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Sustainable Energy

Sustainable energy is the term given to an energy supply that is replaceable, regenerative, virtually inexhaustible, and causes no harm to the environment.

Wind energy is the fastest growing source of energy in the world, and is often the least expensive form of renewable power. Wind turbines, which rotate in the air, capture power for an electric generator that supplies an electric current.

Solar power is energy that is obtained from the heat of the sun. For instance, solar panels, which are usually installed on rooftops, trap sunlight with solar cells (photovoltaics) made of silicon. When sunlight hits the cells, electrons are released. The electrons then flow through wires and get converted to an alternating current (AC) to the standards of your local power company.

Biomass/Bioenergy renewables are usually found in what most people call trash. There are many resuable materials in trash that can be burned to generate power. This can reduce the usage of landfills, which are otherwise used to contain our garbage. Other biomasses include plant decay, compost, and other biological refuse.

Geothermal energy is power generated from heat below the earth, especially near volcanoes.

Hydropower is produced by falling water turning the blades of a turbine.

Benefits of Sustainable Energy

• Sustainable energy is key to the sustainable economy, in which the human community flourishes without incurring a long-term loss of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels, living species, ecosystems, and a stable global climate.
• Renewable resources create, in essence, a limitless energy source.
  Life and quality of life are supported for present and future generations.
• Sustainability is finding a balance betweeen freedom and regulation, market and state, consumption and production, nature and humans.
• Energy efficiency and conservation means less oil imports.
• Using renewable energies encourages the protection and conservation of the natural environment, which the mining, drilling, or damming of traditional energy sources have tended to demolish.
• It saves money and improves our trade balance.
• It is inexpensive, democratic, and very efficient.

Further Reading

Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology's Renewable Energy Policy Project (CREST/REPP)
Road Maps to Energy Efficiency