ABSTRACT
Renewable energies will inevitably dominate the world’s energy supply system in the long run. The reason is both very simple and imperative: there is no alternative. Mankind cannot base its life on the consumption of fi nite energy resources indefi nitely. Today, the world’s energy supply is largely based on fossil fuels. These sources of energy will not last forever and have proven to be one of the main causes of our environmental problems. Environmental impacts of energy use are not new but they are increasingly well known. As links between energy use and global environmental problems such as climate change are widely acknowledged, reliance on renewable energy is not only possible, desirable and necessary, it is an imperative. The earth receives solar energy as radiation from the sun, in a quantity far exceeding mankind’s use. By heating the planet, the sun generates wind. Wind creates waves. The sun also powers the evapotranspiration cycle, which allows generation of power by water in hydro schemes – currently the largest source of renewable electricity in use today. Plants photosynthesize, which is essentially a chemical storage of solar energy, creating a wide range of so-called biomass products ranging from wood fuel to rapeseed, which can be used for the production of heat, electricity and liquid fuels. Interactions between the sun and the moon produce tidal fl ows that can be intercepted and used to produce electricity. Renewable energy sources are based on the natural and interconnected fl ows of energy of our planet earth.
