Showing posts with label water power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water power. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Tidal Power For Green Energy
A Great way to make Green Energy!
A company called TideGen has developed a generator that rests underwater to provide a reliable and predictable source of Alternative Energy. This article comes from the New York Times.
The Search for Energy Takes a Turn Underwater
By JESS BIDGOOD
Published: August 9, 2012
EASTPORT, Me. — The fearsome tides that sweep out from the easternmost shores of the United States have for more than 80 years teased engineers and presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, who have dreamed of harnessing their force to make electricity.
And next week, a device that looks a bit like an eggbeater turned sideways will be lowered into the water here to catch the energy of the rushing water, spinning a generator that, come September, is scheduled to begin sending power to the grid.
It is an experimental, expensive and promising project, fueled by the knowledge — shared by Roosevelt, who spent summers across the bay on Campobello Island, and modern engineers — that the tides here are both powerful and predictable.
“When the wind blows, you get electricity, but you don’t know when that’s going to be,” said Chris Sauer, the chief executive of the Ocean Renewable Power Company, which built and will operate the turbine generator unit, called TidGen.
The Bay of Fundy has some of the world’s highest tides, causing extreme currents that are pushed even faster by the inlets and islands that speckle this rocky coast. They will propel the turbine’s blades, which twist around like the helix shape of DNA.
“Another advantage is, you don’t see a thing,” Mr. Sauer added, speaking to a criticism that has dogged many wind farms.
We must take advantage of every available source of Alternative Energy to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. This is a great idea for power and more innovative ideas are needed. To learn more about adding green energy sources to your own home, check this link.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Is Green An illusion?
The Book Green Illusions talks about Alternative Energy
The new book by Ozzie Zehner has set off a heated discussion about the use of Alternative Energy sources and whether or not they are the Green solutions that people think they are. Join in the debate! Here's some news from the Huffington Post:
GET UPDATES FROM TOM ZELLER JR.
Ozzie Zehner's 'Green Illusions' Ruffles Feathers
Posted: 07/27/2012 1:29 pm
If his goal was to capture attention by tweaking the nose of clean-energy enthusiasts everywhere, Ozzie Zehner might well have succeeded. His new book, published last month and provocatively titled "Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism," takes on what Zehner considers the sacred cows of the green movement: solar power, wind power and electric vehicles, among others.
Of course, the book is much more than just this, and Zehner, a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley's Science, Technology & Society Center, describes himself as being neither for nor against any particular energy source. Indeed, his core objection appears to be with technology fixes in general, or the conviction that any bit of technological derring-do -- be it a high-efficiency photovoltaic cell or a low-emissions vehicle -- will be sufficient to nudge the planet from unpleasant trajectories like global warming.
Such beliefs, Zehner argues, can blind policymakers and other stakeholders to the attending downsides of any new innovation (there always are downsides); to other, arguably less expensive solutions; and to other pressing global problems.
As the basis for thoughtful discussion, all of this is perfectly reasonable. But Zehner is also clearly playing the provocateur here, and it appears to have been a wise gambit, given the sonorous harrumphing the book has generated in green circles.
In a review of the book, Chris Meehan, a contributing writer at CleanEnergyAuthority.com, a solar energy news and information resource, used the terms "alarmist" and "misleading" to describe Zehner's take on solar photovoltaics. Jim Motovalli, an environmental writer and frequent contributor to The New York Times, described Zehner's book as being "out to reach a conclusion -- green energy is bad."
There's much more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-zeller-jr/ozzie-zehner-green-illusions_b_1710382.html
Ozzie Zehner just wants to put a realistic view of the actual impact of Alternative Energy and show some of the information that's being left out of the story. In the article he makes it plain that he is neither for or against the technologies and simply want to put the real effects of the industry before the people.
Share this with your friends. Feel free to comment about Alternative Energy.
Do you think that going Green is the answer to our energy needs?
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Home Energy Solutions
Solar energy and wind power are the most often touted alternative sources of power for the home. In certain places you can add what is known as microhydro, a water powered system. Here's an article from Home Power magazine.
Making electricity from falling water can seem like magic, and that’s led to lots of misconceptions. Here, we’ll separate fact from fiction when it comes to what microhydro systems can and cannot do.
Residential-scale microhydro-electric systems have the reputation of being the holy grail of home renewable-energy (RE) systems. While they lack some of the hype, magic, and bling of solar-electric (photovoltaic) systems, microhydro systems are a simple technology that most people can understand…at least in general. In this article, we’ll look at some common microhydro system misconceptions, most of which come from folks looking for shortcuts to the reward of cheap electricity.
Modern microhydro equipment comes from proven technology based on designs that have changed very little over the decades. Pelton and turgo wheels, the typical spinning water-wheel component, were invented in 1870 and 1919, respectively. The point is, this technology has proven its reliability and functionality with more than a century of performance.
The cost of these systems, and thus the cost of the resulting electricity, also has the reputation for being very reasonable when compared to other renewable or home-generated sources. While PV module prices have recently dropped, they are still a high-tech and expensive commodity. Microhydro systems can arguably be considered low-tech, with civil works and pipelines often being the majority of the system cost. Of course, the actual cost varies significantly from site to site, and from system to system.
Courtesy of DOE (Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy)
Another element that keeps microhydro-generated electricity low in cost, and thus high in desirability, is the system’s continuous duty cycle. While PV systems only produce electricity when the sun is shining (and wind-electric systems when the wind is blowing), microhydro systems aren’t affected by nightfall or weather blocking the sun. Even a small hydro resource can provide electricity 24 hours a day, and often 365 days a year (if the water source is year-round). The bottom line for any renewable energy system is the amount of energy it can produce annually. A low power source working all of the time can often produce a lot more energy than a more powerful source that only works intermittently.
So, why doesn’t everyone have a microhydro system? Herein lies the challenge. A viable hydro resource is dependent on the availability of falling water at, or near, the site of the electrical loads. It is the weight or pressure of that flowing water that spins the turbine to produce electrical energy. Not everyone has access to a stream or spring of adequate volume on their property, nor does everyone have the topography to create the vertical drop needed to pressurize that water with gravity. See the “Microhydro Rules” sidebar for a formula about how water flow and vertical pressure (head) combine to determine the power available from a potential hydro site. That site-assessment formula will help debunk some of the myths that follow.
People who live near water sources can check to see if the area is good for adding a hydro-electric system to produce Alternative Energy for their homes. Home Power can come from many sources and this is one to think about if you have the resources nearby.
Get more info about microhydro here.
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