Work done by: - Bárbara Silva nº1; - Constantino Raptis nº3; - Gonçalo Ribeiro nº7; - Maria Manso nº12; - Pedro Vilela nº15.

What´s renewable energy? o Renewable energy is energy that comes from natural resources like the sun, the wind, the rain, the tides and heat, which are renewable, this is that never end.

oToThe renewable energies most used in Portugal are: Hydroelectricity; Solar energy; Biomass; Wind energy We also have small tests in wave energy and a geothermic energy station in the Azores.

Hydropower o Hydropower is the energy that comes from the dams.

More about Hidropower The largest hydroelectric power station is at the Alto Lindoso dam, with a capacity of 630 MW. Portugal has about 100 small hydro systems, with a capacity of 256 MW, which produce 815 GWh/year.

Advantages The production of such energy is limited because of the natural conditions. However, despite its limitations, there are some advantages over other types of energy sources such as oil, coal and atomic energy.

The most important advantages are: - it generates electric power - it provides other uses such as irrigation, navigation and flood damping. - growth of tourism in the region.

Disadvantages The most important advantages are: - Flooding in large areas of food production and forests; - Drastic changes in the landscape; - Death of many living species; - Changes in fish reproduction and migration; - Changes in the Rivers’ courses;

What’s solar energy? Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP).

Disadvantages It’s expensive; Ways to store solar energy are inefficient when compared for example with fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), the hydropower (water) and biomass ; It can cause negative impacts on the landscape..

Advantages The biggest advantage of solar energy is that people can have energy without having pollution. Solar panels are more powerful nowadays and their cost is decaying. Solar energy is excellent in distant places or in those difficult to reach because its small-scale installation does not require enormous investments in transmission lines.

Solar installations in recent years have also largely begun to expand into residential areas, with governments offering incentive programs to make "green" energy a more economically viable option.

What’s Biomass ? The term biomass covers recent derivatives of living organisms. Biomass is the total amount of living material existing in an ecosystem or a plant or animal population.

Advantages It’s not expensive; It does not emit sulphur dioxide; Minor corrosion of equipment (boilers, furnaces); Less environmental risk; Renewable resource; Emissions do not contribute to the greenhouse effect

Disadvantages Lower heating value; Greater possibility of generating particulate matter into the atmosphere; Difficulties in stock and storage.

Wind energy o The wind energy is the energy that comes from the wind. o The word “wind” comes from the name Aeolus, the god of wind.

How is the wind energy extracted and what happens to it? o The wind energy is extracted by wind turbines and is transformed into electricity which is used to: Heat and light the houses; Water pumping; Battery charging;

Advantages It’s a renewable source of energy; It doesn’t pollute; Its facilities are mobile, when it’s removed, can redo all the area used; Doesn’t take a lot of time building (less than 6 months); It’s a free and economic resource;

Disadvantages Great impact on the landscape; Some birds collide with the blades; The wind hits on the blades and create a constant noise; No buildings are allowed in an area of 200 m2.

The wind energy in Portugal o The use of wind energy in Portugal to produce electricity began in 1986 with the building of the first wind farm in Portugal in Porto Santo, Madeira.

In 2001 wind power was distributed over 16 wind farms with a total of 173 wind turbines. In 2004 there were already 441 wind turbines spread over 71 farms.

On 9 th February 2011 the students of 7th A and 6thG classes visited one of the wind farms nearby Vila Real - the Pena Suar Wind Farm in Marão mountain.

The weather was terrible on the day of the trip – rainy, windy, foggy and freezing, as you can see in the pictures

On a normal day, these are the pictures you can get at the top of Pena Suar Wind Farm