| Renewable Energy Development |
Article Index for Renewable |
Shopping Renewable |
Website Links For Renewable Energy |
Information AboutRenewable Energy Development |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT | |
| climate change | |
| energy development | |
| renewable energy | |
| development | |
| environment | |
| sustainable technologies | |
|
Renewable energy development is concerned with the use of Renewable Energy sources by humans. Modern interest in renewable energy development is linked to concerns about exhaustion of Fossil Fuels and Environmental , Social and Political risks of extensive use of fossil fuels and Nuclear Energy . Please see the articles on specific Renewable Energy sources for more on their individual development. HISTORY What is now thought of as renewable energy has been exploited in some forms for centuries. The burning of biomass for heat and light has been practiced throughout recorded history. Windmills and watermills have exploited natural resources for centuries as an early power source for small-scale industrial processes. The modern technologies which now comprise renewables have different and varied histories. The beginning of the development of wind technology can be dated back to the late 19th Century and experiements in Denmark and elsewhere. Interest in the technology peaked in Denmark during both World Wars due to limited access to fossil fuels. Testing continued in Denmark following WWII but expansion of wind technology and other technologies across the globe began to receive greater attention in the 1960s as environmental issues came increasingly to the fore. Elsewhere, there were experimentations with passive solar energy, including Daylighting , in the early part of the twentieth century, and various societies continued to practice as a matter of course what had happened for hundreds of years. From the 1950s onwards, photovoltaic (solar) cells saw investment as a result of their usefulness in space craft, with resulting improvements in the technology, knowledge of materials and reductions in price. The main motivation for expansion of renewable energy however came with the oil crises of 1973 and 1979-80. Concern by political leaders in a host of countries saw increases in support for research and development of new technologies, leading to an expansion in the range and application of renewable energy technologies. Wind, wave and solar energy all benefitted from investigation of both their applications and costs. The first US politician to focus significantly on solar energy was Jimmy Carter , in response to the long term consequences of the 1973 Energy Crisis . CONTROVERSY While the concept of renewable energy is not generally thought to be a bad idea, the practical methods of extracting that energy have sparked some controversy. Many people believe that the methods are slow, unsightly, expensive and often not ecologically sound. Please see the sections on controversy in the article on Renewable Energy . RENEWABLE ENERGY TODAY Around 80% of energy requirements in western industrial societies are focused around heating or cooling buildings and powering the vehicles that ensure mobility (cars, trains, airplanes). However, most uses of renewable power focus on electricity generation. Some, such as Geothermal Heat Pumps (also called ground-source heat pumps) focus specifically on heating and cooling. Heat Pump s move heat around from one place to another. Renewable energy utilisation by nation
|