Green Renewable Energy

The government is looking into several type of cap and trade bills. They are :
Cap and Trade

Under a cap-and-trade program, each power plant, factory, refinery, and other regulated entity will be allocated allowances (rights) to emit six greenhouse gases. However, only a certain percentage of the allowances will be allocated to these entities. The remaining percentage will be auctioned off or distributed to other emitting entities. Emitters who reduce their emissions below their annual allotment can sell their excess allowances to those who do not. Over time, the cap would be ratcheted down, requiring greater cuts in emissions and more harm to the economy.

Cap and Dividend

One variant of a cap-and-trade plan is cap and dividend. Just like a cap-and-trade bill, in cap and dividend businesses would bid for carbon credits through an auction, but in this scenario, consumers would receive “dividend payments” from the auction proceeds.

The architects of cap-and-dividend plans acknowledge that capping carbon “will inevitably raise the prices of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The resulting price increases will reduce the real incomes of American families, striking hardest at those who can afford it least: lower-income households for whom fuel costs represent a higher fraction of their expenditures.”[2] Proponents of cap and dividend argue that rebate checks would offset these costs.

Cap and Invest

Cap and invest is very similar to cap and dividend, but rather than give money to consumers, it is funneled into government-run research and development projects for renewable energy technology.

Rather than giving any money back to the consumers, all the climate revenue is devoted to unproven renewable technologies. Not only does this thwart innovation by reducing incentives to make renewable technologies more economically efficient, but it places the power to innovate in the hands of bureaucrats. In all sectors of the economy, history shows that it is the private sector–not the federal government–that is best at meeting consumer demand and innovating to provide more efficient products.

There is also a proposed carbon tax.  A carbon tax is a direct, more predictable tax on carbon emissions, but that does not make it any more acceptable.

Al of these will cause energy prices for oil coal, gas or electricity to rise.  With your own solar panels or wind generator you will be able to supply some supplemental electricity to compensate for rising electrical costs.

For residents of Pennsylvania, you may want to look into other forms of electricity generation like wind and solar power generation. Your rate cap is expiring in 2010 and rates are expected to rise signifcantly. With suplimental solar and wind electricial power, it may just offset the cost of the rate hikes.

Small wind-electric systems can provide electricity to many differnt areas. Although wind systems require more maintenance and need more attention than solar-electric, if you invest up front in good equipment, design, and installation, wind-electric systems can make economic and environmental sense.

They also bring a great deal of satisfaction—there´s nothing quite like watching your wind generator convert a summer breeze or a winter storm into electrical energy.

How It Works

Boiled down to its simplest principles, a wind generator´s rotating blades convert the wind´s kinetic energy into rotational momentum in a shaft. The rotating shaft turns an alternator, which makes electricity. This electricity is transmitted through wiring down the tower to its end use.

The blades must turn to face the wind, so a yaw bearing is needed, allowing the wind turbine to track the winds as they shift direction. The tail directs the rotor into the wind. Some sort of governing system limits the rotor rpm as well as generator output to protect the turbine from high winds. A shutdown mechanism is also useful to stop the machine when necessary, such as during an extreme storm, when you do not need the energy, or when you want to service the system.

How To Choose A Wind Turbine

Trying to keep an inexpensive wind generator running can be an uphill battle that you´ll soon tire of. But expect to pay more for a better machine—it´s a tough job to design and manufacture a long-lasting, small-scale wind generator.

The bottom line: Buy a turbine that has a very good track record and a good warranty—five years is preferable but not always available in the small wind industry.

Batteryless Grid-Tied Wind-Electric System

Connecting to the grid without batteries is the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to go. You eliminate batteries, which are costly, require maintenance, and carry a significant efficiency penalty. The only drawback of batteryless systems is that when the grid is down, your system shuts down. But in most grid-serviced areas, utility outages are only a few hours a year—a small inconvenience to endure for the efficiency, environmental friendliness, and thriftiness of these systems.

Grid-Tied Wind-Electric System with Battery Backup

Connecting a wind-electric system to the utility grid with battery backup gives you the best of both worlds. You have the unlimited capacity of the grid at your disposal, and you can send your surplus wind energy to the grid. When the grid is down, you can still use your system, within the limitations of the battery bank and turbine.

Off-Grid Wind-Electric Systems

Off-grid wind-electric systems are battery based. People generally choose these systems because their home or other energy use is not connected to the grid, and connection would be expensive. Others prefer the independence of off-grid systems, or live where utilities and governments make it difficult to tie a renewable energy system to the grid.

solar power for the home

Solar electricity, or photovoltaics (PV), is a thriving business worldwide. It makes good on its promise of “delivering clean, reliable, on-demand power.”

Research progress continues, better positioning current and next-generation photovoltaic (PV) technologies to meet future electricity needs. But these successes seem to spark some criticisms and questions. Some are warranted. Some are based on partial truths. And others are perpetuated from urban legends or myths about the technology.

Common among these criticisms and questions are the seven myths of solar electricity:

• Myth 1: Solar electricity cannot serve any significant fraction of U.S. or world electricity needs.
• Myth 2: Solar electricity can do everything — right now!
• Myth 3: Photovoltaics cannot significantly offset environmental emissions.
• Myth 4: Photovoltaics is a polluting industry.
• Myth 5: Photovoltaics is merely a cottage industry, appealing only to small niche markets.
• Myth 6: PV is too expensive and will never compete with “the big boys” of power generation. Besides, you can never get the energy out that it takes to produce the system.
• Myth 7: Nothing remains to be done. Essential R&D is complete, the product works — just close the laboratory doors and let industry fight it out.

Here are the facts behind the myths:

1. PV technology can meet electricity demand on any scale. The solar energy resource in a 100-mile-square area of Nevada could supply the United States with all its electricity (about 800 gigawatts) using modestly efficient (10%) commercial PV modules.
   A more realistic scenario involves distributing these same PV systems throughout the 50 states. Currently available sites—such as vacant land, parking lots, and rooftops—could be used.
2. No way. Solar electricity will eventually become a major player in the world’s energy portfolio. The industry just doesn’t have the capacity to meet all demands right now.
3. PV systems produce no atmospheric emissions or greenhouse gases. Also each kilowatt of PV electricity annually offsets up to:
   • 16 kilograms of nitrogen oxides
   • 9 kilograms of sulfur oxides
   • 2,300 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO₂)
4. The PV industry is neither “squeaky clean” nor a major environmental, safety, or health problem. When it comes to emissions, PV’s electricity-generating portion of the fuel cycle is the clear winner versus fossil fuel sources. However, semiconductor processing can involve the use of chemicals and toxic materials.
5. This is a real business — one that has been growing by more than 35% per year over the past 2 years. In 2001, PV module shipments closed in on the 400-megawatt mark, representing a $2.5 to $3 billion market. The U.S.-based industry itself is now approaching $1 billion per year and providing 25,000 jobs. It’s expected to grow to the $10-$15 billion level in the next 20 years, providing 300,000 jobs by 2025. This sustained growth exceeds that of the semiconductor industry.
6. The cost of producing PV modules, in constant dollars, has fallen from as much as $50 per peak watt in 1980 to as little as $3 per peak watt today. This causes PV electricity costs to drop 15¢-25¢ per kilowatt hour (kWh), which is competitive in many applications.
7. As high-tech energy production, PV has immense potential to evolve, develop, and advance. Our current technologies still have substantial potential for improvement.
   Research and development (R&D) in processing, process understanding, and manufacturing remains in its infancy. There is much important R&D still to be performed, not just on cells and modules, but also on balance-of-systems components and on systems themselves.

Save energy costs in your home and possibly generate enough power to be self sustaining.

If you have ever wished to stop wasting money on your electrical bill, help the global economy and save the Earth, then you’ve arrived at the right page.

The sun bathes the earth in a steady, enormous flow of radiant energy that far exceeds what the world requires for electricity fuel.

Since generating electricity directly from sunlight does not deplete any of the earth’s natural resources and supplies the earth with energy continuously, solar energy is a renewable source of electricity generation. Solar energy is our earth’s primary source of renewable energy.
From this energy you can solar hot water collect electricity in solar cells. There are even solar battery chargers.

Along with this solar electricity is wind energy or wind powered generator. With this you generate electricity from the power of the wind. There are several places that are selling residential wind generators that will supply your household with electricity. I will report next on the reliability, storage and usage of the electricity generated by these two types of renewable electricity that is not only for the bug power companies to make use of.