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Energy use is expanding and includes several different ways to harness power. From hydropower, to solar energy, to wind energy, the world is using the elements to create electricity for homes and businesses. While some favor solar power for use as the new kind of energy; businesses and those aiming to power many homes, opt for wind energy. Regardless of what is used, there is still a long way to go before people move away from traditional forms of energy like hydropower to more cost-effective ways like solar. I myself use hydropower or batteries to get through my days and understand the need to save energy and increase my power source options.Most of the sources of energy I use are non-renewable except my re-chargeable solar batteries. These can be charged with sunlight and thus recharged from a renewable source. A second way I use energy each day is cooking. I cook with natural gas that is non-renewable as it needs to be drilled from underground to collect. Electricity from my blow dryer is renewable because it comes from a hydropower plant that uses water to collect electricity.
My fourth energy usage is regular batteries that are not renewable as they cannot be charged...
The next energy expenditure is my daily hot shower where the water is heated with natural gas. Natural gas is not renewable. Aside from hydropower, solar power and wind power are the most often used renewable energy sources. Because it is very sunny with minimum rain here, a solar power source is excellent for this location.
Solar energy relies on clear sunny days (Foster, Ghassemi, & Cota, 2010). Wind energy relies on windy days to generate power (Nelson, 2013). Because there is not much wind here, this would be the least appropriate choice. In terms of advantages of the energy sources I have, natural gas is non-renewable, but commonly used. Hydropower is most often seen in the United States and is renewable. However, only in locations with enough water. If droughts were to happen, this could change. Natural gas is dangerous to the earth because fracking causes earthquakes (Bjorklund, 2015). Hydropower has minimal effect except dam building. Building of dams can interrupt wildlife habitats and lead to loss of homes for fish, deer, and other wildlife (Billington, Jackson, & Melosi, 2005).
Solar and wind power has minimal effect…
Wind Power The greatest challenge of the 21st century is filling the gap between energy demand and supply with clean, reliable and green source of energy. Energy is very essential and it is in material form in everything that is around us. The opportunity cost of obtaining the energy that we require is the impact that is made on our environment. Some energy sources have greater impacts while others have relatively
Wind Power In 1987, Renner and Renner wrote, "One year after the dramatic collapse of world oil prices, any initial enthusiasm about it has yielded to a more sober assessment of the inter- national energy market. The predicted benefits of the oil price drop have turned out to be grossly overstated: cheap, abundant oil is clearly not the solution to the world economy's deep structural problems. Moreover, oil does not seem
Figures 3 and 4. Vertical Axis and Home Wind Turbine Configurations. Sources: http://www.symscape.com/files/images/flowind_darrieus.img_assist_custom.jpg, and http://techlime.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/home-wind-turbines.jpg. Current and Future Trends in Wind Power Applications. While the foregoing wind power initiatives would indicate that wind farms are already contributing a large percentage of the nation's energy needs, the research shows that this is far from the case. In this regard, the current total respective renewable energy consumption rates based on source in the United States
In fact, during 2007 alone, the installed capacity of "on grid" small-wind residential generators almost tripled, from 1,300 kilowatts nationwide in 2006 to 3,000 kilowatts in 2007 (Clayton). According to Clayton, the number of residential installations increased from 400 to 1,200 units during 2007 as well. In response to this growing demand, a number of companies have started producing various wind turbine configurations in smaller versions for this market
This is capable of maintaining 10 megawatt-hours of energy to deliver power in peak periods. The expenses are estimated in the range of $130 million. There have been other projects going on in the country which utilize storage batteries. The Beacon Power project near Albany with 200 flywheels of a ton each, two projects run by PSEG Global in New Jersey and the Texas-based four-megawatt battery system project completed
Wind Energy To what extent is wind power an effective from of renewable energy? The question is an important one when situated within the context of today's world of energy wars (as in the Middle East), air pollution causing cancer (as indicated by the World Health Organization), and more and more communities looking to "go green" all over the world. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of wind power? This