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On a global scale, approximately 15,000 MW of new PV installations have been added during 2010, amounting the entire PV capacity to almost 40,000 MW.

Speaking to Silicon.com, the author of The Age of Intelligent Machines, said that nanotechnology could help solve the world's energy crisis and make solar technology cheaper.

Fueling up with ethanol and vegetable oils  was common long before the development of the internal combustion engine. Vegetable and animal oil lamps have been used since the dawn of civilization. Increasingly efficient heaters and lamps meant that higher quality fuels were developed.  For example, small alcohol stoves (also called “spirit lamps”) were commonly used by travelers in the 17th century to warm food and themselves. One of Ben Franklin’s spirit lamps is on display in a Philadelphia exhibit.

Fueling up with ethanol and vegetable oils  was common long before the development of the internal combustion engine. Vegetable and animal oil lamps have been used since the dawn of civilization. Increasingly efficient heaters and lamps meant that higher quality fuels were developed.  For example, small alcohol stoves (also called “spirit lamps”) were commonly used by travelers in the 17th century to warm food and themselves. One of Ben Franklin’s spirit lamps is on display in a Philadelphia exhibit.

At the end of WWI, gasoline quality was declining, and Detroit dropped the standard compression ratio to 3.8 to one. According to Scientific American in 1919, there were to options. One, lower the compression ratio even further, sacrificing efficiency but allowing the continued use of low-grade petroleum.  Or two, use more ethanol in the fuel mix in order to conserve petroleum and allow the creation of more efficient, higher compression engines.  The choice was further skewed in the direction of ethanol when the US Geological Survey announced, in 1920, that oil was running out.[20]

Because pure hydrogen does not occur naturally, it takes energy to manufacture it. There are different ways to manufacture it, such as, electrolysis and steam-methane reforming process.

In electrolysis, electricity is run through water to separate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms. This method can be used by using wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, fossil fuels, biomass, and many other resources.

The more natural methods of making electricity (wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, biomass), rather than fossil fuels, would be better used as to continue the environment-friendly process of the fuel. Obtaining hydrogen from this process is being studied as a viable way to produce it domestically at a low cost. Steam-methane reforming process extracts the hydrogen from methane. However, this reaction causes a side production of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which are greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.

One of the main disadvantages is the initial cost of the equipment used to harness the suns energy

A solar energy installation requires a large area for the system to be efficient in providing a source of electricity

pollution can degrade the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. Clouds also provide the same effect, as they can reduce the energy of the suns rays

Estimated cost of hydrogen per kilogram in a variety of scenarios With all of this in mind, here are the cost estimates per kilogram (which each include $1.25 for taxes): Hydrogen from natural gas (produced via steam reforming at fueling station) $4 – $5 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from natural gas (produced via steam reforming off-site and delivered by truck) $6 – $8 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from wind (via electrolysis) $8 – $10 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from nuclear (via electrolysis) $7.50 – $9.50 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from nuclear (via thermochemical cycles – assuming the technology works on a large scale) $6.50 – $8.50 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from solar (via electrolysis) $10 – $12 per kilogram of hydrogen Hydrogen from solar (via thermochemical cycles – assuming the technology works on a large scale) $7.50 – $9.50 per kilogram of hydrogen As mentioned above, a cost of hydrogen of $4 to $12 per kilogram is equivalent to gasoline at $1.60 to $4.80 per gallon.

As of October 2009, Fortune magazine estimated the cost of producing the Honda Clarity at $300,000 per car

by 2010, the Department of Energy estimated that the cost had fallen 80% and that such fuel cells could be manufactured for $51/kW,

When compared to ICE vehicles using gasoline, however, fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen produced from natural gas reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60%

Science tells us that every square meter of the earth's surface, when exposed to direct sunlight, receives about 1000 watts (1 kilowatt) of energy from the sun's light.

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

200,000 homes in the U.S. use some type of photovoltaic solar technology-and the market is expanding at a healthy 15% annually.

PV modules covering 0.3% of the land in the U.S., equivalent to one fourth of the area currently occupied by railroads, could provide all of the US's electricity needs.

The first tidal power station was the Rance tidal power plant built over a period of 6 years from 1960 to 1966 at La Rance, France.[8] It has 240 MW installed capacity.

Historically, tide mills have been used, both in Europe and on the Atlantic coast of North America. The incoming water was contained in large storage ponds, and as the tide went out, it turned waterwheels that used the mechanical power it produced to mill grain. [1] The earliest occurrences date from the Middle Ages, or even from Roman times.[2][3] It was only in the 19th century that the process of using falling water and spinning turbines to create electricity was introduced in the U.S. and Europe.[

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