What is Renewable Energy?
The world we live in is a beautiful place. But nowadays it is getting sicker, and the signs are not good. With the rise in the ocean water level because of the melting of the ice in the north pole to the depletion of the ozone layer day by day. There are a few things we as a human on the earth can help restore the planet and only we can do it. So, what are the things we can do to help the earth?
What is Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy is a more efficient and environmentally friendly energy that can be procured from renewable sources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat. This renewable energy can also be called clean energy and is the main part of the clean energy revolution. We need to use renewable energy as non-renewable energy will run out sooner or later. Another reason we need to use renewable energy is to save the energy consumption in our everyday and to decrease the damage done to the environment. In 2019, consumption per capita was 2.8 toe. This is higher than neighboring countries. Electricity consumption per capita has increased from 3 900 kWh per capita in 2010 to 4 750 kWh in 2019 (www.enerdata.net).
Why We Need to Use Renewable Energy?
Using non-renewable energy has many disadvantages and one of them is a dangerous health hazard for any living organisms. As Sulphur Dioxide is exhume from the burning of coal and gas, it can cause breathing problems for humans and animals and they can also cause acid rain and endanger the plants and corrodes buildings and cars. The use of non-renewable energy can give harmful effects to the environment such as the greenhouse gas emission, air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and the depletion of the ozone layer. Ozone depletion over the Arctic in 2020 was so severe that most of the ozone at an altitude of around 11 miles had been depleted. Researchers said the last time a similarly strong chemical ozone depletion was observed over the Arctic was in spring 2011 (www.usatoday.com).
The graphs below show the variations of ozone from year to year. The red bars indicate the largest area and the lowest minimum value. The year-to-year fluctuations are superimposed on a trend extending over the last three decades.
https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Another reason that we need to start using renewable energy is so that we can reduce global warming to help lower the rise of the sea level from ice melting to prevent disasters such as Tsunami from happening. One of the causes of global warming is from the non-renewable consumption like fuel used in cars when burned will release carbon dioxide and cause heat to be trapped in the atmosphere. Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming: the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of seawater as it warms. ( climate.nasa.gov).
Rise of Sea Level from 1995-2020
Where Can Renewable Energy Be Used?
The use of renewable is varying from commercial uses to industrial uses. Renewable energy can be used directly either directly or indirectly. For example, direct renewable energy refers to the sunlight lighting our homes or buildings without using electricity. While indirectly, sunlight is absorbed by solar panels to generate electricity. There are several kinds of renewable energy which is solar energy from sunlight, winds, hydroelectric power from water, bioenergy from biomass, geothermal energy, and tidal energy from the tides.
The technologies that were used to capture these renewable energies are from using a solar panel to capture the sunlight, water turbines or dynamos for hydroelectric power and wind turbines to generate energy from winds. The renewable energy produced by biomass (when the waste is combusted) and geothermal energy is, the steam from the combustion and underground steam is used to move the turbines to be generated to electricity.
Which Sector Utilizes Renewable Energy?
The use of renewable energy can be for industrial uses or for commercial uses. Renewable energy can be uses in housing, industry and even for city infrastructure. In housing, renewable energy can be used to generate the electric and electronic appliances in the house. For the city infrastructure, renewable energy such as sunlight from the sun can be used to light up the streetlight and even be used to move the public transportation used by the people using a solar panel for photovoltaics.
Other use of renewable energy is that it can even benefit the agriculture sector. Renewable energy such as winds are used to power up the wind turbines to help pumps water and generate electricity to help with gardening or farming. Whereas the biomass from the farming and gardening can provide renewable organic material for renewable energy.
Renewable energy can also be used for transportation sector. One of the examples in transportation sector is Tesla. Tesla cars use electric battery that can be charged instead of using fossil fuel as the combustion material to move the car. By using an electric powered car, the carbon dioxide exhumes from fossil fueled car can be reduced thus helping in reducing the global warming caused by the thinning of the ozone layer from the carbon released from the cars.
How to Get Renewable Energy?
Solar Photovoltaic Panel
Solar panel are put on top of houses or buildings to capture the sunlight for renewable energies and generate electricity for the household. (photovoltaics).
Wind Turbine
Wind turbines are often found on a large field with a strong wind to be generated into renewable energy for electrical use or pump water for agriculture purpose.
Water Turbine
Water turbines or Water dynamos are found under the dam near the river to use the river water that flow through the dam to rotate the turbine and acquire renewable energy.
Steam from Biomass Combustion
Biomass is renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals. Most electricity generated from biomass is produced by direct combustion. The steam produced from the combustion is flowed through a turbine to produce the energy.
Steam from Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is obtained from the steam that came up from heated rocks that are located inside the earth when cooled water were pumped down to create the steam. The steam is flowed through a turbine to produce the energy.
Companies That Operate with Renewable Energy
With the rise of awareness and importance of using renewable energy to save the earth, there are many companies in the world today that have started or have been using renewable energy for some time now. To facilitate the growth in using the Renewable Energy, SEDA Malaysia had issued an act called Renewable Act 2011. According to the act, Sustainable Energy Development Authority Act 2011 is to provide for the establishment of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia and to provide for its functions and powers and for related matters. Below are some of the Malaysia and international companies that are using renewable energy for their industrial and commercial use.
In Malaysia:
- Plus Solar (Provider)
– Plus Solar is a company that is a total clean energy provider. They provide clean energy solutions integrated with state-of-the-art technology systems and cost-effective financing options to fulfil societies every need of clean energy.
- SGS Malaysia (Utilize)
– SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. Their value to society is enabling a better, safer and more interconnected world.
- SOLS Energy (Provider)
– SOLS Energy are a company of technology- enthusiasts, sustainability-activists and energy-visionaries who are on their way to provide clean energy to every house. They empower people and lighten up homes and small businesses through sustainable energy solutions, technology, and education.
- PATHGREEN (Provider)
– PATHGREEN is the largest rooftop solar company in Malaysia. They are the leading solar rooftop company in Malaysia, paving the way to achieving environmentally sustainable wealth for they clients.
- SOLARVEST (Provider)
– SOLARVEST is a company with the vision to create a world where clean energy is easily accessible to many. They have been advocating for solar energy adoption and have grown to be a leading solar turnkey engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (“EPCC”) service provider.
International companies:
- Google (Utilize)
– Google has a long track record on clean energy: in 2007, Google became the first major company to become carbon neutral. And in 2017, Google became the first company of their size to match 100% of its electricity consumption with renewable energy.
- Tesla (Provider & Utilize)
– Tesla was founded in 2003, and in 2008 they had unveiled a cutting-edge battery technology and electric powertrain that are used in the Tesla cars that we have known today. In order to create a sustainable energy ecosystem, Tesla manufactures a few energy solutions such as Powerwall, Powerpack and Solar Roof.
- Bank of America (Utilize)
– Bank of America is committed to improving the environment in how they approach their global business strategy, work with partners, make their operations more sustainable, support their employees, manage risks, and govern their activities. They are also making their operations more sustainable by achieving carbon neutrality and procuring 100% renewable energy in 2019.
- Starbucks (Utilize)
– Starbucks begin by purchasing 5 percent of renewable energy in 2005. By the end of 2018 they have their first eight of solar farms and more than 250 Starbucks stores in the Lone Star state will be solar powered once all the eight solar farms are online.
- Walmart (Utilize)
– Their goal is to be supplied by 100% renewable energy by 2035. Their approach is to directly drive new renewable energy projects through on-site generation like solar, wind and fuel cells. Currently the renewable power energy is estimated to be 29 percent.
Top 5 Countries That Utilized Renewable Energy
The graph shown the top 10 leading countries that have installed renewable energy capacity in 2019.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/267233/renewable-energy-capacity-worldwide-by-country/
- China
– China is currently the leading country in renewable energy as they are the largest producer of wind and solar energy. China is currently the largest market in the world for renewable energy. With roughly 23% of global renewable energy investment.
- United State America
– The fastest growing renewable energy sources, increasing 100% from 2000 to 2018.The renewable energy made up more than 17 percent of their electricity generation in 2018. 7% from hydropower and 6.6% from wind power.
- Brazil
– Brazil has well developed hydro and represent more than 39 percent of overall internal energy supply. 65% of the country electricity relies on hydroelectricity. The Brazilian government were planning to expand the share of biomass and wind energy which is currently at 6 percent.
- India
– Their renewable energy supply is the fourth largest in the world. Their share of renewable energy has increased from 23 percent to 26 percent in April-August 2020. Other than from hydropower, currently their total installed capacity of renewable energy stands at 90 gigawatts.
- Germany
– Germany have their technical efficiency improvements on the energy and substitute from nuclear energy and fossil fuels to generate electricity with renewable energy. Their share of renewable electricity rose from 10% in 2015 and reaching to 42.1% of consumption in 2019.
References
https://www.enerdata.net/estore/energy-market/malaysia/
https://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/
http://www.seda.gov.my/policies/sustainable-energy-development-authority-act-2011/
https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/solar-and-wind-power-fuel-starbucks-store/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/267233/renewable-energy-capacity-worldwide-by-country/