Renewable Energy Answers

1. Concentrated solar power can be used on rooftops to supply hot water for individual buildings and also to create steam to spin turbines that generate electricity at power plants.

2. Traditional hydropower changes the flow of a body of water, such as by building a dam or pumping water to a higher reservoir. Most of these facilities are found in the hills or mountains. New hydropower uses energy from the natural movement of water to produce electricity without changing the water’s flow, such as in a river.

3. The ocean acts as a solar collector and stores thermal (heat) energy, which can be harnessed to spin special turbine generators; the movement of the ocean’s waves and tides can be used with dams to force ocean water through turbines.

4. Geothermal energy comes from steam deep inside the earth.

5. Wind power could provide the power for 20% of the nation's electricity by 2030.

6. The two types of biomass, energy crops and methane gas produced by decay in landfills, both need to be burned in order to turn a turbine and generate electricity.