renewable energy source

Your Questions About Renewable Energy Group

Maria asks…

What are the different viewpoints on the use of fossil fuels?

Hello, I am struggling to find viewpoints of the following people:

– Environmentalist
– MEDC (More Economically Developed Countries) Governments
– LEDC (Less Economically Developed Countries) Governments
Energy Companies
– Consumers
– Oil Producing Countries
– TNC’s Shell? BP?

Can you please give me a few websites which:
-explains why different groups have opinions on the consumption of fossil fuels
– says whether they think fossil fuels should be used in the future and given reasons why
(considers advantages and disadvantages of using fossil fuels vs renewable energy sources)

admin answers:

Smart: They’re useful, effective and can be used responsibly.

Hypocrisy: You shouldn’t use fossil fuels. I’d like to talk more, but I have to put my family on two different private jets to fly to Hawaii for a 17 mllion dollar taxpayer funded vacation. (You Americans have just gotten soft and lazy.) Electricity prices are going to skyrocket to when I drive coal out of business.

Idiot: We should all ride bicycles and not use any oil at all. (Oh… You mean my clothes, computer and bike tires are made of oil…. Oh.)

Sharon asks…

What is a good Current Event to give a speech on?

So my partner and I are assigned to create a collaborative speech on a current event/ issue. The speech needs to have some kind of debate within to allow group discussion after. For example We were thinking of doing Renewable Energy Sources but we couldnt find anything to argue against it or something,

Thanks for the help!!

admin answers:

With renewable energy source here are so cons: Cost is to high, not enough technology available to make it worthwhile, how long will it take for it to be profitable, and not enough big business is behind to make research worth the effort.

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Your Questions About Sustainable Energy Technologies

Ruth asks…

How solar energy can be generated at competitive cost?

How solar energy can be produced at competitive cost for the welfare of people at large?Presently what is the status of its use in india?

admin answers:

Professor Andrew Blakers from The Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Australian National University will today report to the Greenhouse 2000 Conference in Melbourne that photovoltaic (PV) solar energy conversion can be cost-competitive with any low-emission electricity generation technology by 2030.

His paper describes how extrapolation of the huge economic and technical gains made by photovoltaics over the last 15 years gives confidence that a dramatic shift in electricity generation technology over the next quarter-century is possible.

Worldwide photovoltaic sales are growing at 40 to 50% per year. Government research & market support for photovoltaics of around $400 billion spread over the next 25 years can deliver the technology required to eliminate electricity production as a contributor to climate change. This is a large sum of money – similar to the cost of the Iraq war – but it is dwarfed by the $23 trillion expected investment in oil exploration out to 2030 or the $24 trillion investment in PV systems required to generate half of the world’s electricity by 2040.

Professor Blakers will also describe Sliver solar cell technology, which was invented at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland, by Dr Klaus Weber and Professor Blakers in 2000 while attending a conference. Origin Energy, one of the sponsors of the Greenhouse 2000 Conference, is commercialising Sliver technology in Adelaide.
Work at ANU shows that Sliver solar cell technology can achieve electricity costs below retail electricity costs within five years, with the right investment. Explosive growth in sales in the commercial and residential sector will then follow.

Professor Blakers said that Sliver solar cell technology “can go all the way.”

“It’s not difficult to envisage Sliver based technology delivering electricity at a cost that matches wind energy, zero-emission coal and other clean energy technologies. No leap of faith is required; just careful engineering and adaptation of existing techniques from other industries,” he said.

Dr Weber added that it is essential to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel based electricity generation in order to limit climate change. The cost of doing this with advanced solar technology will be far lower than the pessimistic forecasts advanced by some analysts.

“The key to a clean energy future is the setting of clear and challenging targets and the provision of reliable, long-term support to the solar industry. The industry will respond and deliver the required technology,” Dr Weber said. Recent solar and fuel cell articles

Organic solar cells will help spur viability of alternative energy October 10, 2005
Imagine being able to “paint” your roof with enough alternative energy to heat and cool your home. What if soldiers in the field could carry an energy source in a roll of plastic wrap in their backpacks?

Harvesting tornadoes as power plants; renewable wind vortex energy October 9, 2005
Engineers are working to use artificial tornadoes as a renewable energy source according to an article in last week’s issue of The Economist. Storms release a tremendous amount of energy. Hurricane Katrina, a category 4 hurricane, released enough energy to supply the world’s power needs for a year, while the typical tornado produces as much power as a large power station.

Danish researchers develop hydrogen tablet; stores hydrogen in inexpensive and safe material September 21, 2005
Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark have invented a technology which may be an important step towards the hydrogen economy: a hydrogen tablet that effectively stores hydrogen in an inexpensive and safe material. With the new hydrogen tablet, it becomes much simpler to use the environmentally-friendly energy of hydrogen. Hydrogen is a non-polluting fuel, but since it is a light gas it occupies too much volume, and it is flammable. Consequently, effective and safe storage of hydrogen has challenged researchers world-wide for almost three decades. At the Technical University of Denmark, DTU, an interdisciplinary team has developed a hydrogen tablet which enables storage and transport of hydrogen in solid form.

High oil prices make Asia pursue green energy September 9, 2005
For energy-hungry Asian governments, the answer could literally be blowing in the wind. Across the region, renewable energy such as solar, wind and geothermal power is gaining ever greater credence as a way to curb the region’s appetite for oil and cut runaway import bills. With oil prices near $70, and expected by many analysts to stay over $50 through the end of 2006, governments believe alternative energy will help keep their economies growing.

Cockroaches and rats used as batteries? August 24, 2005
An article in today’s Manilla Times highlights some local research into using common household pests as energy sources. A group of scientists from Feati University recently devised a biological fue

Ken asks…

How do you feel about Nuclear power plants as a source of energy?

I have yet to make up my mind on Nuclear Energy, I would just like to see how you feel about it. I know some facts, but I would like to gain more knowlege. Also what are your ideas on Cold Fission?
Also if you could give you age that would be helpful, by all means you do not have to. -Thank you for your time.

admin answers:

The greatest technological challenge of the 21st century is to meet energy demand in an environmentally sustainable way. Nuclear energy is a carbon free energy; however, current fission technology leaves a deadly legacy – radioactive waste that is toxic for tens of thousands of years. To put the energy demands of humans in perspective with nuclear energy, please see the lecture by Nate Lewis (California Institute of Technology). In 2006, humans are consuming energy at a rate of about 14TW (14 trillion watts). Using current technology, in order to generate 10TW of energy, we would have to build a new reactor every single day for the next 50 years. This would be a monumental effort in stupidity and futility. Furthermore, this would not meet growing energy demand, which is predicted to be ~28TW in the year 2050. The clearest alternatives are wind energy and solar energy. Practically, wind energy used globally can potentially provide ~2TW energy, meaning that solar energy is going to be our primary energy source. The energy that strikes the Earth in 1 hour as sunlight is enough to provide humanity’s energy needs for 1 year (~14TW). However, this energy is diffuse, and we still need to develop low cost, efficient methods to convert solar energy to fuels and electricity. Research is progressing rapidly in this topic. The world needs to committ massive resources to this right now.

The second part of your question relates to cold fusion. Interestingly, fusion is the source of sunlight, so using solar energy, is in a way, using fusion energy (we don’t have to worry about the problems of containment and generating fusion pressures and temperatures). There are a few research projects around the world that are working on finding useful methods for controlling fusion reactions for energy. Perhaps the most well known involves a giant room with thousands of high energy lasers that are focused at a pelletized source of fusionable material. In this scheme, the energy input from the lasers initiates fusion. This technology is promising, but is far from being economical. Research efforts should continue.

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Your Questions About Renewable Energy World

Sandra asks…

How much money was made from renewable energy 2011?

I’m trying to see how much money was made from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

admin answers:

Thats a good question. Perhaps not as much was made as was spent developing those sources. Renewable energy has been a prevailing issue due to our energy dependence and the high cost of oil. While the high cost of oil makes huge amounts of money for oil companies and OPEC, we will undoubtedly one day have to resort to the use of alternative and renewable energy to power our vehicles along with other modes of transportation as well as heat our homes and generate electricity for households and businesses. My speculation is that we will continue to use light sweet crude until the wells in the middle east run dry and then develop corn ethanol and become the primary exporter of fuel in the world bwahahahaha

Sandy asks…

Which renewable energy source has the greatest net energy yield?

Which renewable energy source has the greatest net energy yield?
A. Solar Energy
B. Hydroelectric
C. Wind
D. Biomass
E. Hydrogen Fuel
F. Geothermal

And please explain why you picked the answer , for example :

F , Geothermal , this is beacuse …….

Thanks , i need the answer+explaination by tonight .

admin answers:

Geothermal As A Green Energy Source
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Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping heat from the earth itself. This comes from magma and the radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium.

The downside to geothermal energy is the fact that it is expensive to build. On the other hand, because the earth’s crust continuously decays replenishing the heat, it is still a renewable source of energy.

There are three types of geothermal plants around. These are namely dry steam, flash, and binary.

Dry steam plants take steam out of fractures in the ground and use it to directly drive a turbine that spins a generator.

Flash plants take on water at temperatures over 200 °C, out of the ground, and allows it to boil as it rises to the surface then separates the steam phase in steam/water separators which runs the steam through a turbine to generate electricity.

Last, you have binary plants. Here, hot water flows through heat exchangers and that boiling organic fluid is what spins the turbine.

Once power is generated, the condensed steam and remaining geothermal fluid from all three types of plants are injected back into the hot rock to pick up more heat.

Geothermal plants are used operational in different parts of the globe. These are usually located in geologically unstable parts of the planet. You can see some in Chile, Iceland, New Zealand, United States, the Philippines and Italy. At home, two most prominent areas for this are in the Yellowstone basin and in northern California.

If you were to compare the amount of energy collected from geothermal to solar, you still get more from the sun. Despite that, people should still use it since solar energy cannot be harnessed when the clouds block the sun’s rays from reaching the solar panels.

Geothermal energy is a green energy source just like wind, hydropower and biofuel because it is a renewable. By maximizing its potential, we don’t have to worry about the price of oil in the world market when it hit more than $110 a barrel and is now under $40 in the world market.

But that is not the only thing we should be concerned about. We should also do our best to protect the environment given that coal fired and nuclear power plants produce harmful gases and radioactive waste that may cause to people and the surrounding areas.

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Why Is Hydropower A Green Energy Source?

Why is hydropower a green energy source? It is because we are able to harness electrical power by converting water into electricity.

The use of hydroelectric power or even hydroelectricity dates back to Ancient Greece and China when they installed waterwheels in rapidly flowing rivers to turn millstones and other equipment. Years later, this was used in the New World which is now known as North America to power saws and other equipment.

But the hydroelectric plants of today still use the same basic principles as the historical waterwheel with some variations. The difference is that we use the force of the power to push the turbine which in turn powers a generator thus generating electricity.

To make sure that there is a steady flow of power being produced, a dam has to be built to retain the water. If there is a need for more power, the gates of the dam are opened so water can be released. During non-peak, the gates are closed. To ensure there is water at all times, some dams have a recovery and pumping systems to the water released can be used again.

There are issues with the use of hydroelectricity. Some claim that it poses a problem for fish and aquatic plants on both sides of the dam. Because the flow of water has been altered, the nutrient rich silt which helps crops grow could be affected which is exactly what happened when the Aswan Dam was completed in Egypt.

Lastly, you have ocean thermal energy. Here, you get power based on the different temperatures in the water. For this to work, you need at least 38 degrees Fahrenheit difference between the warmer surface water and the colder deep ocean water. Still in the trial stage, it is used Japan and Hawaii.

Hydropower is a green energy source. It is safe to use and what is even better is that it is renewable.

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My answer is : Hydro and Geothermal

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Your Questions About Renewable Energy World

Richard asks…

Instead of funding the Gulf Coast war to secure oil, should the US have focused on renewable energies?

Instead of provoking war with Iran and Iraq, causing thousands of deaths, to ensure control over the Gulf Region’s oil reserves (understandably because it holds an estimated 65% of all the world’s natural oil supply), we could have instead focused our funds on research into renewable energies, As the world moves toward renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydrogen, Saudi Arabia and the gulf region will have less influence over the world’s energy supply.

“If we really decided that we wanted a clean hydrogen economy, we could have it by 2010”

-US National Renewable Energy Laboratory Researcher, April 2001
@Ken: Bush slashed annual spending for energy efficiency and renewables but had no problem with preparing for a war that costed around $200 billion.

admin answers:

So what would you propose we use in the time until renewable energy is ready for wide scale use? It’s not like we can throw a bunch of money at it and have available right away. Even if they did invest all the money spent on the Gulf War (not “Gulf Coast” – that’s the coat along the Gulf of Mexico), we still would be years away fro wide scale use. And what would you propose for those people that can’t afford to purchase new cars using this new renewable energy source? Do we tell them they have to go without? Or would we have the government provide them with new cars, using taxpayer money to pay for them?

I don’t think the Gulf War was handle very well, and could have been done differently. But the oil was only one part of it. There was a lot of other reasons for the war.

Betty asks…

How and where to start a thesis related to sustainability and renewable energy?

I want to do my Bachelor’s thesis in the field of Sustainability and Renewable Energy in an economical perspective (e.g. how to apply it in our society without given up something) . But how to start?

admin answers:

What we are envisaging is:
all that is required- from fur, fuel, to fun, entertainments are self sufficient. It is possible in an understanding community, with proper planning for all – from animal breeding, herbs, crops, for computers, contact lenses, etc. Etc… , as in the old civilizations. While those generations used hardly a few k calories/day/person, & the population was not much, our set up, with much more population, mostly illiterate, uneducated
[ educated world only contributes even now for the NON SUSTAINABILITY, AND ECOLOGICAL DESTRUCTIONS, & IMBALANCES ! ] , set up, the sustainability CONCEPT is a tough thing to attain. Youngsters like you only can save whatever is available now for the next generations !

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Your Questions About Renewable Energy

James asks…

What is the role of renewable energy in addressing climate change?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy in to climate change? Whatare the contributions of renewable energy to climate change?

admin answers:

It is a political term to describe power sources that don’t emit much CO2 but which can’t actually provide the power our civilisation needs (so far no country has managed to get much more than 20% of their power from wind or solar and even then they had to rely on their neighbours’ hydro and nuclear as well as their own coal to prevent the grid from collapsing). Hydro is the main renewable energy source for electricity production right now but is opposed by most of the people who claim we need renewable energy (and unlike their opposition to nuclear power they actually have good reasons to oppose hydro).

They are used mainly to delay the switch to nuclear power (which despite being not renewable should be good for millions of years at higher than current energy use) that would allow us to actually solve the global warming problem and thus contribute to global warming by keeping the fossil fuel industry in business.

Basically the way it does that is that a bunch of windmills get built and start supplying power to the grid but because of natural variability in the wind they don’t provide that power all the time (20% of rated capacity is considered pretty good for wind) nor can we control when they provide their power so to use wind power you need a source of backup power that is reliable and usually that means fossil fuels (nuclear could be used but if you use nuclear for that then you may as well not bother with the windmills because the windmills would not reduce CO2 emissions or save money). Solar is less variable but PV cells cost a lot more and it still needs backup at night and partial backup on cloudy days. The need for backup means that the fossil fuel industry still gets to exist (and continue pumping CO2 into the atmosphere) if the way to address (if very badly) climate change is to use wind and solar.

Hydro and geothermal have the reliability to be used for baseload although they only work in some locations and hydro power probably won’t be used where it can be because of the massive environmental damage building a dam causes.

Wave and Tidal power when you calculate how much energy there is turn out to be way too diffuse to be useful. Biofuels show promise but not much because you need land to grow them on and that land could be better used growing food or even being turned back into forest.

William asks…

What’s the difference between renewable energy and environmental resources engineering?

Oregon Tech offers renewable energy engineering and Humboldt State offers environmental resources engineering. When I look at the differences between these 2, I couldn’t tell so what should I do? I’m a senior in highschool with a 3.6 GPA

admin answers:

Oregon tech is a masters degree. Humboldt is a bachelors. The humboldt state program is a more traditional “civil” engineering program, which is sort of parallel to environmental engineering. This is probably the safe bet, as these jobs are always in demand. The civil/environmental/water resource engineer does a variety of work and large and small projects. Treatment plants design, sewer line design, water line design, levee design, floodway studies, water quality studies (streams, lakes, rivers, industrial discharge water quality, etc…). Also, alot of report preparation, dealings with the EPA on almost all projects, public meetings explaining projects, drainage studies, storm drain design, environmental clean-ups… The list goes on…

As for the Oregon tech program, it seems more like a ‘green’ energy engineering program. I only briefly looked at the curriculum, bit it appears that they teach the fundamentals of todays renewable energy markets, and also emphasize research into those technologies. This type of engineering is more volatile and risky from a career standpoint, as those companies who engineer renewable energy are often start-ups, government subsidized, and so forth… With the price of copper so high now, the wind energy market is dying fast, since it is effectively impossible to cost effectively use wind power now… Same with solar, the rare earth minerals needed to produce the panels are in short supply, and getting more and more expensive, and on top of that, I belive the U.S. Has only one location where such minerals are mined, the rest are controlled by the Chinese overseas… Thats worth checking into, but I believe that to be the case currently. At any rate, perhaps the graduates from Oregon Tech will engineer new renewable energy sources that we haven’t heard of yet… That seems like the type of program that is… Highly research and innovation based. So a career in that line of work you have to understand the emerging technologies, strength of the markets, and the politics that usually go hand in hand with renewable energy technologies…

Both are ABET accredited engineering degrees, so you’ll be able to become professionally licensed once you complete your degree… That is a good thing, and you’ll want to avoid a program that isn’t accredited.

Good luck.

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Your Questions About Sustainable Energy Development

William asks…

what is the relationship between sustainable development and environmental awareness?

I’m not quite sure what is meant by sustainable development, or how I could link it with the other one.
I need it for a short speech I’ll be doing.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance 🙂

admin answers:

Sustainable development is the building of a community in a way that is environmentally friendly and uses renewable resources. Things to look for in sustainable development are:
-transportation: walking/biking/public transportation efficient
-energy: renewable energy source located close by
-city government: new bylaws encourage citizens to build individual homes in an environmentally friendly way

environmental awarness is needed for sustainability, but is more about individuals making green choices in their every day lives.

Helen asks…

How long is the working life of electronic products?

I am writing a paper about the working life of electronic products and the effect and meaning of longer working life on energy saving and sustainable development. Could you help me find some raw materials, data and examples? Thanks a lot!
examples i.e. mobilephone, music player, TV, etc.

admin answers:

You might look into articles and info on Planned Obsolescence which became prevalent back in the 20’s – 50’s as a means to expand production and increase sales by intentionally engineering products to fail within a set lifespan…a lifespan which could have been extended by using better materials or techniques and conserved raw materials. Some countries in Europe established regulations that household items had to last a set time in order to preserve scarce resources after WW II. PO also incorporated fashion as a way to get consumers interested in the latest designs which also increased sales demand. American designer Brooks Stevens popularized the idea of PO in the 50’s.

There are indeed some considerations when designing consumer products which should take into account that it’s also unnecessary to design products to last too long if new technology makes them obsolete and less efficient than newer models will be in the future.

Lifespans of electronics can vary according to design, engineering, available repair parts and use….the art of engineering is to design products using the minimum amount of materials for their targeted intended use and other concerns. There are steam engines which have lasted for decades in commercial use …the Panama Canal lock system has also lasted for decades with minor repairs. Some remotely operated electronic satellite or GPS navigational systems are designed to last for years or decades.

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineered_obsolescence
http://www.truecycle.com/market02.html
http://www.federalelectronicschallenge.net/resources/docs/extend.pdf

A video on PO and how it relates to waste in raw materials/consumer products, lower lifespan of products including electronics ,etc..
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bxzU1HFC7Q

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Your Questions About Renewable Energy

Steven asks…

How is renewable energy good for the economy?

Can renewable energy truly be good for the economy, and how so?

admin answers:

Renewable energy can be good once we have a storage system to store the sun’s, wind’s, etc’s energy and use it when we need it.

It is good for the economy because it is getting more and more expensive to dig up conventionals.

James asks…

What is the difference between a renewable energy source and a nonrenewable energy source? Give specific e?

What is the difference between a renewable energy source and a nonrenewable energy source? Give me some specific examples.

admin answers:

A renewable energy source is one that naturally replenishes itself as it is consumed. Solar energy, for example, will continue to make its way to us for as long as the sun continues to burn, whether we harness it or not. The same could be said about wind, hydro, biomass, etc. (though these are really just indirect forms of solar energy – without the sun, there would be no wind, the water cycle would not function, and plant life would not grow). The only other renewable energy input that the earth sees as a whole is geothermal – heat energy from its own core (though this will also eventually run out).

Another possible example of a renewable energy source could be landfill gas, though this is debatable. As long as humans continue to create a huge amount of organic waste, I guess, then we should be able to continue capturing methane from it.

A non-renewable source, on the other hand, will not be replenished once it is used. Fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal), for example, are considered non-renewable, because they took millions of years to form. Once a barrel of oil is brought up from the earth and burned, it will not be replenished for a long, long time.

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Your Questions About Renewable Energy Definition

Sandra asks…

Definitions of non-renewable and renewable energy sources?

I need good definitions for both

non-renewable energy source

and renewable energy source.

admin answers:

Non-renewable uses a source that consumes a natural resource in limited supply. (Oil, coal… We can’t make more so it depletes the existing supply.)

Renewable uses a source that can be taken or grown and therefore can be replenished (Sunlight, wood, corn… We can make or take more and it doesn’t deplete a limited supply.)

~

David asks…

What would happen if we didn’t use renewable energy?

What do scientists fear if people didn’t use renewable energy?

admin answers:

By definition, non renewable energy can’t be renewed. It is finite and it will run out. We don’t have an accurate measure of how much fossil fuels we have left or how long that supply will last us. Many scientists believe we have passed the 1/2 way mark and we will see shortages in less than 25 years maybe sooner if we don’t learn to conserve what we have.

Renewable energy isn’t just about saving the environment, although most of them are much cleaner and produce far less pollution than fossil fuels. Renewable energy is also about ensuring our quality of life and for many it’s about energy independence.

I have solar panels which produce most of my electricity, when the city raised our rates by 20% it made little difference on my bill, if I hadn’t installed my solar system it would have been an additional $50 per month.

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