Ten Green Power Products That Can Improve Your Life

What Is Green Power?

My Mobility Scooters  is electricity generated from renewable resources like geothermal, solar, wind and some forms of biomass, and low-impact hydroelectricity. Customers in deregulated markets are able to add a small fee to their utility bills to help support green energy sources.

Many renewable energy sources are less environmentally harmful than drilling for oil or mining coal. They can also aid in reducing greenhouse emissions of greenhouse gases.

Solar Energy

Solar energy is among the most popular green power sources. Solar energy is a renewable source because it is never depleted. It is a clean and efficient energy source which helps reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from fossil fuels, such as oil, coal, and natural gas. It is also a viable alternative to nuclear power, which requires the mining and extraction of uranium as well as long-term radioactive waste storage.

The sun's energy can be used to generate electricity in a variety of ways, including photovoltaic (PV) panels as well as concentrated solar-thermal power (CSP) and solar thermal collectors. Solar power can be directly channeled into businesses and homes, or it can be sent to grids that distribute power to other customers. Some customers even can sell their surplus energy back to the utility company, which helps keep electricity costs low and even offset rising utility costs.

Solar energy doesn't produce emissions or air pollutants unlike fossil fuels, which produce harmful carbon dioxide and harmful gases during combustion. Solar energy can also be used to power other types of devices, like satellites, boats and spacecrafts that cannot connect to the electrical grid is impractical or impossible.

Solar power can be utilized in smaller buildings. Many homeowners use PV cells on their roofs in order to generate electricity. Passive solar design of homes lets these homes receive the sun's warmth during the day and retain it in the evening. Solar-powered houses also have the benefit of requiring very little maintenance.

Another type of solar power is hydropower, which utilizes the natural flow of the water in streams, rivers and dams to produce electricity. Like biomass and wind hydropower, it is renewable because it can be replenished. If you're looking to add hydropower to your business or home, check out the EPA's list of third party certified options.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal plants use the heat of the Earth to generate electricity. The process makes use of steam and hot water that naturally occurs just a few kilometers below the Earth's surface. It is an environmentally sustainable and renewable energy source that can generate electricity 24 hours a days, 365 of the year. Geothermal power could reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. It is also among the most environmentally friendly sources of energy generation.

The most popular type of geothermal power plant is a flash steam power station. It uses water at temperatures of around 182deg C (360deg F) to power turbines and generate electricity. Steam can be used to heat industrial processes or buildings. Iceland for instance, utilizes geothermal energy to melt snow and heat its sidewalks, streets, and parking lots during the frigid Arctic winter.

Another geothermal energy source is hot dry rock (HDR) power plant, which taps underground reservoirs of hot dry rock that have been heated by man-made or natural activities. HDR plants are less difficult to construct and operate since they require less infrastructure. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that there is enough HDR resources in the United States to meet all of our current energy needs.

The steam generated by geothermal power plants can be used to create electricity through a steam-turbine generator, or it can be combined with a gas-fired turbine to improve efficiency. The resultant mixture can be converted into natural gas, which can be burned in a conventional boiler to produce electricity.

In addition to being clean and reliable, geothermal energy also has the lowest carbon footprint of all renewable energy sources. Binary-cycle plants that use an engine to turn steam into electricity create little or no nitrous dioxide methane, sulphur, or methane oxide.

Geothermal energy is not without its difficulties, despite its advantages. The drilling needed to build geothermal power plants can trigger earthquakes and could pollute groundwater. Furthermore, the dumping of high-pressure streams into geothermal reservoirs could lead to subsidence, a slow sinking of the terrain that can cause damage to pipelines roads, buildings, and pipelines.

Biogas

Biogas is an energy source that is renewable and gaseous that produces green power. It can be made from agricultural waste, manure plant material, sewage, municipal waste, food waste, and other organic waste materials. Biogas can be used to produce electricity, heat, and also power and heat or converted into transport fuels through the Fischer-Tropsch process. Biogas is also a great resource for producing renewable hydrogen to be used in fuel cells, which are expected to play a significant role in the future of global energy systems.

The most commonly used method to valorize biogas is by creating electricity in the combined heat-and-power (CHP) plant. The heat generated by the CHP process is used to aid in the fermentation of the organic waste and the electricity generated is fed into the grid. Alternatively, it can be converted into natural gas, and then incorporated into existing natural gas distribution networks. Biogas can be used to replace imported gas in commercial and residential constructions, ground transportation and other areas.

In addition to generating renewable energy, biogas can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants from traditional cooking. The CCAC works to provide tools to measure reporting and verifying (MRV) clean cooking in households of low- to middle-income countries. This will aid the 67 countries who have included clean cooking targets in their Nationally Determined Contributions.

Utilizing biogas to substitute fossil fuels for electricity generation as well as a substitute for conventional natural gas in cooling and heating will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other air pollutions. Biogas is also a sustainable substitute for oil, coal and other fossil fuels in the production of liquid fuels for transport.

By collecting and recovering methane by capturing and recovering methane, we can stop the release of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere as well as the runoff of nitrogen that would otherwise pollute our water sources. Plessis-Gassot is a non-hazardous waste disposal in Claye-Souilly (France), for instance, captures and converts biogas into a renewable source of energy for homes that are connected to the system. In addition, small-scale biogas plants can be set up in cities to permit the collection and utilization of local organic waste and avoiding the greenhouse gases that are associated with the transport and treatment of these materials.

Hydroelectric Power

Hydropower uses the energy generated by the kinetic energy of water to generate electricity. It is the biggest and cheapest renewable energy source in the world. It doesn't emit any greenhouse gases directly, but does require significant environmental impacts. It is a flexible type of green energy that can be adjusted to meet changing demand and supply. Its lifespan spans more than a century and it can be upgraded to improve efficiency and performance.

The majority of hydropower plants harness energy of the falling water by using dams. The water's kinetic energy is converted to electricity by a series of turbines, which spin at a speed proportional to the speed of the water. The electricity is then transferred to the electric grid for use.

Hydroelectric power plants require a large investment in reservoirs and pipes. However the operating costs are minimal. These flexible plants can also be utilized as backups to other intermittent renewable energy technologies like wind and solar.

There are two kinds of hydroelectric plants that are run-of-river and storage. Storage plants are distinguished by huge impoundments that hold more than a season's supply of water, whereas run-of-river facilities have a small impoundment and use water from free-flowing rivers or streams. Hydropower facilities are typically located near concentrations of population, and in areas where there is a high demand for electricity.

The environmental impact of hydropower depends on the size and location of a dam and the amount of water that is displaced as well as the wildlife and habitat affected by inundation and decomposition. The effects of hydropower can be mitigated and reduced through the use of Low Impact Hydroelectricity Standards (LIHI) for the construction and operation of hydropower projects. The standards include measures to control water quality, river flows, protection and fish passage, as well as protection of aquatic ecosystems endangered and threatened animals, recreation and cultural resources.

Some hydropower plants are also the world's largest "batteries" because they can generate renewable energy by pumping water from a lower reservoir uphill to a bigger reservoir. If electricity is required, the water from the lower reservoir could be used to power generators. The water from the reservoir above can then be pumped downhill via a turbine in order to create more electricity.