Group+2+Renewable+Project

Group 2 Renewable Project

What is Hydroelectric Power?
Hydroelectric Power is the process of changing the kinetic energy of flowing water in a river into electric power that we can use.

How Do We Use It?
The most common type of hydroelectric plant uses a dam on a river to store water. Water that is released flows through a pipe into a turbine, which spins to drive a generator, producing electricity. There are two TYPES of hydroelectric power: micro-scale and small-scale.

Advantages of Hydroelectric Power

 * No pollution or waste is produced
 * Renewable energy source
 * Very reliable source
 * Not expensive to maintain once the dam has been built
 * Water can be stored

Disadvantages of Hydroelectric Power
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks.html http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_hydro-electric_power
 * They use up valuable and limited natural resources
 * They can produce a lot of pollution
 * Companies have to dig up the earth or make wells in order to get the oil and gas

Tidal Energy
Tidal energy is one of the oldest forms of energy used by humans. It is created by the motion of the earth, moon, and sun and the gravitational movements between them. In order for tidal energy to be used, differences between high and low tides must be at a measurement of 16 feet. Barrage and a tidal stream turbine are the two TYPES of tidal energy.

Where is it used?
Tidal energy is mostly used on dams.

Advantages of Tidal Energy

 * It is renewable
 * The energy released is non polluting
 * Reduces reliance on the burning of fossil fuels
 * It doesn't need fuel
 * The tides are very predictable

Disadvantages of Tidal Energy

 * Expensive to construct
 * Power is generated when there is little demand for it
 * Limited construction locations
 * Effects marine life during construction

Tidal Energy is more on the cheap side, so it isn't very expensive. Atlantis Resources Corporation is one company where tidal energy is produced.

http://www.oceanenergycouncil.com/index.php/Tidal-Energy/Tidal-Energy.html http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/tidal.htm

What is Hydrogen?
Hydrogen is a naturally occurring gas that is very light. It is the most important and abundant substance in the world.

How Do We Use It?
A lot of the hydrogen is used for refining, treating metals, and processing foods.

What is it Most Used for?
Hydrogen is used in massive quantities in the petroleum and chemical industries. In the food industry it is used to hydrogenate oils and fats.

Advantages of Hydrogen

 * It can be non-polluting if it is produced by renewable resources
 * It can be produced in any country
 * Does not need to be produced with transportation systems
 * Hydrogen is safer than gasoline

Disadvantages of Hydrogen

 * It is very expensive
 * It is difficult to handle, generate, and store
 * It takes more energy to make hydrogen than you get from it
 * Hydrogen is highly explosive

Any local energy company will produce hydrogen

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=hydrogen_home-basics-k.cfm http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_using_hydrogen_as_a_fuel

Brad Anderson What is it  · Large pipe is drilled deep into the Earth · Heat from that pipe escapes from the center of the Earth and that is used to heat or cool the building How do we use it  · Drill large pipe into the Earth · Install heating pump What are the different types of it  · Dry steam plant- energy from the Earth · Flash steam- Water pumped from the Earth · Binary cycle- Uses heated water from deep inside the Earth Where is it most used or most effective · Most effective in the West, some places in the East it will not work Advantages · No pollution · Doesn’t take up a lot of space · No fuel · Once you build it, it is basically free · Unaffected by weather Disadvantages · Not a lot of places to build · Need hot rocks in the area that is drilled · Need to be able to drill through the rock · Can ‘run out of steam” · Hazardous gasses may come up from underground Cost of house to use · About $2,500 per ton of capacity for heating pump · Typical home is about 3 tons of capacity about $7,500 · Heating pump with air conditioning add $4,000 · Drilling cost depends on if it is vertical or off to the side · Drilling cost depends on how far down you are drilling · Drilling cost depends on the terrain that you have to drill through · Drilling cost anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 · A normal household-geothermal heating will pay for itself in five to ten years Cost of large building to use · About $2,500 per ton of capacity · A large building would be about $50,000 Companies that do this · Polaris Geothermal Inc. · U.S. Geothermal Inc. · Western GeoPower Corp. · Calpine Corp. · Ormat Technologies Inc. · Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. · Sierra Geothermal Power Corp. · Raser Technologies Inc. [] [] [] [] What is it  · Solar panels are put on top of a building · Uses suns energy to produce electricity How do we use it  · Energy is collected from the sun · Heats up molecules · Molecules travel to the collector in the house · Produces electricity What are the different types of it  · Cast Polysilicon- molten silicon cast in a large block, then put into cells · String ribbon silicon- uses various polycrystalline production processes, still cast molten silicon in large block, but then cut into very thin strips Where is it most used or most effective · Can be used anywhere, but most effective the closer you get to the equator Advantages · Can save you a lot of money · After the initial cost, they are basically free · No fuel required · Environmentally friendly · No pollution · Does not contribute to global warming · Independent- just add them to your roof and they do the rest · Almost maintenance free · Can last for decades · Silent Disadvantages · Initial cost very high · Require a large area that gets a lot of sun · If it is cloudy you get little to no energy · If it is night you get little to no energy Cost for a house to use · About $10 to $12 a watt installed · Can be about $20,000 Cost for a large building to use · Can get up to about $30,000 Companies that do this · Nanosolar · SunPower Corp. · Evergreen Solar · Shine Solar Panels · Kyocera Solar · Silicon Solar [] [] [] [] What is it  · A windmill with blades that when the wind blows it spins them · The blades spinning turns a turbine · This produces electricity How do we use it  · We set up wind farms (areas with a large amount of wind turbines) · There are house sized ones that you can put on your house What are the different types of it  · Horizontal- axis that spins is horizontal, this has to be used to turn a turbine in the air · Vertical- axis that spins is vertical, can be used to turn anything on the ground · Darrieus- 2 large blades with a vertical axis · Giromill- straight, pitched, blades with a virtical or horizontal axis Where is it most used or most effective · Most effective on flat land with a lot of wind Advantages · Very simple · Renewable · Once the wind turbine is up- basically cost and maintenance free · No pollution · Wind is available all around the globe and will last forever Disadvantages · Very expensive to put up a wind turbine · Turbines create a lot of noise · Wind cannot be predicted Cost for a house to use · About $10,000 to $12,000 for generator Cost for a large building to use · One wind turbine of this size can get up to $200,000 Companies that do this · Suzlon Energy Limited · Vestas Wind Systems A/S · Nordex AG   · GE Energy · Gamesa Corp. [] [] [] [] [] What is it  · Getting energy from once living matter · Wood, sugarcane, solid waste, plants, garbage, agricultural waste, animal manure, seaweed, corn stalks, etc. How do we use it  · We burn it, extract methane gas from it   What are the different types of it   · Wood, sugarcane, solid waste, plants, garbage, agricultural waste, animal manure, seaweed, corn stalks, etc. Where is it most used or most effective · Can be used anywhere · Used mostly where there is a lot of garbage, this keeps more garbage out of landfills Advantages · Less waste in landfills · Fuel is cheap · Does not cause acid rain · Less demand for fossil fuels Disadvantages · Need a lot of fuel · Some fuel is not available all year · Still makes greenhouse gases Cost for a house to use · A lot of people use a corn furnace to heat their house, you can purchase this for about $500 plus the price of corn Cost for a large building to use · Obviously, you will need more furnaces, can cost about $2000 plus the price of fuel source Companies that do this · Culturing solutions · Eni Division R&M · Environmental Power · Harris Group · ICM · Kent SeaTech · Mettler Toledo [] []
 * Geothermal **
 * Solar **
 * Wind **
 * Biomass **