RENEWABLE ENERGY WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE

Матухно К. И. , Бискер Л. М.

Development of renewable energy is one of the most pressing tasks facing the global energy sector. In the foreseeable future, hydrocarbon fuel will retain its dominant position in the world energy balance, however the share of renewable energy sources will increase year by year. Despite the changing economic situation, depressions and crises, the demand for renewable energy is growing by the year. This is explained by the efforts of the global community to reduce the harmful impact on the environment and the dependence on traditional non-renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy

Some types of renewable energy:

• Solar energy
• Wind energy
• Geothermal energy
• Hydropower

Solar energy: Solar energy is one of the most easily available renewable sources of energy. This can be harnessed from the sunlight received by the earth and used for electricity generation, running cars, cooking food and numerous other things in our daily life.

Wind energy: Generating electricity from wind is pretty straight forward – basically, electricity is produced when wind blows a massive turbine that spins to create the electricity. Wind power is renewable and produces no greenhouse gases during operation.

Geothermal energy: Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping the heat of the earth itself, both from kilometers deep into the Earth's crust in some places of the globe or from some meters in geothermal heat pump  in all the places of the planet. It is expensive to build a power station but operating costs are low resulting in low energy costs for suitable sites. Ultimately, this energy derives from heat in the Earth's core. Three types of power plants are used to generate power from geothermal energy:

• Dry steam plants take steam out of fractures in the ground and use it to directly drive a turbine that spins a generator.
• Flash plants take hot water, usually at temperatures over 200 °C, out of the ground, and allows it to boil as it rises to the surface then separates the steam phase in steam/water separators and then runs the steam through a turbine.
• In binary plants, the hot water flows through heat exchangers, boiling an organic fluid that spins the turbine.

Hydropower: Another widely used source of renewable energy, hydropower is harnessed by using the flow of water to move turbines to create electricity. Water has been used for quite some time to make electricity, but died out a bit when fossil fuels became more popular.

In step with the times

Development of environmentally clean renewable energy is a result of several factors. First, the rise in the consumption of energy in the world and the gradual depletion of traditional fossil fuels. A reduced adverse impact of the energy sector on the environment is another of the main reasons for the constantly rising share of renewable energy sources (RES) in the world. And, finally, the third reason is inexhaustible supply of renewable energy. Solar energy and wind power are available to virtually any state. The EU countries have set themselves ambitious goals for 2020 of cutting the specific consumption of energy by 20% and increasing the share of renewable energy sources to 20%. And, year by year, investments in this field are rising and thus entailing a confident increase in the use of environmentally clean renewable energy sources. 

Russia and green energy

Russia has gathered considerable experience and has extensive opportunities for developing alternative energy. The country currently has thermal power plants using biofuel, small hydro-power plants, wind power plants, geothermal power plans and other already in operation, but their share in the overall balance is insignificant. Renewable energy has great potential in Russia and may develop in two directions. The first is implementation of major construction projects for grid power plants using renewable energy sources. The second is implementation of small projects to ensure local energy supplies for enterprises. The growth in the production of green energy is possible through construction of new electric power plants using renewable energy sources. According to the results of research into the technical and economic potential, the experts have drawn up scenarios for development of the renewable energy sector in Russia, where the main reliance is made on construction of small hydroelectric, wind power, biomass and tidal power plants. The wind power and small-scale hydroelectric sectors are expected to develop fastest.

Literature:

1. Stanev, V. Renewable energy will shape the future / V. Stanev, P. Bezrukikh // Oil of Russia. – 2010. - №3. – C. 34-37

2. Stanev, V. The solar alternative / V. Stanev, P. Bezrukikh // Oil of Russia. – 2011. - №2. – C. 54-57

3. www.renewableenergyworld.com