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What is a Renewable Energy Organization?

The nonprofit renewable energy organization is a nongovernmental organization dedicated to finding, developing, and improving alternative energy systems. For ages, people have used fossil resources in the form of coal, gas, and oil to provide heat, light, and fuel. Fortunately, these resources have facilitated the development of industry and engineering. In the development of the latter, people have learned to use renewable energy sources such as wind and sunlight, as well as the low-potential heat of the earth and water. These resources have become very attractive due to their inexhaustibility and, in addition, their absolute independence from the pricing policy of the world energy market. The cost of operating renewable sources is very low, and the possibility of depletion of natural resources is fraught with fuel shortages. However, the most important advantage of alternative energy is its absolute environmental friendliness. That is why renewable energy NGOs, which are interested in the development of cleaner energy for the benefit of the environment, began to appear.

Main types of renewable energy

Modern society every day is experiencing an increasing need for inexhaustible energy sources because the use of oil, coal, and gas is not limitless. Moreover, scientists have long discovered other resources that are more environmentally friendly, economical and, one might say, eternal or simply renewable. Using alternative energy sources can allow people to avoid many problems and consequences and to benefit without harming nature. Mankind has discovered many sources of new renewable energy, but many are rarely used. Alternative energy can be subdivided into the following sources: 1. Solar energy is an area of unconventional energy, based on the direct use of solar radiation to produce energy in some form. Obtaining electrical or thermal energy from solar energy is one of the most promising areas of unconventional energy. According to the most optimistic projections, by 2025 the sun will provide from 5 to 25% of the world's energy production. This renewable energy sector is considered to be the most common. 2. Geothermal renewable energy – an area of energy production based on the production of electrical and thermal energy from the thermal energy contained in the earth's interior, in geothermal power plants. In volcanic areas, the circulating water overheats above boiling temperatures at relatively shallow depths and rises to the surface through cracks, sometimes manifesting itself as geysers. Access to the underground warm water is possible by deep drilling of wells. More common than such steam therms are dry, high-temperature rocks, the energy of which is available by injecting and then drawing superheated water from them. High-temperature rocks with temperatures of less than 100 °C are also common in many geologically inactive areas, so the use of geotherms as a heat source is considered the most promising. The main advantage of geothermal energy is its practical inexhaustibility and complete independence from environmental conditions, time of day, and year. There are the following basic possibilities for using the heat of the Earth's depths. Water or a mixture of water and steam depending on their temperature can be directed for hot water and heat supply, for power generation, or simultaneously for all these purposes. The high-temperature heat of the near-volcanic region and of the dry rocks is preferably used for power generation and heat supply. The design of the plant depends on which source of geothermal energy is used. 3. Wind energy is a branch of the energy industry that specializes in converting the kinetic energy of air masses in the atmosphere into electrical, mechanical, thermal, or any other form of energy convenient for use in the national economy. Such conversion can be carried out by such units as wind turbines (for obtaining electric energy), windmills (for conversion into mechanical energy), sail (for use in transportation), and others. 4. Tidal power plants are a special type of hydroelectric power plant that uses the energy of the tides and, in fact, the kinetic energy of the Earth's rotation. Tidal power plants are built on the shores of the sea, where the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun change the water level twice a day. Fluctuations in the water level near the shore can be up to 13 meters. To generate energy, a bay, or river mouth is dammed with hydroelectric units, which can operate both as a generator and as a pump (to pump water into a reservoir for operation when the tide is out). In the latter case, they are called pumped storage power plants. The advantages of tidal power plants are environmental friendliness and low cost of energy production. The disadvantages are the high cost of construction and the capacity that varies during the day, due to which the PES can operate only as part of a power system that has sufficient capacity for other types of power plants.

What the Future of Renewable Energy Looks Like

The best renewable energy NGOs around the world are working to create and implement new and renewable energy sources. Countries around the world have set themselves ambitious targets for the transition to renewable energy. The goals are also part of the Paris Agreement – by 2030, zero-carbon solutions can be competitive in sectors that account for more than 70% of global emissions. This is planned through the energy transition, the process of replacing the coal economy with renewable energy sources. In 2020, despite the pandemic and the economic crisis, many cities, countries, and companies continued to announce and implement environmental improvement programs. Thus, modern alternative energy has embraced all areas of renewable and inexhaustible resources. However, the development of alternative energy does not stop there. In all areas of environmentally clean energy, new technologies are regularly patented, or old ones are improved, and within countries, regular investments are made in the development of environmental projects. In many countries, as a stimulus for the development of alternative energy, the concept of “green tariff” was introduced, thanks to which residents were able to earn money at the expense of solar power plants. Nonprofit energy organizations also arrange numerous events to educate society about the importance of switching to alternative energy sources.

How to Choose Non-Government Renewable Energy Organizations

To choose the right nonprofit alternative energy organization, it is important to pay attention to several key aspects: 1. First, it is necessary to study in which area the NGO you are interested in works. This should be done to determine the competence of the organization in solving your issue. 2. Second, do not forget that an NGO covers only a certain range of areas. Choose an organization that is active in the area you are interested in. 3. If there is no alternative energy organization near you, you can always turn to an international renewable energy organization.

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