Posts Tagged ‘Solar’
Solar Tower – renewable energy green global warming
April 11, 2012 | 
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EnviroMission Limited (www.enviromission.com.au) produced this 5 minute video on the pilot plant in Spain. It is an older video (2000) but gives a decent understanding of the solar tower concept. EnviroMission, Ltd. (US Market: EVOMY, Australian Exchange: EVM) is a renewable energy developer of sustainable “green” energy solutions for the energy market. EnviroMission aims to be one of Australia’s leading producers of clean renewable energy. EnviroMission holds the proprietary rights to Solar Tower technology, a large-scale renewable energy technology based on simple fundamentals of physics — hot air rises. Solar Tower technology has the potential to offer competitive renewable energy with equal reliability to fossil fuel generators. A single 200MW Solar Tower power station will provide enough electricity to power around 400000 households. The energy output will represent an annual saving of more than 1960000 tonnes of greenhouse CO2 gases from entering the environment when compared to brown coal emissions in Victoria. The greenhouse savings equate to the removal of approximately 500000 cars from the road. The Australian Solar Tower project consists of six distinct phases, the first two of which (project optimization and pre-feasibility commercialization) have already been completed. The third phase (final feasibility), paving the way for the implementation of the next three phases (final design, construction, and commercial operation).
Solar Tower – EnviroMission reduces green house CO2 emission
EnviroMission, Ltd. (www.enviromission.com.au; US Stock Market: EVOMY, Australian Stock Exchange: EVM) is a renewable energy developer of sustainable “green” energy solutions for the energy market. EnviroMission aims to be one of Australia’s leading producers of clean renewable energy. EnviroMission holds the proprietary rights to Solar Tower technology, a large-scale renewable energy technology based on simple fundamentals of physics — hot air rises. Solar Tower technology has the potential to offer competitive renewable energy with equal reliability to fossil fuel generators. A single 200MW Solar Tower power station will provide enough electricity to power around 400000 households. The energy output will represent an annual saving of more than 1960000 tonnes of greenhouse CO2 gases from entering the environment when compared to brown coal emissions in Victoria. The greenhouse savings equate to the removal of approximately 500000 cars from the road. The Australian Solar Tower project consists of six distinct phases, the first two of which (project optimization and pre-feasibility commercialization) have already been completed. The third phase (final feasibility), paving the way for the implementation of the next three phases (final design, construction, and commercial operation).
Posted in Energy | 
Tags: Emission, EnviroMission, Green, House, reduces, Solar, Tower | 
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Fully renewable: biogas + wind + solar
Biopact has this story: scientists of the University of Kassel in Germany prove that the entire country can be powered by renewables only. They connected biogas, wind and solar power in a distributed way and show it can deliver both baseloads and peakloads. Check more at: biopact.com
Can Solar Panels Save You Money?
As the prices of oil and gas continues to go up and up, the installation of solar panels is giving many families solace and stability. The sun offers an almost infinite source of energy. No wonder so many people are rushing to install solar panels. Indeed, their popularity is increasing so rapidly that manufacturers of solar panels are having difficulty keeping up with demand.
* Two Types Of Solar Panels
Predominantly, solar panels come in two types. There are solar energy panels in the form of ‘solar thermal collectors’. These focus solar energy into a liquid medium, usually water, heating the liquid that is then utilized as and where it is required. The other of the two types of solar panels is known as the photovoltaic module. These solar panels convert the sun’s energy into electricity, which can then be distributed immediately or stored within a battery to be used later.
Solar panels have been commonplace for decades. Think of calculators and watches. Many swimming pools have been heated using solar panels for years. These days, the electricity to homes and offices often comes from the cleaner alternative energy source of bigger, better, more efficient solar panels.
The influence of solar panels has spread so wide that even the National Grid take some of their power from solar energy panels.
* How Do Solar Panels Work?
Both photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal solar panels are made of special materials, most frequently silicon. They act as semiconductors. When sunlight hits the solar energy panels, some of the energy is absorbed within the semiconductor material. That energy knocks electrons within the silicon loose, allowing them to flow freely.
Once the electric fields within solar panels are freed by light energy, they force electrons to flow in one specific way. This flow of electrons is also known as a current. By simply placing metal contacts on the top and bottom of the solar energy panels, the current can be drawn off as electricity to be used externally.
The solar panels have built-in electric fields that, when combined with the current described above, will give us what we call a wattage. We use this to describe the power of our solar energy panels.
Why Solar Panels?
There are lots of great reasons to install solar panels in your house. Top of the list is the huge savings you will make on your utility bills. Many people feel good that they are reducing their carbon footprint. Solar panels give off almost zero carbon dioxide emission. Solar panels reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 1.2 million tonnes per annum.
Another benefit is the freedom of not being tied to the National Grid. With solar panels fully fitted, power cuts and unexpectedly increased electricity bills become a thing of the past.
Solar panels are perfect for those living in remote areas with limited coverage by the National Grid.
* Installing Solar Panels On Your Home
Though there are some very good guides to making your own solar panels and then installing them into your home on a DIY basis, it is advisable to seek out a professional solar panels installation company. Ideally, the installers of your solar panels should be certified by the Low Carbon Buildings Program.
It is not advisable to try to install solar panels without full training. Make certain that your solar panels conform to the local standards laid out by the authorities there. There is a number of complex technical electrical issues to be resolved as well as full safety codes required.
Because of their weight, solar panels often need to be attached to a separate roofing support system.
Professional installers of solar panels should have gone through all the red tape and complicated issues so you don’t have to.
* Getting Planning Permission For Solar Panels Installation
Solar panels are most frequently fitted to the roof or along an external wall of the home. Be sure to check with the local council before doing this. The local authorities in most countries agree that it is acceptable to install roof mounted solar panels. Some places do require detailed listed criteria though.
In England, for example, solar panels of up to 100mm in depth can be laid across a tilted roof without requiring planning permission. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the local authorities have not finalized their legislation relating to solar energy panel, so be sure to check before you go rushing in.
*The Outlook For Solar Panels
As people become more and more aware of global warming and climate change, so the demand for good quality solar panels is increasing. The momentum among people is to move away from old-school fossil fuels in favor of alternative, more sustainable energy options. These include hydrogen, hydro-electricity, solar power, wind and wave.
Solar power is one of the most bountiful of the possible energy supplies that we have here on Planet Earth. As the technology behind solar panels improves in terms of their efficiency, so the cost of installing solar panels is falling. When added to a range of governmental subsidies, tax credits, rebates and grants, the widespread installation of solar panels onto the average householder’s roof is becoming more and more realistic. As the prices are falling further thanks to local competition in the marketplace, so, it would seem that the future of solar panels is very bright indeed
Good Energy – Solar Power at Home
In the Herefordshire countryside a couple use solar panels at home to heat water and generate electricity and help them to lead the good life.
Can Solar Energy Efficiency Stop Climate Change?
All throughout the news and the internet, global climate change has been rearing it’s ugly head more and more often.
The ice caps are said to be melting at an alarming rate, the sun’s rays are getting hotter, and the ozone layer may be in it’s death throes. What can the average person, including you, do about it all? Solar energy efficiency may be the answer you’re looking for.
Solar energy efficiency should begin with the basic solar panel. Solar panels can come in two different forms, photovoltaic or thermal, but photovoltaic solar panels are the ones used most often in residential homes.
Solar panels technology has led the charge over the past couple of decades to get affordable and durable solar panels into the hands of the average citizen, and this had led to an increase in alternative energy usage.
Solar energy efficiency itself cannot stop climate change. This should be obvious to anyone who’s been paying attention to what’s going on – but, it can do a lot to help.
Using solar panels technology itself is a personal declaration that you’re sick and tired of using environmentally hostile forms of energy, and that you support the research and discovery of newer, alternative energies that will help the planet, and not be a hindrance towards it.
Solar panels, systems and individual, are just a good step in the right direction. After using solar panels technology for a little while, you’ll begin to notice other areas in your life that deal with energy and need improvement. It could instill in you the desire to drive a hybrid car, or cut down on travel and oil spending altogether.
Others will see your use of solar panels and will want to buy solar panels for home improvement. There are a myriad of possibilities out there, but it all starts with you first.
It will take a lot more effort to curtail climate change, and the possible shortages and disasters that it may entail for the future. Becoming energy independent and using solar energy efficiency will go a long way in ensuring that you’re doing your part to help the environment, and that you’re conscious of the troubles that are currently inflicting the planet.
Being informed about the problems is one thing. Taking action against them is in a whole different ballpark altogether.
Indoor Solar Cells? A 500 Megawatt Proposal
Complete video at: fora.tv Howard Clearfield, CTO of G24 Innovations, discusses potential applications of dye-sensitized solar cells. Since these cells operate indoors, Clearfield explains using the technology with indoor devices that draw standby power, like televisions, would take over 500 megawatts of electricity off the grid. —– Finding economic ways to capture and convert energy from our largest renewable energy source, the sun, is becoming more urgent as the worlds supply of fossil fuels vanishes. Now, the development of a new generation of solar cells might lead the way toward a better future. Graetzel cells, named for Professor Michael Graetzel of the Ecole Polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, are dye-sensitized solar cells that are thin, flexible, and come in many shapes and colors, allowing them to answer different functional needs. Inspired by plant photosynthesis, they use dyes to transform sunlight into electricity. – swissnex San Francisco Howard M. Clearfield is the Chief Technology Officer at G24 Innovations, Ltd., a personalized solar energy start-up company specializing in flexible dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). His solar energy experience includes positions at OptiSolar, Inc. as Director of Product Development, and at The Dow Chemical Company, where he installed at 210 kW solar farm that has produced over 750 MW-hr of renewable energy. Prior to entering the solar energy field, Clearfield was Global Leader of Technical …
Solar Renewable Energy – Sun Power
It is no secret that the sun can be harnessed to provide a source of energy for homes and businesses.
The sun is a powerful star. It supplies us with energy, through a process called nuclear fusion, and sustains life on our planet Earth. Solar energy, or energy from the sun, has existed since prehistoric times when men would magnify the sun’s energy in efforts to start fires.
The sun is a valuable resource that radiates enough energy on the United States in one day to meet the nation’s needs for one and a half years. Since it is a free, clean and renewable source of energy, it is an energy source that will play a vital role in our future.
Using the sun’s energy for our energy source seems like an easy solution to having an energy supply forever. Harnessing the suns energy is where the problem lies. The sun’s rays shine all over the world and not in just one spot. Although it takes only 8 minutes for sunlight to travel to the earth, trying to catch the rays over such a wide area can prove to be tricky. Also, the energy in any one given place will vary due to factors, such as, clouds and weather conditions.
The history of using solar energy began in 1890′s when solar water heaters were used in the United States. Solar water heating requires a storage collector and a storage tank. Flat plate solar collectors are mounted on rooftops. Pipes carrying water are pumped through these collectors. The tubes are painted black so they will get hot quicker. As the heat is collected the fluid in the tubes get heated. A storage tank holds the hot liquid. This helps with central heating and cutting fuel costs. Solar heaters became popular when natural gas was expensive and burning wood and coals were burdensome. It’s popularity diminished with the discovery of an abundance of natural gas and oil deposits. Now they are making a comeback to replace the depleting fossil fuels that had taken its place.
Solar energy can be in the form of heat energy or light energy. The technology of photovoltaic, or PV as it is commonly called, converts the suns energy into electric currents through the use of solar cells. These electric currents can be used instantaneously or stored for later use. The PV cells consist of pieces of silicon under a thin piece of glass. They have both a positive and negative charge. Simple examples of this are the solar powered calculators that are common today. More complex examples are solar panels placed on roofs. This consists of using thin film solar cells as rooftop shingles, roof tiles, and even glazing for skylights. Unfortunately, the cells generate only about one sixth of the sun’s energy into electricity. This means bigger arrays are needed and along with this come larger costs.
Solar thermal power plants use the sun to heat fluid, which in turn, is transferred into steam similar to fossil fuel burning plants. The steam is transformed into mechanical energy in a turbine and electrical energy from a generator. The downfall is solar plants cannot produce energy on cloudy days.
It is expected the next few years will see millions of households using solar energy. As research continues and processes improve, using our sun as a renewable energy source will produce efficiency and cost savings. So, let the sun shine in and take full advantage of this warm energy source where you live.
Unlimited Energy Solar Solutions
Unlimited Energy is the largest, locally owned solar contractor in the Central San Joaquin Valley. We have been in business in Fresno since 1984 and have designed and installed some of the largest PV projects in the State of California. With over 2.75 million watts installed spanning over 400 installations, we’ve earned the right to be called the authority on solar. Solar energy can be a complicated endeavor. We make it simple. This video explains solar energy and shows Unlimited Energy’s depth and breadth of work.
Renewable Energy Like Solar Energy Can Prevent the World From Devastation…………
Our body needs energy to work and in the same way, a machine needs electricity or energy of any substance to run. For different machines and automobiles we use different means of energy such as; Coal, petroleum and natural gas. But these days the use of renewable energy is in vogue which is the energy produced out of the natural sources like sunlight, wind, tide and rain. The major types of renewable energy are: Solar energy, Wind energy, Bio mass energy.
The renewable energy is preferred more by the whole today because of its extra-ordinary advantages. We have been using the energy of the fossil fuels, produced by burning it which has kept the whole world on the edge of the devastation. Today, the world is towards the way of harnessing the natural sources for the energy to save the world from further global warming. The renewable energy does not emit any kind of toxic gases which can be fatal for the earth and another merit is it is the replenished energy. Among all the natural sources, the sun is the incessant mean, giving amazing output. The sun throws the heat and light directly on the earth almost daily (except few places) and the solar collectors collect the rays and transfer them into the form of electricity or heat which can be very helpful. Solar energy provides electricity to heat water and to heat or cool homes, businesses or industry. It is being preferable because it is a clean and renewable source of energy. The sunlight when converted into electricity is also called the solar power. If the use of renewable energy will be increased then the next generation will be able to live in the realm of pure environment.
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