Renewable energy is the need of the hour.

 Fossil fuels have damaged the environment greatly and the need of the hour is sustainable clean and green energy sources. This report explores the future of clean and renewable energy, which will not only transform our world but also propel us towards a greener planet. We explore how new technologies such as hydrogen, solar, wind and biogas could play a key role in this transformation by offering plentiful and clean energy to power our homes and transport us in environmentally friendly ways. A cleaner environment is good for everyone!

The transition from traditional electricity generation to clean energy will be one of the biggest changes ever in human history. Many countries around the globe are already working hard to improve their sustainability and we can expect it to get worse. Climate change may accelerate if we continue on current trends. We rely heavily on fossil fuel-generated electricity because it is still the most reliable source of energy, even though renewable means that less of it is used. At some point in time, clean energy systems may finally become increasingly economical than natural gas, which would further reduce the environmental impact of using energy from fossil fuels.

Clean energy is the new standard

At present, clean energy is quickly becoming an essential part of our daily lives. Most of us depend on clean energy to run our houses and machines – more and more often than not, we use clean energy to simply do things like light our homes each day. With all the advances we make in technology, there’s no end to what clean energy can offer. And with good news recently released about developing alternatives to batteries and other harmful components (e.g., ‘cyanide,’ as used by utilities), it seems clear that this trend is going to be increasing for many years to come.

For example, electric vehicles are fast becoming an important component in helping us cut down on carbon emissions. By the year 2050, one-third of cars sold worldwide will be electric vehicles (though more electric cars are planned). As these cars come onto the road, they will play an incredibly crucial part in cutting down carbon emissions. Even conventional petrol engines are getting phased out by 2030! That alone will save millions of tons of CO2 over the course of just ten years, reducing carbon emissions by approximately 2% per year. And although solar is not widely accepted as being clean, its growth could prove revolutionary. Since the sun is the dominant source of energy on Earth, it could play a vital role in helping us achieve the same. Indeed, the United Nations estimates that solar energy could provide enough clean electricity for a country of every 50 square miles. If the U.N. continues this trend, it should be able to generate enough electricity for 200,000 Americans in 10 years! Sounds like a lot of potential, doesn’t it? It is certainly impressive!

As demand for clean energy grows, solar power will help to accelerate the decarbonization of the grid. Solar energy generates far fewer carbon emissions than coal, which makes it the preferred choice for powering grids across the world. But renewable energy sources like solar are not the only way we can move toward greener living today. Other methods of cleaning up the air are on the horizon. Hydrogen, which can easily be stored in water and used on a wide variety of items, could help us solve numerous problems, from pollution to hunger, while simultaneously decreasing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide within the atmosphere. For instance, through a combination of hydropower and biomass power plants, we could create hydrogen that powered by renewable wind, solar, tidal, geothermal or other resources to meet demands of consumers in the most efficient way possible. Of course, all of these strategies pose great risks and may fall short of producing large amounts of clean energy. But if we’re serious about moving towards more sustainable life on earth, then developing sustainable solutions like hydrogen and solar won’t hinder us from taking advantage of technology that offers so much power to dramatically improve our quality of life. They are just two components that are needed to create a better future for ourselves and our planet.

Technology for clean energy

The modern era has seen the development of innovative ways of creating clean energy. These technologies include wind farms, solar panels and hydrogen, among others. All of them play integral roles in the advancement of renewable energy, and when combined, we can see how clean energy production could become a major player in creating a greener world.

Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons are the primary component in crude oil because they are made through the reaction of methane with another molecule known as water to produce hydrocarbons, which the rest of the world uses for energy. Hydrocarbons are primarily used as power source today and can either be extracted from fossil fuel deposits (petroleum) to produce energy or used for cooking, cleaning and biofuels. Although hydrocarbons are considered a non-renewable resource today, they play a pivotal role in the development of clean energy technologies. The most exciting thing about hydrocarbons is that they have virtually infinite capacity to provide energy without relying solely on other sources of electricity. When we take into account everything else in the clean energy equation, there is no other option, and this makes hydrocarbons the perfect clean energy fuel.

Hydrocarbons also have immense renewable energy potential. By storing hydrocarbons such as in seawater, the hydrocarbons available from crude oil could ultimately help us convert excess electricity obtained from other sources to clean energy. Storing hydrocarbons in ice or mud would allow us to store the energy indefinitely (the problem of intermittency would be solved), thereby making clean energy easier to obtain at any moment. What’s more, storing hydrocarbons in solid sediment can be mined later and converted into the energy we require. So far, this type of storage system would seem like magic and is likely to play a massive role in providing clean energy solutions.

Hydrogen and hydrogen

Another way to harness clean energy is by using hydrogen as our building blocks. Using hydrogen as fuel in cars or trains creates zero pollutants and reduces carbon emissions due to carbon offsets, although a lot of people find the idea a little bit scary or inconvenient. One concern I had was that hydrogen produced via electrolysis is extremely expensive, and perhaps for that reason, it isn’t used outside of very limited situations. While hydrogen could turn out to be quite cheap, scientists think that it will ultimately prove impossible to process the compound into usable energy (i.e. the main concerns about hydrogen are logistical challenges, especially for transporting and storing hydrogen in liquid form). Either way, you have to start somewhere. Now, thanks to technological advances like battery technology, hydrogen could be used in a myriad of products from cars and trains to batteries and plastics to concrete and cement. There are plenty of industries pushing forward toward the commercialization of hydrogen fuel sources, and with companies like Tesla and SpaceX gearing up to build their own, we could expect to see widespread use of this fuel source in a plethora of applications.

Solar Power

As with hydrocarbons, solar power is also gaining momentum. Thanks to advances in solar energy production and the rising popularity of solar power, solar energy, once again, looks like the ideal clean energy alternative. Just like solar cells and photovoltaic cells, solar energy plants make our electrical power supply much more stable and reliable than many other forms of clean energy. As a result of this steady stream of power, solar-powered communities could potentially see huge improvements in both their health and their overall environmental impact. With solar energy sources being relatively simple to manage and repair – for example, just three solar panels instead of dozens can be repaired with ease – solar power could become a key element in combating poverty and inequality in the future.

Solar energy sources are fairly easy to deploy. Solar energy, which is based on the sunlight, occurs everywhere on Earth except for volcanic areas. It therefore poses a tremendous opportunity to reach more areas of society where fossil fuel usage is rampant including, of course, developing nations. Solar energy, however, is unlikely to completely replace fossil fuels in terms of global consumption. After all, there are always other types of energy available, whether it is nuclear or battery-based energy alternatives – so we need to consider how well we will be able to compete with those sources before deciding if replacing fossil fuels with solar sources is the best option.

Hydropower

Hydropower is an entirely different type of clean energy for producing electricity. Water has the same characteristics as hydrocarbons: it happens naturally to both molecules and has the ability to store energy in itself. While the primary function of hydro power plants is to produce electricity by converting Hydrolubenzene (HBC) into Oxygen (CO2) and O2 into Electricity, hydropowers uses water to store energy. Rather than turning Hydrocarbons into something else, it turns water into higher concentration hydrocarbons such as Methane (CH4) in return of O2, which can then be turned into electricity. To put this into perspective, in 2020 there were 62 solar-powered hydroelectric power facilities in the U.S. hydro power sector. Those numbers are staggering, given the sheer amount of water and energy involved in water and hydropower, respectively. However, even the most optimistic projections of the next five years (2028 or so) for hydropower are telling us just how strongly hydropower will come into view today and its long-term potential as clean energy technology.

While water is the best clean resource for clean energy production, electricity production with hydropower may take a few decades to progress. Let's work together to bring renewable energy sources to the front so that the environmental damage may be controlled.