RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES Energy sources which are

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• RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
• Energy sources which are continuously being
  replenished by nature
• Grade 4

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ATOM
ELECTRONS
PROTON
N
NEUTRON
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ELECTRICITY

• An electric current is created when electrons
  flow through a wire. Electric current can power
  things like our computers and TV sets.

ELECTRICITY
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ELECTRICITY HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN.
fueled by coal, oil or natural gas,
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Brainstorm sources of electricity.
Which are renewable and which are non-renewable?
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NATURAL AND RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY
Your Home
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Solar Energy is light and heat energy that comes
from the sun.
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PHOTO VOLT PHOTOVOLTAIC LIGHT UNIT
ELECTRICITY OF
PRODUCED ELECTRICITY FROM LIGHT

Photovoltaics The direct conversion of sunlight
to electricity
http//www.aps.com/
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PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANTS
Glendale Airport
Prescott Airport
Scottsdale Covered Parking
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SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANTS
10,000,000 Watts Solar II Experimental Power
Plant, California
25,000 Watts Dish/Stirling Engine System, Arizona
1,000,000 Watts Parabolic Trough Power Plant,
Arizona
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HOW DOES GEOTHERMAL HEAT GET UP TO EARTH'S
SURFACE?
Heat comes from hot liquid magma.
Magma is Hot liquid rock
Magma or very hot rock
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Geysers at Yellowstone National Park
Old Faithful
An example of how the heat rises from the earth
Steamboat Geyser
http//en.wikipedia.org
www.nps.gov
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GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN ARIZONA
IDENTIFY THE LOCATIONS WHERE GEOTHERMAL COULD BE.
Picture from www.EnergyAtlas.org
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HOW DO YOU CONVERT WIND INTO ELECTRICITY?
The wind hits the rotor, the rotor spins the
generators making electrical energy from
mechanical energy
Gearbox
Generator
Rotor Diameter
G
The transformer changes the voltage to match the
voltage on the power lines before it is sent to
your house
Nacelle
Transformer
T
Tower
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WIND FARMS
WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN THESE TYPES OF WINDMILLS?
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• BIOMASS ENERGY FROM ARIZONA FORESTS

2. Underburns known as ground fires help clear
the forest floors so that grass grows and large
trees survive.
1. Left alone, forests become thick with trees
and forest litter.
3. Underburns also prevent more damaging fires
that spread across the top of the trees.
THE BEGINNING
5. Sometimes fire makes seeds grow, but sometimes
the forest has to be replanted to speed the
return of trees.
4. The top of tree fires spread quickly and are
much more difficult to fight. They leave burnt
land that can take years to replenish.
What other damage can happen from forest fires?
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Wild fires and bark beetles create biomass that
can be used to generate electricity.
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THE BEGINNINGS OF BIOMASS
Biomass was the first fuel mankind used for
energy.
CLEANER THAN COAL
MORE NATURE FRIENDLY THAN NATURAL GAS
AVAILABLE BEFORE OIL
Burning wood was used for warmth and cooking, as
well as keeping wild animals away
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THE BALANCE OF BIOMASS
GREENHOUSE GAS
Biomass generates far less emissions than fossil
fuels
Use Biomass, get less Greenhouse Gas
MORE
FOSSIL FUEL
BIOMASS
LESS
CO2
CO2
CO2
CO2
CO2
CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) is released by burning
biomass and is used by other plants to make food.
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BALANCE OF BIOMASS
Plants take in CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and make
oxygen. When biomass is burned, it uses oxygen
to make CO2 This is the balance of biomass
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BIOMASS ENERGY COMES FROM
plant, human or animal derived organic matter
that is eaten, burnt, or converted into fuel.
Wood from trees, agriculture, wood factory waste,
and the construction industry
Burnt wood from forest fires
Animals and animal droppings
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BIOGAS
Organic Waste Material
Decomposition
Biogas


Vegetation Manure Sewage Landfill Garbage
Methane rich flammable gas
Breaking down, or changing, from a solid into
a liquid or a gas
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NATURE CREATES BIOGAS
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Greenhouse Gases
Nature creates biogas from rotting plants around
ponds and wetlands
METHANE
Rotting Vegetation
As this methane gas is released into the
atmosphere it creates an invisible ceiling which
traps the heat from the sun.
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MAN-MADE BIOGAS (LANDFILLS)
Escaping methane can destroy nearby vegetation.
To prevent methane from escaping into the
atmosphere, it is collected and burned in a flare
stack
What else will we lose as a result of losing
plants and trees?
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MAN-MADE BIOGAS (SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT)
Sewage treatment plants clean sewage water
producing large amounts of methane
Close-up of Flares
that can be flared or turned into electricity
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HYDROELECTRIC POWER
Hydro means water in Latin. It is the most often
used source of renewable energy to make
electricity.
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WATER
Water is constantly moving through a cycle
Water vapor rises into the atmosphere through
evaporation from lakes and oceans and
transpiration from plants and trees. It condenses
to form clouds. Then rain or snow falls back to
the earth to the oceans and lakes.
Transpiration
Evaporation
Transpiration is the evaporation of water into
the atmosphere from the leaves and stems of
plants
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HOW HYDROPOWER WORKS
The energy of water moving downstream from the
rain and snow to a reservoir or lake goes to a
large dam which has engines and turbines that
make electricity.
Another source of hydroelectricity is tidal
electricity which uses the tides from the ocean
to make electricity.
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Pros and Cons of Renewable Energy
Solar Wind Geothermal
PRO CON

• Continuous
• Abundant
• Portable
• Modular

• Need storage,
• Peaks at solar noon,
• Most expensive of renewable energy sources

• Cheapest of the renewable energies today

• Not always near transmission lines
• intermittent power

• Can provide heat and cooling
• Continuous

• Not always near transmission lines
• Not portable

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Pros and Cons of Renewable Energy
PRO CON

• Can be transported to a generator for a
  continuous source of energy

• Distance to the fuel
• Not always accessible

Biomass Biogas Hydropower

• Always accessible, can provide energy 24 hours
  per day

• Sources are limited in size

• Dam construction is expensive
• Damming rivers causes changes in ecological
  cycles and surrounding landscapes
• There are a limited number of feasible sites for
  large dams

• Inexpensive
• No Pollution
• Lakes and reservoirs can be used for recreation

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