RENEWАВLE ENERGY

Renewable energy is energy derived from resources

that are not finite, but that are constantly renewed.
Developing and scaling the technology to make
renewable energy sufficient, cost-effective, reliable, and
available is one of the great engineering challenges of
our age.

c.3500 ВC Sailboats use wind to drive ships

400 ВC First written reference to the waterwheel

3rd century ВC Greeks and Romans use

concentrating mirrors to light torches with solar
power

1st century АD Heron of Alexandria describes a wind-

powered machine

644 Earliest known reference to a windmill, in Persia

1839 Edmond Becquerel discovers the photovoltaic

effect

1879 First hydroelectric power plant built at Niagara

Falls

1888 First wind turbine

1904 First geothermal electricity plant at Larderello,

Italy
 1954 First silicon photovoltaic cell

1966 First tidal power station on the Rance Estuary

in Brittany, France

2000 First commercial wave energy system installed

at Islay in Scotland

TYPES OF RENEWАВLE ENERGY

Most but not all sources of renewable energy can
ultimately be traced back to the Sun. The main categories
are:
Solar: using solar radiation to generate electricity
directly, as with solar panels, or to generate heat that
can be used directly or to generate electricity.
Wind: wind turbines at sea or on land use blades to
convert wind energy into kinetic energy to power
electricity generators.
Hydro: Solar radiation drives the water cycle, and
hydro power taps into the power flows in this cycle, for
instance by using falling water to turn turbines.
Ocean: Wave power derives from wind; tidal power
derives from the gravitational effect of the Sun and
Мoon; temperature gradients in the ocean derive from
solar warming and currents; currents derive from a
combination of other sources.
Geothermal: Deriving ultimately from decay of
radioactive elements, geothermal energy can be
tapped directly for heat, or to generate steam for
turbines.
Вiomass: Using natural processes to convert
solar radiation to chemical energy provides a
renewable source in the form of biomass that can
be burned or turned into biofuel.