Renewable ENERGY

It’s an expert estimation that the total energy stored in wind is 100 times higher than actually needed by humans on this earth. The catch is that we have to learn and devise ways to trap this wind power blowing across the planet earth. Experts tell us one more thing that most of the wind energy is available at high altitude and we can’t manufacture turbines of that height.

Kite ENERGY

So we have to think of new ways to trap that wind power blowing at a significant height. Some experts estimate that the total energy contained in wind is 100 times the amount needed by everyone on the planet. However, most of this energy is at high altitudes, far beyond the reach of any wind turbine.

Now researchers want to create something like a kite that can float at a higher altitude to trap the wind energy.

The swirling kites prompt KiteGens core in motion, and the rotation activates large alternators producing a current. They also have a control system on autopilot.

The cost of the technology is US$750,000 and it won’t takes acres and acres of space like a wind farm. You can install the whole machinery within a diameter of just 100 meters. KiteGen claim that they can produce half a GW of energy, and produce it at a cost of US$2.5 per GW. Its creators, Sequoia Automation, say a 2,000 meter-version would generate 5GW of power.

Could we one day be driving cars fueled by watermelons? Researchers say that watermelon juice can be a valuable source of biofuel, as it can be efficiently fermented into ethanol. But have no fear, using watermelons for biofuel wouldn”t cut into the amount of watermelons available for the public to eat. This research evaluated the biofuel potential of juice from ””cull”” watermelons – those not sold due to cosmetic imperfections, and currently ploughed back into the field. Wayne Fish from the US Department of Agriculture said, “approximately 20% of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen. We”ve shown that the juice of these melons is a source of readily fermentable sugars, representing a heretofore untapped feedstock for ethanol biofuel production.”

The researchers conclude that a production ratio of ~0.5 g ethanol/g sugar, as measured in this study, approximately 220 L/ha of ethanol would be produced from cull watermelons.

As well as using the juice for ethanol production, either directly or as a diluent for other biofuel crops, Fish suggests that it can be a source of lycopene and L-citrulline, two ””nutraeuticals”” for which enough demand currently exists to make extraction economically worthwhile. After these compounds have been removed from the ”cull” juice, it can still be fermented into ethanol.

A few states are already dabbling in roadside energy production. Last year, Oregon began a solar highway demonstration project with a 104-kilowatt ground-mounted solar array situated at the interchange of Interstates 5 and 205. The array powers about a third of the lights on the interchange. Massachusetts recently announced a plan to install a utility-scale wind turbine – big enough to power 400 households – on land adjacent to the Massachusetts Turnpike’s Blandford Rest Area.

Researchers and designers are also toying with ways to generate power along roads, including use of piezoelectric materials, energy producing speed bumps, integrating wind turbines into road barriers.

A state-by-state auction of their intellectual property portfolio will take place this Friday, with minimum reserve bids that range from $125,000 for South Dakota to $1.5 million for California.

According to Mr. Fein, the technologies allow for the creation of a utility-scale system that can plug into the existing grid infrastructure, potentially over hundreds of miles. The power generated could be used for homes, businesses and electric-vehicle charging stations.

Auction documents suggest that each 10-mile stretch of the Green Roadway system could generate enough energy to power up to 2,000 homes. The installed cost would be about $2.6 million for the solar components and $4.2 million for wind, but up to 65 percent could be knocked off if federal, state and local subsidies and tax credits are factored in, the documents suggest.

They also say that the solar and wind power generated, given the available incentives, would be cost-competitive with natural gas-fueled power generation.

Such technologies hold promise as a means not only of improving the nation energy independence, said Cathy St. Denis, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Manchester’s CIS Tower could be the world’s tower entire covered with solar panels, which is something impressive behaviour in mind that the idea of buildings covered with solar panels have moved behind the drawing board stage. It was said: that this solar panels are packed with a punch, a much greener panels that produce 81W photovoltaic of energy, taking into consideration that the entire tower has approximately 7,250 panels, which would literally translate into 393 kilowatts of energy and can power approximately 1,100 computers for a year.

Well not really, with a price tag of $11.4 million, these solar panels cost a bomb considering the fact that if the panels were to run at full load for 12 hours a day 365 days a year the savings would be about $150,000 a year, so the building will break even after 75 years-far longer than the lifetime of the cells, and the best part is, keeping the money in a bank that promise a good interest rate return at 3 -4% for half year would definitely cover the electricity bills. Conclusion. Solar panels has a long way to go and Global Warming is here to stay for good, goodbye earth!