Alternative Energy Sources

Alternative energy sources are being pursued for a variety of reasons. Many
countries have signed the Kyoto Protocol, making measures to reduce pollutants
and greenhouse gases a top priority in today's culture. Alternative, or renewable,
energy sources hold a lot of promise for reducing the quantity of pollutants
produced as a result of energy use. Alternative energy not only protects against
unwanted by-products, but it also helps to maintain many of the natural
resources that we now utilise as energy sources. It's crucial to know what sorts of
alternative energy are available in order to comprehend how they can assist
protect the planet's delicate ecological balance and conserve non-renewable
energy sources like fossil fuels.

Alternative energy sources are constantly replaced, non-polluting resources.

They are not caused by fossil fuel combustion or atom splitting. Utilisation of
renewable energy helps supplement our energy supply. Alternative energy
sources include biomass energy, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power, solar
power, wind power, fuel cells, ocean thermal energy conversion, tidal energy, and
wave energy.

Biomass is a type of renewable energy derived from organic matter. Wood, forest
and mill leftovers, animal waste, cereals, agricultural crops, and aquatic plants are
all examples of biomass fuels. These materials are used as fuel to heat water for
steam generation or are processed into liquids and gases that can be burned to
achieve the same result. By 2020, the United States could generate up to four-
and-a-half times more biopower thanks to increased biomass use, cheaper
production costs, and improved technology. It is predicted that biomass would
grow at the fastest rate among renewable energy sources, increasing by 80
percent to 65.7 billion KW by 2020.

Geothermal energy extracts heat from the earth's interior. To deliver the hot
water or steam to the surface, wells are bored into geothermal reservoirs. In
geothermal facilities, the steam drives a turbine-generator, which generates
energy. This heat is used to heat homes and greenhouses in some regions, as well
as to supply processed heat for businesses and industries. Iceland's capital,
Reykjavik, is heated by geothermal energy. The majority of geothermal resources
are found in the western United States. Geothermal heat pumps heat and cool
homes by tapping into shallow earth energy, and they may be used practically
anyplace. Much more power could be generated from hydrothermal resources
with technical advancements. Scientists have been experimenting with
geothermal power plants by pumping water into the hot, dry rock 3-6 miles
beneath the earth's surface.

Hydroelectric (hydropower) energy is produced by driving turbine-generators

with the force of falling water. Hydroelectricity generates more electricity than
any other renewable energy source. Estimates indicate that hydroelectric power
in the United States will decrease from 389 billion KW in 1999 to 298 billion KW in
2020. The majority of the best hydropower sites have already been developed,
and there are concerns about the environmental impact of large-scale
hydroelectric installations, therefore this decline is anticipated.

Solar power is produced without the use of a turbine or an electromagnet.

Photovoltaic cells on special panels catch sunlight and convert it directly into
electricity. A battery is used to store the electricity. Solar energy can also be
utilised to heat domestic water directly (solar thermal technology). The domestic
photovoltaic (PV) industry might supply up to 15% of the new peak electricity
capacity required in the United States by 2020.

Electricity can be generated using wind energy. The blades of a windmill spin
when wind blows past them. The shaft connected to the blades rotates, powering
a pump or turning a generator to generate electricity. After that, electricity is
stored in batteries. The amount of energy that can be produced is determined by
the wind speed and the size of the blades. In windier areas of the country, wind
energy is more efficient. The majority of wind energy is generated by wind farms,
which are enormous clusters of turbines positioned in reliably windy areas. Wind
as a source of energy is both free and non-polluting, with no emissions or
chemical waste. Wind-generated electricity is becoming more prevalent.

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that use a chemical reaction to generate
power. Fuel cells are rechargeable, have no moving parts, are quiet, and have no
moving parts. Scientists are investigating how they could be utilised as a power
source for almost-emission-free autos and as electricity-generating plants. The
exorbitant cost of producing fuel cells has kept this important energy source from
becoming widely used.
Ocean sources; Oceans, which span more than 70% of the earth's surface, contain
both thermal and mechanical energy from the sun's heat and tides and waves.
Solar radiation is converted to electricity by ocean thermal energy conversion
(OTEC). To create electricity, OTEC power plants employ the temperature
difference between warm surface waters heated by the sun and colder waters
found at ocean depths. The energy of the tides can also be used to generate
electricity. The power of changing tides is harnessed via tidal energy, but
considerable tidal variances are required. The tidal process makes use of the
tides' natural motion to fill reservoirs, which are then progressively emptied
through electricity-generating turbines. Wave energy conversion takes energy
from surface waves, pressure variations beneath the water's surface, or the entire
wave. The interaction of winds with the ocean surface is also used in wave
energy. In the United States, this technology is still in the early stages of
development.

Questions (1 - 2)
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D.
1. Geothermal Energy is produced by:

A. Warming the air beneath the ground surface

B. Utilising the kinetic energy of falling water
C. The extraction of water steam from the earth’s subsurface.
D. Utilising the earth’s inherent energy.

2. The most significant barrier of creating one of these energy sources is:
A. Expense
B. Amount of energy dissipated
C. Electricity
D. Fuel cell energy
Questions (3 - 7)
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the Reading
Passage?
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
3. Alternative Energy sources have multiple applications.
4. At Least one of these alternative energy sources needs fossil fuels.
5. The disbursement is the minor factor that is an obstacle to developing one
of
these forms of energy.
6. Alternative energy with the highest efficiency is Wind Power.
7. There are numerous sources to generate Wave Energy.

Questions (8 - 13)
Complete the sentences.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/ OR A NUMBER from the passage
for each
answer.
8. By utilising Alternative energy sources, we can reduce the _ _________
generated by conventional energy sources.
9. We currently use __________ as part of our power source, in addition to fossil
fuels
and atom-splitting.
10. Biomass is a type of renewable energy that comes from _ _________.
11. The renewable energy that originates from the earth's interior is known
as
__________.
12. The __________ of manufacturing is one of the reasons why fuel cells aren't
extensively used.
13. __________ alternative energy source does not utilise turbines.