Browsing Tag Transmission Lines

Solar Energy – It is Popular. So Why is it Not Yet Widely Used?

The fact is, the 350,000,000 terawatts of power available from the sun is so huge that an exposure to a full sun in only 15 minutes will be enough to generate the world’s energy requirement

Compare that with energy that is generated by nuclear and fossil fuel. Presently, the available data for fossil and nuclear fuel is 10,800,000 terawatts which we all know to be non renewable.

To produce electricity, utility companies burn fossil fuels that translate to 1.3 pounds of carbon dioxide to produce 1kw of electrical power. This unwanted CO2 emissions are dumped into the atmosphere. This then translates into each typical home being accountable yearly for 22,000 pounds of CO2 emissions.

The harnessing of the sun’s rays is clean and safe. It produces no emissions and it is practical and may in the years ahead, prove very economical. In the United States, only 0.1% of power that is generated is solar energy driven. So what are the obstacles?

According to the Wall Street Journal (in an article that was released in its August 2008 issue), there are groups, backed by political groups that are lobbying against the putting up of transmission lines for solar power. The construction of distribution lines for solar energy is also being blocked by environmental activists that restrict the delivering of solar energy to those who want it in their homes.

Another obstacle is that the power grid in the United States which was designed more than 100 years ago is now so congested in many regions. To deliver the solar power to consumers, scientists and engineers will have to come out with another cost efficient plan to transfer huge amounts of energy from one location to another.

Solar panels are considered expensive. Although a home increases its value by folds when solar powered, the costs still could be prohibitive to most that unless the non silicon flexible solar panels that are now being developed are released for market consumption, powering homes through solar energy could still be very limited.

Other forms of rewards to avoid fossil fuel use should still be effectively placed. The 30% tax cut to projected cost previously awarded will be more attractive if other federal credits are included to encourage further investments.

The global warming issue that has been brought to the papers is a recurrent subject of talk shows and remains to be a good news item. Also, the too unstable pump prices, should and for most part, already be a good incentive to use this alternative source of energy.

However, effective solar energy transmission to homes will remain to be very hard unless these obstacles are breached. Assuming that these obstacles are solved today, it will still take some 10 years to convert 20% of American homes into solar energy users. Meanwhile, solar panels on individual homes remain to be the most viable alternative.

The good part to solar energy quest is that technology is advancing very rapidly. Nano technology for solar power is being developed and may be available in five years time. Other breakthroughs in cell designs are also being developed that could, in the next few years, be a cost-effective way of generating energy without having to rely anymore on fossil and nuclear power.

Hydropower is energy that comes from water and it can be applied in different means. It has a lot of potentials and these potentials as well as the drawbacks of its application are considered here.

Hydropower makes up at least 10% of the electricity in the United States. It makes use of flowing water in order to spin turbines and produce electricity.

Hydropower is one of the renewable energy sources that is constantly being researched and implemented in order to replace fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are in the process of depletion. It doesn’t produce carbon dioxide as you have with coal power stations. This makes it a whole lot cheaper and makes it a cheaper way to produce electricity. It is also renewable as rainwater replenishes it quite easily.

One of the most common types of hydropower facilities is the impoundment facility. A dam is built on a large river or lake in order to store its water in a reservoir. When the water is released from a reservoir it flows through tunnels and through a turbine. Since the height of the water behind these walls is very great the released water passes through the turbine with immense forces on energy. This force in turn produces electricity. Water may then travel back into the stream or river, networks of transmission lines and facilities also carry the electricity from a generator to users in a form they can use.

One dam that is an illustration of these processes is the Hoover Dam. When it was first created it produced enough electricity for the whole of Las Vegas. As Las Vegas grew in size, people sought out other energy sources for power.

The pumped storage hydro plan facility is able to store power. It easily achieves this by pumping up water from a lower reservoir to a high one during periods that low energy is required. When the needs of people increase water gets released from the upper reservoir back to the lower reservoir in other to generate electricity.

Hydroelectric plants need a lot of land in other to build a dam as well as a reservoir. These all take a lot of money, time and construction too. There are not many places hydroelectric dams can be built and most of the space has already been taken. The great thing is that once they are constructed the electricity becomes free to produce. Due to the costs of construction, the tendency is usually to put up small hydro plants which are more economical.

Hydroelectric plants which are constructed with the use of dams tend to have adverse effects on the environment. With the construction of a dam you have a blockage of the flow from the upstream to the downstream. This blockage tends to disrupt the migration pattern of fish as well. Fish can also be killed as they pass through the turbines. The advantage that hydropower has is that it possesses the ability to control energy release in order to meet ever changing demands.

The population is increasing steadily and so are the power needs of this population. Fossil fuels are constantly being used up and a certain time will come when these fuels have been completely depleted. We have to turn to renewable energy sources in order to meet our needs. Natural sources make for a natural solution. Hydroelectric plants can meet your power needs without you having to worry about depletion or pollution. It is also the most reliable source of electric power currently available. Hydroelectric energy can work and solutions are currently being proposed and researched in order to counter the damage that hydroelectric dams can do.