Alternative energies: what are they and what types are there?

Alternative energies are emerging as the great hope for decarbonizing our economy and underpinning the ecological transition

In recent decades, we have witnessed a complete revolution in the energy world thanks to the emergence of alternative energy sources. These types of sources differ from traditional sources by generating electricity from clean, green, or renewable sources thanks to the sustainable exploitation of various types of natural resources. Their great advantage is the low impact they have on our environment, primarily in terms of air pollution and the degradation of natural resources, compared to traditional and hydrocarbon-based energy sources—predominant during the late 19th and throughout the 20th centuries—such as coal or oil. Not in vain, these types of generation sources have experienced a boom during the late nineties and early two thousand, presenting themselves as allies at a decisive moment of the climate crisis.

While it is true that, within the numerous list of alternative energies, there are some sources that are less widespread due to their youth or technological complexity, it is also true that some predominant ones – wind or photovoltaic, for example – are strongly banishing fossil fuels thanks to profound technological development and a consequent lower installation and maintenance costs, making this type of green generation a more competitive option than traditional sources. One of the major competitive advantages of this type of generation source is the fact that it uses a wide variety of inexhaustible sources from which to extract energy, something that rivals resource exploitation.

Let’s see what types exist.

Types of alternative energies

• Solar: Harnesses solar radiation through the use of photovoltaic panels to generate electricity for distribution or use for thermal purposes to heat water or air.
• Wind: Uses the power of the wind, both in land as in sea, and its movement to turn the blades of wind turbines (commonly called windmills) to rotate a generator that produces electrical energy for distribution to the grid.
• Hydraulic / Hydroelectric: Converts the energy of the movement of water through natural (rivers or waterfalls) or artificial (reservoirs) pipelines and dams to generate electricity by passing it through hydraulic turbines.
• Tidal: Very similar to the previous one, only in this case it focuses its operation on capturing the energy of the tides and ocean currents in coastal areas, generating electricity with their fluctuations.
• Biomass: Reuses waste such as agricultural, urban or forestry waste to produce energy either by combustion or conversion into biofuel materials.
• Biogas: Uses the decomposition phase of organic matter (mainly organic, agricultural, plant or animal waste) to generate biogas for later use as an energy source.
• Geothermal: Uses the heat generated by the Earth’s core to transform thermal energy into electrical energy or conduct it through heating systems.

Present and future of electricity generation

Due to their sustainable and inexhaustible nature, as well as their increasingly powerful competitive advantage compared to other less innovative and polluting energies, alternative sources have become the present and future of the energy transition; where its insertion through an electricity generation, distribution and transport network, adapted to the new multi-point generation reality and its requirements, and its storage in battery systems will be part of the formula for success of a greener future.

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