Alternative Energy Essay Alternative Energy Essay Alternative Energy Alternative Energy Resources Essays Alternative Energy Essay Alternative Energy Essay

1. Alternative Energy Essay
Alternative Sources for Energy
Millions and millions of barrels of oil, coal, and natural gases are being pumped out of the ground
on a daily basis. These fuels are being used to heat homes, run machines, and take people from
place to place. It has become a part of everyday living; just as essential as food and water. The
more resources that is being pumped, the more people want it. Society has an insatiable thirst for
this form of energy that is unyielding. It is a never ending cycle of supply and demand. The
demand is high, but the supply is limited. One day the earth will be sucked dry of all its resources,
yet people will continue to demand. What will happen then? What will take place of the current
resources? Due to this crisis,...show more content...
This concept of solar energy can also be used in refrigeration systems as well. An adsorption chiller
has been manufactured that can achieve temperatures of 0ВЎГ†F (Henkel, pars.41). Solar energy
has enormous potential in reducing gas usage in homes. In fact, one day it may even replace any
need for gas at all.
Solar energy has its functions; however, it is not the only alternative energy source. Wind can be
transformed into practical energy as well. Wind power is one of the fasting growing sources of
energy and it doesnВЎВЇt seem to be slowing down. As technology advances, wind turbines are
getting bigger and more efficient. A wind turbine in the United States has a 104 meter blade
producing 3.6 megawatts of electricity (Talbot, pars.2). The blade span alone is longer than a
football field and generates enough power for 1,000 homes. General Electric is currently
attempting to design an even bigger wind turbine with a blade span of 140 meters and could
produce as much as 7 megawatts according to Jim Lyons, chief technologist at GE wind. Although
there is potential to tap into a vast amount of energy, it is not 100% reliable. Wind is not guaranteed
to be always blowing and with these huge turbines, if one fails many users will be affected until the
problem is fixed (Talbot, pars.4). Furthermore, there is no guarantee for the amount of energy
produced due to constant changes in directions of the wind, which in turn affects the
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2. Alternative Energy Essay
A topic that has been in discussion throughout the years was the use of alternative energy.
Alternative Energy is being increasingly used due to "The threat of global warming." (Tom Udall,
"Clean Energy," par. 3). The result of the burning of fossil fuels and fossil fuels are soon depleting
and alternative energies will be the ways that people will be living in the near future. As the
positives of alternative energy will provide a healthier and cleaner future, cost is something people
underestimate. The price of alternative energy will increase our national deficit as well as the
people's taxes, as manufacturing these products that will create alternative energy is expensive. As
the economy of the United States continues to fall apart,...show more content...
However, the American Petroleum Institute, and American Gas Association were against extreme
spending and are worried about the unstable economy, and would rather have the usage of fossil
fuels and keep people in business than spend billions of dollars towards alternative energy that
will save money in the future, and therefore are against the bill. I believe that API will have the
most influence on S. 3813, as each member of the organization has a specific job to try and
persuade Senate to reject the bill. "The American Wind Energy Association was created in 2007"
(Archive, About AWEA, par. 1) "AWEA promotes wind energy as a clean source of electricity for
consumers around the world." (Par. 2). They were created after global warming was starting to
become a national problem. "AWEA is a national trade association representingwind power project
developers, equipment suppliers, services providers, parts manufacturers, utilities, researchers,
and others involved in the wind industry. In addition, AWEA represents hundreds of wind energy
advocates from around the world." (Par. 4). "AWEA supports policies to boost wind energy and
slow climate change." (Par. 5). They are working day and night to make sure that S. 3813 is
passed. Their goal is to "increase Wind Energy to 15% by 2021." (AWEA, phone interview) With
the Ambition that AWEA shows, it will make every attempt to pass S. 3813 its priority. "AWEA has
over 1200
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3. Alternative Energy
Are alternative energy sources the answer to ending human dependence on oil? September 24,
2012 Are alternative energy sources the answer to ending human dependence on oil? Right now
there is no one substitute for oil because we use it for a variety of things. We can use alternative
sources in areas to preserve or conserve our usage of oil. We use to use wood for fires and light.
Then in the industrial revolution we began to use coal. "Coal can provide much more energy over
longer periods than wood or any other biomass product. Forests were also diminishing in many
regions because they were being consumed for fuel." (Eric McLamb). Edwin L. Drake drilled the
world's first oil well in 1859 and launched the petroleum industry. Bach then...show more content...
Maybe if they did a payment schedule on buying them rather than leasing it would attract even
more people. Solar panels take up a lot of space but they don't need to. You can put PV on your
roof, the roof of your business, garages, covered bridges and tunnels. If you decided not to do any
of these the entire U.S. could be powered by using 4/10 of one percent of U.S. land (http:/
/www.geokingsolar.com/faq_pv.html#Q50). This is mainly because the technology has
improved so much. There is still the issue of places that don't get a lot of sunlight, such as Alaska
where it is dark half of the year. I'm sure in the years to come we will find a way to either use our
existing power lines or create new ones to allow us to power areas that get less light with those that
get more sunlight. Wind turbines require a lot of space and a lot of turbines to produce power but
who says they have to be on land. Horns Rev 1 located in Denmark is one of the world's largest off
shore wind farms. "Biologists compared a recent survey of fish at Horns Rev 1 with an 8–year–old
study conducted prior to construction of the 160–megawatt installation, and found most to be
thriving. Some species actually increased in number." (Bob Petz). They have found that the
turbines steadied by rocks create a reef like haven and have created a more diverse biome. Wind
turbines also require wind which some areas don't get a lot of. You need
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4. Alternative Energy Resources Essays
The energy that is used today comes from fossil fuels, which is a nonrenewable limited resource
that will eventually be used up. Alternative energy sources such as solar, hydroelectric,
geothermal and wind energies can be used, to conserve the planets limited natural resources.
Alternative energy is the use of another energy without the burning of fossil fuels and break up on
atoms. Solar energy can be used to operate cars and provide electricity for homes and businesses.
Hydroelectric energy can be used to provide electric power to small towns and cities. Geothermal
energy can be used to heat buildings or water and to power turbines to make power. Wind energy can
be used to pump water and generate electricity. Solar energy is of...show more content...
The most common type of hydroelectric power comes from using a dam on a river or lake. Water
is discharged from the reservoir, which spins the turbine, which activates a generator to get
electricity. Hydroelectric power does not require a large dam. Some hydroelectric power plants
just use a small canal to channel the river water through a turbine. (Union of Concerned Scientists)
Third, geothermal energy is heat from the earth that is used directly as hot water or steam, or used
to produce electricity. Geothermal energy is contained in underground reservoirs of steam, hot
water, hot dry rocks and hot spots. Geothermal hot spots are volcanic features which are found all
around the world. Basically a hotspot is an area of reduced thickness in the mantle which transmits
excess internal heat from the interior of the earth to the outer crust. These hot spots are well known
for their unique effects on the surface, such as the volcanic islands of Hawaii, the mineral deposits
and geysers in Yellowstone National Park, or the hot springs in Iceland. These geothermal hot spots
can easily be used to generate electricity. (Alternative Energy Sources)
They are used at electric generating facilities, hot water or steam extracted from geothermal
reservoirs in the Earth's crust is supplied to steam turbines at electric utilities that drive generators to
produce electricity. Moderate to low
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5. Alternative Energy Essay
Modern alternative energy generation methods are limited by several factors including efficiency,
inability to respond to sudden changes in power demand, and susceptibility to environmental events.
In 2010 the leading renewable energy sources were hydro–electric, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and
solar Photo Voltaic (PV)[1]. Of these, hydroelectric made up 82% of the renewable resourceenergy
generation, while the other means all contributed about equally. These relationships can be seen
clearly in the table below. Although hydroelectric makes up a large portion of the electricity
produced, it is not appropriate to discount the other sources due to the frequency where hydroelectric
power generation is unpractical. It is important to have a...show more content...
The addition of the dam can also have negative effects downstream, where water flow will now be
restricted. These drawbacks often make a hydroelectric dam impractical, and as a result cannot be
the only form of renewable energy that we consider bringing into a smart grid.
After hydroelectric, the next leading energy producer is the wind turbine. In 2015, wind turbines
across the United States generated roughly 226 billion kilowatt–hours of electricity[3]. Wind
turbines raise many different concerns from hydroelectric power sources because of how differently
these sources create electricity. The wind turbine operates by transforming the kinetic energy of the
wind into electricity using a generator turned by the turbine blades. The most notable difference in
performance between these sources is that, unlike hydroelectric dams, which can in impractical or
simply impossible in some places in the world, the wind turbine is acceptable anywhere that wind is
present. Though wind can be found everywhere, there is a significant issue that the wind does not
blow to match the demand for electricity. This means there are three states that these systems can
operate in. Should the turbines be permitted to spin freely, they could produce more electricity than
is needed, or if it were a calm day, electricity demands could outweigh the amount of electricity
produced. It's almost impossible for the
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6. Alternative Energy Essay
Every day, many fossil fuel consuming contraptions spew out gases that pollute the environment.
However, when the fuel supplies for these devices run out, they will grind to a halt. To prevent this,
the United States needs to find an alternative to unstable and polluting energy sources before it's too
late (Rouge). It also needs to advance in technological status in order to stay above advancing
third–world countries, and retain its current level of hegemony (Glaser). Space Based Solar Power
Satellites, which are satellites that collect the sun's energy and beam it down to the Earth, solve for
all these concerns (Rouge). Thus, the United States Federal Government should provide grants for
research, development, and implementation of Space...show more content...
In other words, even though other energy sources could solve the energy crisis, none boast the
advantages and flexibility that Space Based Solar Power can provide. For example, Solar Power
Satellites are extremely useful to the military, as they are capable of beaming energy down to
any location on the world, and are able to support military operations all over the world. People
may argue that the United States does not have the technology to develop Space Based Solar
Power, and that it will never get into space (Mankins). However, the technology required is
already available. According to Rouge, "Space Based Solar Power is a complex engineering
challenge, but [it] requires no fundamental scientific breakthroughs or new physics to become a
reality (Rouge)." If the United States is to prepare for a future energy crisis, it must act now and
begin development on Space Based Solar Power.
The United States is currently the most powerful nation in the world due to its economy and
technological dominance, but may not stay in that position for much longer if the United States
doesn't substantially increase the money being spent for research and development of new
technologies. Every year, more and more countries pour money into research, and they begin to
develop technology that rivals that of the United States, which reduces the United States'
technological
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