What makes renewable energy

Gas boilers. Electric heating. Boiler Cover. Air conditioning. Heating advice. Energy efficiency. ECO scheme. Feed-in tariff. Smart Export Guarantee. Insulation advice. Energywise blog. Electric cars.

Electricity tariffs for cars. Home charge points. Car leasing. Cost vs petrol. Charging advice. Government grants. Road and company car tax. Benefits of electric cars. Environmental impact of EVs. Maintenance and servicing. Smart meters. Help and support. Help and contact us. Emergency contact. Making a complaint. Warm Home Discount. Priority services. Ways to pay your bill. Prepayment meter. For business. Compare tariffs. Exclusive offers. Energy brokers. Manage your account.

MyAccount login. Submit meter reading. Contract renewals. Moving or adding a location. How to pay your bill. Biodiesel is fuel made from plant oils that can be used in diesel engines. They are typically made of renewable organic raw materials such as soybean or rapeseed oils, animal fats, waste vegetable oils or microalgae oils. Let's Stay Connected. By entering your email, you consent to receive communications from Penn State Extension. View our privacy policy. Thank you for your submission!

Home What is Renewable Energy? What is Renewable Energy? Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. More information about our Cookie Policy. Why Renewable Energy. Why Renewable Energy? According to the American Lung Association, sulfur dioxide affects breathing, increases respiratory illness, weakens pulmonary defenses and aggravates cardiovascular diseases.

Ozone and smog irritate the lungs and lower resistance to infections like influenza, according to the American Lung Association. Ozone O3 occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere where it is beneficial.

However, ozone in the lower atmosphere creates the urban haze which we call smog. Automobiles and electricity generation are the top contributors to ground level ozone. It causes over 1. Short term effects include coughing, lung irritation and exacerbation of respiratory disease. Long term effects include chronic lung disease and even cancer. Particulate matter is a type of air pollution more commonly referred to as soot. Exposure to particulate matter is especially harmful to people with lung disease e.

Carbon dioxide CO2 is a climate change gas that causes global warming. Global warming can lead to the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. To produce hydroelectricity, the water flow is directed at the blades of a turbine, making it spin, which causes an electrical generator connected to the turbine to spin as well and thus generate electricity.

The amount of energy extracted from flowing water depends on the volume of water and its speed. Usually, a hydroelectric station is built at a sharp incline or waterfall to take advantage of the speed gained by the water as a result of gravity. Dams are built at some locations to help regulate the flow of water and, therefore, the electricity generation. Canada has many rivers flowing from mountainous areas toward its three bordering oceans. In , Canada had hydroelectric stations with 78, megawatts of installed capacity.

These stations include small hydroelectric facilities, that is, facilities with a nameplate capacity of 50 megawatts or less, and they together represent 3. The bars of different heights show provincial capacities as follows:. All the hydroelectric stations in Canada generated This accounted for Canada is the second largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world.

Hydroelectric stations have been developed in Canada where the geography and hydrography were favourable, particularly in Quebec. Other areas producing large quantities of hydroelectricity include British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, and Ontario.

Bioenergy comprises different forms of usable energy obtained from materials referred to as biomass. A biomass is a biological material in solid, liquid or gaseous form that has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. Excluded from this definition is organic material that has been transformed over long periods of time by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum.

Several types of biomass can be used, with the proper technology and equipment, to produce energy. The most commonly used type of biomass is wood, either round wood or wood waste from industrial activities.

Wood and wood waste can be combusted to produce heat used for industrial purposes, for space and water heating, or to produce steam for electricity generation. Through anaerobic digestion, methane can be produced from solid landfill waste or other biomass materials such as sewage, manure and agricultural waste. Sugars can be extracted from agricultural crops and, through distillation, alcohols can be produced for use as transportation fuels.

As well, numerous other technologies exist or are being developed to take advantage of other biomass feedstock. With its large landmass and active forest and agricultural industries, Canada has access to large and diversified biomass resources that can be used for energy production. Currently, bioenergy is the second most important form of renewable energy in Canada. Historically, the use of wood has been very important in Canada for space and water heating, as well as for cooking.

It is still important today, as 4. Every year, over petajoules of energy from wood are consumed in the residential sector, representing more than 7 per cent of residential energy use.

The most important type of biomass in Canada is industrial wood waste, especially waste from the pulp and paper industry, which is used to produce electricity and steam. Every year, more than petajoules of bioenergy are used in the industrial sector. The pulp and paper industry is by far the largest industrial user of bioenergy, which accounts for more than half of the energy used in this industry.