A Study on the State of the Art and the Future Utilization Prospect of Natural Energy Resources

자연(自然)에너지 자원(資源)의 유효이용(有效利用)과 개발수준(開發水準)에 관한 연구(硏究)

Most of the world's energy demand is met by fossil fuels, mainly petroleum and natural gas. Even though their production is not keeping up with the demand, there are many options before us-solar energy in its direct and indirect forms, nuclear breeders, thermonuclear power, geothermal energy, synthetic fluid fuels, and hydrogen as energy carrier to complement the nonfossil energy sources. But, before these energy alternatives can be utilized, in most cases, it is necessary to conduct extensive research and development work. In order to solve global energy and environmental issues, it is very important to develop and install energy supply systems which utilizes natural energy. The installation of these systems brings the following merits from the viewpoints of energy saving or environmental protection-(a) the positive use of natural energy reduces fossil fuel consumption; and (b) it also prevents environmental degradation. In this paper, the types of natural energy considered is confined to the solar, wind, hydraulic, geothermal and ocean-wave energy. And, the objective of the paper is to describe the state of the art of natural energy and future utilization prospect of them.