Fed up with increasing electricity bills from utility companies who seem to think they can charge what they like for energy? You’re not alone. With the average electricity bill growing by a whopping 37% over the last few years according to research by the Citizens Advice Bureau reported by The Guardian – and set to rise at up to eight times the rate of earnings – electricity bills seem to be getting more and more shocking by the month.
But what can a householder do? With everything from lighting to phones and kitchen appliances reliant on electricity, this energy is part and parcel of modern day living. But we needn’t go back to medieval lifestyles and stop using it altogether to beat the utility companies (though the companies themselves appear to doing a convincing impression of the evil barons from that era).... read more
Humans require energy to engage in normal activities in their daily lives. This includes traveling that is required to get to work or school, cooking food, construction of buildings, and the manufacturing of all the mundane products in use each day. Energy is needed to power the daily lives of the individuals who live throughout the world. The consumption of energy is growing every day and this means sustainable sources of energy are needed. Sustainable sources of energy are those that are renewable.
1. Water The use of water for power has existed long before the invention of electricity. Water has been used for powering mills and other machinery located next to a river. Stream is a byproduct of water that is being used to generate electricity and has been used to power locomotives. The construction of dams in many countries around the world proves that water can be harnessed as a sustainable source of energy. A dam to hold back a river creates a reservoir. The water in the reservoir is sent through large pipes into a turbine to generate electricity that is stored in a battery or sent to the power grid.... read more
Today we have another guest blog post from Hasic M, who previously wrote the helpful guest blog post: How To Recycle Mattresses. This blog post discusses different types of alternative energy and how we can use them.
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The world as we know it cannot continue on as it is, simply because we are constantly damaging the environment more and more every day. The amount of waste generated by mankind is causing the Earth to deteriorate, as well as the pollution leaked into the atmosphere. One major concern is the amount of fossil fuels that we are using on a daily basis, which is why it is vital that we all do our part to use alternative energy more frequently.
There are many ways that we can all use alternative energy more frequently, and you will find that you can do your part to change the world one day at a time by using more alternative energy. Here are some of the main sources of alternative energy, as well as ways that you can use them more frequently in your life:... read more
The San Francisco Department of the Environment (SF Environment) is partnering with the city Assessor-Recorder's office and Energy Upgrade California to launch the SF Home Improvement & Performance (SFHIP) incentive program. The goal of the program is to increase the affordability of "green" home improvements for San Franciscans. San Francisco is one of the only cities in California that provides governmental incentives in addition to state and federal incentives for going solar.
A Feed In Tariff (Fit) is a one of many financial incentives that can be offered in order to promote the use of renewable energy. It was first seen in Germany in 2000 and has since spread to countries such as China, Australia, and Ireland and several US states including Hawaii and Michigan.
Regions that mandate FiTs require utilities to purchase each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy from individual residential and commercial producers of renewable energy (usually solar or wind). In essence this makes the producer a small-scale utility, selling ALL of the power you produce back to “the grid.” The person or business will sign an initial contract with the utility, locking in a certain rate for a set period of time (usually 15-25 years).... read more
Solar Renewable Energy Credits/Certificates (SRECs/ S-RECs) aka Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) aka “Green Tags” create an open market for individuals to sell the rights to the energy produced by their small-medium scale solar system.... read more
Thus continues with Google's plot to take over the world. (That's what I think, anyway!) I like to see that they are using their powers for good instead of evil, like many other big companies. Last year, Keen for Green reported that Google was using goats to mow their lawns at their Mountain View, CA campus. And now, Google invested in a $5 billion to build an underwater "superhighway for clean energy." This would funnel power from offshore wind farms to millions of homes from New Jersey to Virgina.
The electrical power grid is an interconnected network of national, state and regional infrastructure for generating, transmitting, distributing and delivering electricity from suppliers to customers.Photo from www.bible-light.com
In recent years, we have all become familiar with power outages, which questions the reliability of the existing electricity grid. Blackouts are experienced in different regions, affecting residents, businesses, and daily life. Due to the storm on Tuesday, October 14, 2009, with heavy winds and rain, more than 35,000 customers were without power in the Bay Area.... read more
We all know that Texas goes big. Big buildings, big cars, big oil and big cattle are all synonymous with Texas. People need to add one more big in their description of Texas, big wind farms. This past July, Baryonyx Corporation, a renewable energy company, won three leases for State wind concessions. These leases, two offshore and one in the Panhandle, allow the corporation to go forth with plans to create the largest offshore wind farm in the US. A map of the sites are provided below.... read more
T. Boone Pickens, legendary oil man gone environmentalist, made an announcement concerning his upcoming wind farm in the Dallas Morning News. During an interview the man worth $3 billion informed the reporter that his wind farm did not have place in Texas. Yes, the third biggest state, Texas.
In all honesty, there is much more to this no. The wind farm, expected to contain hundreds of turbines, was originally planned to be in the Texas Pan Handle. No spot excited in the Pan Handle that was not only suitable but in the general vicinity of transmission lines. No such spot could be found. Therefore, the plan is on hold for the foreseeable future.... read more
Humans require energy to engage in normal activities in their daily lives. This includes traveling that is required to get to work or school, cooking food, construction of buildings, and the manufacturing of all the mundane products in use each day. Energy is needed to power the daily lives of the individuals who live throughout the world. The consumption of energy is growing every day and this means sustainable sources of energy are needed. Sustainable sources of energy are those that are renewable.
