| Solar energy is renewable, and has become quite | | | | modification to the engine for that to happen. It can be |
| common in areas that have a dependable number of | | | | devised from animal and virgin vegetable oil, from |
| days of sunshine such as California and Arizona. Solar | | | | waste and from fats also referred to as lipids. Not only |
| heat collectors can be seen on roofs all over the | | | | can you use virgin vegetable oil in a diesel engine but |
| Southwest. | | | | these engines were actually first designed to run not |
| There are many ways to use the sun to generate | | | | on fossil fuel but on vegetable oil. |
| renewable energy. These can include the generation | | | | The primary benefit of using renewable bio diesel |
| of electricity through photovoltaic solar cells, the | | | | energy is that its emissions are considerably lower. |
| generation of electricity through a concentration of | | | | Carbon monoxide and other harmful hydrocarbon |
| solar power, or the generation of electricity by turbines | | | | emissions are reduced by 20-40 percent with bio |
| and a solar updraft tower which traps heated air and | | | | diesel energy. There are areas where farmers grow |
| thus rotates the turbines. | | | | corn, sugar beets, switch grass, sugar cane and corn |
| Solar renewable energy can heat dwellings and other | | | | stalk for the express purpose of providing energy for |
| commercial buildings through a passive solar design. It | | | | fuel cells and combustion engines. These products |
| can heat food with the use of solar oven, and heat air | | | | produce ethanol, otherwise known as grain alcohol, |
| or water for hot water or heating space with the | | | | which is becoming more and more common an |
| thermal panels we mentioned earlier. Solar chimneys | | | | automotive fuel resource. E85, an automotive fuel, is |
| are another means of heating and cooling air. | | | | made up of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent |
| Another renewable energy resource is bio matter, | | | | gasoline. It is now being sold to the general public. |
| which produces bio fuel. Plants are one example of bio | | | | Future plans, or at least future hopes, for renewable |
| fuel sources. Sugar can give off bio diesel, bagasse | | | | energy include biosynthetic liquid fuel to run our |
| and ethanol. These can be burned in boilers or internal | | | | vehicles. The process that would manufacture this |
| combustion engines. The typical method is to burn the | | | | would more than likely be a biomass-to-liquid production |
| bio fuel, thus releasing its chemical energy. | | | | method, which is also known as Fischer-Tropsch |
| Researchers are strenuously working on other ways | | | | processing, after its founders. |
| of converting these bio fuels into electricity, perhaps | | | | Sugar cane is actually a direct renewable bio fuel |
| through such as fuel cells. | | | | energy resource, too. Either the crop is grown |
| Liquid bio fuel is composed of either bio alcohol ethanol | | | | specifically for combustion or it is used for other things |
| is one example or bio-oil. Vegetable oil and bio diesel | | | | and the waste that comes from the plant, after |
| are two examples of the latter. Bio diesel is used in | | | | processing, is then used for combustion. |
| diesel engines and doesnt require much if any | | | | |