Sunday, May 17, 2009

Enhanced geothermal power systems

The advancement in technology has led to the development of enhanced geothermal power systems. These systems are also called hot dry rock geothermal energy systems or hot fractured rock systems. These systems use geothermal power products for power generation and use very high temperatures found in rocks below the earth’s surface.

These are also known as engineered geothermal power systems that extract green renewable energy in the form of heat from earth that consists of natural geothermal power systems with cracks or pores which are filled with hot water that is sufficient enough to generate power.

Water is pumped at a high pressure using a bore or injection well that is drilled into the hot rock to pump water to generate electricity. Water travels through the fractures or cracks in rocks and captures the heat from rocks till it is forced out of the second borehole. The hot water so obtained as geothermal power product is converted to electricity through either a turbine or a geothermal power plant.

Some enhanced geothermal power systems also use supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid because it results in better geothermal power output.

There are a few advantages of these systems. One of the main advantages is that they use a renewable energy source, geothermal energy for power generation. These systems being green renewable energy structures do not emit carbon compounds into the atmosphere and thus do not degrade the environment. These systems can be handled easily and are also easy and convenient to use.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Rotating skyscraper that works on wind power

Wind power as an alternative power source can be generated from wind energy. Renewable wind energy can be harnessed by using wind turbines to generate electricity. Advancement in technology has led to the design and development of a rotating skyscraper that works on wind renewable power.

The idea of the concept is to use wind renewable power to rotate the skyscraper. The design is built in a way in which fifty nine individual levels or units will surround a central concrete core to form the basic structure of this skyscraper. A horizontal wind turbine will be installed between each floor. These horizontal wind turbines will capture the renewable wind energy and generate electricity for the skyscraper. Each unit will be independent and will move with the wind and so the building will have more resistance to earthquakes. The construction of this type of a skyscraper will take a lot of time an will be very expensive.

Fifty eight horizontal wind turbines will be installed in the building so that they are not visible from the outside. The amount of electricity generated by each wind turbine will be 0.3 megawatt. The amount of electricity generated by a single wind turbine will be sufficient enough to meet the power needs for almost fifty families.

A skyscraper that will run on wind renewable power will be easier to maintain because it will run on wind. A wind renewable power rotating skyscraper will not pollute the environment and also not emit any harmful particles in the atmosphere. This skyscraper will also not contribute to global warming. It will thus be a green renewable energy structure.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Alternative energy companies

The energy obtained from the alternative energy sources is called alternative energy. The various alternative energy resources are solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy etc. The alternative energy obtained from the alternative sources of energy is non- polluting and can be put to several uses.

The use of alternative energy resources and production of alternative energy have increased over the years. Therefore, there is a rapid rise in the number of alternative energy companies.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy that meet most of the energy needs today. Their reserves are fast declining and we will shortly face a situation when no fossil fuels will be left. Therefore alternative energy resources are required to meet the increasing needs of energy across the globe.

Alternative energy resources do not cause pollution as opposed to the burning of fossil fuels that emits gases like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide etc. in the air and thus pollutes the atmosphere. Also these sources are renewable alternative energy sources that can never end.

The energy that is produced by alternative energy companies does not contribute to global warming and pollution. Alternative energy companies are working on developing energy sources that are non-polluting and do not harm the environment in any way.

To set up alternative energy companies a lot of investment is required. Also the research required for the development of alternative energy sources is expensive. These companies produce alternative energy in quantities that are sufficient enough to meet the energy requirements of the world.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Wind Turbines

Wind energy has been in use as an alternative energy source for a very long time. In order to harness renewable wind energy in earlier times, wind machines were used. Today, wind turbines which are the modern equivalents of wind machines are used for harnessing renewable wind energy.

Wind turbines use wind as an alternative energy source to generate electricity. These machines are installed at heights so that they can capture maximum renewable wind energy. Wind turbines have two or three blades or rotors which are like airplane wings. A low pressure on the downside of the blade is created when wind blows which pulls the blade causing the rotor to move. The moving rotor spins a generator to produce electricity.

Wind turbines can be used to generate electricity from renewable wind energy in three ways. One way to use wind turbines is to install them as stand alone units. In stand alone units, the wind turbines use renewable wind energy to pump water or for communications. Another way of using wind turbines is to connect them with utility power grid. Wind turbines can also be combined with solar cells systems to use the renewable energy sources for several purposes.

Wind turbines can produce electricity from renewable wind energy that can meet the energy requirements of small places. If renewable wind energy has to be used to generate electricity for commercial uses, a large amount of renewable wind energy needs to be captured and converted to electricity.

It is easy to install, use and maintain wind turbines.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Wind Machines

Wind power can be obtained from wind energy by wind machines. Wind machines capture the wind and convert the energy present in it to mechanical or electrical energy called wind power.

Wind machines use blades to capture kinetic energy of the wind and turn by the force of the wind. The blades are connected to the shafts of turbine which is rotated by the wind power to generate electricity.

On the basis of the direction of the rotating shaft, there are two types of wind machines available today. Horizontal axis wind machines which have blades like that of an airplane propeller. Horizontal axis wind machines are very tall and have three long blades to capture more wind and therefore generate more wind power. Vertical axis wind machines are not much in use. They have blades that go from top to bottom. Vertical axis wind machines account for a very small amount of wind power generated.

Another type of wind machine or system used to generate electricity using wind power is the Wind Amplifier Rotor Platform. This system has modules stacked on one another. Each module has a pair of high capacity turbines and a wind amplifier. The wind amplifier increases the speed of the wind directed towards the turbines. The wind rotates the turbines that generate electricity.

Wind power is used to generate a large amount of electricity that can meet electricity needs of many nations of the world conveniently, efficiently and in a cost effective manner.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Introduction To Geothermal Energy

The earth’s interior is very hot. The heat energy of the earth’s interior is called geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is manifested in hot springs also known as thermal springs. A hot spring is a stream of hot water issuing from the ground. They are formed when water sinks far enough down the earth, gets heated and rises up the earth’s surface. Geothermal energy is more prominent in volcanically active areas where the frequency of hot springs is high as the water gets heated by magma.

Geothermal energy is used to generate electricity. Countries like New Zealand, Iceland, Russia, Japan, United States of America, Mexico and India are using geothermal energy to generate electricity.

Water of the hot springs can be converted to steam on heating to drive turbines of electricity generators. The electricity so generated by geothermal energy can be used in cold storage plants, in industries and for domestic purposes. Other uses of geothermal energy include drying fish, drying timber, processing of forest and farm products, home heating etc.

The amount of electricity generated by geothermal energy depends upon the speed at which the turbine is rotated by the steam or hot water. The electricity generated is more if the speed of rotation of turbine is more. Geothermal energy is a cheap and non polluting source of generating electricity.

Geothermal energy is a renewable source of energy. It can be collected by drilling the earth’s crust and allowing heat to escape in the form of steam or through very hot water. As an important source of energy, it should be conserved and utilized optimally.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Wind Energy

The imminent crisis of energy can be solved through Wind Energy and out of various forms of renewable energy this energy is one of the best energy forms. Our ancestors used wind power for purposes like exploration, farming and navigation. You might not be aware of this fact that during primeval times, wind energy was used in order to pump water and grind grain. This energy is principally used in the generation of electricity and then this electricity is sent to various houses. Environmentalists across the globe favor Wind Power for its practical usage. This energy is renewable and produces no pollution at all. Unlike other conventional forms, Wind Energy is considered green alternative to energy. If you are using this energy then, environment will be completely saved. Moreover, the cost of producing electricity in it is very less in comparison to other conventional ways of generating electricity. Machines that are powered by wind energy are known as wind pumps or wind turbine generator.

In order to continue the work, wind energy does not require any fueling so there are no chances of production of emission of green house gases. This energy is present in abundance as wind is blown for ever. Moreover, if we use wind energy then, economies of rural areas are also benefited. Farmers obtain supplement income from the installation of windmills in the farm. Everybody is familiar with the consequences of global warming and at this point one can rely on wind power. So, wind energy is renewable source of energy and generation of electricity through this energy is environment friendly.