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For the past 150 years or so, humans have relied heavily on coal, oil, and other fossil fuels to power everything from light bulbs to cars to factories. Fossil fuels are embedded in nearly everything we do, and as a result, the greenhouse gases released from the burning of those fuels have reached historically high levels.
This phenomenon has led humanity to seek energy alternatives that meet the needs of peoples and communities around the world.
Renewable Energies
A renewable energy source means that the energy is sustainable or basically is a form of energy that can't run out. This clean energy comes from natural sources or processes that are constantly replenished. When you hear the term alternative energy it's usually referring to renewable energy sources too.
Humans have been harnessing solar energy for thousands of years to grow crops, stay warm, and dry foods. 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.
The solar energy has the biggest potential from all the alternative energy sources, because Earth receives 174 petawatts (174 x10^15 W) of incoming solar radiation at the upper atmosphere. The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet is so vast that in one year it is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of the Earth's non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium combined.
Reduction in contamination and greenhouse gas emissions.
Solar panels can last up to 30 years being used as a renewable energy source.
Energy losses are reduced since the panels can be placed directly where they are to be used as well as the amount of water used for electrical generation is also reduced.
Alternative energy sources such as offshore wind farms are already taking advantage of all the space water has to offer. Solar energy is expected to rival offshore wind turbines as there are currently many projects developing floating solar panels. As oceans represent nearly 71% of earths surface, it is the perfect place for renewable energy plants.
Concentrating Solar Power requires large flat areas with high direct normal irradiance, that’s why the large, unused areas of the seas play the main role. Building solar power plants offshore offers two technical advantages:
First sun-tracking around a vertical axis can be implemented easily. This simplifies the requirements for the concentrator systems and avoids shading between collector rows.
Secondly unlimited cooling water is available, which can increase the efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle. These two advantages could lead to a cost reduction compared to land based systems and counterbalance the extra costs for going offshore.
There are many countries that have implemented this technology in their tireless search for alternative energy sources. But must interesting of all, is that the majority of the countries that seek an alternative in the renewable energies industry have little to no onshore land to implement this technologies.
As the world population rises, so does the demand for energy in order to power our homes, businesses and communities. Innovation and expansion of renewable sources of energy is key to maintaining a sustainable level of energy and protecting our planet from climate change.
Harvesting the solar energy is no easy task, as many factors can affect the efficiency of the process. One of the main factors is how dirty can panels get, thus reducing the amount of sunlight that the photo sensors can absorb. Also, the energy that is lost to the environment due to reflection on the panels, largely affects the amount of energy that can be obtained.
Although solar energy farms have a high probability of being competitive with fossil fuels, they still have a long way to go to become perfect, the solar receivers that transform the solar radiation present energy losses in the process. In order to increase solar absorption and decrease energy losses, many scientists and engineers have proposed to implement nanocoatings to trap light at nano scale. New coatings have been synthesized from high durable cobalt oxide and have shown great solar absorption and stability withstanding times up to 1000 hours at temperatures of 750°C.
Currently in Latin America, there are more than 3,000 non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) plants under construction or in early works, according to the BNamericas project profile database. Solar boasts the biggest share with 1,847 plants totalling US$150.1bn in investment. Latin American countries last year collectively pledged to meet a 70% renewable energy use target by 2030
Clean energy has far more to recommend it than just being "green." The growing sector creates jobs, makes electric grids more resilient, expands energy access in developing countries, and helps lower energy bills. All of those factors have contributed to a renewable energy renaissance in recent years, with wind and solar setting new records for electricity generation.
As it can be observed in countries such as Japan, Netherlands or Singapore, the desire for cleaner and sustainable energies has led them to go offshore due to the fact that onshore development of these technologies is almost impossible because of the lack of land.
Thus proving that the offshore renewable energy industry can help many countries develop a cleaner environment, being less dependent on the use of fossil fuels such as oil and gas, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for a future where renewable energies will be the main source of energy in the world.