Renewable energy is energy from natural resources that can be used over and over. It includes energy from the sun, from wind, from moving water, from heat beneath the ground, and from plants. Such energy sources differ from fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and nuclear fuel. These nonrenewable resources have limited supplies and cannot be restored once they are used. Many governments fund the research and development of renewable energy technology. They also provide incentives such as tax credits to help make such technology affordable.
Loading the player...Wind turbines generating power
People have long made use of renewable energy. Prehistoric people used the sun’s energy for heat and for drying food. By about 3,000 B.C., the ancient Egyptians had made sailing ships, which are powered by wind. By 100 B.C., people in parts of the Mediterranean were using water to power grain mills. Flowing water spun wheels connected by gears to circular millstones, grinding grain into flour. The Persians, a people living in what is now Iran, probably developed windmills for grinding grain during the 600’s.
The first renewable energy source used to make electric power was flowing water, in the 1880’s. The water spun devices called turbines , which powered electric generators. Around the same time, engineers designed wind-driven turbines. Wind turbines became especially popular after the 1973 energy crisis, when Arab countries severely restricted global supplies of oil. Oil had previously been used to generate much electric power. By the early 2000’s, several kinds of renewable energy had become affordable for many uses.
