Blog Alternative Energy Guide

By: Liam Gerken

As the majority of the population is aware, there is no longer any reasonable doubt that the dramatic climate change the world is experiencing is down to carbon dioxide or CO2 emissions and its abundance within our environment. What you may not know however, is just how much the UK contributes to this world wide dilemma.

With only 1% of the world’s population, the UK still manages to emit 2.3% of the worlds CO2! Although this figure is an improvement on past years, (this largely being to do with the switch from coal to gas for energy), there is still a lot more that could, and should, be done.

The bulk of the change needs to be made by the people of the UK, as in 2004, the average household emitted around 6 tonnes of CO2; which is the equivalent to 34 double-decker buses! This is due to the burning of fossil fuels in the energy stations used to supply energy to our homes. Along with emitting the most CO2, such energy sources are generally hazardous and unreliable; this is why they are referred to as ‘non-renewable sources’. Some of these sources may be exhausted within the next 70 years. Although this sounds like an alarming prospect, the solution is simple – to generate energy without creating CO2.

This is achieved by harnessing our energy requirements from ‘renewable sources’, such as; hydroelectric; biomass; wind; and solar sources. Not only will this have the obvious bonus of lowering the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, but the deadly risks associated with non-renewable sources will be a thing of the past. Energy suppliers, who employ such methods, are known as ‘green energy suppliers’.

There are an increasing number of such gas and electricity suppliers that have strict ‘green electricity’ tariffs, with the main players being Good Energy, Green Energy and Ecotricity. As well as these strictly green suppliers, the more popular nPower, Scottish Power and PowerGen are all offering their own green tariffs. Along with ensuring that all energy is sourced from ‘renewable sources’, these suppliers may also use the consumers premium to invest into renewable energy projects. To ensure that you get the best deal for your money and make an informed choice on whether the green option is right for you, you should consider using an online comparison site to compare green gas and electricity suppliers.

By: Michelle Bery

When in 2005 the federal Production Tax Credits (PTC) for companies producing renewable power was renewed, it sent a message far and wide that the renewable energy industry was worth getting into, with the promise of profitability, energy efficiency, and social/environmental “good karma” all in one tidy package. The following are some of the latest ways we’ve seen this collective foray into renewable energies take shape.

The Workforce: Businesses are given tax credits for changing over their sources of electricity to certain renewable energies, steadily increasing the demand for workers in every area of the industry – from research and development to manufacturing to distribution to installation, service and support.

More and more states are taking the federal government’s lead and implementing their own public incentive programs and benefit funds to encourage greater renewable energy usage, with the same result. According to a report released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in the five years between 2001 and 2006 the voluntary demand for renewable energies increased a thousand-fold. The bottom line is as clear as sunlight – the renewable energy industry creates jobs.

The Corporations: General Electric, Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Starbucks, General Motors, Kinko’s, FedEx – these are but some of the world-leading companies that have made and continue to make an active and aggressive switch to renewable energies.

In the case of many companies, this comes in the form of purchasing renewable energy credits to supplant their local utility usage. In other cases, the forays into renewable power run deeper, producing their own biofuels, setting up their own wind farms, and investing in research and development into improved renewable energy technologies.

The Military: The Pentagon has ordered all branches of the U.S. military to curb energy use by 2% at all bases and facilities through pursuit of alternative power sources, including wind and solar energies.

The President: President Bush’s ranch, the Crawford Ranch, is equipped with all the latest and greatest in renewable energy resources and operates entirely off the grid.

The World: The Australian government has a stated objective of increasing the proportion of its total electricity production that comes from renewable energy sources by 78% by the year 2010. The United Kingdom’s goals are a bit more modest but praiseworthy nonetheless, shooting for 10% from only 3.6%, also by the year 2010.

The Future: An inventor by the name of Todd Livingstone has a patent currently pending on a technology to harness the power packed into lightning bolt, estimated at 11 gigawatts each. A Canadian engineer believes that his Atmospheric Vortex Engine is the way to tame a funnel cloud (also known as a tornado). The “Manchester Bobber” is a patented new device for harnessing the power of the up and down motion of waves.

Floating wind systems. Harnessing the power of differences in atmospheric pressure between geographically distant cities. Semi-transparent photovoltaic glass used as windows in office buildings. MIT’s self-described “Manhattan Project” for new, renewable sources of power. Installing devices in highway off-ramps that harness the power of vehicles braking. Generate biomass energy from trees downed in hurricanes.

And if we look further down the horizon, what else can we see? Maybe the next big thing will be Focus Fusion, a technology for producing new zero-emission power plants the size of gas stations. Maybe it’ll be Blackligh Power, a technology that harnesses power from particles called “hydrinos” which are even smaller than atoms of hydrogen. Or maybe it’ll be electromagnetic energy. Whatever renewable energy trends we have in store for us next, there is one thing we can all count on: as the demand for these types of renewable power sources continues its steady rise, funding for research and development into new and better ways of harnessing renewable energy will also increase, leading to more efficient and affordable energy alternatives for us all.

By: David Saharkhiz

Solar energy directly from the source? Clean, non-polluting, nearly limitless, and renewable energy – sound too good to be true?

In the coming decades, this pipedream may just become a reality.

solar panels on Earth are a clean and moderately efficient means of collecting solar power. But atmospheric turbulence, combined with localized weather and climatic factors, make earth-based solar powers only efficent to a degree. A space-based solar station would function at optimal capacity nearly all of the time, and would simply have to beam the energy to earth via radio waves to harvest clean, renewable energy at efficiency ratings previously unheard of.

Several challenges must first be addressed, however.

First, it’s appearant that the cost of launching and assembling the materials in space is going to be an issue for the profitability for the company that undertakes this momentous task. Advances in launch technology combined with the impending privitization of the space-faring industry should reduce launch costs per kilogram by as much as a factor of 5 in the coming century, and a large-scale solar power plant in space could become a reality.

The second major consideration is the cost of assembling such a structure in space, but this can be addressed by advancements in robotics and teleoperation, which could make a the large-scale construction of a kilometer-sized object in space a much more economically feasible undertaking.

Time will tell if such a project ever gets off the ground, but we can only hope that as our oil resources dwindle and technology advances, this option will become more affordable and the world can benefit from a clean, steady stream of energy directly from the sun.

By: James Bratley

Many people today are unaware of why and when you should use renewable energy sources in today’s world. The main reason for using natural energy is mainly down to the environment, and if you care to improve the quality of it. But with many viable energy sources out there, which one you choose can be a nightmare to decide upon.

Before you set off to purchase lets say, a couple of solar panels, you should take a look at the other technologies available to decide which is most appropriate for your environment. For example, solar panels may not be of much use near the poles, put a hefty, durable wind turbine would love to sit up there and spin round and round all day.

You don’t have to be a genius to discover that solar panels work best near the equator and reduce in efficiency, the further away you travel from the equator. So, if you live nearer the poles than the equator, you should choose a wind turbine right? Wrong!!!!

Wind turbines could be placed anywhere on our globe (where the land can support them) and still generate hardly any power whatsoever. It all depends on the surrounding environment, for instance, if you build a home wind turbine in your backyard, you could be very disappointed, unless you were the only house in the most common wind direction. What we mean by this is, if there are many houses surrounding your house, they will block most of the winds power and your turbine will probably just spin round at a very slow speed (assuming its windy), and this doesn’t generate the power you require.

However, if you live in the country and place a turbine in your backyard, you are more likely to generate a larger output of electricity. So the answer is buy one if you live in the countryside? Wrong again!!!

If there are large hills, forests or mountains nearby, these too can greatly reduce the winds power. Before purchasing a wind turbine you should definitely either do research yourself into the surrounding are, or hire a professional to do a survey. If your house is surrounded by other houses, dense tree plantations, hills, or mountains, (presuming they are blocking the path of the average wind direction), you should consider looking into solar cells or even a geothermal system to heat your home.

For more information on wind turbines, why not take a look here: http://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/wind_turbines.html

By: Peter Lenkefi

Is it possible to power a home using wind energy?

In theory it is possible to become energy self-sufficient relying on purely wind energy to power your home, but in
practice the situation is somewhat different. You may find that unless you have a small house, a large patch of land and forgiving neighbors it is very unlikely that you will become self sufficient off the back of wind energy alone.

Most houses would take up to a dozen wind turbines to power their house but by combining wind energy with solar power you are greatly increasing your chances of becoming energy self sufficient.

There’s no avoiding the fact that as a whole, people are depleting the already limited stock of fossil fuels that are available to us and we have to act now before things get much worse. By combining two wind turbines and full PV tiles on your roof (it’s really not that much more expensive than having your roof tiled normally) you will undoubtedly be able to create enough energy to power your home and maybe have a little bit left over.

Grid tie systems.

Grid tie systems are a vital part of any
energy self sufficient home; as well as having all the right equipment to
produce, generate and convert your power you should also ensure that you get a
grid tie system. This enables you to sell back surplus power to the grid. A grid
tie system means that during those times of year when you produce more energy
that you need you can sell it back but it also means for the wintry times of
year when you may not be producing enough solar power you can buy power back
from the grid. This means you are no longer a burden on the stock of fossil fuel

Make a lot, use a little, make a little.

If you’re really lucky and live in an area with get high wind and bright sunshine it might be the case that you will provide more energy over the space of a year than you actually use. In this case the energy you sell back to the grid will provide you with a small profit. After the space of a few years you could find that your wind turbines and your solar panels have already paid for themselves.

Neighbors.

Wind turbines can make quite a noise and anything but the very smallest will become an eye sore. You need to make sure that your neighbors don’t mind the noise or the view and you may bee best trying to get them to do the same kind of thing.