Ever wonder why some wind turbines in a wind farm are not spinning? Well, there are a handful of potential reasons why a wind turbine is not spinning. 1. There is not enough wind for the wind turbine to start spinning on its own, and any available start-up mechanism for low wind speeds is not being used. 2. The wind … Read More
Looking at a solar eclipse is just as dangerous for your eyes as looking at the sun not during an eclipse. The sun emits intense light that is dangerous to our eyes even when we are not looking directly at it. However, the crucial thing to realize is that a solar eclipse is a remarkable experience to see, and tempts … Read More
Falmouth Massachusetts, a town that proudly supports renewable energy, has moved to shut down the operations of a 1.65MW wind turbine that was saving the city an average of $375,000 a year. The wind turbine is located at the town’s wastewater treatment plant. It stands with a 262 foot long hub, with blades that extend another 400 feet from … Read More
The Eole Water Turbine is a self-sustaining wind turbine with a 30kW generator that is also built with a water purification system. The wind turbine generates electricity the same way as any other wind turbine. The blades rotate from the force of mechanical energy from the wind, which spins a turbine generator to create electricity. In the Eole water turbine, … Read More
Indoor Solar Power to Replace Batteries The term “indoor solar power” is misleading. An indoor solar panel does not absorb energy through a window from the sun, but from incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, and light-emitting diodes (LEDS). And lately, there has been a growing interest in using indoor solar panels to run gadgets and appliances, instead of batteries or electrical … Read More
No, it’s not in China. What’s your next guess, the United States? Nope. Saudi Arabia. Not only is it the country with the world’s largest supply of oil reserves, but it could be leading the world in solar energy production soon too. The country hopes to have 10% of its electricity come from the sun by the year 2020. Located … Read More
The answer, could perhaps, be blowing in the wind. Well, at least the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) may think so, as they released today their annual report on wind industry growth in the US for year 2011. A good year for wind, indeed! The U.S. wind industry installed 6,816 MW of capacity, 30% higher than 2010, which brings the … Read More
A huge disadvantage of solar power systems is that the power density of a single photovoltaic solar panel is very low. All solar panels have different efficiency ratings based on the quality of the panel and the solar rating of the location of the solar panel, but a good estimate is that one square foot of a photovoltaic solar panel … Read More
The Problem of Intermittent Energy with Renewable Energy Sources Electrical energy supply and demand should be in constant balance. And since energy demand consistently changes, for example during the changing of seasons or the time of day, the energy supply needs to shift levels to remain in harmony with demand. When supply and demand fall out of sync, extra costs … Read More