1. Renewable Energy Resources

2. Essential Questions:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy sources?
How can my research findings be presented in a debate format?

3. Renewable Energy Resources
Define Renewable
What does it mean if something is renewable?
Renewable - a source of energy that is not depleted by use.
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4. Renewable Energy Resources
Energy sources which
naturally renew or replenish
themselves over a period
of time
Not depleted by use
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5. Renewable Energy Resources
What do we mean by advantage and disadvantage?
Advantage means for a good effect,
favorable gain, or desired end.
Disadvantage means for a bad effect,
unfavorable, or undesired end.
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6. Renewable Energy Resources
Biomass
Energy from any material that comes from plants or microorganisms that were recently living
Trees, branches, scraps of bark, and recycled paper are examples of biomass energy
The energy comes from burning it.
It becomes biofuel when mixed with gasoline, such as ethanol.
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7. Renewable Energy Resources
Advantages
Can be stored and used when needed
Releases less harmful pollutants than gasoline
Uses materials that might normally be discarded
Disadvantages
Growing crops for biofuels requires large amounts of land and pesticides.
Land could be used for growing food.
Pesticides can pollute.
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8. Renewable Energy Resources
Wind
Wind energy is captured with wind turbines.
The blades turn a generator(located inside the tower), which creates electricity.
Groups of wind turbines are known as wind farms.
Found near farmland, in narrow mountain passes, and even in the ocean
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9. Renewable Energy Resources
Advantages
Can be very efficient and cheap in places with steady winds
It’s clean, no pollutants
Disadvantages
Wind is inconsistent.
Not a good source of energy in all locations.
Dangerous for bats and birds
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10. Renewable Energy Resources
Hydroelectric
Energy made by flowing water
Hydroelectric power plants are located on large dams, which control the flow of a river.
A controlled amount of water flows through the tunnels and turns huge turbines which generate electricity.
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11. Renewable Energy Resources
Advantages
Energy is inexpensive to harness.
Because rivers are everywhere, it’s an available resource.
Reliable because engineers control the flow of water
Disadvantages
Damming a river causes a great environmental impact for people, plants, and wildlife.
Dependent on rainfall to fill reservoir
Expensive to build a dam
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12. Renewable Energy Resources
Geothermal
Heat energy from deep within the Earth
Water is warmed by magma and pumped to the surface.
Geothermal heat pumps create heat for houses and other buildings.
Steam can also be brought to the surface and used to turn a turbine to generate electricity.
90% of people in Iceland use this heat source.
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13. Renewable Energy Resources
Advantages
Clean
Does not require another fuel source to produce it
Does not emit any harmful pollutants into the air
Disadvantages
Not a wide spread source of energy
High installment costs to build power plants
Not easily transported
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14. Renewable Energy Resources
Solar
Energy from the sun
Active solar energy uses technology to capture the sun’s rays (solar cells).
Passive solar energy gets energy from the way sunlight naturally changes throughout the day. (house might face a certain way to capture more of the sun’s rays)
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15. Renewable Energy Resources
Advantages
Relatively simple technology
Little maintenance
Reliable and quiet
Free energy after purchasing solar panels
Disadvantages
Energy cannot be created at night.
Cloud cover reduces power.
Works best if at the optimal angle towards the sun
Only converts 20% of the sun’s energy to electricity
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16. Renewable Energy Resources
Generating electricity from renewable resources
Solar and biomass are used to induce heat.
The energy is used to heat water.
The water turns to steam.
The steam turns a turbine (geothermal). Or water turns it (hydroelectric) and wind turns it (wind).
The turbine shaft is connected to the shaft of a generator.
Magnets spin within wire coils to produce electricity.
Hydroelectric
Geothermal
Wind
Biomass
Solar
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17. Renewable Energy Resources
Can you… List the advantages and disavantages of different types of renewable energy sources?
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