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Think of them as big batteries, but ones that only operate when fuel—in this case, pure hydrogen—is supplied to them.

Fuel Cost & Availability. Hydrogen is currently expensive to produce and is only available at a handful of locations, mostly in California. Vehicle Cost & Availability. Fuel cell vehicles are currently far too expensive for most consumers to afford, and they are only available to a few demonstration fleets.

The fuel cell is being considered as an eventual replacement for the internal combustion engine for cars, trucks and buses. Major car manufacturers have teamed up with fuel cell research centers or are doing their own development. There are plans for mass-producing cars running on fuel cells. Because of the low operating cost of the combustion engine, and some unresolved technical challenges of the fuel cell, however, experts predict that a large scale implementation of the fuel cell to power cars will not occur before 2015, or even 2020.

Most fuel cells are still handmade and are used for experimental purposes. Fuel cell promoters remind the public that the cost will come down once the cells are mass-produced and lower cost material are found. While an internal combustion engine requires an investment of $35 to $50 to produce one kilowatt (kW) of power, the equivalent cost in a fuel cells is still a whopping $3,000 to $7,500. The goal is a fuel cell that would cost equal or less than diesel engines.

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.

It development of technology have been well proven over the years of time. When the sun emit heat to warm of the Earth it would be unbearable without wind. Wind widely disperses the heat making it bearable for all living things to survive. Without wind nothing would exist, it would just like all the other planets uninhibited by human nature or any living things for that matter.

A wind turbine is a machine that transforms kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy.

Wind power was first used in ancient times with the sail boat.

current

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.

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

Geothermal Energy produces no pollution. There are virtually no greenhouse gases given off. There is no pollution.

CostChief among the problems associated with fuel cells is how expensive they are. Many of the component pieces of a fuel cell are costly.

InfrastructureIn order for PEMFC vehicles to become a viable alternative for consumers, there must be a hydrogen generation and delivery infrastructure. This infrastructure might include pipelines, truck transport, fueling stations and hydrogen generation plants

Geothermal Electricity Production This geothermal power plant generates electricity for the Imperial Valley in California. Geothermal power plants use steam produced from reservoirs of hot water found a few miles or more below the Earth's surface to produce electricity. The steam rotates a turbine that activates a generator, which produces electricity.

Energy Is the Ability To Do Work Energy comes in different forms: Heat (thermal) Light (radiant) Motion (kinetic) Electrical Chemical Nuclear energy Gravitational

Renewable Energy Renewable energy sources include: Solar energy from the sun, which can be turned into electricity and heat Wind Geothermal energy from heat inside the Earth Biomass from plants, which includes firewood from trees, ethanol from corn, and biodiesel from vegetable oil Hydropower from hydroturbines at a dam

Big cities need large amounts of electricity to function. Often, this is transported from generating sites located in remote areas hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. The question is how to move as much electricity as possible from renewable generation sites like hydro plants and wind parks without impairing the function of the power networks that need it.

One of the challenges of renewable power generation like wind and solar power is that it can be interrupted, and this variability affects the stability of the power produced

The "smart grid" will create a power network that is more reliable, flexible, secure and efficient

"But if we could harness 0.1 percent of the energy in the ocean, we could support the energy needs of 15 billion people.

Engineered geothermal systems (EGS) are based on a related principle, but they work even in parts of the world that are not volcanically active, by drilling thousands of metres underground to mimic the design of natural steam or hot-water reservoirs. Wells are bored and pathways are created inside hot rocks, into which cold water is injected. The water heats up as it circulates and is then brought back to the surface, where the heat is extracted to generate electricity. Because the Earth gets hotter the deeper you drill, EGS could expand the reach of geothermal power enormously and provide access to a virtually inexhaustible energy resource.

According to the government, geothermal has the potential to supply the United States with 20% of our electricity needs.

The capital cost of geothermal development is expensive, however; 2/3rds are drilling costs. Yet as we overcome some of these technology challenges and make the process more standardized it is believed that geothermal can supply up to 20% of the United States electricity needs by 2050. But innovation and investment in initial steps need to happen now.

APSA) program which will also include a second online course on battery-based PV systems and a 6 day hands-on photovoltaics workshop at the Earth University-La Flor in Liberia, Costa Rica.