The world is on the fast track to renewable energy innovation. With these growing industries come factories and workers by the thousands. Let’s look at some of the exciting sources of renewable energy innovation and how some of the worker safety issues can be addressed.
We still have ways to go before renewable energy can be a consistent source. But there are exciting advances in the most promising renewables.
Solar Power for Renewable Energy Innovation
Renewable energy sources are generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat. With the recent innovations, alternative energy sources have been increasingly used to generate electricity and power our cities.
One of the most widely used renewable energy sources is solar power. Solar energy is energy converted from the sun to thermal or electrical energy. When sunlight consistently hits the earth at specific locations, reliable solar panels can help to generate a good flow of solar energy.
Solar power is a good form of renewable energy innovation because it’s affordable. However, sunlight does not heat the earth’s surface evenly due to the various locations and weather patterns. As a result, solar power’s effectiveness depends largely on your location and weather conditions. Solar energy works best in sunny locations with low moisture. Some of the top U.S. states for solar energy are Arizona, Nevada, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and Utah.
Wind Power
Fuel Cell
Fuel cell energy is derived from using the chemical energy of hydrogen or other fuels to produce electricity. Fuel cell energy can be used in multiple ways across different sectors. It is often used to drive large numbers of electrified systems. Some of the industries using fuel cell energy are transportation, power plants, commercial, industrial, and residential buildings. It is also considered a clean source of energy because it does not emit pollutants. Fuel cells are also used for energy storage.
Innovators, scientists, and engineers are still working on the challenges that we face in the renewable energy industry. Some of the major concerns are geographical locations, power quality issues, information barrier, resource costs, implementation costs, and a few other natural resource challenges. Most green energy sources as we know are uncontrollable by human. It’s still largely dependent on nature, or uncontrollable recourses such as the sun, wind, and ocean waves. The good news is that we’ve made enormous progress in the renewal energy industry. The harvested green energy is being used to supplement our daily energy consumptions, while helping to provide a clean and a healthy environment.
Despite the pandemic in the past two years, growth in the renewal energy sources are still going strong. Energy generated by wind increased by 17%, and solar energy increased by 19%. As technology advances, renewable energy sources will be critical in contributing to the world’s energy consumption. Innovative companies have the opportunity to build dependable energy platforms that can lead to clean and inexpensive energy that’s available anywhere in the world.
What About Workers?
The International Renewable Energy Agency 5+ million renewable energy jobs were available in 2019. That number is increasing annually. With companies returning to the manufacturing floor after the pandemic, those numbers stand to grow rapidly.
At SafetyToeShoesUSA, we are proud to support many companies in producing renewable energy platforms and products. We provide innovative safety shoes solutions to workers, managers, and visitors in the renewable energy sector. Many of the workers have reported an increase in job satisfaction, knowing that their organization cares for them to provide the most effective personal protective equipment / PPE on the job.
OSHA and other safety regulators give out annual citations to workplaces that don’t have the proper safety compliance. Many workplace injuries occur when workers are simply performing their regular work duties. Injuries are very painful and costly to any organization. Having the proper safety equipment protects your staff from unnecessary pains and suffering.
Different causes contributing to foot injuries:
Harmful feet and toes injuries are usually caused by:
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- Falling objects
- Sharp objects
- Heavy objects
- Rolling objects
Slipping and tripping are other hazards caused by:
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- Wet floors
- Oily surfaces
- Objects out of place
- Cords and wires in work areas
- Rugs
- Uneven floors
- Insufficient lighting
Puncture related injuries caused by:
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- Sharp metal objects
- Broken glass
Companies can protect their employees by using foot protection that successfully guards them against foot puncture wounds, toe & foot crushing, and slip trip & fall accidents. You can read more in-depth on the topic of protection against expensive, avoidable workplace accidents in our blog, Trip and Fall Injuries – Top 7 of the Common Causes and Risks.
To order reusable, multi-sized safety overshoes for workers, managers, and guests visit one of our product pages here. For large order discounts, call our warehouse at 800-310-SAFE (7233).