Energy

Alternative Energy

The United States depends on fossil fuels, like oil and coal, for energy.

According to experts these sources will exhaust by the year 2050. Fossil fuels

also pollute the environment. So we need to search for alternative energy

sources which are reliable and renewable.

Wind power is the force of the wind harnessed by windmills and wind turbines

that convert it into electricity. Because wind is a clean and renewable source

of energy, modern wind turbines are being installed in many countries to

supplement more traditional sources of electric power, such as burning coal.

After the oil crisis of the 1970s, many countries launched programs to develop

modern wind turbines. While many of these programs failed, Denmark was

successful in developing one. Countries such as the United States have adopted

this technology to develop wind energy resources. Design improvements have

helped increase the world's wind energy generating capacity by nearly 150

percent since 1990. In 1997, for example, the world market for wind energy

reached billion.One major disadvantage of wind mills is that it is not so

efficient as other power generation technologies.

Hydroelectric power is the energy produced by running or falling water that is

used for driving machinery, especially for generating electricity. The

development of hydroelectric power requires storage lakes, dams, bypass canals,

and the installation of large turbines and electric generating equipment.

Worldwide, hydroelectric power represented 19 percent of the total energy

generated in 1998, the most recent year for which data are available.