Sustainable energy is defined as energy that can be continuously restored without causing negative environmental, or health effects. This energy creation is harmless to the ecosystem, humans, animals, and pollution free.
Sustainable energy sources are energy sources that can be continuously harvested for a very long time. This means that it is harvested and utilized no faster than it is produced in a natural processes.
The most common sources of energy that are derived from sustainable sources are solar, the wind, geothermal, tidal, and hydroelectric. Sustainable energy relies on consistent, long-term natural processes and each of these sources of power is derived from a process that can be expected to continue so long as the Earth does not radically change.
Solar energy is, in effect, the most basic energy source available to the world. It involves high-frequency electromagnetic waves. These waves produce a fusion process that power the sun which then travel through space, to strike the Earth. The amount of solar energy produced is incomprehensibly vast, but only a small fraction of the energy emitted makes it to the Earth, and an even smaller fraction of it can be efficiently harvested and converted to electric power. However, solar energy is the most sustainable power of all.
Solar energy, though seemingly new, has a long history in powering our world. Edmund Becquerel published his findings on solar energy in 1838 and advances had been made steadily ever since. Solar energy is becoming a popular option where standard electricity is not readily available. This can mean a home far from the traditional power grid, or an RV camping out in the wilderness.
Solar energy is collected in photovoltaic cells by capturing the sun’s rays during the day and storing them in batteries to use whenever they are needed.
The appeal of this system is that it can be scaled to whatever size is needed, from a small panel or two on the family RV to a series of large panels designed to power an entire home or business.
Solar power has limitations on where it can be implemented, however, this resource is an excellent example of ways we can use sustainable energy, to meet our growing need for electricity.
