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bakereli00

Global Warming and Climate Change | Greenpeace - 0 views

  • Research has shown that with current technology, renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and geo-thermal can provide almost all of our primary energy demand.
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    "The Solutions With current technology, renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and geothermal can provide 96% of our electricity and 98% of our total heating demand - accounting for almost all of our primary energy demand."
lemairenat98

Tidal Power | BC Sustainable Energy Association - 1 views

  • However, estuaries are among the world’s most productive and sensitive ecosystems, and barrages cause large disruptions to their natural processes. We will therefore not further consider barrage based tidal power as a truly sustainable energy resource.
  • While there are non-tidal based ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream, those are usually too diffuse to be a practical energy source. The tides cause water to flow inwards from the ocean twice a day during flood tides, and outwards during ebb tides. Additional monthly and annual cycles vary the strength of this current on a monthly and annual basis. Narrow and shallow constrictions produce the fastest and most powerful movements, whose energy can be captured using submerged turbines.
  • BC Hydro’s 2002 Green Energy Study for BC estimated the realistic energy potential for tidal current energy generation in BC to be 20 TWhrs/year. The estimated cost was 11 cents/kWhr for a large (800 MW) site, and 25 cents/kWhr for a small (43 MW) site. The best sites are in the Strait of Georgia and Johnstone Strait, which are both relatively close to the main centers of consumption.
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  • The second type is based on utilizing the fast-flowing marine currents caused by tidal action. While there are non-tidal based ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream, those are usually too diffuse to be a practical energy source. The tides cause water to flow inwards from the ocean twice a day during flood tides, and outwards during ebb tides.
  • Nevertheless, it is a truly sustainable energy source which is also very predictable. It is not subject to the vagaries of weather or climate change, and while the energy varies, it follows a predictable pattern that is known many years in advance.
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    oceanic tides 
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    The second type is based on utilizing the fast-flowing marine currents caused by tidal action....it is a truly sustainable energy source which is also very predictable. It is not subject to the vagaries of weather or climate change, and while the energy varies, it follows a predictable pattern that is known many years in advance.
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    " costs are expected to fall to between 5 and 7 cents/kWhr."
sconzomic99

Climate Change: Causes - 0 views

dpurdy

Wave Energy: an Overview (Oxfordshire Climate Exchange) - 1 views

  • Waves are generated by winds blowing over the ocean surface.  Wave energy is effectively a stored and concentrated form of solar energy since the winds that produce them are caused by pressure differences in the atmosphere caused by the sun's differential heating of the earth's surface. Waves can efficiently transport energy for thousands of miles and retain their energy long after the winds that first created them have died down, which makes waves one of the most concentrated and consistent sources of renewable energy. 
  • Globally, the potential use of wave power is, unsurprisingly, limited to areas of the world where there are waves. On a global scale, this is dictated by global wind patterns, with the result that waves are more prevalent in the mid-latitudes (40-60(N/S), than nearer the equator where the lack of ocean wind is referred to as the 'doldrums'.  Interestingly, this potential for wave power contrasts with that of solar power, which is more effective in lower latitudes
    • dpurdy
       
      Location of wave power.
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  • it is widely anticipated that other types of renewable resources, including wave energy, will need to be developed in order to meet more challenging targets beyond 2020. 
  • As with most renewable energy sources, wave devices have no emissions during generation but the energy associated with the construction of the device does have small associated emissions.
    • dpurdy
       
      What do we need to do in the future to make this work.
  • it is essential that the current demonstration schemes are successful, to reassure future investors. The most important objective is to deploy full-size demonstration schemes in order to gain greater confidence in the most developed technologies (as in the EU's Atlas project). 
  • it will be necessary to significantly improve the network connections to the electricity suppliers.
mattianic99

Solar energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 3 views

  • Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun
  • radiant light and heat from the sun,
  • Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar energy technologies include solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity, solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis, which can make considerable contributions to solving some of the most urgent energy problems the world now faces.[1] [2]
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  • "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries’ energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating climate change, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global.
  • Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.
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    The technologies of solar energy.
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    the advantages of solar energy for the world 
tvedepai00

Energy and Climate Change Research at The Institute of Energy Systems | School of Engin... - 0 views

  • Our results suggest that in both cases the energy and carbon intensities have low carbon footprint and are broadly competitive with commercial large wind turbines.
dpurdy

Wind Energy and the Environment - Energy Explained, Your Guide To Understanding Energy ... - 0 views

  • They may also reduce the amount of electricity generated from fossil fuels and therefore reduce the amount of air pollution, carbon dioxide emissions, and water use of fossil fuel power plants.
  • Modern wind turbines are very large machines, and some people do not like their visual impact on the landscape. A few wind turbines have caught on fire, and some have leaked lubricating fluids, though this is relatively rare. Some people do not like the sound that wind turbine blades make. Some types of wind turbines and wind projects cause bird and bat deaths. These deaths may contribute to declines in species that are also being affected by other human-related impacts. Many birds are killed from collisions with vehicles and buildings, by house cats and hunters, and by pesticides. Their natural habitats may be altered or destroyed by human development and by the changes in the climate that most scientists believe are caused by greenhouse gases emissions from human activities (which wind energy use can help reduce).
  • Making the metals and other materials in wind turbines and the concrete for their foundations requires the use of energy, which may be from fossil fuels.
mcgarrdan98

Geothermal energy environmental impact | Earth's Heat - 0 views

  • First of all, harnessing geothermal energy does not have the devastating impact on climate change like burning of the fossil fuels does. It is true that fluids drawn from the earth's core include greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, but the amount of released greenhouse gas emissions is negligible compared to those from fossil fuel fired power plants.
  • One of the reasons for this is the fact that geothermal power plants are equipped with emission-control systems that reduce the exhaust.
  • geothermal power plants are connected with minimal freshwater and land requirements. This means that geothermal energy commonly has minimal impact on nearby ecosystems.
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  • Geothermal fluids contain elevated levels of certain toxic elements such as arsenic, mercury, lithium and boron, which means that geothermal plants need to be equipped with proper waste disposal units in order to ensure that the waste is disposed back into geothermal fields
    • dpurdy
       
      pollution from geothermal
  • constructing geothermal plant (which includes deep drilling) can affect land stability, and in some cases even trigger earthquakes (especially enhanced geothermal systems).
  • Geothermal power plants operate quietly meaning that they do not cause noise pollution.
  • It is often relatively easy to incorporate them into the existing environment without the obvious visual pollution because of their modest land requirements.
  • This natural source of energy provides efficient way to harness energy from with minimal impact on its surrounding environment.
dpurdy

EnergyBC: Tidal Power - 2 views

  • his is somewhat balanced out by long plant lives of 100 years for the actual barrage structure, and 40 for the equipment, as well as low operating costs.
  • An estimate is given by researcher Eleanor Denny. Denny estimates that in order for a facility to be profitable, its capital cost should be less than €530,000 (~$700,000 USD) per MegaWatt which with the current technology is not a realistic goal, meaning that so far the industry produces negative net benefits.50
  • Canada's Race Rocks site, where a single turbine generator converts 65 kW of energy, cost $4,000,000.54 This figure was met with $3,000,000 investment from project partner EnCana's Environmental Innovation Fund, and a grant of just under $1 million awarded to Pearson College and their partners in the project.
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  • This plant produces about 100 times the power generated at Race Rocks. An investment of around €8.5 million ($11 million USD) made SeaGen a reality.
  • The environmental impacts of tidal barrage include hampered fish migration, forced water level changes on the basin behind the barrage, reduced salinity in the basin due to low quantities of ocean water, and reduced ability of currents to transport and suspend sediments
  • sustainable energy resources produce limited amounts of carbon dioxide emissions
  • , they are, by nature, reliant on the natural environment and therefore are vulnerable to the effects of climate change
  • Brief History of Tidal Power The energy stored in tides been known to people for many centuries. The earliest records of tidal mills are dated back to the 8th Century CE.7 The tidal mills were mainly used for grain grinding and were of similar design to the conventional water mills with the exception of the addition of a dam and reservoir. The industrial revolution increased demand for power but tidal energy never got off the ground, undercut by cheap fossil fuels and other developments which offered easier access to power generation. Existing tidal mills became as obsolescent as pre-industrial water-mills. The first large scale modern tidal electric plant started to operate in La Rance Estuary, St. Malo, France in the 1960s and has been operating ever since. In recent years the search for renewable, non-polluting energy sources and the increase in fossil fuel prices has encouraged renewed interest in tidal power.
Xin Wang

Mapping US Tidal Power Potential | Climate Central - 0 views

  • It’s estimated that tidal power in Alaska could generate as much as 16 TWh/yr of energy (about four times more than what Hoover Dam generates in an average year). In the Lower 48, the potential energy from tidal power is just a fraction of that (just 0.6 TWh/year from Puget Sound, for example). Considering that no tidal power plants in these areas have even been approved yet, it’s going to be several years, or even decades, before Americans can rely on tidal power for their electricity. But for some regions, DOE says the energy from tidal currents will help meet the goal of generating 80 percent of America's electricity from clean sources by 2035.
behanjos99

Research Report: how does geothermal energy prevent climate chang3 - 0 views

  • Unlike a coal or Natural Gas plant, geothermal facilities do not need to purchase fuel to generate electricity
behanjos99

Geothermal Energy | Energy and Global Climate Change in New England | US EP - 0 views

  • The constant temperature of the Earth creates underground sources of heat, hot water and steam which become fuel to produce geothermal energy. People have used various forms of geothermal energy for hundreds of years; modern technology accesses these underground reservoirs, steam deposits and hot air by drilling, and then using the heat or hot water directly or using it to create power. Geothermal energy represents an enormous, underused power source that provides clean, renewable energy in virtually unlimited supply.
carpenteraut98

Fuel Cells for a Sustainable Future? | Tyndall°Centre for Climate Change Rese... - 0 views

  • >It is found that there are both technical and non technical barriers to the development of stationary fuel cells as a major component towards sustainable energy.
  • >It is found that there are both technical and non technical barriers to the development of stationary fuel cells as a major component towards sustainable energy.
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    "It is found that there are both technical and non technical barriers to the development of stationary fuel cells as a major component towards sustainable energy"
manzellaann99

Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy - 0 views

  • Geographical location and climate of a place can be a source of advantage or disadvantage of solar energy.
dpurdy

Unearthing the True Cost of Fossil Fuels : TreeHugger - 0 views

  • “true” cost of coal: Depending on how you factor in the costs of climate change, it could be between a few additional cents per kWh to a whopping ¢26.89 extra per kilowatt hour—the high-end estimate from the Harvard study. By way of comparison, the average American paid ¢11.54 per kWh on their residential electric bills last year.
dpurdy

How much CO2 does one solar panel create? | MNN - Mother Nature Network - 2 views

  • solar panels are at least 20x better on the climate than coal, kWh for kWh.
  • Based on that study, solar PV works out to about 50g of CO2 per kWh compared to coal's 975g of CO2 per kWh, or about 20x "cleaner."
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    Comparison of CO2 from photovoltaics and coal. 
dpurdy

The hidden costs of fossil fuels - and biofuels, too - CSMonitor.com - 1 views

  • Climate considerations aside, damages wrought by ethanol made from corn were usually similar to, or even slightly worse, than damages from gasoline. That’s because of the extra energy needed to convert corn to biofuel.
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