Introduction
Considering the many challenges facing our world, appropriate solutions have been developed to reduce the harmful impact. The most prominent challenges are climate change and the lack of human resources. Therefore, engineers and scientists search for sustainable solutions. One of the most important solutions is to search for more sustainable alternative energy sources. Based on the idea of seeking alternative sources, the concept of renewable energy emerged to implement these solutions. In this article, we will learn about renewable energy and its sources in addition to the role of engineering.
What is Renewable Energy?
The renewable energy is the kind of energy we obtain from natural sources, including the sun, wind, and water. Moreover, this energy contribute to the minimizing the pollution of the surrounding environment.
The Importance of Renewable Energy
The importance of renewable energy lies in its ability to preserve the environment. This energy plays a fundamental role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing pollution. Furthermore, this contribution leads to protecting the environment and climate. Second, energy security, fossil energy imports are among the most imports that countries rely on. This makes them vulnerable to price fluctuations and political unrest. On the other hand, renewable energy is locally available, which contributes to achieving energy security. Finally, sustainability. Considering the increasing need of current and future generations for energy, renewable energy can be considered a solution towards achieving more sustainability.
Renewable Energy Sources
The most important sources of renewable energy are solar and wind energy. First, solar energy drives change considering that the sun is the biggest source of energy on Earth. Moreover, a reliable tools to generate heat and electricity are solar panels.
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When it comes to wind, we can generate electricity with the aid of wind turbines. Next, water energy. Hydroelectricity is an important and promising source of energy generation. It exploits the energy of running water to generate electricity. Additionally, we have bioenergy, which we obtain from renewable organic materials such as plants and then convert it into fuel or biogas. Finally, the Earth’s internal heat can be exploited to generate electricity.
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The Role of Engineering
Engineering is the game changer when it comes to the field of renewable energy. Engineers are responsible for designing and developing appropriate technologies to improve the efficiency of exploiting energy sources. What is more important is reducing costs. Second, engineers build facilities such as solar or wind power plants. Also, they contribute to the management and maintenance of electrical power grids that deliver energy from renewable sources to consumers. Finally, engineers develop analysis and modeling tools to evaluate and improve the systems.
Project Success Stories
There are many projects around the world that prove the efficiency and effectiveness of exploiting this energy. For example, Denmark is a leading country in the field of wind energy. Today, it is considered one of the biggest producers of energy using wind energy. Another example, engineers have implemented huge projects to generate solar and wind energy in Morocco. This investment has contributed to providing clean energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Future Challenges
There are some challenges that engineers should address despite the many advantages. First, the cost. For example, the cost of designing and installing some technologies is very high. Second, storage. The challenge of storing the generated energy is one of the most important problems that must be solved. Productivity varies according to the surrounding weather conditions, especially when it comes to solar and wind energy. Finally, infrastructure. To ensure efficient energy distribution, a new and appropriate infrastructure must be developed.
Conclusion
Considering the increasing environmental challenges, renewable energy is the best solution to overcome those challenges. As technology evolves, this energy holds bright future to achieve sustainability for the next generation.
INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING ORGANIZATION (IEO)