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History of wind power - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • The first windmills in Europe appear in sources dating to the twelfth century. These early European windmills were sunk post mills. The earliest certain reference to a windmill dates from 1185, in Weedley, Yorkshire, although a number of earlier but less certainly dated twelfth century European sources referring to windmills have also been adduced.
  • The first windmill used for the production of electricity was built in Scotland in July 1887 by Prof James Blyth of Anderson's College,
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The Energy Story - Chapter 15: Solar Energy - 1 views

  • We have always used the energy of the sun as far back as humans have existed on this planet. As far back as 5,000 years ago, people "worshipped" the sun. Ra, the sun-god, who was considered the first king of Egypt.
  • We have always used the energy of the sun as far back as humans have existed on this planet. As far back as 5,000 years ago, people "worshipped" the sun.
  • Ra, the sun-god, who was considered the first king of Egypt
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  • When sunlight strikes the solar cell, electrons (red circles) are knocked loose. They move toward the treated front surface (dark blue color). An electron imbalance is created between the front and back. When the two surfaces are joined by a connector, like a wire, a current of electricity occurs between the negative and positive sides. These individual solar cells are arranged together in a PV module and the modules are grouped together in an array. Some of the arrays are set on special tracking devices to follow sunlight all day long.
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    the sun
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First Tidal Power in U.S. Starts Flowing to the Grid - IEEE Spectrum - 0 views

  • An offshore turbine is finally spinning in the United States!
  • Bay of Fundy, off the Maine coast. The TidGen has a peak power output of 180 kilowatts, enough to power around 25 to 30 homes
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    The ONLY tidal power plant connected to the grid in the US is online.
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How long has solar power been around and does it work? - An eNow Blog Article - 0 views

  • Solar PV (photovoltaic) was first discovered in 1839 by French scientist Edmond Becquerel. Over the next 100 years, there were other discoveries and inventions, including several discoveries by Albert Einstein, who received a Nobel Prize for his theories on the photovoltaic effect in 1921.
  • Solar PV (photovoltaic) was first discovered in 1839 by French scientist Edmond Becquerel. Over the next 100 years, there were other discoveries and inventions, including several discoveries by Albert Einstein, who received a Nobel Prize for his theories on the photovoltaic effect in 1921.
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Biofuels - 0 views

  • Biofuels are basically any fuel that can be burned in air to produce heat that is produced by biological means, normally by plant growth. Currently the most prominant biofuels are ethanol and bio-deisel because these can be burned in existing internal combustion engines and are thus a direct replacement for oil. The most important biofuel historically is wood with oth
  • Biofuels are currently cheaper than oil although this is only because we are seeing very high oil prices at the moment. Under what might be termed more 'normal' market conditions, biofuels lack any meaningful price advantage. Biofuel production is very labor intensive and very land intensive. Production of ethanol from sugar cane was pioneered by the Brazilians in the 1970's as a solution to an oil import bill they could ill afford. It worked for them as they have plenty of land they can convert to growing sugar cane and at the time, plenty of cheap labor with which to harvest it.
  • he simple truth is the world does not have enough land to produce anywhere near the quantity of biofuels we need to make any dent in our oil consumption. They are only in fashion now oil prices are high and it is cost effective to produce them. Sooner or later food prices will rise to such a point that biofuel production will cease to be economic.
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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!
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    "But herein lies the first problem with biofuels. They may be carbon nuetral but they are certainly not as green as they might be. Not if the land to grow sugar is coming from cutting down the Amazon jungle and not if vast quantities o"
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Tidal power (tidal energy) facts - Interesting energy facts - 1 views

  • Tide mills, in use on the Spanish, French and British coasts, date back to 787 A.D.
  • Tidal energy is a type of energy that produces electricity and other forms of power through the use of water.
  • The tide moves a huge amount of water twice each day and although the tidal energy supply is reliable and plentiful, converting it into useful electrical power is not easy.
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  • The first involves converting the power of the horizontal movement of the water into electricity. The second involves producing energy from the rise and drop of water levels
  • Although the technology required to harness tidal energy is well established, tidal power is expensive, and there is only one major tidal generating station in operation. This is a 240 megawatt station at the mouth of the La Rance river estuary in France.
  • There are three prototypes of tidal energy devices: horizontal axis turbine, vertical axis turbine, and oscillating devices
  • Tidal energy is not on the list of sustainable energy technologies the UN agencies even though for islanders it is our best hope for large amounts of affordable clean power.
  • Turbines, similar to wind turbines, can be anchored to the sea bed to generate electricity from tidal currents
  • Tidal energy has an efficiency of 80% in converting the potential energy of the water into electricity
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Biofuel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 1 views

  • Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form
  • Most transportation fuels are liquids, because vehicles usually require high energy density, as occurs in liquids and solids.
  • First generation biofuels 'First-generation' or conventional biofuels are biofuels made from sugar, starch, and vegetable oil.
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  • Examples include wood, sawdust, grass trimmings, domestic refuse, charcoal, agricultural waste, non-food energy crops, and dried manure.
  • In 2010 worldwide biofuel production reached 105 billion liters (28 billion gallons US), up 17% from 2009, and biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's fuels for road transport, a contribution largely made up of ethanol and biodiesel.[2] Global ethanol fuel production reached 86 billion liters (23 billion gallons US) in 2010, with the United States and Brazil as the world's top producers, accounting together for 90% of global production. The world's largest biodiesel producer is the European Union, accounting for 53% of all biodiesel production in 2010.[2] As of 2011, mandates for blending biofuels exist in 31 countries at the national level and in 29 states/provinces.[3] According to the International Energy Agency, biofuels have the potential to meet more than a quarter of world demand for transportation fuels by 2050.[4]
  • In 2010 worldwide biofuel production reached 105 billion liters (28 billion gallons US), up 17% from 2009,[3] and biofuels provided 2.7% of the world's fuels for road transpor
  • Global ethanol fuel production reached 86 billion liters (23 billion gallons US) in 2010, with the United States and Brazil as the world's top producers, accounting together for 90% of global production.
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    Bioethano
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History of Biofuels - BioFuel Information - 1 views

  • Biofuels in the solid form has been in use ever since man discovered fire.
  • Wood was the first form of biofuel that was used even by the ancient people for cooking and heating
  • This form of fuel was discovered even before the discovery of the fossil fuels, but with the exploration of the fossil fuel like gas, coal, and oil the production and use of biofuel suffered a severe impact.
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  • One of the first inventors to convince the people of the use of ethanol was a German named Nikolaus August Otto. Rudolf Diesel is the German inventor of the diesel engine. He designed his diesel engine to run in peanut oil and later Henry Ford designed the Model T car which was produced from 1903 to 1926. This car was completely designed to use hemp derived biofuel as fuel
  • n the period of World War II, the high demand of biofuels was due to the increased use as an alternative for imported fuel. In this period, Germany was one of the countries that underwent a serious shortage of fuel. It was during this period that various other inventions took place like the use of gasoline along with alcohol that was derived from potatoes. Britain was the second country which came up with the concept of grain alcohol mixed with petrol
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Wind Power History - 0 views

  • 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.
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  • When windmills were first developed they were used to assist man with the chores of pumping and grinding.
  • Well wind power is the transformation of energy from wind to electricity or other forms of energy
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    what wind power is
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Tidal power - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 1 views

  • 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.[
  • Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar power.
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  • relatively high cost and limited availability of sites with sufficiently high tidal ranges or flow velocities, thus constricting its total availability. However, many recent technological developments and improvements, both in design (e.g. dynamic tidal power, tidal lagoons) and turbine technology (e.g. new axial turbines, cross flow turbines), indicate that the total availability of tidal power may be much higher than previously assumed
  • Tidal stream generator Main article: Tidal stream generator Tidal stream generators (or TSGs) make use of the kinetic energy of moving water to power turbines, in a similar way to wind turbines that use wind to power turbines. Some tidal generators can be built into the structures of existing bridges, involving virtually no aesthetic problems. Likewise, “tidal bridging” is a relatively new advancement that is gaining recognition as a more practical and beneficial way to generate tidal power. Blue Energy Canada is a company that is focused on building bridges to match today's demands. [9]
  • The first study of large scale tidal power plants was by the US Federal Power Commission in 1924 which if built would have been located in the northern border area of the US state of Maine and the south eastern border area of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, with various dams, powerhouses and ship locks enclosing the Bay of Fundy and Passamaquoddy Bay (note: see map in reference). Nothing came of the study and it is unknown whether Canada had been approached about the study by the US Federal Power Commission.[10] There was also a report on the international commission in April 1961 entitled " Investigation of the International Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project" produced by both the US and Canadian Federal Governments.
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First production hydrogen fuel cell cars hit the market, from Hyundai | ExtremeTech - 0 views

  • rather than burning hydrogen in place of gasoline as BMW has done with its internal combustion hydrogen cars. Either way, the only emission is water vapor.
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U.S. Takes Global Lead in Wind Energy Production | LiveScience - 1 views

  • During the first half of 2008, the United States, for the first time, generated more wind energy electricity than Germany, despite the fact that the smaller European country still has more turbines than we do. Germany has enough turbines to collect about 22,000 to 23,000 megawatts of power, while the United States has a capacity of about 18,000 megawatts,
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Biofuels - National Geographic Magazine - 0 views

  • A century ago, Henry Ford’s first car ran on alcohol, while Rudolf Diesel fired his namesake engine with peanut oil. But both inventors soon discovered that “rock oil,” when slightly refined, held far more bang per gallon than plant fuel, and was cheap to boot. Oil soon left plant fuels in the dust. Only in periods of scarcity—like the OPEC oil embargo of 1973—did the U.S. and other countries turn back to ethanol, mixing it into gasoline to stretch supplies.
  • A century ago, Henry Ford’s first car ran on alcohol, while Rudolf Diesel fired his namesake engine with peanut oil. But both inventors soon discovered that “rock oil,” when slightly refined, held far more bang per gallon than plant fuel, and was cheap to boot. Oil soon left plant fuels in the dust. Only in periods of scarcity—like the OPEC oil embargo of 1973—did the U.S. and other countries turn back to ethanol, mixing it into gasoline to stretch supplies.
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Biofuels production | BP Global - 0 views

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    World biofuels production declined by 0.4% in 2012, the first decline since 2000. Increased output in South America and Asia Pacific was outweighed by declines in North America and Europe. Global ethanol output declined by 1.7%, the second straight annual decline. Biodiesel production grew by 2.7% and has doubled in the last five years and now makes up 31% of total biofuel supply. All(4) Tools(1) External(1) Downloads(2) 01 Previous Conversion calculator Share your views Historical data Download (xlsx, 1.5MB) Statsistical review 2013 Download (pdf, 9.6MB) Next
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Wind Turbine History - 2 views

  • Wind machines were used in Persia as early as 200 B.C
  • The first windmill for electricity production in the United States was built in Cleveland, Ohio by Charles F Brush in 1888, and in 1908 there were 72 wind-driven electric generators from 5 kW to 25 kW.
  • The first utility grid-connected wind turbine operated in the UK was built by the John Brown Company in 1954
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How Long Has Solar Power Been Around? | eHow - 1 views

  • August Mouchout is credited with the creation of the first active solar motor. In 1861, he developed a steam engine fueled completely by the sun.
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    "Ever since ancient Romans installed glass and mica around their southern-facing door entrances, people have been finding ways to harness the power of the sun. From those origins, solar energy has slowly progressed into a viable source for powering your home. Other People Are Reading"
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Electricity from Geothermal Energy - 1 views

  • The heat from the earth's own molten core can be converted into electricity. This core consists primarily of extremely high temperature liquid rock known as magma. This "geothermal" heat circulates within the rock or is transferred to underground reservoirs of water, which also circulate under the earth's crust. Because of the near limitless ability of the earth to produce magma, and the continuous transfer of heat between subsurface rock and water, geothermal energy is considered a renewable resource.
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    "The heat from the earth's own molten core can be converted into electricity. This core consists primarily of extremely high temperature liquid rock known as magma. This "geothermal" heat circulates within the rock or is transferred to underground reservoirs of water, which also circulate under the earth's crust. Because of the near limitless ability of the earth to produce magma, and the continuous transfer of heat between subsurface rock and water, geothermal energy is considered a renewable resource. Geothermal resources have been harnessed as an energy source since the dawn of civilization, when natural hot springs were first used for cooking and bathing. The geothermal resources tapped to generate electricity are far more intense than those used for space heating and can reside as deep as 10,000 feet below the earth's surface. Capital costs for the construction of geothermal power plants are much higher than for large coal-fired plants or new natural gas turbine technologies. But geothermal plants have reasonable operation and maintenance costs and no fuel costs. Though more expensive than wind power in most cases, new geothermal electricity generation facilities are increasingly competitive with fossil options."
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Fuel cells, what is a fuel cell, disadvantages, benefits - 0 views

  • * Because there is no combustion in a fuel cell, fuel is converted to electricity more efficiently than any other electrical generating technology available today. * There are no moving parts in a fuel cell stack, making them more reliable and quieter than generators. Even the ancillary systems (fans, pumps, controls, etcetera) in a complete fuel cell unit are relatively mature and simple technologies that should prove extremely reliable.
  • In the past, fuel cells were large and extremely expensive to manufacture, just as the first calculators and computers were. But, just like these products, the cost of fuel cells will quickly come down to consumer-affordable levels with mass production. We are currently in a transition period now, where many fuel cell companies are investing literally hundreds of millions of dollars to gear up for mass manufacturing at the same time they are trying to begin to develop a variety of markets for their product.
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ELI: Energy: Support Materials: Tidal Energy - 0 views

  • People have harnessed the tides and used its energy for many centuries. Tide mills—which are the precursors to today’s tidal power plants— have great similarity to water wheels. The difference is that water must first be collected from the incoming tide before it can be released to rotate the water wheel.
  • he oldest, excavated tide mill is dated to the year 619.
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Geothermal energy environmental impact | Earth's Heat - 0 views

  • First of all, harnessing geothermal energy does not have the devastating impact on climate change like burning of the fossil fuels does. It is true that fluids drawn from the earth's core include greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, but the amount of released greenhouse gas emissions is negligible compared to those from fossil fuel fired power plants.
  • One of the reasons for this is the fact that geothermal power plants are equipped with emission-control systems that reduce the exhaust.
  • geothermal power plants are connected with minimal freshwater and land requirements. This means that geothermal energy commonly has minimal impact on nearby ecosystems.
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  • Geothermal fluids contain elevated levels of certain toxic elements such as arsenic, mercury, lithium and boron, which means that geothermal plants need to be equipped with proper waste disposal units in order to ensure that the waste is disposed back into geothermal fields
    • dpurdy
       
      pollution from geothermal
  • constructing geothermal plant (which includes deep drilling) can affect land stability, and in some cases even trigger earthquakes (especially enhanced geothermal systems).
  • Geothermal power plants operate quietly meaning that they do not cause noise pollution.
  • It is often relatively easy to incorporate them into the existing environment without the obvious visual pollution because of their modest land requirements.
  • This natural source of energy provides efficient way to harness energy from with minimal impact on its surrounding environment.
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