Do you know where you get your energy from and how it is made? Well, after you read my essay you will know. There are two types of energy sources, renewable and non renewable. Some renewable energy sources are solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy, and biomass. Some non renewable energy sources are natural gas, coal or fossil fuels, petroleum, algae, and nuclear electric power.

    The definition of renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat. These sources do not use up natural resources or harm the environment.

     Solar energy or energy from the sun can produce energy or heat buildings. Sunlight is captured and converted into energy by solar cells (photovoltaic cells). Solar cells are made up of silicon and can convert light into energy. A panel called solar panels captures solar energy. Did you know that solar panels are on top of space satellites, on wristwatches, and on pocket calculators?  Researchers at Swansea University in Wales are investigating the possibility of painting solar cells onto steel surfaces. Observations showed sunlight breaks down paint that led to the idea that maybe the paint could capture sunlight. Only 1% of nation’s renewable energy supply is solar powered.

     Wind power is one of the earliest forms of energy used by humankind.  Windmills were used on farms in the twelfth century to pump water and generate electricity. Today we use wind turbines.  Wind turbines produce electricity by using rotational energy to drive a generator. Large wind turbines that produce up to 1.8 megawatts of power can have a blade length of 130 feet and are placed on towers, which are 260 feet tall. The largest wind farm in the world is in Texas. This wind farm produces 730 megawatts of energy in comparison a coal burning power plant only produces 550 megawatts of power.  Some other large wind farms are in New Jersey, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. Wind power is 7% of the nation’s renewable energy supply.

    Another alternative power source is hydropower. Hydropower is created when water passes through dams. Every time water passes through the dams the turbines spin. Hydropower is similar to wind power because they both have turbines that produce energy from natural elements. But the difference is hydroelectric is under water and wind turbines are in the air.  Canada, the United States of America and Brazil lead the world in hydroelectric production.  Hydropower is 34% of the nation’s renewable energy supply.

           Biomass is energy created from the sum of living and dead plants, animals, and microorganisms. Biofuel is considered a renewable energy source. Some types of biofuels are made from the burning of wood, grass, and other kinds of biomass to create energy.   Also the burning of garbage can produce heat and energy to make methane (natural gas). In Western Europe over 200 power plants burn garbage to produce energy. Biofuel is any fuel that is made from biomass. Ethyl alcohol is a biofuel, which is made from fermenting starch or sugar. Fermentation is the chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeast, or other microorganisms. Brazil and the United States are the leading producers of Ethanol. In America they use corn and grain and in Brazil they use sugarcane. Another type of biofuel is Algae Biodiesel. Algae are a great natural element that can be made into fuel. Algae grow all over the world. It can grow fast and in limitless amounts. Did you know half of algae is lipid oil? That is why scientists can make it into a fuel. Also algae biodiesel is cleaner than petroleum. Biodiesel makers say they can make 100,000 gallons of algae oil per acre, depending on the type of algae they grow.  Biomass is 53% of the nation’s renewable energy supply.

    Tidal power is power that is created by water waves. Waves or waterfalls turn water into energy.  The waves have to be at least 20 feet high (6 meters). The idea of tidal power plants is the same as hydropower dams.  They are similar because they both use underwater turbines to create energy.  The world’s largest tidal power plant is in Brazil and Paraguay. It is called Itapúa, which is located on the Parana River.  It has the capacity of producing 13 million kilowatts.  About 2.4 billion kilowatts are made by waterpower in the world.

    Power obtained by using heat from the earth’s interior is called geothermal energy.  Most places where geothermal energy is found is in areas near active volcanoes, hot springs, geysers, pools of boiling mud, and fumaroles (vents of volcanic gases and heated ground water).  Geothermal energy was even used by ancient civilizations such as the Romans.  The Romans used hot springs to heat baths and homes.  Also geothermal is used today in Iceland, Turkey and Japan.  The first country to use geothermal energy as electricity was Italy in 1904.  Now power plants are in Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and America. In Boise Idaho houses are heated by geothermal energy.

Also California has the largest steam field in the world and has been producing energy since 1960. To make energy at geothermal plants they have to trap the hot water and steam into a reservoir. The hot water is driven into a turbine which then converts it into electricity by a generator. Geothermal has become a very popular form of energy because it is nonpolluting. Unfortunately geothermal energy is only 5% of the nation’s renewable energy supply.

    The definition of a nonrenewable resource is a natural resource which cannot be produced, re-grown, or reused. It is also bad for the environment.

    The first nonrenewable energy is nuclear power. Nuclear power is formed by the splitting of an atom or combining atoms. This process is called nuclear fission. In both of these reactions great amounts of energy is released. In nuclear power plants they split atoms and heat energy is released. This energy is used to heat households. The dangers of nuclear energy is the waste from nuclear fission, which produces Plutonium. Plutonium is radioactive. Exposure to radioactivity can cause people to get cancer.  The biggest power plant in the world is in Japan and is called Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear power plant. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is 4.2-kilometer site and was made in 1977. Nuclear energy is 10% of the nation’s renewable energy supply.

    Another nonrenewable energy is fossil fuels.  At the beginning of the 21st about 80% of the worlds energy was from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Fossil fuels are finite resources which means they can run out. Fossil fuel power plants create air pollution and lets out terrible chemicals into the environment such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and toxic chemicals (mercury, heavy metals, chromium and arsenic).  When people are exposed to these chemicals they could get heart disease, asthma, and other human health problems.  In addition emissions from fossil fuel combustion are responsible for acid rain. Acid rain has killed aquatic life, destroyed forests and has produced smog in many urban areas. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide CO2 one of the main greenhouse gases that produces global warming.    

    So now you know how energy is produced and where it comes from.  I hope you learned that more people should use renewable energy.