Energy Power In Different Ways

Energy Power In Different Ways

You switch on a device or plug it into the socket and it works. Although power always comes from the outlet, this power can be generated in many different ways. If you are interested visit this site ()

Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable energy uses infinite energy sources, such as the sun, wind, and hydropower. Governments worldwide recognize that the share of renewable energy in the energy supply will have to rise sharply in the coming years to win the fight against climate change. More and more sustainable energy is also being generated in the Netherlands.

Wind energy

You regularly see them along with highways or on large areas of pasture: windmills. There are also already a number of wind farms at sea and there are plans for many more of these wind farms. The green electricity that Essent supplies to its consumers come from European wind energy or, in the case of Dubbelgroen, from Dutch wind turbines. Technology is also getting better: one modern wind turbine can generate as much power as an entire wind farm of 25 turbines from 25 years ago.

Solar energy

Solar energy is also very interesting in the Netherlands. More and more companies and households are seeing its benefits. There are also more and more meadows full of solar panels that can supply an entire neighborhood with electricity. It is also possible to use solar energy to produce hot water in combination with a solar water heater.

Biomass

Biomass is organic material such as wood or vegetable, fruit, and garden waste. Energy generated from biomass is regarded as sustainable energy because the CO2 that disappears into the atmosphere during combustion has only recently been absorbed from the atmosphere during the growth of the plants or trees. There is a closed CO2 circuit.

Hydropower

Little hydropower is generated in the Netherlands but mainly imported from other European countries.

Air and ground heat

Air and ground heat is also a sustainable energy source that is slowly emerging. With the help of an electric heat pump, heat from the air or the ground can be used for heating and cooling homes. The heat from deeper layers of the earth (500 meters or more) can also be used directly for heating a district or, for example, greenhouses.

Future of renewable energy sources

In Germany, a third of all electricity is already generated from renewable sources. The Netherlands aims for 16% in 2023. Many new wind farms are under development and more and more households and companies are using solar panels to produce electricity.

Traditional energy sources

But what about traditional energy sources? The main energy sources for electricity and heat in the home are still fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas. Energy from these sources is relatively cheap and, in contrast to sustainable sources such as sun and wind, always and sufficiently available. However, these fuels have a significant drawback – they emit CO2, the main cause of climate change. The most commonly used fossil energy sources in the Netherlands are:

Coal

Coal is an important source of electricity in the Netherlands. Although 5 old power stations recently closed, due to the favorable location and the demand from industry for cheap electricity, 3 new coal-fired power stations have also been built by European energy companies in the Netherland. The major disadvantage of coal is that it is one of the most environmentally and climate-unfriendly sources of energy. A coal-fired power station, therefore, contains an entire factory to clean the flue gases from sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. For the time being, however, it is too expensive to also remove the CO2 from the flue gases. That is why the government wants to close all coal-fired power stations in the Netherlands before 2030 as part of its climate policy.

Natural gas

Natural gas is widely used in the Netherlands as an energy source for power stations, especially to absorb peaks and troughs in the power supply and in special power stations that also continuously supply steam to the industry. Natural gas has considerably lower CO2 emissions than coal but is nevertheless only used for electricity generation in these specific situations because of the higher price.

Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy is a special source of energy. It uses uranium as fuel. There is one nuclear power plant in the Netherlands, in Borssele (Zeeland). A nuclear power plant does not produce any CO2 emissions but does generate radioactive waste.

Petroleum

Petroleum is mainly used as an energy source for transport (gasoline and diesel) and to make plastics. Oil is no longer used in power stations in the Netherlands. Petroleum also causes a lot of CO2 emissions. Alternatives are therefore being sought, such as electric cars and vegetable oil fuels for aircraft.

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