Should we invest in renewable energy and alternative fuels?
Lawmakers only focus on these high gas prices. I think they should look into investing funds into renewable energy and alternative fuels. This is the only way we can successfully become energy independent. And these fossil burning fuels are ruining the environment. For example they could put _______ billion dollars into automobile companies so they could lower the cost of hybrid cars, and _____ billion in the production of these vehicles.
How can we as a country promote alternative energy, use less foreign oil and reduce global warming?
We as a country first need to be more conservative. We can't be so wasteful in our use of energy. Almost all forms of energy have their downsides. Windfarms are a blot on the landscape (many in Europe think they ruin natural beauty), it remains to be seen if Nuclear energy is completely safe, ethanol fuel will produce H20 which is as bad a greenhouse gas as CO2 (if not worse). Solar energy is probably the best, but it is very expensive. Right now, politicians need to urge us to reduce consumption (and politicians can start by reducing their own consumption). Campaigns waste loads of resources...
In some areas tidal energy is used as an alternative energy source .?
The first and obvious pros to it is that it is renewable and environmentally friendly. The sun and moons gravitational pull on earth cause the rise and fall of water levels, called tides. By harnessing energy made by the rise and fall of water, gravity (a constant force) will cause the water to spin a turbine and create clean energy, and since gravity is constant, it also is renewable. The down side however, is that first it costs a lot of money to make the dams for this energy source. And secondly, though there is a good amount of coastline, it isn't practical in the sense of overall aid. Places like Huntsville AL, Nashville TN, and Ancorage AK, are not near the coastline, so therefore they are unable to use this form of energy, restricting it strictly to coastal and island areas where tides are constant.
Alternative Energy: How do I sell electricity to make money?
The utilities make certain that nobody gets a good deal out of selling electricity. The only way to sell electricity is to sell it outside of a utilities service area, directly to the end user. Net metering make it advantageous to generate power for your own use, but only as much as you need, excess is pretty worthless. If your "device" is unique, you're better off selling the device. Then people would connect it up themselves, to get the energy for their own use. Or you'd sell it to companies which do the installation, which is a much larger market than that of do-it-yourselfers.
Should we learn to conserve our energy better, or should we develop and use alternative energy sources?
Decide which type of alternative energy resource would be best used in your area of the state or country. Include the state and the general area of the state that you live in. Tell what resource you think would be best used to replace some of the fossil fuel
Solar Energy! EASY 10 POINTS?
Facts about solar energy: 1.Solar energy is a renewable resource (it may go away at night, but we will always have it.) 2.Solar energy will not pollute our air with carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases and bad emissions. 3.Solar energy can be used to heat water, dry clothes, heat swimming pools, power attic fans, power small appliances, produce light for both indoors and outdoors, and even to power cars, among other things. 4.In 1990, a aircraft powered solely by the sun crossed the United States. 5.Solar energy products can be very expensive. The initial cost is, perhaps, the main disadvantage of solar energy. 6.You need a relatively large area to install solar panels if you want a good level of efficiency. 7.Depending where you live (Arizona vs. Alaska, around many shady trees or in the desert, etc.), you will get different results with solar energy systems. 8.Of course, once you install the products, they can be very inexpensive to run. In fact, energy from the sun is free. 9.If you have a really good solar energy system, one that produces even more energy than you use, your utility company can buy it from you. 10.When you use solar energy, you are making you and your home independent. You do not need to depend on foreign or other sources of energy which can raise their costs quickly. 11.To run a solar energy system, you do not even need to connect to a gas or power grid. 12.Solar energy cannot be produced at night or if there is a lot of pollution in the air or clouds over the sun. 13.Of course, realize that you can have a battery backup system with your solar energy system that will take care of the problems that could arise when the sun does not rise, so to speak. 14.You can install solar energy in remote locations. If there is a power outage, you can still have electricity! 15.As your energy needs grow, you can add more solar panels 16.Solar panels operate silently. 17.Solar powered cars are not yet up to par with other cars. They have a much slower speed. 18.Solar energy systems require very little maintenance and will last for a long time. 19.Technology for solar energy is constantly improving. Those are just a few facts about solar energy. I hope that they were helpful!
How does Green Mountain Energy make money?
I looked into this a bit and it seems like the trick here is more subtle than I'd initially thought. As Nani suggested, some renewables aren't so expensive you can't make a buck on them. Wind is cost-comparable to coal (Wind power), but there isn't a whole lot of wind power available (estimates I've seen are in the range of ~5% of global *electricity* usage). Hydro-electric is also cost-comparable with coal (though it's basically all tapped out). This is what Green Mountain claims they are selling in New York State, so if they are repackaging power for a small fraction of consumers it's possible that they can make a profit at the average price (you couldn't possibly serve all of New York State with hydro and wind power - there isn't enough).Also, since almost all the wind and hydro power are upstate and there are massive losses in transporting electricity (Electric power transmission), it's not as if I'll actually get renewable power myself in NYC if I switch to Green Mountain. Rather, someone upstate will get it and I'll get a nice happy feeling for doing good for the world, or something of the sort (not to denigrate good feelings, which are good). Now here's what I think the trick is: Green Mountain claims that they are "putting green power into the grid" but all the hydro power in NYC is *already in the grid*. On top of that, almost all of the Green Mountain power mix is hydro (the pie chart they showed me was ~90% hydro). So Green Mountain is essentially selling a marginal increase in wind power usage in New York, but selling it as a green energy revolution. It could work out for them financially because they chose two renewables that are cost-competitive, but they can't possibly serve any sizable portion of the market with their mix of renewables.
How much money could Nevada make selling solar energy to other states?
Not much.Think about the neighboring states. How many of them are short of large, empty, sunny bits of desert they could build their own solar parks in?So the transmission losses mean large scale state to state transmission will be avoided if possible.
How much do solar energy panels cost?
Buying solar panels can be very expensive, especially for installation. If your average daily usage is 6.6 kilowatt per hour, then you would need a 2 kilowatt system that could generate ten kilowatts per hour in a day. This system could cost between $10,000 to $20,000. Of course, the higher wattage, the higher the cost. There are some alternatives to spending thousands of dollars on solar panels. 1) Buy several solar panel kits and link them together yourself. 2) Combine solar with wind power to decrease the number of panels you will need. 3) Build your own solar panels for around $200 each. If you are handy with some basic soldering, then you can make your own solar panels.
What is the best renewable energy source?
Please, just answer this if you really KNOW :) For a country that has sun, wind and geothermal areas, and lots of it all, in which order should these resources be used as energy sources, considering cost of production, land use and amount of energy production