TypesofRenewableEnergyTherearefivetypesofrenewableenergy:

• Solar• Wind• Geothermal• MunicipalSolidWaste• Biomass

However,sincesolarandwindarethetwoprevalentrenewableenergysources,thisdocumentprovidesabriefexplanaBonofthevarioussystemsthatconvertthesenaturalsresourcesintoenergy.

SolarEnergyTheearth’ssunmakesmoreenergyinonesecondthantheamountsixbillionnuclearpowerplantswouldproduceinayear.ThesunisalsoulBmatelythesourceofallenergysupplies,exceptfornuclearandgeothermalenergy.

SolarEnergyConversionSystems

SolarElectricSystems

Photovoltaic(PV)systemsusesunlighttogenerateelectricity.APVpanelismadeupofmanyindividualsolarcells,allofwhicharecoveredwithaprotecBvesheetofglassinaPVmoduleorpanel.Thecellsaremadefromsilicon,averycommonchemicalelementfoundinsand.InaddiBontothepanels,aPVsystemusuallycontainsaninvertertocovertsolarpowerfromdirectcurrent(DC)tothealternaBngcurrent(AC)oftheuBlitygridpowertransmissionanddeliverysystem.BeforeinstallingaPVsystemonahomeorbusiness,itmakessensetomakeahomeorbusinessasenergyefficientaspossiblesoaccuratePVsizingcantakeplace.PVsystemscanbesizedandconfiguredtogenerateelectricityingrid‐connectedorstand‐aloneapplicaBons.

SolarThermalSystems

Passivesolarthermaldesigncanbeusedtoheathomesandbuildingsthataredesignedwithlargeareasofglassfacingsouthtomaximize“passivesolargain.”SolarthermalmasssuchasBlefloors,Trombewalls,andstonecancollect,store,anddissipatethesun’sheat.AcBvesolarthermalsystemstypicallyuseflatplateorevacuatedtubecollectorsthatcollectandconcentratethesun'sheatandtransfertheheattocirculaBngwaterorsomeotherheattransferfluid.AcBvesolarthermalsystemscanprovidespaceheaBng,waterheaBng,cooling,ordehumidificaBon.

SolarThermalGenera;onSystems

Solarthermalsystemscanalsogenerateelectricitythroughtechnologies,whichtakeadvantageofheatproducedbyconcentraBngthesun'sraysontoasmalllocaBonwithmirroredreflectors.

HybridSolarElectric/ThermalSystems

Solarsystemsthatproducebothelectricityandheatedair(PV/T)cangenerate2‐3BmesmoreenergythanastandalonePVsystemforapproximately25%morecost,accordingtosomemanufacturers.ThetwosolartechnologiesinonefootprintoffsetbothheaBngandelectricitycosts,whilealsoincreasingthePVperformancebyupto10%bycoolingthepanels.

WindEnergyWindpowerisoneofthemostefficient,deployable,scalableandaffordablerenewableenergytechnologies.ManyareasinMarylandhavewindspeedshighenoughtogeneratesignificantenergyforhomes,businessesandagriculture.UnderMaryland'snetmeteringstatute,customerscanreceivecreditforgeneratedenergyfromuBliBesevenwhenitexceedstheirdemand.BelowareseveralresourcesandprogramsthatcanhelpdeterminetheopBmallocaBonandscopeofanywindenergyproject.