There are many benefits to using renewable energy sources. No greenhouse gases are produced, and they can’t cause harmful spills that can destroy animal and plant life. It’s also efficient and economical, requiring little maintenance and no cost for materials after installation.

There are many benefits to using renewable energy sources. No greenhouse gases are produced, and they can’t cause harmful spills that can destroy animal and plant life. It’s also efficient and economical, requiring little maintenance and no cost for materials after installation.
Renewable energy comes from a selection of sources; these are the sun, wind and water. Researchers are always on the lookout for alternative ways of making green energy, but here are four types you should know about now.
- Solar energy
- The energy that comes from just one hour of sun is sufficient to provide energy for a year for the entire world. The challenge is to harness it efficiently.
- A battery is used to store solar energy for evenings and cloudy days.
- Solar panels on roofs work when the sun’s rays strike the cells in the panel and electrons are released from the cells, producing energy.
- Using solar energy will save the average homeowner a little over $100 per month on utility bills.
- When wind passes through the blades of a turbine that is connected to a generator, the energy produced by the spin is converted into electricity.
- One wind turbine can provide electricity for approximately 500 homes.
- Last year, 42% of the homes that were equipped with a source of renewable energy used wind.
- Unlike most other sources of energy, wind uses very little water; thus conserving it and will not deplete fossil fuels.
- There is approximately 10 times the amount of wind needed in the U.S. to provide power for the entire country.
- Wind energy is currently the fastest-growing source of renewable energy; on average, two wind farms are installed each week in the U.S.
- Hydropower, or hydroelectricity, generates 20% of the energy produced worldwide. Canada uses water for 60% of its total energy produced per year.
- Hydroelectricity is produced when water pours through turbines with spinning blades. The turbines are connected to generators, which turn the energy that is produced from the blades into electricity.
- To produce the highest quantities of water, large amounts of water must fall from a great height