while looking at the article Generating Energy From the Deep in the New York times i read about a renewable energy I have never heard about before. This is a developing technology called ocean thermal energy conversion that is currently being pursued by multiple companies. Lockheed Martin is one of the main companies leading in this new technology. The idea behind thermal energy conversion is to use the ocean's warm surface water to heat pressurized liquid and generate steam and use the ocean's cool water from the depths to cool the steam and transform it back into a liquid. This is possible due to the type of liquid used in the system. So far ammonia is mostly used because of it's low boiling point. In tropical areas the warm seawater can be warm enough to boil it. Of course this energy is limited to areas where the sea water warm but it can still provide a large step off of oil dependence.
The advantages of this are of course that it is a renewable energy but also can produce energy 24 hours a day unlike solar that can only produce energy when the sun is shinning and wind turbines that can only produce energy when the wind is blowing. The disadvantages are that it is expensive, can only work in limited places and that there is relatively little knowledge on the topic. It has not been tested thoroughly there for little is know about the environmental impacts it could cause, the efficiency of the system, and problems we could face in the future with it.
Currently Hawaii has plans for a test plant with Lockheed Martin and the industrial Technology Research Institute. Also the Japanese company, Xenesys is also exploring possibilities for a plant in Cuba and Tahiti. This technology was briefly explored in the past during the 1970's oil crisis but was soon abandoned shortly after. Today the technology is far more advance and the motivation is greater. The possibilities for a plant in the near future are high.
If you would like to see a demonstration of how this system works, check out this you tube video Ocean thermal energy conversion system
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
In florida at the Babcock Ranch, the company Florida Power and Light is planning on constructing a 75 megawatt solar generator that will power a whole city. If the project is successful it will be the largest photovoltic power plant in the world. The solar panels will sit on 350 acres of land. The construction of this solar plant is estimated to cost around $300 million and will only add about 31 cents to the average customers monthly electric bill.
The city that will be powered by the solar panels is going to be construct energy efficient buildings. It will consist of around 19,500 homes. Since the panels can only produce energy durring the day, and the right energy storage technology is not availible, the city will have to rely on conventional sources of energy during the dark hours. Construction of the city is planned to begin next year, but could be delayed due to the recession. A news report of this from CNN is posted below.
Although this seems great and if it works out will be a huge step in the solar energy market im a little bit skeptical. Nothing like this has ever been done. The idea of a whole city running on solar energy seems a bit far fetched with our current technology. Im not saying it cant be done, but with out the technology to store energy for the dark hours there has to be another plant with conventional energy. This may not be economically eficient, especially in the recession were in. Also i wonder where all of the money to construct this city is comming from. But if this city is constructed it will show us how efficient solar energy could be and set exzamples for cities all over the world. It is an expieriment for the world to watch.
Monday, March 30, 2009
methane fuel for rockets
While i was doing research on the potential of methane to become a major fuel source in the future i came across a NASA project that really interested me. On the NASA site below it tells us all about it. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/04may_methaneblast.htm. On Janurary 16th 2007 methane was tested as rocket fuel in the mojave desert. It is still a long way away from being used in space, but one day it could lead to deep space exploration. Since methane is abundant in space, (such places as mars, Titan, Jupiter, and many other planets and moons) a shuttle using methane could potentially refuel it's self in space. This could allow the shuttle to explore far deeper in space.
Other advantages of methane allow the space craft to travel lighter, safer and reduce the cost of missions. Since methane is more dense than the liquid hydrogen used today, smaller tanks can be used reducing the weight. Also methane can be stored in more convienent temperatures than liquid hydrogen, reducing the need for as much installation. The methane is safer in the fact that most rocket fuels are toxic, while methane is a green propellant.
The only main problem with methane is its ability to ignite. The current rocket fuels ignite spontaniously when mixed with oxidizer, while methane needs an ignition source. An Ignition source could be a problem with some of the extreme temperatures in space. But with the advances we are capable of, im sure it is only a matter of time before a space craft running on methane will be launched into space.
You can see a video of the test here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTk_0lY0XxM
Its pretty sweet. It put out 7,500 pounds of thrust.
Another small scale methane rocket test which was done by the California State University and the Garvey Spacecraft Corporation is shown here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtyoHOzjFkc&feature=related. Although it is just a small rocket it provides alot of research. Theres more infomation on this project on the Californa State University site shown below. http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/mae/views/projects/rocket/news_2008/flight_4_12_2008.shtml
methane as rocket fuel could lead to great advances for space exploration in the future.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Residential Geothermal Energy
On February 23rd I attended a lecture on residential geothermal energy. Geothermal energy works by using the constant temperature in the ground to heat and cool houses. In most cases at 10 feet deep the ground is about 57 degrees all year long. There are exceptions in areas with volcanic activity and such but we just focused on geothermal work around Maryland.
To transfer the constant ground temperature to a home, pipe needs to be placed in the ground that allows fluid to circulate through it. The fluid that circulates through the pipe absorbs the constant 57 degree temperature and brings it back to the house where it is delivered to a heat pump. There are a couple different methods of how the pipe is placed in the ground depending on the land where it is placed. The most common method that is used places the pipe at a vertical loop around 50 to a 100 feet deep. Horizontal loops can be used about 10 feet deep but they take up more area. The easiest method is to place the loops in a pond if there is one available, but that is usually not an option.
Once this is installed, geothermal heat can cut back heating and cooling electric bills by up to 70%. It is well worth it in the long run. Today a 3 ton house can have a geothermal system installed for around $12,000. It was around $18,000 but the stimulus package has changed that. Here is a link that shows diagrams of how the geothermal system works and advice for getting geothermal energy in your own home.
http://www.treesfullofmoney.com/2008/07/heating-your-home-with-geothermal.html
To transfer the constant ground temperature to a home, pipe needs to be placed in the ground that allows fluid to circulate through it. The fluid that circulates through the pipe absorbs the constant 57 degree temperature and brings it back to the house where it is delivered to a heat pump. There are a couple different methods of how the pipe is placed in the ground depending on the land where it is placed. The most common method that is used places the pipe at a vertical loop around 50 to a 100 feet deep. Horizontal loops can be used about 10 feet deep but they take up more area. The easiest method is to place the loops in a pond if there is one available, but that is usually not an option.
Once this is installed, geothermal heat can cut back heating and cooling electric bills by up to 70%. It is well worth it in the long run. Today a 3 ton house can have a geothermal system installed for around $12,000. It was around $18,000 but the stimulus package has changed that. Here is a link that shows diagrams of how the geothermal system works and advice for getting geothermal energy in your own home.
http://www.treesfullofmoney.com/2008/07/heating-your-home-with-geothermal.html
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Methane Power Potential
Last Wednesday on February 18th I attended a lecture given by a representative of Curtis Engines about generating power from the methane gas produced from landfills. Curtis Engines started in 1944 providing power generation equipment and has recently started using their equipment to transform methane gas into power. They currently have 3 megawatt power plant at the Central Landfill Facility in Worcester County and 6.8 megawatt power plant with plans to expand at the Brown Station Road Landfill in Prince George’s County.
Converting methane into power is a great way to provide electricity due to its outstanding reliability and the ability to breakdown the harmful green house. Methane gas is around 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide in its ability to trap infrared energy, so it is a major contributor to global warming. If methane is that harmful, and cost are relatively cheap to convert it to power, than why not turn every capable landfill into a power plant?
One thing that I am interested in is other possibilities of methane production. Could the methane gas produced by wetlands have potential? In Rwanda there is methane produced in the lake beds of Lake Kivu that has potential to provide energy for a huge part of the energy poor nation. Check out this link –http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/23/world/fg-lake23
In this link http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/02/10/banana-methane-will-power-cars-in-australia/ There is talk about using methane from the fermenting of produce to power natural gas cars in Australia. Methane gas has the potential to becoming a leading energy resource in the near future.
Converting methane into power is a great way to provide electricity due to its outstanding reliability and the ability to breakdown the harmful green house. Methane gas is around 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide in its ability to trap infrared energy, so it is a major contributor to global warming. If methane is that harmful, and cost are relatively cheap to convert it to power, than why not turn every capable landfill into a power plant?
One thing that I am interested in is other possibilities of methane production. Could the methane gas produced by wetlands have potential? In Rwanda there is methane produced in the lake beds of Lake Kivu that has potential to provide energy for a huge part of the energy poor nation. Check out this link –http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/23/world/fg-lake23
In this link http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/02/10/banana-methane-will-power-cars-in-australia/ There is talk about using methane from the fermenting of produce to power natural gas cars in Australia. Methane gas has the potential to becoming a leading energy resource in the near future.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Electric Cars
On February 13th I attended a lecture given by 2 guest speakers from the University of Delaware on electric cars. They drove their own Electric car made from a Scion xB and let us examine it. It was pretty awesome and taught me a lot more about electric cars. Before this lecture I always thought electric cars to be slow, little, and a hassle, but they showed us that they are actually faster than the gas models and had some pretty sweet looking designs out. After finding this I checked out some of the electric cars presented at the 2009 Detroit auto show - http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/01/16/aa.electric.cars.debut/index.html?iref=newssearch
At the show Chrysler presented 4 electric cars that include two jeeps, a mini van, and a dodge circuit (which is in the picture) that run on advanced lithium ion batteries. Im pretty excited about the jeep wrangler. Toyota showed plans for a little four seater electric car called the FT-EV that has a range of fifty miles. BMW showed plans for all electric MINI Es that has a range of 150 miles
Mercedes-Benz showed their Blue Zero models the can come equipped in three different energy methods. The E-Cell which has a range of 120 miles uses a large battery pack, the F-Cell which has a range of 240 miles uses a smaller battery pack that is recharges it’s self with a hydrogen fuel cell. The E-Cell Plus has a range of 360 miles by using a onboard generator powered by a tiny three cylinder gasoline engine. Although the E-Cell is a hybrid it still reduces emissions greatly.
I also checked out some articles on how expensive it is and how complicated it is to convert your gas powered car into electric. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/08/14/electric.cars/index.html?iref=newssearch In this article Larry Horsley turned his S-10 pick up in to A electric one for about $12,000 including the truck. This was done using regular golf cart batteries. He gets a range of about 40 miles, but only drives about 20 miles a day. To get a better range you can use lithium ion batteries but they cost about $10,000 for the package. Larry claimed that any one with basic mechanical skills could do this.
With unstable gas prices and to much pollution, more and more people are exploring electric cars. In the near future I believe that electric engines will replace gas powered engines will help break us from our dependence on petroleum.
At the show Chrysler presented 4 electric cars that include two jeeps, a mini van, and a dodge circuit (which is in the picture) that run on advanced lithium ion batteries. Im pretty excited about the jeep wrangler. Toyota showed plans for a little four seater electric car called the FT-EV that has a range of fifty miles. BMW showed plans for all electric MINI Es that has a range of 150 miles
Mercedes-Benz showed their Blue Zero models the can come equipped in three different energy methods. The E-Cell which has a range of 120 miles uses a large battery pack, the F-Cell which has a range of 240 miles uses a smaller battery pack that is recharges it’s self with a hydrogen fuel cell. The E-Cell Plus has a range of 360 miles by using a onboard generator powered by a tiny three cylinder gasoline engine. Although the E-Cell is a hybrid it still reduces emissions greatly.
I also checked out some articles on how expensive it is and how complicated it is to convert your gas powered car into electric. http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/08/14/electric.cars/index.html?iref=newssearch In this article Larry Horsley turned his S-10 pick up in to A electric one for about $12,000 including the truck. This was done using regular golf cart batteries. He gets a range of about 40 miles, but only drives about 20 miles a day. To get a better range you can use lithium ion batteries but they cost about $10,000 for the package. Larry claimed that any one with basic mechanical skills could do this.
With unstable gas prices and to much pollution, more and more people are exploring electric cars. In the near future I believe that electric engines will replace gas powered engines will help break us from our dependence on petroleum.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Blue Water vs. Environmental Factors
Last Wednesday on February 4th i went and saw a lecture presented by David Blazer who was working with Blue Water Wind on building a 200 wind turbine farm off of the coast of Ocean City, MD. Before this i was aware of other offshore projects in Delaware and New Jersey but not of plans for a offshore wind farm in Maryland. This interested me a great deal because i am a resident of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. This project could be a great success for the environment and could create alot of jobs to boost the economy, but also has the potential to create problems.
Mr. Blazer explained to us that one of the main expences for this project is bringing materials over from Europe and If we could start factories that build ships and materials for this project locally it would cut costs on the projects and supply many jobs. This is would be great for many families.
But He also explained some environmental problems that went along with this project. These turbines are only made to withstand category 3 hurricanes which is why lower East Coast states do not have offshore wind farm projects. We haven't experienced over a category 3 hurricane here yet, but could environmental changes from global warming generate stronger storms for our region in the future and lead to the distruction of such an expensive project?
Also little is known about the environmental impacts this project might have on the Atlantic Ocean. It was just recently found out that these turbines are right in the way of a whale migratory path. Its hard to say what other marine life these turbines will effect.
So even though these turbines will reduce carbon, provide jobs and generate stable electric prices, will the costs out weigh the benefits?
Mr. Blazer explained to us that one of the main expences for this project is bringing materials over from Europe and If we could start factories that build ships and materials for this project locally it would cut costs on the projects and supply many jobs. This is would be great for many families.
But He also explained some environmental problems that went along with this project. These turbines are only made to withstand category 3 hurricanes which is why lower East Coast states do not have offshore wind farm projects. We haven't experienced over a category 3 hurricane here yet, but could environmental changes from global warming generate stronger storms for our region in the future and lead to the distruction of such an expensive project?
Also little is known about the environmental impacts this project might have on the Atlantic Ocean. It was just recently found out that these turbines are right in the way of a whale migratory path. Its hard to say what other marine life these turbines will effect.
So even though these turbines will reduce carbon, provide jobs and generate stable electric prices, will the costs out weigh the benefits?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Help From Europe
In the this link - http://www.bluewaterwind.com/experience.htm it shows how Bluewater Wind has been working with similar projects in Denmark. Denmark built their first off shore wind farm in 1991 in the Baltic Sea. These wind farms have proven to be a huge success and Denmark now has seven offshore wind farms with plans for two more with in the next couple years. They have proven that offshore wind farms are not only a possibility, but very effective as well. Many environmental surveys have been done on these wind farms since they have been built and so far the greatest impact has been done during the construction. Since then there has seemed to be very little impact on the environment. The technology used for the Denmark offshore wind farms should be a big help to the Bluewater Wind project. The Blue Water wind project may however face much greater problems then Denmark due to the fact that the Atlantic Ocean differs a great deal then the Baltic Sea.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wind Power
Blue Water Wind has its word cut out for them. Between the expense of the project and wining over people and companies who are opposed to it, Blue Water Wind has done a great deal in starting the transition to renewable energy. If it works out it will be a huge benefit to our economy and environment in the long run. If it does not work out and generates problems, it will be very problematic for future wind energy projects. Hopefully it will be a successful project and will generate a giant leap into a renewable energy world.
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