In 1931 construction began on Hoover dam. It took several years to complete because it is massive. From the base to the top is almost 60 stories tall.
Hoover dam produces 4.5 billion kilowatt hours a year and serves the annual electrical needs of nearly 8 million people and burns zero fossil fuels.This is just one example of a renewable energy source.
A renewable resource is one that is replaced by natural processes faster than humans can consume the resource.
5 renewable resources that produce electricity for households.
- Solar
- Hydroelectric
- Energy from the Ocean
- Wind Energy
- Geothermal
Up first, the amount of solar energy that shines on the United States is 1000 times more energy used. However, currently around 3% of our energy needs in the United States are met with solar power. There are a couple of ways to produce energy from sunlight. One way is a photovoltaic cell which converts radiant energy directly into electrical energy.
Another method uses parabolic troughs which focus sunlight on a liquid, which turns water to steam, which drives a turbine.
Hydroelectric Electric is electric current produced from the energy of moving water
Basically a dam is built to create a body of water, which turns turbines, which creates electricity. Currently hydroelectric energy produces around 6% of United States energy.
Energy from the ocean The ocean has tides and waves. This up and down motion, along with side to side motion can be harnessed to produce electricity. Technology has been developed to capture the energy of tides along with the energy of waves.The United States does not have any commercially operating tidal energy power plants
Wind Energy Windmills can convert wind energy into electrical energy. As the wind blows it spins a propeller that is connected to an electric generator that produces electricity.
Wind is America's largest source of renewable energy, and produces 10% of the country's electricity and is growing.
Geothermal energy inside the Earth can be converted into electrical energy by taking the heated steam from the Earth and then this steam is used to drive turbines to produce electricity. Currently geothermal power plants produce less than 1% of the power in the United States.
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