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kenyonlau99

How much power is generated in the United States by solar power? - 2 views

  • just over 843,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity were provided by solar power. The vast majority of that, more than 666,500 kWh, were produced in California. Roughly 14 percent of the total renewable energy generated in the U.S. in 2008 was solar energy. And remember that these numbers continue to grow each year. The solar industry has been growing on an average of 30-40 percent each year, and as the industry grows, so will the amount of clean, renewable power it puts out. Interested in Home Solar Energy? Fill in your details below and certified solar contractors will give you FREE estimates. What type of Solar Energy services are you interested in? * Please Select Solar Electrical Solar Thermal First Name * Last Name * Zipcode *
    • kenyonlau99
       
      GOOD INFO!
  • The EIA states that just over 843,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity were provided by solar power. The vast majority of that, more than 666,500 kWh, were produced in California. Roughly 14 percent of the total renewable energy generated in the U.S. in 2008 was solar energy. And remember that these numbers continue to grow each year. The solar industry has been growing on an average of 30-40 percent each year, and as the industry grows, so will the amount of clean, renewable power it puts out.
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    how much solar energy is being converted in the USA?
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    "How much power is generated in the United States by solar power? ted-vollgraff According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), renewable energy accounted for 7 percent of U.S. energy consumption in 2008. Solar power accounted for only one percent. But, considering how much energy is consumed each year in the United States, that is still a decent bit of power. The EIA states that just over 843,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity were provided by solar power. The vast majority of that, more than 666,500 kWh, were produced in California. Roughly 14 percent of the total renewable energy generated in the U.S. in 2008 was solar energy. And remember that these numbers continue to grow each year. The solar industry has been growing on an average of 30-40 percent each year, and as the industry grows, so will the amount of clean, renewable power it puts out. "
leonardsar99

How Much Power Does a Solar Panel Generate? | eHow.com - 0 views

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    "Solar panels produce electric power according to their size, efficiency and how much sunlight they receive. For homeowners and small businesses, roof-mounted panels are a typical option. Solar panels rated at 100 to 200 watts cover about 10 square feet (1 square meter). The power you get from a 100-watt solar panel depends on how much sunlight it receives, and on a daily basis the total power is much less than the rated wattage"
kramerjac99

The Physics of Tidal Energy - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • a tidal energy project is moving ahead in Maine, with high costs but high hopes too. But the 180-kilowatt unit that the Ocean Renewable Power Company hopes to put under water next week is really just a first step. The big question is, how well will it withstand the force of the rushing water?
  • The region, the Bay of Fundy, is famous for strong tides, but the company has picked a spot called Cobscook Bay, where the current is relatively slow, an average of 5.8 knots, or 6.7 miles an hour. That is the speed at which the hardware will produce 180 kilowatts.
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    How it works, how fast the waves are
kilburnzac00

How Much Solar Energy is Used in the World? | Solar Energy Facts - 1 views

  • How much solar energy is used in the world? Global capacity for solar energy production reached 39.8 GigaWatts (0.0398 terawatts) in 2010 . Here are the top 10 solar energy producing countries in the world:
  • United States (1,650 MW
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    how much solar energy is used in the US
krolnik98

how wind energy works - 2 views

    • krolnik98
       
      good moving diagram
  • How Does Wind Energy Work? The diagram below shows a simplified version how a wind turbine converts the kinetic energy in the wind to electrical energy around the country. If you can't see the diagram you will need to download flash to see it. The wind blows on the blades and makes them turn. The blades turns a shaft inside the nacelle (the box at the top of the turbine) The shaft goes into a gearbox which increases the rotation speed enough for... The generator, which uses magnetic fields to convert the rotational energy into electrical energy. These are similar to those found in normal power stations. The power output goes to a transformer, which converts the electricity coming out of the generator at around 700 Volts (V) to the right voltage for distribution system, typically 33,000 V. The national grid transmits the power around the country.
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    cool pics plus good info
kennedyeri98

How Much Does Solar Energy Cost? | Solar Energy Facts - 1 views

  • Which State do you live in?
  • Federal solar tax rebate
  • most of the cost of your system has to do with where you live.
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  • These can be tax write-offs or money back in your pocket.
  • Many states, like New Jersey and Massachusetts, have developed credit markets. You get credits for producing solar and you can sell them for money.
  • if you can cut your power bill before you go solar, everything will cost less. Consider a home energy audit before upgrading to solar energy.
  • Local utilities and municipalities (LA is a great example) have their own solar energy subsidies
  • How much Solar Energy do you Want to Produce?
  • Sometimes just knocking off a part of the bill can give you huge monthly electricity cost savings, as in the case of tiered electricity rates
  • In some areas your utility will pay you for an extra electricity you send back to the grid.
  • importance of energy efficiency
  • If you buy the system you’ll see big up-front costs
  • so you might not get to claim all the credits and rebates available.
  • Generally this option trades long-term financial gain for low (or no) up-front cost.
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    How much the cost is and the importance of the place you are changing the cost and refund/credits you will ether gain or lose
wellsann99

How does wind generate electricity? - Curiosity - 1 views

  • the wind turbine collects kinetic energy from the wind and transfers it to the generator. The blades on the turbine turn as the wind blows. As these blades move, they rotate a shaft connected to the rotor of a generator. The spinning magnets of the generator convert that rotational energy into electricity.
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    how wind becomes electricty
dpurdy

Wind Energy Basics - 1 views

  • The major challenge to using wind as a source of power is that it is intermittent and does not always blow when electricity is needed. Wind cannot be stored (although wind-generated electricity can be stored, if batteries are used), and not all winds can be harnessed to meet the timing of electricity demands. Further, good wind sites are often located in remote locations far from areas of electric power demand (such as cities).
  • Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to fossil fuel power plants, there is some concern over the noise produced by the rotor blades, aesthetic (visual) impacts, and birds and bats having been killed (avian/bat mortality) by flying into the rotors. Most of these problems have been resolved or greatly reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants.
  • A Renewable Non-Polluting Resource Wind energy is a free, renewable resource, so no matter how much is used today, there will still be the same supply in the future. Wind energy is also a source of clean, non-polluting, electricity. Unlike conventional power plants, wind plants emit no air pollutants or greenhouse gases. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in 1990, California's wind power plants offset the emission of more than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, and 15 million pounds of other pollutants that would have otherwise been produced. It would take a forest of 90 million to 175 million trees to provide the same air quality.
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  • Cost Issues Even though the cost of wind power has decreased dramatically in the past 10 years, the technology requires a higher initial investment than fossil-fueled generators. Roughly 80% of the cost is the machinery, with the balance being site preparation and installation. If wind generating systems are compared with fossil-fueled systems on a "life-cycle" cost basis (counting fuel and operating expenses for the life of the generator), however, wind costs are much more competitive with other generating technologies because there is no fuel to purchase and minimal operating expenses.
    • dpurdy
       
      Good point for how we will need to change in future! To get more wind energy.
  • Wind energy is very abundant in many parts of the United States. Wind resources are characterized by wind-power density classes, ranging from class 1 (the lowest) to class 7 (the highest). Good wind resources (e.g., class 3 and above, which have an average annual wind speed of at least 13 miles per hour) are found in many locations
  • Wind speed is a critical feature of wind resources,
  • In other words, a stronger wind means a lot more power.
  • Horizontal turbine components include: blade or rotor, which converts the energy in the wind to rotational shaft energy; a drive train, usually including a gearbox and a generator; a tower that supports the rotor and drive train; and other equipment, including controls, electrical cables, ground support equipment, and interconnection equipment. Wind turbine diagram - click for enlarged image.
  • Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth's terrain, bodies of water, and vegetative cover.
  • How Wind Power Is Generated The terms "wind energy" or "wind power" describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power.
dynesbri97

Renewable Solar Energy: How is Wind Formed - 0 views

  • Wind is formed by the indirect effect of the sun on the Earth’s surface. There is a reasonable explanation why is it so. As the sun shines, the Sun heats the Earth's surface; the air near ground level gets hot and rises up. Cold air at higher altitudes replaces it. At nighttime the process is reversed. This is  in principal how is wind formed on Earth.
  • This process of hot air rising and colder air sinking, causes high and low air pressure areas and results in wind formation. The more the pressure changes in an area, the faster the wind speed will be. If two areas are close to each other, pressure difference will cause higher wind speed to be produced compared to areas that are far apart from each other. This is how the wind is formed on Earth and this phenomena is known as vertical wind formation
dpurdy

How Fuel Cells Work - 0 views

  • Most fuel cells designed for use in vehicles produce less than 1.16 volts of electricity—far from enough to power a vehicle. Therefore, multiple cells must be assembled into a fuel cell stack.
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    great pic on how fuel cells look. 
sankeyrya00

Wind Turbines - Kinetic wind energy generator technology - 0 views

  • Though our scientists may claim that they are inventing something new by using wind as a source of generating energy, the truth is that wind is being used for centuries for this purpose. An example of this is an article published in 1838, which clearly shows that even in those times, wind was considered an important source of energy. Here are a few quotes that were recorded in the past, which prove that wind was always important in generating energy
  • Renewable energy production and demand growth is gaining momentum in many ways across the world. There is a booming demand of wind power today and all wind energy equipment manufacturers are gearing up to meet the demand and take advantage of it. Wind power capacity growth will be reaching 447GW in the next five years and by year 2014 end, Asia will lead the world in installed wind capacity.
  • Yes, the day is not far off when reaching for sky is the new motto for generating cost-effective renewable energy. Initially it was considered to be technically non-viable to tap high-altitude winds. But today, technically-advanced materials and innovative computer know-how are giving new life to this scheme with innovative autonomous aerial structures using wind energy to generate power
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  • It's an expert estimation that the total energy stored in wind is 100 times higher than actually needed by humans on this earth. The catch is that we have to learn and devise ways to trap this wind power blowing across the planet earth. Experts tell us one more thing that most of the wind energy is available at high altitude and we can’t manufacture turbines of that height. So we have to think of new ways to trap that wind power blowing at a significant height. Some experts estimate that the total energy contained in wind is 100 times the amount needed by everyone on the planet. However, most of this energy is at high altitudes, far beyond the reach of any wind turbine.
  • Presently Fluid Dynamics Expert, John Dabiri, is very much on the quest of improving designs of wind turbines. Spotting behaviours that may throw light on energy-related practices in biological system and trying to implement that in real-life situations is part of that quest and Mr.Dabiri is jubilant that he is learning lessons from a school of fish! Water-energy, and wind energy are both studied.
  • A research company in New Hampshire recently patented its bladeless wind turbine, which is based on a patent issued to Nikola Tesla in 1913. This wind turbine is christened as the Fuller Wind Turbine. This turbine is developed by Solar Aero. The specialty of Fuller Wind Turbine is it has only one rotating part, known as the turbine-driveshaft. The entire machinery is assembled inside a housing. Wind turbines are often disliked by environmentalists because they kill birds and bats and often generate noise for the residents living nearby
  • GE, the US industrial group, is promoting and showing confidence in offshore wind technology by buying ScanWind, which makes direct-drive turbine components. This move will help in generating thousands of new jobs in the field of designing and manufacturing turbines. This move will affirm the confidence of investors in the fledgling offshore wind industry, which has been weighed down by concerns about costs and reliability. GE is moving ahead with establishing turbine manufacturing facilities to serve the European markets at first. They have to make up their mind about the size of the investment and location
  • The Metropolis Magazine has been holding Next Generation Design Competition since 2003. They want to provide a platform for young designers to promote the spirit of activism, social involvement, and entrepreneurship. They offer prize money of $ 10,000. But the real attraction is the publicity given to the projects of winners and runners-up. This recognition helps abstract ideas take concrete forms. For 2009, the theme for the Next Generation Design Competition was: How do we fix our energy addiction? They offered some guidelines, "Think about how we live and work, what we use, how we get where we need to go, hidden costs to our pocket books and the environment, across the whole design spectrum. Focus on one area that needs fixing—products, interiors, buildings and landscape, communication systems, or anything else you can imagine—and develop your idea fully. And above all, think of our energy addiction as a design problem at all scales."
  • sector. Wind turbines generate clean and green power for us but they have certain precondition. One of it is the power unit has to be set up in strong wind area. But Green Energy Technologies has developed a brand new wind power generator known as the WindCube. It is smaller compared to the normal wind generator. WindCube is specially designed to set up on the roof of a building in urban and rural areas. WindCube carries a 22 x 22 x 12 feet framework and its single unit can produce a maximum of 60kW of power
coreyemi99

How is solar energy converted into electrical energy - 0 views

  • Solar energy is very easyto change to electric energy. All you have to do is to take a solar cell. Put it in sunlight or other such source of light. It will use this light energy and will convert it into electric energy.
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    how solar energy is converted into electricity
crandallmad00

How Tidal Power is Riding the Crest of a Wave - 1 views

  • The argument for tidal power is overwhelming: it’s a practically infinite supply of clean energy and has one of the smallest carbon footprints of any power source; it’s reliable, cost-efficient, has minimal effect on the marine environment and virtually zero effect on sea-gazing aesthetics. Most importantly, The World Energy Council estimates that the energy that can be harvested from world’s oceans is equal to twice the electricity that the world produces now
  • A reason many energy experts are looking at what tidal may be able to contribute, compared to other renewable sources like wind power, is that the amount of energy generated from a power-generating turbine is proportional to the density of the fluid that flows back and forth – meaning a water turbine has several hundred times the power of an air turbine.
  • Seawater is denser than air; a lot denser – 832 times to be exact, meaning an 8 knot tidal current has more energy than a 380kph wind. This means a wave farm of ‘sea snakes’ – devices built by Scotland’s Pelamis Wave Power – covering half a square mile of ocean could produce 30 MWh of power, which is estimated to be enough for 20,000 homes. A wave farm covering 472 square miles could supply 24 million households – enough for the entire UK.
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  • Partly this has been due to the uncertainty of how to harness all this abundant marine energy. While it’s great that there’s the potential to harness up to 153 GW of tidal power in the UK alone,
greenhan99

how long has biofuels been around - Google Search - 0 views

  • Biofuels have been around as long as cars have. At the start of the 20th century
rodriguezjos99

Five Reasons Why Tidal Energy is the Wave of the Future - Green Living Ideas - 3 views

  • Green energy has never been more important than it is today with the looming threat of global warming. Every possible effort must be made to reverse the worldwide threat of climate change by subsidizing and switching to green energy. One often-overlooked source of clean, renewable energy comes not from solar, wind or geothermal power, but from the tides.
  • Tidal Energy is valuable to environmentalists because unlike fossil fuels the source of energy will not be depleted in the foreseeable future no matter how much energy is collected.
  • The collection of tidal energy is clean because it involves very little emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
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  • The pattern of tides is extremely stable and not strongly affected by weather conditions which suggests that it would be a very stable source of green energy.
  • Moving water can exert a much greater force on a turbine than wind which means the turbine can turn slowly and still produce a great deal of electricity. The slow and stable tidal forces are ideal parameters for engineering energy solutions. The fact that the turbines can be slow-moving makes it easier to avoid interfering with local ecosystems
  • While the initial cost of building tidal energy plants is high, the plants are expected to run for a very long time which will make them more cost-effective in the long run
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    "Five Reasons Why Tidal Energy is the Wave of the Future JANUARY 4, 2013 BY GUEST CONTRIBUTOR LEAVE A COMMENT Join GLI's 10,000 other followers on Twitter! Green energy has never been more important than it is today with the looming threat of global warming. Every possible effort must be made to reverse the worldwide threat of climate change by subsidizing and switching to green energy. One often-overlooked source of clean, renewable energy comes not from solar, wind or geothermal power, but from the tides. 1. Tidal Energy is Renewable Tidal Energy is valuable to environmentalists because unlike fossil fuels the source of energy will not be depleted in the foreseeable future no matter how much energy is collected. The gravitational relationship between the Earth and the moon is extremely stable in the long term just like solar, wind and geothermal energy. 2. Tidal Energy is Green The collection of tidal energy is clean because it involves very little emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. However, the marine ecosystem is fragile and great care must be taken to avoid interfering with the lives of organisms that depend on the tide."
leonardsar99

How long has solar power been around? - Fort Smith Alternative Energy | Examiner.com - 0 views

  • Using the sun's power has been around as early as the 7th century B.C. when people were using it to build fires. It is hypothesized that in 2nd century B.C. Archimedes used the reflective surfaces of bronze shields to burn ships invading Syracuse. However, it was not until 1973 when the Greek navy actually experimented with the notion and successfully burned a wooden ship at 50 meters. Sunrooms were common in houses and public buildings in the 6th century A.D. These were so common that "sun rights" were given to individuals. Swiss scientist Horace de Saussure was credited with building the world’s first solar collector in 1767. For a more descriptive timeline, this timeline lists the milestones in the historical development of solar technology from the 7th century B.C. up to today.
  • Using the sun's power has been around as early as the 7th century B.C. when people were using it to build fires. It is hypothesized that in 2nd century B.C. Archimedes used the reflective surfaces of bronze shields to burn ships invading Syracuse. However, it was not until 1973 when the Greek navy actually experimented with the notion and successfully burned a wooden ship at 50 meters. Sunrooms were common in houses and public buildings in the 6th century A.D. These were so common that "sun rights" were given to individuals. Swiss scientist Horace de Saussure was credited with building the world’s first solar collector in 1767. For a more descriptive timeline, this timeline lists the milestones in the historical development of solar technology from the 7th century B.C. up to today.
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    how long has solar energy been around?
giumarraant99

Hydrogen Fuel Cell | Yale Office of Sustainability - 1 views

  • At 250 kilowatts, the fuel cell produces 40-50% of the electricity for the Environmental Science Center. Its electricity production alone is 47% effective, and the addition of heat recovery allows for up to 60% efficiency
  • While designed to run on pure hydrogen, Yale’s fuel cell is actually powered by natural gas, 80% of which is usable hydrogen. The fuel cell takes in natural gas and water and produces water, electricity, and hot air.
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    Explains what this energy source is best suited for and how this energy source reduces other forms of pollution
dpurdy

Solar Electricity and how it works - Photovoltaic Systems and Components, Grid-Connecte... - 0 views

  • A valuable feature of photovoltaic systems is the ability to connect with the existing power grid which allows owners to sell excessive electricity back to the utility with a plan known as (5) Net Metering. At times when you are not using all of the electricity produced by your system, your meter will spin backwards selling the electricity back to the (6) utility power grid at retail rate.
  • (1) Solar Electric or PV modules convert sunlight to electricity. The PV modules generate DC electricity - or direct current - sending it to the inverter. (2) The inverter transforms the DC power into AC electricity for ordinary household needs. (3) Existing electrical panel distributes solar electricity and utility power to (4) loads (appliances). For systems with a battery backup (optional), the inverter also regulates the charge of batteries. The electricity stored in the batteries can be used at night or during blackouts.
    • dpurdy
       
      Great video showing solar cell (photovoltaic) in action.
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    Solar is not always connected to grid. Sometimes there are batteries, otherwise your system is connected to grid to share excess electricity.
Connor Wiggins

HowStuffWorks "How Fuel Cells Work" - 0 views

  • This initiative, supported by legislation in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) and the Advanced Energy Initiative of 2006, aims to develop hydrogen, fuel cell and infrastructure technologies to make fuel-cell vehicles practical and cost-effective by 2020
  • Why are governments, private businesses and academic institutions collaborating to develop and produce them? Fuel cells generate electrical power quietly and efficiently, without pollution. Unlike power
  • that use fossil fuels, the by-products from an operating fuel cell are heat and water
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  • With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead -- as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.
  • If you want to be technical about it, a fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity.
  • polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC)
  • United States has dedicated more than one billion dollars to fuel cell research and development so far.So what exactly is a fuel cell,
  • With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead -- as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals.
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    "In 2003, President Bush announced a program called the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (HFI) during his State of the Union Address."
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    It shows how its sustainable 
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