The World's Unusual Sources of Renewable Energy

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Business Energy

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Capturing Energy during the Night and from Space

When people say renewable energy or green energy for the majority of people the first thing to come to mind is Wind Farms and Solar Panels. However, there are many other forms of renewable energy and here are some of the most unusual.

Dancing

The energy of dancing is captured through a process called Piezoelectricity, in simple terms is energy produced when pressure is applied to an object such as a foot on a floor.

Because of this movement nightclubs in London have the idea of applying this technology to dancefloors with the idea of club-goers creating kinetic energy when their dancing feet hit the floor. The energy created can be transferred through a series of springs and power banks that can be used to power the night club. The technology is already being used in nightclubs in Japan.

Ideas for Piezoelectricity does not end there. Heathrow airport and London Tube have already added special tiles to ready themselves for the use of this technology. Once the matter of expense is addressed, the technology could indeed be rolled out further to aid the use of green energy.

Jellyfish

Yes, you have read right. Research from Sweden has revealed that a jellyfish protein can create a photovoltaic (solar) cell. This cell is promising to help us understand how to better enhance the use of solar panels which although are widely used, for the average person takes a long time for the return of investment. This new discovery promises to be a low-cost step towards renewable innovation with the official name of “bio-solar”

Sugar

Scientists in Virginia are currently developing a method of converting sugar into hydrogen that can be used in a fuel cell to create a cheaper, cleaner and pollutant-free drive.

The method combines plant sugars, water and 13 powerful enzymes in a reactor, converting the concoction into hydrogen and trace amounts of carbon dioxide. The hydrogen is then be captured and pumped through a fuel cell to produce energy. This process would deliver three times more hydrogen than traditional methods and would save money for drivers all over the world.

Exploding Lakes

There are only 3 exploding lakes in the world with the explosion caused by reservoirs of methane and carbon dioxide. These gases are trapped and when the temperature of the water in the lake changes an eruption can occur.

One exploding lake in Rwanda has seen the potential of this energy. Three generators have been built and they are able to capture the gases released and turn them into renewable energy that is used to generate electricity.