconductor technology (semiconductor material mostly being "waste" silicon from the computer chip industry, which can be integrated into buildings and even made into roof tiles virtually indistinguishable from normal tiles); solar water heaters; and designing buildings in a way so as to maximize the use of sun for natural daylight.
• Hydro Electricity: Water turbines have been used to provide Green electricity for over 100 years.
• Wave Electricity: Waves hitting the shore are channeled into a large tube to power a specially designed turbine to finally produce green electricity. With the proper support, wave power could provide a significant proportion of the world’s electricity needs in the future.
• Tidal Electricity: Tidal power is as predictable as the tides themselves. One way to capture tidal energy is to build a barrage across an estuary, storing water behind it as the tide rises and then releasing the stored water through turbines at low tide. Another way is to use 'marine current turbines', which work like underwater wind turbines, harnessing tidal currents instead of the winds.
• Geothermal Electricity: Geothermal energy comes from hot rocks deep underground. In some parts of the world steam comes to the surface and can be used to run steam turbines to produce Green electricity directly. In other places water can be pumped down and heated by the rocks to make steam. Geothermal energy can also be used to provide hot water and heating for buildings.
• Biomass Electricity: Either agricultural wastes or specially grown plants can be used as a fuel to run small Green electricity power stations.
• Landfill gas Converted to Electricity: As rubbish decomposes in the landfill sites where our household waste is dumped, it gives off methane gas. This gas can be captured and burnt in a gas turbine to produce Green electricity.
• Waste Incineration Electricity: The best solution would be to recycle as much of the waste as possible, but instead incinerators are being constructed to burn the waste. In some cases the energy is being used to generate green electricity.
References:
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/glossary
