Tag Archive | "emissions"

Solar Energy Basics

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Solar energy is the most useful and brilliant source of generating power. Many of the worlds energy producing resources are outdated. The natural climate is being affective by growing emissions and green house gases. It will definitely have a negative impact on our environment which may lead to much more destruction.

The Magic of Solar Power – Shifting to Alternative Methods:

In times of growing economic recession and a lot of unemployment, many individuals cannot afford long and hefty bills. The Solar Power is the perfect solution to the problem. Have a look at the advantages and amazing features of the Solar Power. It can literally be used anywhere on the Earth. Solar Power is perhaps the only and most significant answer to all the new world problems. Many governments have already started working on it.

Why Solar Power – The Overview:

Solar Power is very vital. Must needs to realize to weighting of its collective benefits in order to realize the entire benefits of Solar Power. Solar Power can be extremely wonderful if it is taken in a better fashion. Solar Energy is energy that is harnessed from the Sun. Sun is the primal means of providing the Earth with power.

Sun – The Prime Energy Provider:

All forms of power exist on Earth due to Sun. Sun is the only and most significant source of generating power on the planet. Let it be chemical potential energy or geothermal energy, the Sun has contributed to its existence. However it also gives out its own power.

Plasma Rays and Radiation – Effective Use:

Radiation or Plasma rays are the terms used to describe Solar Power or Sunlight. Sunlight can be converted into useful energy by some simple investment and similar steps. The Sunlight is actually a bundle of energy rays. IF they are concentrated on a particular spot, they can generate energy. The Energy is quite useful.

Solar Power Panels – Installation and Applications:

A Solar Power Panel can be installed literally anywhere. Sunlight is the only fuel it requires and investment in Solar Power will never disappoint. Many developing and developed nations have used Solar Power as the perfect means of generating electricity. The Solar Power is extremely cheap and completely user friendly.

Emission of Green House Gases – Not An Issue Anymore:

Solar Power does not produce any emissions or green house gases. It contributes greatly in keeping the environment clean and steady. The Solar Power Panels are easily available in the market and be purchased at a reasonable cost. The Solar Power Panel Kit contains several components which are required.

The Components of Solar Power Panel:

An Inverter, Solar Modules and the Batteries come with the Solar Power Panel Kit. These instruments are connected together to form an effective system. Such a system can be used to work out the energy crisis being faced by millions of people.

Types of Cell – The Poly Crystalline Cells:

Solar Cells are the foremost important components required to trigger the process. The Solar Cells are made up of crystals. There are two categories of Solar Cells. The poly crystalline cells and the mono crystalline cells. These cells differ in nature and expense. They usually determine the amount of cells used and energy produced.

Location of Solar Units – Where To Install:

Solar Cells are fixed on the rooftop or an open area where sunlight is available. The water in the water tank gradually boils as PV cells transfer heat energy into the water.

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The Real Problems with Ethanol as Alternative Fuel

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The quest for alternate fuel is the dream of all scientists. Various energy resources are already being capped like the solar and wind energy. Different fractions of petroleum are distilled to yield various fuels. But perhaps the most important breakthrough in this field is the production of a bio-fuel called ethanol. Many of the scientists are calling ethanol the fuel of the future.

Ethanol

Ethanol is the ethyl alcohol produced by the fermentation of sugars etc. This is used in drugs and as a part of alcohol for drinks. The same is also now used as a solvent and above all the fuel for vehicles. Ethanol gained worldwide publicity once an aircraft with this bio-fuel flew across Atlantic. Ethanol is gaining world wide popularity due to its safe nature for environment.

Advantages Of Ethanol

Ethanol is called as the fuel of the future. It is being used to power cars and buses and gives great mileage. It is cheaper as it is produced from the food crops like sugarcane. Furthermore, it’s burning yields minimal emissions of carbon dioxide and no other harmful gases are generated.

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Hybrid Technology: Vehicles

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Hybrid basically means a mixture of two different typed of things which collectively perform the same work but are better than conventional non hybrid stuff. When the term Hybrid is implied on a vehicle it tells us of a vehicle which derives its power from two different types of sources. The words “hybrid vehicles” now commonly refer to Hybrid Electric Vehicles (H.E.Vs).

How Does a Hybrid Engine Works

How Does a Hybrid Engine Works

A hybrid engine basically derives its power from two different sources which do the same function. In Hybrid Electric Vehicles the two different sources include a gasoline engine and an electric motor. The gasoline engine runs on the fuel for which it has been made for, and the electric motor runs on electricity which has been stored in the battery of the vehicle. These two sources combine effectively and a computer system decides whether to use the gasoline engine and when to use the electric motor based on the conditions.

Preferred Source of Power

The computer system placed in the vehicle chooses the power source according to the conditions of driving. Read the full story

Advantages and Disadvantages of Tidal Energy

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Tidal Energy is a natural source of energy, but it has some prominent following advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

  • Tidal power is free.
  • It has no greenhouse gas emissions and no other wastes.
  • Don’t need any fuel.
  • Reliable electricity production.
  • Its maintenance is not highly expensive.
  • Tide.s are always predictable
  • Offshore turbines and vertical-axis turbines are costly but not costly to built, also that it has positive impact on environment.
  • Its renewable energy. The tides will continue to ebb and flow, and will produce the power.
  • One tidal plant after implementation can produce energy for 75 to 100 years.
  • For generating power,  it uses cheapest source as fuel which is water.
  • Electricity production is reliable through tidal nergy.
  • It protects the coastline against the damage from high storm tides and provides a ready made road bridge.
  • As long as as moon exists, earth revolves,nothing can stop tidal flows.

Disadvantages:

  • It causes a constant loss of mechanical energy in the earth-Moon system.
  • Energy loss causes the earth to slow in the 4.5 billion years, since formation losing 17% of its rotational energy.
  • It may take extra energy from the system which will increase the rate of slowing it over the next millions of years.
  • Similar effects are on large dams; it affects the flow of saltwater in and out of estuaries. This will change the hydrology and salinity, and can create negative affects on the marine mammals that use the estuaries as their habitat.
  • When smaller volume of water exchanges between the basin and the sea, the turbidity decreases.
  • It decreases the salinity inside the basin which also affect on the ecosystem.

Coal’s Future

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America is having large coal resources but not like as before. In 2007 the National Academy of Sciences reported that the country likely has at least a 100-year supply at today’s consumption levels, but that could not confirm the often quoted assertion that the nation has a 250 year supply of coal.

Coal's Future

Since then, the U.S. Geologic Survey substantially reduced its estimate about the amount of coal, which is economically recoverable in the nation’s most important coal field, the Powder River Basin. Anyhow even if the United States coal reserves remain abundant. There are other factors that may limit the coal use. As there are options to limit carbon dioxide emissions in future, which will very likely reduce the production of the coal, in the absence of the success of carbon capture and confiscation on a large scale.

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Conversion of Biomass into Energy

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Ancient way of converting biomass into energy is just to burn it for producing heat, as humans practiced it for thousands of years. Still this is the most common way for conversion of biomass into energy in United States and elsewhere also.

Biomass conversion into Energy

The heat generated from biomass can be used for heating, cooking, and industrial processes, or for producing electricity.

Using biomass for burning haves some problems regarding some energy waste and also some air pollution if it is not carefully controlled.

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Types of Biomass Energy

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There are numerous types of plants and so many ways from which energy can be produced in the world. Typically there are two approaches for using biomass energy, one is growing plants for energy use and second is using plant’s residues for other things. There is no best approach for using biomass energy because of climate differences from region to region, soils, geography, population and other such things.

types of biomass energy

Energy Crops

Energy crops or power crops can be grown in farms on massive level just like food crops. Best energy crops are the trees and grasses while other less agriculturally sustainable crops like corn tend can be used also for energy purposes.

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Certain Advantages Of Biodiesel Fuel

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Bio scientists have always been in search of finding and introducing fuels that can prove to be good substitute of traditional fuel items. The reason of all such efforts is quite obvious. First because the traditional fuel is not going to last forever as it is depleting rapidly. Secondly because there are so many environment issues associated to the usage of traditional fuels.

Biodiesel Fuel

Why biodiesel fuel is good

Despite of some of the disadvantages associated to the biodiesel fuel, its advantages are far greater. As bio scientists are continuously striving to make it more environment friendly, it has started showing results by reducing smoke pollution, noise pollution and by lessening the vibrations. Biodiesel is also better than gasoline when it is about keeping the engine fit and maintaining the acceleration. Biodiesel is a good fuel to be used in large means of transportation like ships.

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Biomass Energy’s Environmental Benefits

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Biomass energy is having so many benefits for the environment such as reducing air and water pollution, increasing soil fertility and reducing erosion, and improvement of the wildlife habitat.Biomass Environmental Benefits

Carbon Cycle

Carbon cycle is a way of nature for moving carbon around the Earth to support life on it. Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is the most common carbon item in which one carbon atom is bound with two oxygen atoms.

Photosynthesis in the plant’s leaves breaks the carbon dioxide in to two, which keeps the carbon for making carbohydrates, and oxygen is exhaled in the air. So when plant dies or it is harvested for burning then it gives back the carbon to air, and that carbon is absorbed again by plants.

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Where Our Coal Comes From?

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Coal sources of United States are highly concentrated and coal is currently mined in 26 states. In 2007, just three states Kentucky, West Virginia, and Wyoming of United States produced 63% coal with each contributing 10, 13, and 40 percent in whole U.S. coal production respectively.

United States Coal Resources

Underground mines in the Appalachian region provided long before most of coal to America. Underground mines produced 421 million short tons, which was the 75 percent of the coal production in whole United States in 1950. But today surface mining had overtaken underground mining , accounting of production in 2007. Wyoming was the largest single source of U.S coal in 2007, most of it coming from the enormous Powder River Basin.

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The Renewable Electricity Standard

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Renewable energy can help to resolve the problems such as increasing prices of fossil fuel oil, need for more energy for domestic use, and harmful air pollution. National renewable electricity standard can help to provide energy with clean domestic resources. That will help to stabilize electricity prices, reduction in natural gas prices, reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and other harmful air pollutants. Most of all it will create jobs especially in rural areas and farmers and ranchers will find new income.

RES

What is a Renewable Electricity Standard?

The Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) or Renewable Portfolio Standard is a market-based process, which requires utilities to gradually increase the portion of electricity produced from renewable resources like wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar energy. Thirteen states including Texas had ordained minimum renewable energy requirements. But energy production makes national economic and environmental problems, which need national solutions.

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