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In any case the current price of oil is unlikely to be sustained. Much of today's oil prices can be attributed to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and the hording of oil both for security of supply and more recently as a hedge against the falling dollar.

e they cheaper than oil? That depends how you calculate the cost!

Waves are hardly interrupted and almost always in motion.

This makes generating electricity from wave energy a reasonable reliable energy source

It should be mentioned that the amount of energy that is being transported through waves does vary every year and from season to season. On the northern hemisphere, the average value of November and May could be different with a factor of two or more.

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.

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.

[hide]General wind classifications Tropical cyclone classifications (all winds are 10-minute averages) Beaufort scale[17] 10-minute sustained winds (knots) General term[20] N Indian Ocean IMD SW Indian Ocean MF Australian region South Pacific BoM, BMKG, FMS, MSNZ NW Pacific JMA NW Pacific JTWC NE Pacific & N Atlantic NHC & CPHC 0 <1 Calm Low Pressure Area Tropical disturbance Tropical low Tropical Depression Tropical depression Tropical depression Tropical depression 1 1–3 Light air 2 4–6 Light breeze 3 7–10 Gentle breeze 4 11–16 Moderate breeze 5 17–21 Fresh breeze Depression 6 22–27 Strong breeze 7 28–29 Moderate gale Deep depression Tropical depression 30–33 8 34–40 Fresh gale Cyclonic storm Moderate tropical storm Tropical cyclone (1) Tropical storm Tropical storm Tropical storm 9 41–47 Strong gale 10 48–55 Whole gale Severe cyclonic storm Severe tropical storm Tropical cyclone (2) Severe tropical storm 11 56–63 Storm 12 64–72 Hurricane Very severe cyclonic storm Tropical cyclone Severe tropical cyclone (3) Typhoon Typhoon Hurricane (1) 13 73–85 Hurricane (2) 14 86–89 Severe tropical cyclone (4) Major hurricane (3) 15 90–99 Intense tropical cyclone 16 100–106 Major hurricane (4) 17 107–114 Severe tropical cyclone (5) 115–119 Very intense tropical cyclone Super typhoon >120 Super cyclonic storm Major hurricane (5)

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.

But 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.

Every fuel cell also has an electrolyte, which carries electrically charged particles from one electrode to the other, and a catalyst, which speeds the reactions at the electrodes. Hydrogen is the basic fuel, but fuel cells also require oxygen. One great appeal of fuel cells is that they generate electricity with very little pollution–much of the hydrogen and oxygen used in generating electricity ultimately combine to form a harmless byproduct, namely water.

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.

One detail of terminology:

many reasons, ranging from safety to cost to lack of demand.

Another problem is the lack of hydrogen refueling stations

replacing the fossil fuels responsible for global warming and various nagging forms of pollution.

they are spending upwards of $1 million to produce each one due to the advanced technology involved and low production runs. Toyota hopes to reduce its costs per fuel-cell vehicle to around $50,000 by 2015

Heating Your Home

Camping: Cooking and Illumination

Cleaning Up Tools and Grease

Adding Lubricity to Diesel Fuel

8. Removing Paint and Adhesives Biodiesel can replace the exceedingly toxic products designed for paint removal. It’s probably best used for smaller-scale and non-critical applications (ie not on your car’s custom paint job). Biodiesel can also be used to remove adhesive residues, like those left by duct tape. The last 7 uses I’ve heard about but wasn’t able to substantiate. If you know something about these, or have a resource to contribute, feel free to add it here: 9. Asphalt Cleanup Agent 10. Hand Cleaner 11. Crop Adjuvant 12. Screen Printing Ink Remover 13. Auto Wax Remover 14. Corrosion Preventative 15. Metal Working Lubricant

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) does not maintain comprehensive statistics in this area, but the various demonstration projects suggest that there are some hundreds of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road in the U.S.