Solar Energy

Since we are starting solar energy tomorrow in class I searched for a video that would show solar power at work. I found one that highlighted a solar station in Southern Spain. There a large tower is surrounded by 600 solar mirrors that beam their light up to the top of the tower which can reach up to 400 degrees centigrade. When the sunlight is captured it is transferred into thermal energy. The steam created powers turbines like a normal generator and the heat can be stored for energy use at night when, obviously there is no light being produced from the sun. The most important aspect of the solar energy station is that no greenhouse gases are emitted. The project has plans to extend their amount of mirrors from 600 to thousands. It is even being considered to place a million mirrors across the Sahara Desert and sending the power to Europe. This again shows how many countries in Europe are way ahead of the United States in renewable energy. It just seems that the U.S is all talk and no action. There is no doubt that switching to renewables can be done, so what are we waiting for? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Uo3KlWNng

"Wind Energy Hitting the Slopes"

Offshore wind farms aren't the only places wind turbines are being considered as an alternative fuel source. It may not seem like it, but ski resorts use a great deal of energy, running lifts and producing snow, a great deal of water, as well as having a great impact on the environment. The Jimmy Peak ski resort in Hancock, Massachusetts is the first ski resort to construct a wind turbine to generate power. Brian Fairbank, the resort owner, said he tried everything from using recycled motor oil to heat moutain operation to installing waterless toilets to try and lower his energy bill. With all his efforts his annual bill still reached over $600,000. So Jimmy's Peak is installed a 386 foot turbine while other resorts watch to see if it is something they might consider as well. Resorts such as Aspen (CO), Blue Moutain (PA), Shawnee Moutain(PA) and Grouse Moutain (Canada) are other places studying the effects of wind power.In its first year, the turbine cut the resorts electric bill by $200,000. "We now make twice as much snow, with half the amount of money that we did 15 years ago" Fairbank said.

How Wasteful is Delaware?

According to an article (that thankfully was cut out of my paper by my mom) in The News Journal on March 15th, Delaware uses more energy per capita than its three neighbors, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. My initial reaction to just this opening statement was, how could this be true since of the four states, Delaware is the smallest. The article continues by stating that the homes, businesses, and industrial sites located in Delaware consume a great deal of energy. Also, another surprising statement suggested that Delawareans drive more than those in Maryland. Delaware is ranked as 32rd in energy efficiency in the country. This may be due to missed opportunities to update new energy efficient construction codes as well as the consistent cheap energy prices. Keeping energy prices low is not always a good things, despite happy Delaware residents. If energy prices are very low, residents have no incentive to be energy efficient. Higher prices may get people thinking! New construction projects in the lower counties were not built as efficient as projects built in the surrounding states during the same time period. Again, this falls under the "missed opportunity" category. This lack of energy efficiency was only due to the fact that lawmakers failed to update residential and commercial Building Energy Code Standards. The article also lists a few ways in which homeowners can improve energy efficiency on their own. A few are as follows: 1. Seal gaps in windows, doors, etc to prevent air leaks 2. Turn off computers and monitors 3. Close fire place when not in use 4. If you have a second refrigerator, turn it off if it is not regularly used 5. Lower water heater thermostat to 120 degrees. The article, State Codes Cost Billions in Wasteful Energy Use can be read online.
Hopefully with the construction of the offshore wind farm in Reboboth, Delaware will begin to climb up in the rankings from number 32 in energy efficiency. Maybe this wind farm will start a positive trend in using renewables. The last part of the article mentions that buildings such as the Bank of Delmarva in Rehoboth, are switchingto solar energy. Johnnie Miller and his company are taking on the job. The bank project has has gained so much positive attention that Miller said he continues to run out of business cards. At least we are making some steps, however small they may be, in the right direction.

Algae as a Source of Renewable Energy

It was brought to my attention tonight in one of my labs that algae is being looked at as a potential renewable energy source. After lab, I googled the topic and saw that CNN did a segment on an algae greenhouse outside of El Paso, Texas. Glen Kertz, who is the president and CEO of Valenct products gave CNN a tour of the facility. He says that algae can be an alternate fuel as well as a way to deal with our issue of global warming. Alage is an extremely fast growing plant and is mostly composed of oil. This oil can potentially be used in cars, trucks, and planes. The algae is grown in a large greenhouse and is kept in vertical hanging plastic bags that are constantly moving. Kertz says that by hanging the algae vertically, a lot more surface area is exposed to the sun. This possible source of energy produces 100,000 gallons of oil from the algae in one year. Compare this to an acre of corn which produces 30 gallons of oil and an acre of soybeans which produce 50 gallons. A large part of the algae research is dedicated to finding out what types of energy each algae species can produce. Currently there are about 65,000 species of algae with a lot more to be discovered. OriginOil, Inc is a developer in the technology needed to transform algae oil into a renewable energy source. Their website offers a video that was featured on CNN's segment "Energy Fix". Three of the biggest challenges that OriginOil faces is 1.) Algae growth is dependent on calm conditions. The problems lies in that they somehow have to get CO2 and other nutrients into the algae without disturbing it. 2.) Algae needs a light source so facilities that grow algae need to find a cost effective way to distribute sunlight. 3.) To obtain the oil from the algae their cell walls must be cracked. So far, algae seems like it could be a promising renewable energy source. I'm sure, however, there is a lot more research to be done.

Geothermal Energy

On Monday February 23, we had another guest lecture. It focused on another renewable energy source: Geothermal. According to the lecturer, geothermal is the most efficient renewable source out there. This lecture focused on Earth River Geothermal-which installs geothermal energy systems in mainly residential areas in Maryland. The reason geothermal is so efficient is that it uses the earth, which stays at 57 degrees all year round (10 feet below the surface). With other renewable energy sources such as wind or solar, there is always a chance of a day with less energy being produced. On windless or cloudy days these energy sources will not be able to produce as much energy. Since below the earth's surface remains at a constant temperature, whether it be summer, winter, sunny or rainy, the same amount of energy will always be guaranteed. I went ahead and researched a little bit about geothermal energy companies in Delaware, since that is where I live. I found a site that listed all or at least many of the geothermal contractors in Delaware (it also lists some in Maryland and Pennsylvania). I had no idea there were so many. One company that was highlighted in many of the google searches was the A&A Companies. They offer closed loop geothermal heating and cooling systems since they suggest that closed loop are the safest and most environmentally friendly way to heat/cool your home. The site offers demonstrations of how the geothermal process works for cooling and heating your home.

Wind Energy Lecture

On Friday February 13 we was a lecture by graduate students from the University of Delaware. Its focus was on wind energy. "Wind of Change: A new energy paradigm with offshore wind power" was the title of the first lecture. It highlighted the reasons we need renewable energy, talked about the wind resource particularly in Delaware, and what states were closest to beginning construction on a wind farm. Currently 85% of our energy comes from fossil fuels- coal, natural gas and oil. If we continue on our current path of using these sources for energy we risk the following: the Greenland ice sheet melting, rise in sea level as well as ocean temperature, and a loss of Diatoms (microscopic organisms that are vital to aquatic food chains). We were shown maps of what the Delmarva peninsula would look like with a rise in sea level. One map had shown small coastal areas of Delaware underwater, but others predicted the eastern shore of Maryland, including Washington College completely underwater. So two solutions were given: We need a combination of necessary approaches and non CO2 sources of energy. The reason why wind farms would be more beneficial out in the ocean and not on land is that the wind flows smoother out in the ocean. Also, Rehoboth was a good place to look at for a wind farm because the further north you go up the Delaware Bay, the average wind speed diminishes. It is also possible, as the presenter pointed out and explained, that wind energy can in fact be stored. I did not write any detail about how each storage plan worked but the three ways are: At a generation site, centralized storage, responsive end use storage. The lecture then shifted to what states we interested in constructing a wind farm. First, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, and New Jersey were the farthest along. Out of those states, Delaware is the closest to construction. One of the most important factors that makes Delaware one of the most effective plan is that they have a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that establishes what the cost will be for customers and that cost will not change. States such as New York, Maryland, and Virginia were talking of wind farm plans but are not as far along as the states mentioned earlier.
It's exciting to know that many states are interested in renewable energy. It is about time that we start trying to reverse the damages we have caused by using fossil fuels for energy. I just hope that these states don't lose momentum on this issue. I feel that as soon as one state, and it looks like Delaware, puts up its wind farm, the rest will be right behind.

Bluewater Wind Lecture

Last night I attended the lecture on the offshore wind project for Maryland. I enjoyed it very much and was stunned by some of the costs that were being talked about. The project is estimated at $1 billion dollars. The cost of laying the wire from the turbines to the onshore plant (12 miles) was going to be a couple million dollars in itself. Plus there are no manufacturers in north america so all of the parts have to be shipped here and there only two boats in the world that are able to drive the turbine stakes into the ocean floor, have to be chartered every day. This puts into perspective how large the turbines actually are. Fortunately though, from the shoreline they can barely be seen.
It was also brought to our attention that there are currently around 10 wind farm projects being negotiated. New Jersey, Maine, and even Vermont (who would use the coast of Maine) are a few of the northeastern states talking about renewable energy. I had no idea that more states than Delaware and Maryland were interested. The more the merrier! With each wind farm we decrease our dependance on energy sources that harm our environment. Maybe someday in the distant future we can begin to reverse global warming and the degredation of our environment!

Gaining Knowledge on Delaware's Wind Farm Project

Since my last post I have gained considerable information on Delaware's offshore wind project. One website that I felt offered a great deal of information was a question/answer page on the concerning issues of the project. It posted questions that by Delware residents followed by answers from Willett Kempton, Meredith Blaydee and Philip Whitaker of the University of Delaware and College of Marine and Earth Studies. Some of the questions/answers were as follows:
Why are the turbines not being put on land? Delaware has very few land locations that are windy enough for these turbines. Winds off the Atlantic coast are steadier and stronger.
What happens when the wind turbines eventually wear out? Decommissioning costs are bonded in advance. If something were to happen to say, Bluewater Wind, the money is available to take them down.
Are they reliable? Downtime due to mechanical failure is abut 1%. That is better than fossil power plants.
Can they fail catastrophically? Incidents are rare today. Bluewater Wind judges that DE residents are more at risk from overflying aircraft and buildings during earthquakes.
What are the negatives? Initially it will cost more than current energy supplies.
These were a few of the questions asked by residents. Overall, DE residents are in favor of the project. For more details and other questions/answers go to http://www.ocean.udel.edu/WindPower/DE-Qs/index.html#catastrophically
This site also offers additional websites on the Bluewater Wind project.

I was also surprised to find a video on the MTV website. This was surprising, but in a good way. This says they our society is trying to reach out to a younger crowd about renewable energy sources and our environment. Such a company as MTV is a good place for this since it is a network focused around teens and young adults. This can be found at http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF0098A08300170098DDC8/

Wind Power in My State?

As it says in the NY Times article..Who ever thought of wind power first being produced in Delaware? There are some people who don't even know that Delaware is a state! I first began to hear radio commercials for Bluewater Wind and see T.V ads featuring an older guy with the funny name T.Boone Pickens. I thought nothing of both of these ads because I never really thought wind power in Delaware would actually become a serious issue. Until reading this article I hadn't heard any further information other than these commercials. Since I've lived in Delaware for almost 20 years I feel almost special (as corny as that sounds) that my state is seriously considering this cleaner energy source. This article also ties into the field of meteorology, which I am seriously considering. I never thought of connecting cleaner sources of energy with meteorology. Even though I am not from the part of Delaware where the wind farms would be build, I would consider taking a drive to southern DE and checking out the location.