- Hydroelectric
- Geothermal
- Radioactive
Hydroelectric
How it works
Hydro energy is simply kinetic energy. As the water flows through the inner machinations of the constructed dam, it pushes and rotates turbines that are built inside, and as those turbines spin, it generates electricity. Although there are other types of facilities. one of which utilizes rivers and canals to flow water into a facility of turbines (a diversion facility), never impeding the flow of water. Another plant, being called a pump storage facility, in which other forms of energy are used to pump water to a higher elevation, and when emergency electricity is needed, the water is released, and then used, again, as kinetic energy to send power where it is needed.
How popular is Hydro energy
Hydroelectricity is the most popular form of renewable energy in the world. It produces 16% of the world's energy, and 71% of green energy that is utilized, is from hydroelectric plants. China, Brazil, Canada, India, Russia, and all but 2 states, within the United States, use hydropower.
How effective is it?
Hydropower is extremely effective, that is to say kinetic energy is extremely effective at producing energy. Around 90% of available kinetic energy can be turned into electricity, using this method. Back in 2005, it was recorded that just 58 hydro plants throughout the western United States produced an average of 42 billion kilowatts/hour, per year, which was enough to power 14 million residential americans. That would be the same production as 72 million barrels of oil. And the effectiveness has only gone up since then.
Conclusion
Hydropower is not only very reliable, but also extremely effective at producing electricity, the only thing that keeps it from being fully self running, is the maintenance of the machinery, and upkeep of the external facilities themselves. The water will weather down the metal turbines, and will erode the concrete exterior, which is why routine upkeep is done on these facilities at all times. Despite those things however, hydroelectricity is a strong leader of the world's power, and seems to only be improving.
Geothermal
How it works
All Geothermal plants require 3 things, An injection fluid, usually water, heat, that being the earth's natural heat, and a generator, a turbine generator where the evaporated fluid collects and pressurizes and the pressure forces the molecules through the turbine which causes it to turn and generate kinetic energy into electric energy.
Like hydro energy, there are three variations of these generators; One being a dry steam plant, which has the standard steps that were mentioned above. The second being a flash steam plant, which has a variation of an added chamber that collects precipitation created by the steam, which creates more fluid, which gets reinjected to continue the cycle to generate more energy. The third being the most diverse, which is called a binary cycle plant, that being a two closed circuit system, where the injected liquid and steam vents are connected and that is fed into a heat exchanger, that carries the heat to the generators circuit that has a seperate fluid, where everything else functions the same as the dry steam plant.
How popular is Geothermal enegy
Geothermal energy is a growing form of energy, therefore, not as widespread as it could be. In the U.S. they're mostly in the western states, Alaska, and Hawaii, other nations such as Italy, and New Zealand, have also been utilizing Geothermal energy. However, since the purpose is to use the heat of the earth, it could be applied anywhere in the world.
How effective is it?
Geothermal energy is functional 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and with the binary cycle, being two closed circuits, can make it essentially self-sustaining energy, while also having zero emissions. It can even be used to reduce waste, as for example, the city Santa Rosa in California uses waste water as the injection fluid, which both creates energy, and can be a clean method of discarding waste.
In terms of energy production, Geothermal energy can produce a fair amount, back in 2018 it was shown that 27 countries, including the U.S., produced a total of approximately 83 billion kilowatts/hour of electricity, however, unlike the Hydroplants, Geothermal Plants are still few and far between, as it's still a developing energy source.
Conclusion
Geothermal energy is still a very young and new idea, the machinery, and development is still being tested and undergoing, however, the applications and outputs have already proven it to be a dominating producer of energy, and it can only seem to be improved. Yet, there is an issue of making sure the injection fluid will be clean going through the circuit, but again, with the binary circuit that eliminates that issue. Also with the ability to place these plants essentially anywhere, and with very few to no environmental setbacks, this may be the future of energy.
Radioactive
How it works
Nuclear energy is a zero emission energy source, this is due to it generating power through nuclear fission, that being the splitting of uranium atoms. That process produces heat and steam, which like the Geo energy, is used to spin turbines that generate electricity.
How popular is radioactive energy
Nuclear energy is already across the world as the world's second largest low-carbon power. It is stretched across 50 countries with about 445 power plants. Back in 2020 Thirteen countries had at least a quarter of their energy production based around nuclear energy. It is also a rapidly increasing form of energy production.
How effective is it?
Based on its popularity and on the fact that, today, about 10% of the world's electricity is from nuclear energy, it's safe to argue its effectiveness. Compared to the other forms of energy it can utilize 93% of the energy being outputted into electricity, making it 3% more effective than hydro energy, it can also operate in 24 hour intervals, making it consistent power over the course of day to day life.
Conclusion
Nuclear energy is the most effective, and seemingly the most popular around the world, however it isn't perfect. Nuclear energy plants can have harmful emissions if not regulated, and in the event of a critical failure, we would have another Chernobyl event, as it is replicating the effects of an atomic bomb, in order to produce energy. So while it may not be the safest form of energy, it is greatly more effective, and less costly than fossil fuels.