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olsentri00

Energy Article, Energy Conservation Information, Future Fuels Facts -- National Geographic - 0 views

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    Written by Michael Parfit Republished from the pages of National Geographic magazine Freedom! I stand in a cluttered room surrounded by the debris of electrical enthusiasm: wire peelings, snippets of copper, yellow connectors, insulated pliers. For me these are the tools of freedom. I have just installed a dozen solar panels on my roof, and they work.
bishophan00

Where Does Wind Power Come From? - 0 views

  •  Wind power is an interesting renewable energy source as wind turbines can essentially be placed anywhere geographically where there is ample wind to turn the wind blades.
  • One thing that we haven't written about extensively on the MyEnergySolution.com blog is wind power.  Wind power is an interesting renewable energy source as wind turbines can essentially be placed anywhere geographically where there is ample wind to turn the wind blades.
  • o put this in context, an average U.S. household uses about 10 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity each year. One megawatt of installed wind energy from a single large turbine can generate from 2,400 to more than 3,000 MWh annually – enough to power about 250 homes.
faglejoh98

Geothermal Energy Information, Geothermal Power Facts - National Geographic - 0 views

  • Geothermal energy has been used for thousands of years in some countries for cooking and heating. It is simply power derived from the Earth's internal heat.This thermal energy is contained in the rock and fluids beneath Earth's crust. It can be found from shallow ground to several miles below the surface, and even farther down to the extremely hot molten rock called magma.These underground reservoirs of steam and hot water can be tapped to generate electricity or to heat and cool buildings directly.A geothermal heat pump system can take advantage of the constant temperature of the upper ten feet (three meters) of the Earth's surface to heat a home in the winter, while extracting heat from the building and transferring it back to the relatively cooler ground in the summer
  • There are three types of geothermal power plants: dry steam, flash, and binary. Dry steam, the oldest geothermal technology, takes steam out of fractures in the ground and uses it to directly drive a turbine. Flash plants pull deep, high-pressure hot water into cooler, low-pressure water. The steam that results from this process is used to drive the turbine. In binary plants, the hot water is passed by a secondary fluid with a much lower boiling point than water. This causes the secondary fluid to turn to vapor, which then drives a turbine. Most geothermal power plants in the future will be binary plants.
  • It can be extracted without burning a fossil fuel such as coal, gas, or oil. Geothermal fields produce only about one-sixth of the carbon dioxide that a relatively clean natural-gas-fueled power plant produces.
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  • wer plants: dry steam, flash, and binary. Dry steam, the oldest geothermal technology, takes steam out of fractures in the ground and uses it to directly drive a turbine. Flash plants
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    good info.
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    Geothermal energy doesn't release much CO2
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    "There are three types of geothermal power plants: dry steam, flash, and binary. Dry steam, the oldest geothermal technology, takes steam out of fractures in the ground and uses it to directly drive a turbine. Flash plants pull deep, high-pressure hot water into cooler, low-pressure water. The steam that results from this process is used to drive the turbine. In binary plants, the hot water is passed by a secondary fluid with a much lower boiling point than water. This causes the secondary fluid to turn to vapor, which then drives a turbine. Most geothermal power plants in the future will be binary plants."
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.
bishophan00

Wind Power Information, Wind Power Facts - National Geographic - 1 views

  • Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution.
  • Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And as long as the wind blows, people will harness it to power their lives.
  • The wind spins the blades, which turn a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity. Other turbines work the same way, but the turbine is on a vertical axis and the blades look like a giant egg beater.
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  • At the end of last year, global capacity was more than 70,000 megawatts.
  • And since the wind is free, operational costs are nearly zero once a turbine is erected.
  • Globally, generation more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006.
  • n the energy-hungry United States, a single megawatt is enough electricity to power about 250 homes.
  • ndustry experts predict that if this pace of growth continues, by 2050 the answer to one third of the world's electricity needs will be found blowing in the wind.
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    where wind energy come from
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    ". At the end of last year, global capacity was more than 70,000 megawatts. In the energy-hungry United States, a single megawatt is enough electricity to power about 250 homes. "
butlerlei98

tidal energy - National Geographic Education - 0 views

  • Tidal energy is produced by the surge of ocean waters during the rise and fall of tides.
  • During the 20th century, engineers developed ways to use tidal movement to generate electricity in areas where there is a significant tidal range—the difference in area between high tide and low tide. All methods use special generators to convert tidal energy into electricity.
  • For most tidal energy generators, turbines are placed in tidal streams. A tidal stream is a fast-flowing body of water created by tides. A turbine is a machine that takes energy from a flow of fluid.
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  • The world's first tidal power station was constructed in 2007 at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. The turbines are placed in a narrow strait between the Strangford Lough inlet and the Irish Sea. The tide can move at 4 meters (13 feet) per second across the strait.
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    ". The United States has no tidal plants and only a few sites where tidal energy could be produced at a reasonable price."
sokolkyl00

Solar Power Energy Information, Solar Power Energy Facts - National Geographic - 0 views

  • Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global energy needs for an entire year. Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun's energy and make it useable. Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand.
  • In one technique, long troughs of U-shaped mirrors focus sunlight on a pipe of oil that runs through the middle. The hot oil then boils water for electricity generation. Another technique uses moveable mirrors to focus the sun's rays on a collector tower, where a receiver sits. Molten salt flowing through the receiver is heated to run a generator.
  • Despite the drawbacks, solar energy use has surged at about 20 percent a year over the past 15 years, thanks to rapidly falling prices and gains in efficiency. Japan, Germany, and the United States are major markets for solar cells. With tax incentives, solar electricity can often pay for itself in five to ten years.
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  • Solar energy is lauded as an inexhaustible fuel source that is pollution and often noise free. The technology is also versatile.
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    " Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand."
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    Intriguing facts about the suns energy on how they use it on oil and the drawback 
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    Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global energy needs for an entire year. Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun's energy and make it useable. Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand.
Connor Wiggins

Fuel Cells Information, Fuel Cells Facts, Fuel Cells Technology - National Geographic - 0 views

  • A fuel cell is a device that uses a source of fuel, such as hydrogen, and an oxidant to create electricity from an electrochemical process.
  • Most fuel cells in use today, however, use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.
  • Although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it is difficult to store and distribute. Canisters of pure hydrogen are readily available from hydrogen producers, but as of now, you can't just fill up with hydrogen at a local gas station.
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  • All fuel cells have the same basic configuration; an electrolyte and two electrodes. But there are different types of fuel cells, based mainly on what kind of electrolyte they use.
  • All fuel cells have the same basic configuration; an electrolyte and two electrodes. But there are different types of fuel cells, based mainly on what kind of electrolyte they use.
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    According to many experts, we may soon find ourselves using fuel cells to generate electrical power for all sorts of devices we use every day
filionmar99

Uses of Biofuel | National Geographic - 1 views

  • Even normal
  • gasoline vehicles can operate on a 10 percent ethanol blend with no problems. Diesel cars and trucks can run on biodiesel, though older models may need to have their fuel lines and gaskets replaced with modern synthetic materials, since biodiesel is a solvent
  • and use of biofuels to power aircraft is expected to increase substantially in the next decade. Because current biofuel production relies heavily on crops that also function as food or livestock feed, emphasis is on developing new sources that don't cause deforestation and compete with food production
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  • Small engines, like those found in lawn mowers and chainsaws, can use ethanol blends up to 10 percent without problems. The barrier to using higher blends, up to 20 percent, has more to do with manufacturers' warranties than limitations of the technology
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    this gives good info about the current energy being generated in the us today
stockmanchl99

Biofuel Facts, Biofuel Information - National Geographic - 0 views

  • Biofuels have been around as long as cars have. At the start of the 20th century, Henry Ford planned to fuel his Model Ts with ethanol, and early diesel engines were shown to run on peanut oil.
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    "On the face of it, biofuels look like a great solution. Cars are a major source of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas that causes global warming. But since plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, crops grown for biofuels should suck up about as much carbon dioxide as comes out of the tailpipes of cars that burn these fuels. And unlike underground oil reserves, biofuels are a renewable resource since we can always grow more crops to turn into fuel. Unfortunately, it's not so simple. The process of growing the crops, making fertilizers and pesticides, and processing the plants into fuel consumes a lot of energy. It's so much energy that there is debate about whether ethanol from corn actually provides more energy than is required to grow and process it. Also, because much of the energy used in production comes from coal and natural gas, biofuels don't replace as much oil as they use. For the future, many think a better way of making biofuels will be from grasses and saplings, which contain more cellulose. Cellulose is the tough material that makes up plants' cell walls, and most of the weight of a plant is cellulose. If cellulose can be turned into biofuel, it could be more efficient than current biofuels, and emit less carbon dioxide. "
dpurdy

Traditional Energy Sources vs. Green Power Sources | National Geographic - 2 views

  • Coal generates 2,249 pounds of carbon dioxide, 13 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 6 pounds of nitrogen oxides for every megawatt hour of energy generated.
  • Biomass produces nitrogen oxides and small amounts of sulfur dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide produced does not exceed that of the Earth's normal carbon cycle and is considered negligible.
dpurdy

Coal Burning, Fossil Fuels, Pollution - National Geographic - 0 views

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    We have more coal than other countries.
hollale00

Biofuels - National Geographic Magazine - 0 views

  • A century ago, Henry Ford’s first car ran on alcohol, while Rudolf Diesel fired his namesake engine with peanut oil. But both inventors soon discovered that “rock oil,” when slightly refined, held far more bang per gallon than plant fuel, and was cheap to boot. Oil soon left plant fuels in the dust. Only in periods of scarcity—like the OPEC oil embargo of 1973—did the U.S. and other countries turn back to ethanol, mixing it into gasoline to stretch supplies.
  • A century ago, Henry Ford’s first car ran on alcohol, while Rudolf Diesel fired his namesake engine with peanut oil. But both inventors soon discovered that “rock oil,” when slightly refined, held far more bang per gallon than plant fuel, and was cheap to boot. Oil soon left plant fuels in the dust. Only in periods of scarcity—like the OPEC oil embargo of 1973—did the U.S. and other countries turn back to ethanol, mixing it into gasoline to stretch supplies.
hardingmar00

geothermal energy - National Geographic Education - 0 views

  • Geothermal energy is heat that is generated within the Earth.
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