Renewable Energy Research Essay

Introduction

Growing concern over the world’s ever-increasing energy needs and the prospect of rapidly dwindling reserves of oil, natural gas, and uranium fuel have prompted efforts to develop viable alternative energy sources.

The recent increase in energy costs, driven by a surge in oil prices, has increased worldwide efforts on the exploitation of renewable/wind energy resources for environment-friendly sustainable development and to mitigate future energy challenges. Moreover, experience in the wind energy industry has reached high levels in the field of manufacturing and application. This inevitably increases the merits of wind energy exploitation. To exploit wind resources, through the establishment of wind power plants, specific attention must be focused on the characteristics of wind and wind machines.

Many countries have initiated programs to develop renewable energy technologies that would enable them to reduce fossil-fuel consumption and its attendant problems. Fusion devices are believed to be the best long-term option since their primary energy source would be the hydrogen isotope deuterium abundantly present in ordinary water. Other technologies that are being actively pursued are those designed to make wider and more efficient use of the energy in sunlight, wind, moving water, and terrestrial heat (i.e., geothermal energy). The amount of energy in such renewable and virtually pollution-free sources is large to world energy needs,

This research seeks a better way to exploit and benefit from renewable energy and help farmers produce their energy to become even more self-sufficient by reducing external inputs. Not only does renewable energy help the farmer save money but also combats the effects of global warming. Biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, and wind power can produce electricity for heating, lighting, and fuel for use on the farm, and With a little initial investment, energy can be made for free from renewable sources such as the sun, wind, and water. When considering a renewable energy system for your site check with local zoning ordinances before beginning construction. Also, keep in mind that any renewable energy electric system on the farm can be connected to the utility grid with an inverter allowing the farmer to receive payment for the power they produce.

This research will also explore many different forms of renewable energy produced in rural areas, ranging from wind, solar, and geothermal sources to different forms of bioenergy. And will explain The opportunities and barriers for the different renewable energy technologies.

Exploitation of Renewable Energy

Statement of the problem :

Egypt as the most populous country in the Middle East faces rising energy demand driven by rapid population growth and an expanding economy. This creates significant challenges in maintaining a steady and continuous supply of energy.

Aim of research :

This research aims to exploit renewable energy which can help farmers in Egypt to meet their energy needs, furthermore power sustainable economic growth, and achieve sustainable development objectives.

Renewable energy :

The increase in energy costs, driven by a surge in oil prices, has increased worldwide efforts on the exploitation of renewable/wind energy resources for environment-friendly sustainable development and to mitigate future energy challenges. It encourages researchers to make their way to explore, use, and exploit clean renewable energy.

This research aims to discuss how farmers can use and exploit the available renewable energy for their farms gaining the best benefits from this exploitation.

Firstly we will explain the type of renewable energy and the best ways to exploit and benefit from it.

Types of renewable energy :

Renewable energy source means energy that is sustainable - something that can't run out or is endless, like the sun. When you hear the term 'alternative energy' it usually refers to renewable energy sources too. it means sources of energy that are alternative to the most commonly used non-sustainable sources like coal.

Alternative or renewable energy comes from natural processes that (unlike those listed above) can reliably produce cheap energy with minimal impact on the environment.

The most popular renewable energy sources currently are:

1. Solar energy
2. Wind energy
3. Hydro energy
4. Tidal energy
5. Geothermal energy
6. Biomass energy

We will discuss in the following How these types of renewable energy work :

1 - Solar energy

Sunlight is one of our planet’s most abundant and freely available energy resources. The amount of solar energy that reaches the earth’s surface in one hour is more than the planet’s total energy requirements for a whole year. Although it sounds like a perfect renewable energy source, the amount of solar energy we can use varies according to the time of day and the season of the year as well as geographical location. In the UK, solar energy is an increasingly popular way to supplement your energy usage. Find out if it’s right for you below by reading our guide to solar power.

2- Wind energy

Wind is a plentiful source of clean energy. Wind farms are an increasingly familiar sight in the UK with wind power making an ever-increasing contribution to the National Grid. To harness electricity from wind energy, turbines are used to drive generators which then feed electricity into the National Grid. Although domestic or ‘off-grid’ generation systems are available, not every property is suitable for a domestic wind turbine.

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3-Hydro energy

As a renewable energy resource, hydropower is one of the most commercially developed. By building a dam or barrier, a large reservoir can be used to create a controlled flow of water that will drive a turbine, generating electricity. This energy source can often be more reliable than solar or wind power (especially if it's tidal rather than river) and also allows electricity to be stored for use when demand reaches a peak. Like wind energy, in certain situations, hydro can be more viable as a commercial energy source (dependent on the type and compared to other sources of energy) but depending very much on the type of property, it can be used for domestic, ‘off-grid’ generation.

4- Tidal energy

This is another form of hydro energy that uses twice-daily tidal currents to drive turbine generators. Although tidal flow unlike some other hydroenergy sources isn’t constant, it is highly predictable and can therefore compensate for the periods when the tide current is low.

5- Geothermal energy

By harnessing the natural heat below the earth’s surface, geothermal energy can be used to heat homes directly or to generate electricity. Although it harnesses power directly below our feet, geothermal energy is of negligible importance in the UK compared to countries such as Iceland, where geothermal heat is much more freely available.

6- Biomass Energy

This is the conversion of solid fuel made from plant materials into electricity. Although fundamentally, biomass involves burning organic materials to produce electricity, this is not burning wood, and nowadays this is a much cleaner, more energy-efficient process. By converting agricultural, industrial, and domestic waste into solid, liquid, and gas fuel, biomass generates power at a much lower economic and environmental cost.

Egypt has a high potential for solar energy which can be utilized and forwarded to the agricultural section farmers can benefit from this potential power using solar energy boards in their farms which can help them to gain their needed energy cleanly, so we will discuss the using of solar energy in powering agriculture in Egypt through the following application :

Application of Solar Energy in Agriculture:

Solar power controlling daily activities

Solar energy possesses a huge potential for solar irrigation and can be used to pump water for livestock and crops. We need to design or renovate buildings to trap the heat available in daylight. The trapped heat can also be used to warm homes and livestock yards. Solar water heaters can provide hot water for cattle cleaning and pen cleaning. Dairy operations can use hot solar water to warm and stimulate cow’s udders. The sunlight can be used to generate electricity to power homes and agriculture houses

Solar energy to dry crops and grains

A major percentage of agricultural produce is spoilt during the traditional open-air drying. Using the solar drying method can dry crops faster and at an even rate than leaving them out open in the field with the added advantage of protection from birds, insects, and worms.

There are different types of solar dryers, such as direct drying (solar box dryer), indirect drying (solar cabinet dryer), mixed mode drying (solar tunnel dryer), or hybrid drying (hybrid solar/biomass cabinet dryer)

If your farm already has a crop dryer in place it makes sense to replace the conventional fuel powering the apparatus with solar energy. You would be able to save fuel and money by this method.

Usage of greenhouse heating

Greenhouses normally use solar energy to carry out their prescribed function. But it needs to be regulated with gas and oil to maintain a constant temperature. There are several methods you can adopt to increase the efficiency of your greenhouse but using a heat sink is commonly opted by farmers.

According to the importance of renewable energy especially solar energy, many studies have investigated the potential power of this clean energy and how to benefit from it, we will show some of these studies concerning renewable energy :

Study of Hossein Shabanali Fami, Javad Ghasemi (2010): “Renewable Energy Use in Smallholder Farming Systems: A Case Study in Tafresh Township of Iran”. This study was conducted to investigate the use of renewable energy and materials in the smallholder farming system of the Tafresh township of Iran.

Study of Ebinger, Banks, & Potvin (2014): This study estimated that Germany's shift to renewable energy in the electricity sector had saved the country €11 billion in fossil fuel imports during the period from 2009 to 2012. Valodka & Valodkienė (2015) predicted that the expansion of renewable energy in Lithuania would save 278 million euros in fuel imports per year. In 2016, Ireland managed to save about € 70 million in foreign energy imports as a result of the expansion of wind energy.

Study of Hager (2013), This study is conducted to investigate the growing share of wind power in the energy mix in America that has reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels. Arapogianni & Moccia (2014) indicated that it is possible to reduce dependence on domestic and imported fuels by replacing energy generation from fossil fuels with wind energy, thereby reducing the cost of fuel imports and greenhouse gas emissions. Investigated the relationship between renewable energy generation and import dynamics by using import demand equations. The study highlighted the importance of generating renewable energy for the economy in reducing its external dependence and debt by reducing import growth.

Summary

Farmers are at the center of the problem regarding global warming; since the rise in temperature affects climate change which in turn affects agriculture produce. The world population is continuously increasing and the demand for food products is witnessing a significant rise. Using solar power can help farmers to curb climate change and fight the problem effectively.

As agricultural land always lives under the fear of interrupted power failures, using solar energy can prove beneficial for many. With new advancements, it is becoming easier to store solar energy for later use. Farmers can store solar energy using batteries during its peak hours and use it later when needed to face the growing concern over the world’s ever-increasing energy needs and the prospect of rapidly dwindling reserves of oil, natural gas, and uranium fuel have prompted efforts to develop viable alternative energy sources. Solar energy has been one of the basic sources of energy available to the farmers to operate some agricultural practices.

References

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