ALTERNATIVE ENERGY PAGE
There's energy everywhere on this earth. Some in stranger places than others. There's energy in the groundwater below us, energy in the ocean waves, energy in the river currents. This page looks at some of the stranger sources of energy and ongoing efforts to tap them. Some of these projects may seem pretty far out, but they may just hold the promise of filling in the energy gaps left by solar and wind power, increasing the prospect of reducing our dependence on large-scale power plants.
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World's Largest Laser to Zap Earth's Energy Woes? 05.04.10
These days everyone is an auditor for the laundry list of suspect science experiments we've been asked to shell out for in the Stimulus package. So, we thought we'd weigh in on federal financing for plans in California to build a baby sun that will solve all the nation's energy woes. First, lets talk about the pros of such profligate spending. If they can get this hot fusion project to work it will be like creating a small sun fueled by deuterium and tritium, two forms of hydrogen that can be extracted by the bucketful from seawater. How cool is that? Endless energy in oceans of water.
That's it for the good news, now for the fault finding. Assuming these folks all have Ph.Ds, we still have to ask: is anyone on earth qualified to build a replica of the sun outside San Francisco? Isn't this work better left to God? Or at least move over to Detroit, not San Francisco. The scientists involved say this model sun will be a pinpoint several times thinner in diameter than a human hair. And, it will only burn for 200 trillionths of a second. Roast a few marshmallows and we're done. "There's no danger to the public," said Lynda Seaver, spokeswoman for the project. But to play it safe they've encased the 900-foot -ong lab in 6.5 feet of concrete. That's either incredible overkill or this woman is lying. Either way, our search for the truth lands us between the quotation marks of a group NBN has previously labeled as professional environmental saber rattlers, the National Resources Defense Council. They suggest our tax dollars might be better spent on stuff that works right now like solar panels and wind turbines. Particularly given the looming threat of global warming.
We agree, but what this group misses in its critique, and we feel is key to this whole concept, is the problem with centralized power generation sources, a.k.a. great big power plants. Do we really want to pursue energy technology that keeps us tethered to massive power plants, whether they burn coal or sea water? Particularly in the face of growing threats to the security of these installations. At the same time, the price of solar and wind power just keeps going down and no one can hack into your solar power system and shut you down. These scientists have spent $2 billion in tax dollars. That's enough to outfit 40,000 homes with solar panels that deliver results and wean the nation off centralized power supplies. We love science at NBN, but we also love results.
Please click here to add your two cents. Or two bits.
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Geothermal Goes Main Stream 02.22.10
Looking down from outer-space, one might laugh at a civilization sitting atop a ball of molten lava at the same time ruining its economy and environment by burning fossil fuels to heat their homes and water. That's pretty much the story down here on planet earth. So, we thought we'd give a little ink to a completely anonymous group called the Geothermal Energy Association which is apparently gaining a little traction in this energy hungry world. That's the message from this website's report on a recent NYC summit on the subject. Attendance doubled over last year.
This 5-minute video and this Wikipedia link show just a little of how geothermal goes from high hopes to hardhats. It's an amazing process. To oversimplify it here, geothermal heating systems consists of drilling a hole into the ground and sinking a bunch of pipes into the hole. Cold water goes into pipes and hot water comes out. Important variables include how deep you drill—the deeper you go the hotter it gets.—and if you use heat pumps, which work like air conditions in reverse and use refrigerants, like freon. Those holes can be 20 or 30 feet deep, but then you'll need the heat pumps, which are not cheap. Or you can drill a couple hundred feet down, in which case you don't need the heat pumps, but the holes are more expensive harder to drill and maintain. Worse, about one in five of these holes needs to be redrilled.
Those are a few of the variables involved in geothermal heating which, again, we're grossly over simplifying. But, it's neat to think you don't have to live in Iceland or on a tectonic plate to take advantage of the earth's heat these days. Here are some other fun facts pulled from the piece linked up top:
Despite the recession, geothermal energy added 750 full time jobs and 2,827 construction-related jobs from roughly $800 million that was invested in the industry in 2009. The United States is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world. Nevada, has about 450 megawatts of conventional geothermal power in production.
Despite the recession, geothermal energy added 750 full time jobs and 2,827 construction-related jobs from roughly $800 million that was invested in the industry in 2009. The United States is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world. Nevada, has about 450 megawatts of conventional geothermal power in production.
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GULF POWER IN SUNSHINE STATE 12.13.09
Here is some fun stuff out of the University of Florida. They are investigating tapping energy from the Gulf Stream using underwater turbines to generate electricity. The gulf stream is pumping enormous amounts of water right past Miami, a city that's been know to flip on an air conditioner or two. How cool would it be, if you'll pardon the pun, to have those AC units power by DC out of the Gulf Stream via turbines just a quarter mile offshore. Here's a very well written story about similar efforts farther north. We are surrounded by environmental energy. We should tap into every bit we can. Above is an artist rendering of the plan. The little things on the bottom are the turbines with cable linking them to the hotels.
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Wishing on Wave Work 11.03.09
Mass High Tech also had this piece on a tidal energy project in Newburyport, MA. a while back. Anyone who has spent any serious time body surfing knows there is a lot of energy in waves, but the technology has always seemed gimmicky. These Newburyport folks are the third attempt in this area to harness all the water sloshing around here. However, the technology is showing promise. MIT and some Portuguese scientists announced a new tidal energy machine that might eventually make this technology work. It looks pretty cool.
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