Chapter 3 - The Individual Energy Sources

Abstract

This chapter discusses several individual renewable energy sources. Solar radiation is the chief renewable energy resource and the magnitude of solar radiation as an energy source will depend on the geographical location, including local conditions such as cloudiness and turbidity. Wind is another major source of renewable energy. Wind energy can be utilized by installing a device that converts part of the kinetic energy in the atmosphere to, say, mechanical energy. Average wind speeds give only a very rough idea of the power in the wind or the kinetic energy in the wind, owing to the fluctuating part of the velocity. Plants and derived forms of biomass serve man in essential ways other than as potential energy sources—namely, as food, as raw material for construction and (in the case of green plants) as producers of atmospheric oxygen. Electromagnetic forces play an important role in the upper atmosphere. Manifestations of electromagnetic energy in the lower parts of the atmosphere are well known in the form of lightning.