Renew Green Energy

While current renewable energy sources like hydropower and solar energy are still struggling for wider acceptance, researchers are already working on new technologies. Some, like ocean energy, take advantage of a vast untapped reservoir of energy. Others, like Enhanced Geothermal Systems, remove reliance on natural processes.Ocean energy is considered to be a promising source of research, although an article in Science magazine has said it would be most effective on western-facing coasts between 40 and 60 degrees of latitude. In 2007, the first commercial tidal power station was installed in Strangford Lough in Ireland. This process uses underwater turbines in high-tide areas to create electricity. Another possibility, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, powers a heat engine using the temperature differences in the ocean waters.Enhanced Geothermal Systems could be used to offer geothermal power to more areas across the U.S.. The process involves creating a fracture system under the ground and adding water via injection wells. This water would be heated in the rock and then rise to the surface through wells. One current concern with the technology is the increase in seismic activity at these sites, which has created events with magnitudes reaching 7.2.The solar energy sector has also been a target for current research, particularly in its possibilities with nanotechnology. Researchers at Boston College have developed a nano-scale thin-film solar cell that builds on previous technology and solves the problem of how to build a cell thick enough to collect light, but thin enough to create current. Their cell is also cheaper because it doesn’t use the crystalline semiconductors that other models have used.Finally, researchers have been working on how to harness osmotic power for the last 40 years. By using only salt water as fuel, osmosis creates high pressure. Once this is connected to a turbine, as with ocean and general hydropower energy, this too can create a clean and renewable energy.