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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.
logansar99

Wave Energy - 2 views

  • northwestern coasts of the United States.
  • Positive or negative impacts on marine habitat (depending on the nature of additional submerged surfaces, above-water platforms, and changes in the seafloor);
  • Toxic releases from leaks or accidental spills of liquids used in those systems with working hydraulic fluids;
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  • Conflict with other sea space users, such as commercial shipping and recreational boating;
  • Visual and noise impacts (device-specific, with considerable variability in visible freeboard height and noise generation above and below the water surface)
  • Wave power varies considerably in different parts of the world, and wave energy can't be harnessed effectively everywhere
tuckeremi99

Is Current Wind Growth Sustainable? | Renewable Energy World Magazine Article - 0 views

  • wind farms are not only capital intensive but also have a long gestation period – could prove to be prohibitive for many potential investors.
  • terms of global policy, governments need to boost investments in onshore and offshore wind generation through the right mix of supportive policies and incentives.
  • wind energy will become even more attractive as it serves as an insurance against future increases in fuel and carbon prices, while reducing our dependency on fossil fuels imported from volatile regions.
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  • Both in Europe and in the US, some 40% of all new power generating capacity installed in the past two years was wind energy. If the economic crisis continues, however, the reduction in power demand will start to impact wind energy, simply because of lower demand for new power plants. Nevertheless, the medium and long-term outlook remains very healthy, as political momentum is building towards a low carbon economy, without which humankind will not overcome three of the biggest concerns of our time – climate protection, energy security and the provision of jobs.
  • Wind power’s credentials as a rapidly deployable clean technology have put it at the forefront in the fight against climate change. Neither new nuclear capacity or carbon capture and storage (CCS) will contribute to CO2 reductions within the timeframe that the climate scientists give us. As a no-fuel, no-carbon emissions source of electricity, wind energy will play a big part in reducing carbon emissions before 2020.
  • A key element for policy makers is to dramatically improve competition in power markets, to ensure that investors, rather than consumers, are exposed to
  • The growth in wind power capacity has shown no signs of slowing, even in these tough economic times. For two years running there has been more new wind power capacity installed than any other power generating technology in Europe – including coal, gas and nuclear. In 2009 the European market for wind turbines experienced a 23% growth rate, the same as the average growth rate over the last 15 years.
  • future carbon and fuel price risk.
  • Wind power is a leader now, and will remain so in the future, attracting big investments and creating jobs. There is a boom waiting to happen in offshore wind energy. But, Europe’s ageing electricity grids must be upgraded and extended, and the EU must also pursue a drive to build an offshore grid in the North and Baltic seas that will connect offshore wind farms to the shore, piping vast amounts of CO2-free energy to consumers at affordable prices.
  • cleaner energy
  • he fact that wind is the most cost effective and scalable renewable source of energy.
  • past several years.
  • dynamic growth rate of the
  • Because of the small size of the existing installed base, the offshore wind sector will see higher growth percentages while the number of onshore turbines will continue to outpace those installed offshore.
  • Continued investment in grid infrastructure is critical for growth as well as wind turbine technology investments that improve efficiency and reliability while driving down emissions. Countries with the most efficient and flexible permitting processes will benefit by realizing the installation of the most advanced technology.
  • but renewable sources, and in large part, wind energy, have an extremely important role to play.
  • A fundamental value of wind is that it lowers risk in the overall generation mix by bringing in a fixed electricity cost. You don’t have any fuel risk, so you don’t have these big price spikes that you see when you generate electricity from gas or oil.
  • The wind power market is still intact. Demand for ‘green’ power stations remains unabated and nearly all governments have adopted policies aimed at environmental sustainability.
  • As our industry is still very young, wind power currently contributes only around 1.5% to global electricity supplies.
  • this merely serves to highlight the enormous potential for the future, especially as wind power is not only clean but also inexpensive. This is something that more and more governments and energy companies are realizing.
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    "The growth in wind power capacity has shown no signs of slowing, even in these tough economic times. For two years running there has been more new wind power capacity installed than any other power generating technology in Europe - including coal, gas and nuclear. In 2009 the European market for wind turbines experienced a 23% growth rate, the same as the average growth rate over the last 15 years."Both in Europe and in the US, some 40% of all new power generating capacity installed in the past two years was wind energy. If the economic crisis continues, however, the reduction in power demand will start to impact wind energy, simply because of lower demand for new power plants. Nevertheless, the medium and long-term outlook remains very healthy, as political momentum is building towards a low carbon economy, without which humankind will not overcome three of the biggest concerns of our time - climate protection, energy security and the provision of jobs." "Wind power is a leader now, and will remain so in the future, attracting big investments and creating jobs. There is a boom waiting to happen in offshore wind energy. But, Europe's ageing electricity grids must be upgraded and extended, and the EU must also pursue a drive to build an offshore grid in the North and Baltic seas that will connect offshore wind farms to the shore, piping vast amounts of CO2-free energy to consumers at affordable prices."
handste99

Revolution Green: A True Story of Biodiesel in America - 0 views

  • There are over 180,000 fueling stations nationwide. About 40% of those service petroleum diesel fuel, and less than 1% service biodiesel.
  • Biodiesel is simple to use and requires no costly engine conversions or infrastructure changes to the current delivery system of diesel fuel.
handste99

Biofuels | BP - 0 views

  • Biofuels
  • We are working to produce biofuels that are low cost, low carbon, sustainable and able to fulfil the world’s transportation fuel needs on a large scale without compromising food production
dpurdy

Tidal Energy - 1 views

  • Tidal energy is energy that can be obtained from the changing sea levels. In other words, tidal energy is a direct result of tide shifting from low to high.
bannonmel99

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

  • Winds are caused by the interaction of the uneven heating of the atmosphere with the uneven surface of the earth, and the earth’s rotation
logansar99

BBC NEWS | Technology | Wave farms show energy potential - 1 views

  • Ocean waves carry tremendous power, and could, in theory at least, provide much of the world's electricity.
  • "What gives us tremendous hope with this technology is that our opening costs are substantially below where wind power started 20, 25 years ago."
  • Wind power has reduced its cost by 80% since, as the technology has been deployed and optimised, he says.
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  • Ms Pontes says wave energy could someday supply 20% of Portugal's power.
  • "That's equal to about six-and-a-half percent of our total capacity in the United States, equal to all the dams that we have in the US right now."
  • The European Union has proposed a commitment to generate 20% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020.
smithkai143

Kinetic energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.[1] It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes. The same amount of work is done by the body in decelerating from its current speed to a state of rest.
gerardijos98

US.energy.consumption.pie.chart.jpg (762×497) - 2 views

  •  
    image of US energy source use ;wave energy is others bc it is experimental 
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
sankeyrya00

The Energy Story - Chapter 16: Wind Energy - 2 views

    • shannonlan97
       
      inside of turbine picture
  • Farmers have been using wind energy for many years to pump water from wells using windmills like the one on the right
  • When a boat lifts a sail, it is using wind energy to push it through the water. This is one form of work.
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  • Wind is also used to turn large grinding stones to grind wheat or corn, just like a water wheel is turned by water power.
  • Wind can be used to do work. The kinetic energy of the wind can be changed into other forms of energy, either mechanical energy or electrical energy
  • n Holland, windmills have been used for centuries to pump water from low-lying areas.
  • Blowing wind spins the blades on a wind turbine – just like a large toy pinwheel.
  • If the wind gets too high, the turbine has a brake that will keep the blades from turning too fast and being damaged.
  • You can use a single smaller wind turbine to power a home or a school. A small turbine makes enough energy for a house.
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    "The blades of the turbine are attached to a hub that is mounted on a turning shaft. The shaft goes through a gear transmission box where the turning speed is increased. The transmission is attached to a high speed shaft which turns a generator that makes electricity."
dpurdy

Huge challenges in scaling up biofuels infrastructure - 1 views

  • Major changes will be needed to grow, handle, transport and store the immense quantities of biomass -- mostly lignocellulosic feedstocks such as switchgrass, crop residues and forest wastes -- necessary to continually feed electric power generation stations and produce biofuels for transportation,
  • converting to a system in which biomass provides much of the country's energy will require new ways of thinking about agriculture, energy infrastructure and rural economic development.
  • It is estimated that bioenergy has the potential to provide up to 60 percent of the world's primary energy, and biomass seems poised to provide a major alternative to fossil fuels,"
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  • "Thus, the combination of expected growth in energy demand and the lower density of biomass imply that by 2050, biomass transport volumes will be greater than the current capacity of the entire energy and agricultural commodity infrastructure,
  • "For example, a large biofuel plant would require 16 to 20 tanker trucks or railcars per day to move the fuel to market, increasing both traffic and costs."
dpurdy

War of Currents - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

    • dpurdy
       
      use this picture for how generators work.
  • The advantage of AC for distributing power over a distance is due to the ease of changing voltages using a transformer. Available power is the product of current × voltage at the load. For a given amount of powe
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dpurdy

HowStuffWorks "How the Hydrogen Economy Works" - 3 views

  • In the hydrogen economy, there is no storehouse to tap into. We have to actually create the e­nergy in real-time.
  • There are two possible sources for the hydrogen: Electrolysis of water - Using electricity, it is easy to split water molecules to create pure hydrogen and oxygen. One big advantage of this process is that you can do it anywhere. For example, you could have a box in your garage producing hydrogen from tap water, and you could fuel your car with that hydrogen. Reforming fossil fuels - Oil and natural gas contain hydrocarbons -- molecules consisting of hydrogen and carbon. Using a device called a fuel processor or a reformer, you can split the hydrogen off the carbon in a hydrocarbon relatively easily and then use the hydrogen. You discard the leftover carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
  • To have a pure hydrogen economy, the hydrogen must be derived from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels so that we stop releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Having enough electricity to separate hydrogen from water, and generating that electricity without using fossil fuels, will be the biggest change that we see in creating the hydrogen economy.
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  • In the future, barring some technological breakthrough, it seems likely that one of two things will happen to create the hydrogen economy: Either nuclear-power or solar-power generating capacity will increase dramatically.
  • The electrical-generation problem is probably the biggest barrier to the hydrogen economy
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