Thursday, April 30, 2009

Biodiesel Energy

Environmentalists praise biodiesel energy as it is renewable that can be used again and again. Diesel engines make use of biodiesel fuel or sometimes it is used in the combination with petroleum. Biodiesel energy has got the approbation of being considered as one of the safest, renewable and non toxic energy forms. The emission of carbon dioxide can be reduced up to 80% with the help of biodiesel energy. This energy is very helpful in reducing the level of Noise pollution and this is all due to high rate of ignition octane. Public transportation as well as fleet vehicles will definitely benefit from biodiesel energy. You may know this fact there is great hike in the prices of oil and this is the main reason that most of the people are switching over to biodiesel energy.

Future generations are most likely to reap the benefits of this energy as other conventional forms of energy are being exploited at excessive rate. Biodiesel Energy is believed as green energy and using this energy our environment is saved to a great extent. It is the utmost requirement of future that one should do something for environment otherwise future generations may have to encounter big problems. Biodiesel energy can be most helpful in this regard. Sensitized environment setting require biodiesel energy as this energy is harmless and assists in the creation of green environment. So, Biodiesel Energy is one of the most useful forms of energy that can be used in the times to come.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Uses of wind energy

The energy obtained from the blowing wind is called wind energy. Wind energy can be harnessed in several different ways and put to many practical uses.

The oldest use of wind energy is transportation. Primitive sail boats made from woven mats were propelled by wind. Modern sail boats have light weight sails that work like aircraft wings and can be moved by the blowing wind in the desired direction. One of the traditional uses of wind energy is pumping and grinding. Windmills captured wind energy that was used to pump water in rural areas and also generate electricity. However, with the supply of electricity in rural areas, windmills are now rarely used to pump water and generate electricity. Traditionally, windmills were used to drive or turn heavy granite disks called millstones that were used to crush dried grains like wheat and corn to make flour.

The most important use of wind energy is the generation of electricity by using wind turbines. The shaft of a wind turbine is connected to an electrical generator. The wind energy rotates the shaft of the turbine and this movement converts the mechanical energy in the electrical generator into electrical energy. Today, electricity is generated by using wind energy on a commercial scale and is also used for domestic purposes.

Wind energy is not being used to its full potential yet. New technologies and methods need to be developed so that maximum benefits can be obtained from wind energy.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

What is wind energy

Wind energy is the kinetic energy of the wind. This kinetic energy can be captured and converted to more useful forms of energy like mechanical energy or electrical energy. Wind energy finds many uses both for domestic as well as commercial purposes. Wind energy does not use any fuels and does not emit any harmful or greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It is, therefore, an environment friendly form of energy.

The amount of energy in the wind depends upon the speed of the wind, air temperature, barometric pressure and Altitude.

Generally, the amount of wind energy is more at high altitudes and when the pressure is low. The more the speed of the wind, the more energy it possesses.

The cost of wind energy depends upon the initial cost of wind turbine installation and the amount of energy produced.

Usually the cost of installing a wind turbine is a lot. Wind turbines as equipments are very expensive. However, if the amount of energy produced by wind turbines is more, the costs of installation are overshadowed by the benefits of the electricity so produced.

With the use of better technologies, the wind turbine installation costs are decreasing and generating electricity by wind energy has now become a cost effective method for the same.

The use of wind energy is increasing all over the world. The main reason for this is that wind energy has several environmental, social and economic advantages. Because of these advantages, wind energy can be favorably used.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Enhanced geothermal power systems

Enhanced geothermal power systems are also called hot dry rock geothermal energy systems or hot fractured rock systems. These are geothermal power generation systems that use very high temperatures found in rocks below the earth’s surface.

These are also known as engineered geothermal power systems that extract heat from earth that consists of natural geothermal power systems with cracks or pores which are filled with hot water that is sufficient enough to generate power.

A bore or injection well is drilled into the hot rock to pump water at high pressure to generate electricity. Water travels through the fracture or cracks in rocks capturing the heat from rocks till it is forced out of the second borehole. The hot water so obtained is converted to electricity through either a turbine or a geothermal power plant.

A few enhanced geothermal power systems use supercritical carbon dioxide as a working fluid because it results in better geothermal power output.

These systems have a few advantages. One of the main advantages is that they are renewable method of power generation. Enhanced geothermal power systems do not emit carbon compounds into the atmosphere and thus do not degrade the environment. These systems are also scalable and modular and so can be handled easily. These systems are also easy and convenient to use.

The risks involved with these systems are that they may trigger earthquakes and there is unpredictability in drilling into fractured rock surfaces.

The use of these systems can power the world at a very minimal or no cost at all.