Thursday, November 17, 2011

How Energy Deregulation works

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Renewable Energy

  • Achieving a 20% wind contribution to U.S. electricity supply by 2030 would reduce CO2 emissions by 25%.

  • Wind power is the fastest growing source of energy in the world.

  • Wind power capacity grew by 45% in 2007, but only represents about 2% of the nation’s total electricity supply.

  • Conventional, fossil-fuel electricity production is the leading cause of industrial air pollution in the U.S. and leads to other social problems including water pollution and lung disease.

  • In the U.S. alone, buildings account for 72% of electricity consumption.

  • The U.S. uses 25% of the world’s oil, but only has 3% of the world’s oil reserves.

  • Coal-fired power plants and the pollution they release every day are a major threat to human health and our environment.

  • Burning coal accounts for half of America’s electricity production.

  • New wind power capacity completed in 2008, according to initial estimates will avoid up to 44 million tons of carbon emissions the equivalent of taking 7 million cars off the road

  • According to the World Wind Energy Association, worldwide, wind energy is expected to grow 25% in 2009
  • Green Energy

    September 28, 2011 by
    Filed under Green Energy Ideas
    Green energy refers to the use of power that is not only more efficient than fossil fuel but that is friendly to the environment as well. Green energy is generally defined as energy sources that dont pollute and are renewable.
    There are several categories of green energy. They are anaerobic digestion, wind power, geothermal power, hydropower on a small scale, biomass power, solar power and wave power. Waste incineration can even be a source of green energy.
    Nuclear power plants claim that they produce green energy as well, though this source is fraught with controversy, as we all know. While nuclear energy may be sustainable, may be considered renewable and does not pollute the atmosphere while it is producing energy, its waste does pollute the biosphere as it is released.
    The transport, mining and phases before and after production of nuclear energy does produce and release carbon dioxide and similar destructive greenhouse gases. When we read of green energy, therefore, we rarely see nuclear power included.
    Those who support nuclear energy say that nuclear waste is not, in fact, released into our earths biosphere during its normal production cycle. They stress as well that the carbon dioxide that nuclear energy production releases is comparable, in terms of each kilowatt hour of electricity, to such sources of green energy as wind power.
    As an example of the green energy production the average wind turbine, such as the one in Reading England, can produce enough energy daily to be the only energy source for 1000 households.
    Many countries now offer household and commercial consumers to opt for total use of green energy. They do this one of two ways. Consumers can buy their electricity from a company that only uses renewable green energy technology, or they can buy from their general supplies such as the local utility company who then buys from green energy resources only as much of a supply as consumers pay for.
    The latter is generally a more cost – efficient way of supplying a home or office with green energy, as the supplier can reap the economic benefits of a mass purchase. Green energy generally costs more per kilowatt hour than standard fossil fuel energy.
    Consumers can also purchase green energy certificates, which are alternately referred to as green tags or green certificates. These are available in both Europe and the United States, and are the most convenient method for the average consumer to support green energy. More than 35 million European households and one million American households now buy these green energy certificates.
    While green energy is a great step in the direction of keeping our environment healthy and our air as pollutant free as possible, it must be noted that no matter what the energy, it will negatively impact the environment to some extent.
    Every energy source, green or otherwise, requires energy. The production of this energy will create pollution during its manufacture. Green energys impact is minimal, however