Group items tagged

Sea waves have associated a form of renewable energy which can be captured by using a hydro mechanical device that in turn drives an electrical generator to produce electrical energy.

Wind power generates electricity with... No air emissions No fuel to mine, transport, or store No cooling water No water pollution No wastes

Wind power can reduce pollution generated by fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. A typical (750 kW) wind turbine provides enough power for 328 typical (non-electric heating) homes.

Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity.

"Worldwide, approximately 3000 gigawatts (1 gigawatt = 1 GW = 1 billion watts) of energy is continuously available from the action of tides.

The best areas are on the eastern sides of the oceans (western side of the continents) between the 40 and 60 latitudes in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

While the "wave power at deep ocean sites is three to eight times the wave power at adjacent coastal sites," constructing and mooring the site and transmitting the electricity to shore would be prohibitively costly.

What is a fuel cell?A fuel cell produces electricity from fuel and air. The simplest fuel cell produces electricity from hydrogen and air with water as the only by-product.

Where can fuel cells be used?Fuel cells in general can be used in many different circumstances, depending on the type of fuel cell. Topsoe Fuel Cell focuses on SOFC fuel cells, which can be used in:Auxiliary power units (APUs) provide electricity where there is no access to grid power. Fuel cell based APUs can be used on, for instance, long-haul trucks to generate power during breaks.Micro combined heat and power units may be scaled to meet the electricity demand in single family households. Combined heat and power generation for households is one of the most efficient ways to meet residential energy requirements.Distributed generation using SOFC technology offers efficient power generation, for example hospitals, shopping malls, in apartment buildings and in areas with low power capacity.

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

Hydrogen is colorless, odorless, tasteless and non-toxic. It is a gas at temperatures above -423° F and is highly diffuse, having a density approximately 14 times less than that of air. Because it is buoyant and diffusive, hydrogen dissipates quickly in open areas and can move through small spaces, which makes it difficult to store. Hydrogen is flammable over a broad range of gas concentration (from 4 to 74 percent), although its lower flammability limit – that is, the lowest temperature and pressure at which it will combust – is higher than those for some common fuels such as gasoline, propane or diesel.1 Hydrogen has been described as “the fuel of the future.” On Earth, hydrogen is found in combination with other elements such as carbon (hydrocarbons), oxygen (water) and nitrogen (ammonia). Although hydrogen may sometimes be used as a fuel, it is most often used as an energy carrier, such as electricity, and not an energy source. To make hydrogen a usable, stand-alone fuel, it must be separated from these other elements by chemical, thermal or electrochemical processes.

History British scientist Henry Cavendish identified hydrogen as a distinct element in 1766. Subsequent experiments by British and French scientists resulted in the first flight of a hydrogen balloon and the discovery that applying electricity to water can produce hydrogen and oxygen.

In the 1960s, NASA space capsules used hydrogen fuel cells for onboard electric power, heat and water.

  Fuel Cell Basics Through this website we are seeking historical materials relating to fuel cells. We have constructed the site to gather information from people already familiar with the technology–people such as inventors, researchers, manufacturers, electricians, and marketers. This Basics section presents a general overview of fuel cells for casual visitors. What is a fuel cell? How do fuel cells work? Why can’t I go out and buy a fuel cell? Different types of fuel cells.     What is a fuel cell? A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity by a chemical reaction. Every fuel cell has two electrodes, one positive and one negative, called, respectively, the anode and cathode. The reactions that produce electricity take place at the electrodes.

in general terms, hydrogen atoms enter a fuel cell at the anode where a chemical reaction strips them of their electrons. The hydrogen atoms are now “ionized,” and carry a positive electrical charge. The negatively charged electrons provide the current through wires to do work. If alternating current (AC) is needed, the DC output of the fuel cell must be routed through a conversion device called an inverter.

Oxygen enters the fuel cell at the cathode and, in some cell types (like the one illustrated above), it there combines with electrons returning from the electrical circuit and hydrogen ions that have traveled through the electrolyte from the anode. In other cell types the oxygen picks up electrons and then travels through the electrolyte to the anode, where it combines with hydrogen ions.

The sun delivers about 7000 times more energy than we currently consume globally. However, we cannot cover the whole surface of the Earth with solar energy collectors. How much of this energy can we collect? Will it be enough to replace fossil fuels?

Our global consumption of electricity in 2005 was 15,182 TWh/y (see The Little Green Handbook). However, 9,541 TWh/y of electricity was produced by fossil fuels and 2,555 TWh/y by nuclear power, or the total 12,096 TWh/y. Assuming the lowest solar potential and the lowest efficiency of solar cells we can calculate that we could produce 35 times more electricity than produced by fossil fuels and nuclear power. The additional advantage is that solar power is clean and last practically forever.

Even if we used only 1% of unused land area we could produce nearly 4 times more electricity than we produce using fossil fuels and nuclear power.

What is geothermal energy? Simply put, it is energy from the Earth. Geo refers to the solid part of the Earth and thermal refers to heat energy. Anywhere the Earth's surface is in close proximity to magma or volcanic activity under or near the Earth's surface, we can harness the energy.

When water flows toward the shore with the incoming tide, it flows through a tidal energy system, turning a turbine that generates electricity. When the tide shifts and flows in the opposite direction, away from shore, the tidal energy system again captures the energy with a turbine and converts it into electricity.

An important source of alternative energy is hydropower: converting the flow of rivers and ocean waves and tides into electricity through dams and turbines. The best part about both of these water sources is that they’re 100 percent renewable.

trictly, tidal power comes from the mov

Somewhat surprisingly, the hot air that carries the heat from the earth at geothermal sites also contains carbon dioxide, CO2, the Greenhouse Gas that sends anti-technologists into a frenzy.  The suite of 20 geothermal sites from which Southern California Electric is obligated to buy electricity produces 730 tonnes of CO2 for every gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity produced.  Across the spectrum of all natural-gas power plants in the US, the average CO2 production is 519 tonnes per GWh.  That is, the geothermal power plants, which burn no fossil fuels whatsoever, produce 41% more CO2 than the run-of-the-mill natural gas power plant for the same amount of electrical energy produced.

Transmission lines, Electric power transmission or "high voltage electric transmission" is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating Geothermal plants. Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_po… 2 years ago

A Solar Energy system can operate entirely independently, not requiring a connection to a power or gas grid at all. Systems can therefore be installed in remote locations, making it more practical and cost-effective than the supply of utility electricity to a new site.

A Solar Energy system can operate entirely independently, not requiring a connection to a power or gas grid at all. Systems can therefore be installed in remote locations, making it more practical and cost-effective than the supply of utility electricity to a new site.