Renewable energy sources (RES) are the sources that are regenerative by nature. This is due to the sun rays that fall on the surface of the Earth, and in the near future is an inexhaustible source of energy. These sources include the energy of our sun, airflow, organic biomass, energy flows, reservoirs, etc. The sources of energy that replenish themselves your inventory can also include the energy of the earth (it arrives at the earth’s surface), warm environment, it can be used with heat pumps as well as other sources such as domestic organic waste, waste water and sewage.
The amount of energy that can be obtained from renewable energy sources around the world several times more than the amount of power consumed. So they need to consider in the future as the main source of energy. In the coming decades, these sources should be actively developed as reserves of traditional energy sources are depleted rapidly, and their completion will take millennia. But there are environmental reasons that need to switch to renewable sources, as environmental pollution by harmful emissions and waste production has reached the maximum level. Self-regenerating sources of energy are environmentally friendly and their use does not cause typically the damage to nature, plus they are available worldwide
Serious drawbacks of renewable energy sources, limiting their widespread use, the low density of energy flows and their variability in time and, as a consequence, the need for significant investment in the equipment that enables the collection, accumulation and transformation of energy.
World production capacity of plants powered by renewable is already the fourth part of the amount of energy produced by nuclear plants.
If we compare the development of electricity by alternative sources, in 2004, and today the number has increased more than half. The greatest amount of energy is obtained from a network of wind turbines (as of 2007, the power of their crossed 100ГВт). The number of network of wind turbines in recent years has increased by 30 – 40 %. But the total power of heat produced by means of solar collectors as of 2007, more than 120 GW (более160 million m2 of solar collectors). Solar systems are used worldwide more than 50 million households, and each year the number of installations increased by 19%. Biomass and geothermal energy are usually applied for the production of electricity and heat. More than ten million people around the world use energy systems powered by renewable sources. More than 25 million people in rural areas used for cooking, installing biogas and solar. Interesting fact that all produced power plants on renewable sources in developing countries account for about 40% while in developed countries this figure reaches 60%. This fact suggests such technologies competitive with traditional energy technologies.
Many countries are implementing specific national and collective programmes to promote the accelerated development of RES. In this case, an important argument for active government support of renewable energy is considered environmental factors, including countries ‘ commitments to reduce СО2 emissions to the atmosphere in accordance with the Kyoto Agreement. A serious motivational factor for the development of renewable energy sources for many countries, especially dependent on imports of traditional energy resources, is a concern about energy security.
