Revised Abstract: The Future of Renewable Power

My research examined the application and benefits of using Solar Power vs. Wind Power as alternative energy. I found that we need to reform our ways of obtaining energy from the carbon emitting producers and replace the process with clean, renewable, options. Without these new options we would soon face the doom of filling our atmosphere with concentrated carbon dioxide. The problem is in finding which option is best in a given situation. My method in analyzing the problem was to explore individual requirement in each case, understanding what it needs, what can be done, when it can be used, and so on. By learning which option is best to use, we may develop a more efficient result and a cleaner environment. Unfortunately, there is no clean cut answer to each problem as there are variables to consider, such as reliant climate, sun and wind, environmental protection, and costs. For example, wind generated energy requires a lot of wind. Solar generated energy requires a lot of sun. Placing these options in regions not suited to the particular environment does not make environmental sense.

Some possibilities are being explored now with varying results, wind generated power used in residential zones has been unacceptable due to audible noise caused by the spinning turbine generators. Solar generated street signs have been proven too unreliable due to the cost of each solar panel and the unreliability of weather patterns. According to “Solar Powered Signals: Myth or Marvel?” by Coetzee¹, theft of solar panels was one of the biggest cons for using solar generated street lights. However, there are some good possibilities, such as a US and China solar project to develop the biggest solar farm set for completion in 2019 in the Mongolian desert of China². This project will supply power to three million Chinese homes when fully completed with a total of 11,950 megawatts of power. The same us company is also developing three more solar farms, one the Mohave Desert, California totaling up to be 1,100 megawatts of power³.

As these solar and wind options become cheaper and more available, we can count on seeing them competing with other non-renewable options in the future to help relieve our demand for energy.

1)Coetzee, Jan, Willem Louw, and Peter Bullock. "SOLAR POWERED TRAFFIC SIGNALS: MYTH OR MARVEL?." digital research repository of the University of Pretoria. Document Transformation Technologies cc, 11 July 2008. Web. 9 Apr. 2010. .
2)Woody, Todd. "China and U.S. Company Plan a Big Solar Project - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., 8 Sept. 2009. Web. 6 May 2010. .
3)Woody, Todd. "A Boost for Photovoltaics in California Deal - Green Blog - NYTimes.com." Energy and Environment - Green Blog - NYTimes.com. N.p., 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 7 May 2010. .

Abstract+

THIS IS OLD, A REVISED ESSAY CAN BE SEEN ABOVE!

The whole reason for my paper was to examine the results and uses of Solar Power vs. Wind Power energy solutions for alternative energy solutions. The paper also illustrates that we need to reform our process of obtaining energy from our carbon emitting plants to clean and renewable options, without these new options we would soon face the doom of overpopulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The problem is finding which options are best in the given situations. My Approach to solving that problem was stating the requirements for each what it needs, what has to be done, when to use it, and so on. By learning which options are best to use, we may develop a more efficient environment. Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer to this question as each need very reliant climate and weather to be able to produce energy. Wind generated energy needs a lot of wind, Solar generated energy needs a lot of sun. Placing them in regions that do not suit the environment does not economical sense. Unfortunately wind generated power cannot be produced in residential zones due to its audible noise from the generators turbine spinning to produce power.
Further through the paper I discuss the possibilities of using solar power. Unfortunately solar generated street signs is too unrealistic with the cost of each solar panel and the reliability of the different weather patterns. Theft of solar panels was one of the biggest cons from using solar panels to generate electricity for street lights and street signs. Although that idea does not work, using solar panels to cool medicine such as vaccines is a viable option for developing countries such as Africa where electricity grids are not always readily available in the area treatments need to be performed in.

"Solar Energy is also being looked into providing energy for developing regions where energy grids are hard to come by or economically or physically unfeasible."

Smoothy recipie

Lauren's Sweet & Tart Smoothie

1 container of organic raspberry yogurt
1 banana
1 cup strawberries
1/4 cup blueberries
1.5 ~ 2 kiwi's
1 cup lemonade
(you can add a squirt of lime if needed for extra tangy)

ice, 1/2 to 1 cup, amount depends on the potency and consistency you desire

Courtesy of Lauren Neighbors, my sister

Reflection on "Food Inc"

The movie “Food inc” was very upsetting to watch, but to me the parts that disturbed me were not so much as the animal cruelty, but the fact that there were laws that were emplaced to keep these acts in place, as well as destroy the major companies competition. The cruelty is bad, I agree with that, but the fact that these laws were developed that had the reaction of destroying legitimate and small owned farms and businesses pissed me off. The examples I show below are the biggest elements that made me mad from the movie.
The farmers that have neighbors containing crops of GMO infected their farm and had to pay a fine for the GMO crop's contamination. This seems ridiculous to us in the beginning for why we would ever emplace a law such as that, but this law started out to be not so bad as an idea. This law started out for GMO companies to make money from their developments, the farmers would only have to plant the crop once save the seed and give it out for free. Another law was emplaced to intercept those people who save the seed and punish them with a fine. Although this law was a great idea, it left a loophole for those who got infected with their GMO crop. This loophole was great for the company to make extra money from hopeless victims. There are 25 such intercepters from one company alone, with other intercepters from other companies, farmers do not have a change, nor a hope of winning. Those that fought against the “machine” were eventually ran down until they could not pay their bills any longer.
More bills were passed that blocked other people from discriminating the company. An example of that would be the case with Opera Winfrey with a meat producing company. On one of her shows, she critiqued the meet industry for something. This quote dropped the meet companies income and she eventually went to court. She won, but shows how much laws have changed.

My Outline

1. Intro

   1. Energy

      1. Our current energy consumption

         1. 3.3TW US

         2. 13TW World

      2. Our Projected Statistics

         1. 28TW World

      3. Our current mediums to extract energy

         1. Coal 51%

         2. Renewable 1%

      4. Reason why we are trying to go solar

         1. Too much CO2 Emissions

         2. Escalating our Ozone greenhouse effect

      5. Thesis: Based on scientific data, our resources for non-renewable fuel is both destroying our ecosystem as well as exhausting our supply for our resources. With the need for clean and renewable resources to fuel our planet, solar and wind farms are needed to become the or a major energy producer.

2. Body 1: Solar Pros

   1. Free energy

      1. Requires Sun

   2. The sun's rays can fuel our planet for an entire year for only one hour of required exposure time

   3. Compact can go on rooftops

   4. Can supply energy in remote areas

      1. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2007/115-4/innovations.html

         1. Cooling vaccines using Solar power in places like Africa

         2. Cooling Vaccines need a constant temperature

            1. Excludes places that already have constant power

            2. For places that have little or no reliable power, this would be used

3. Body 1: Solar Cons

   1. Cost of the item

   2. Sun Exposure

      1. Washington

      2. Oregon

      3. Cloudy weather

      4. http://www.arpa.mil/sto/smallunitops/vhesc.html

         1. “east-west field of view (FOV) ≥ ±60°, a north-south FOV ≥ ±25° , a system power efficiency (SPE) ≥ 40%”

   3. Amount produced by a unit

4. Body 2: Wind Pros

   1. Free energy

   2. Clean energy

   3. Can place on farms and forget

   4. Can run at night

5. Body 2: Wind Cons

   1. Requires electric grid to be laid down before instillation

   2. Big upfront cost

   3. Wind is not a reliable and constant source

   4. Noise

6. Body 3: Which one is better?

   1. State → which one is better?

   2. Based on location and purpose

      1. Location

         1. Sun → Solar

         2. No sun → Wind

      2. Purpose

   3. Each need technical advances to be considerable

      1. Solar with solar paint

         1. Nate Lewis

7. Body 4: Possible Applications: Solar Street signs

   1. http://repository.up.ac.za/upspace/bitstream/2263/6510/1/Coetzee.pdf

   2. Fixes to street lights:

      1. Halogen → LED

      2. Solar

      3. Fixing when lights die

   3. Uses in places without electricity

      1. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2007/115-4/innovations.html

      2. Seen above

8. Conclusion

   1. Address the need for improved technology

      1. Solar

         1. Solar paint

         2. Solar farms

      2. Wind

   2. They cannot be the leading producer at the moment, but transitioning would be great

Peer review

http://www.arpa.mil/sto/smallunitops/vhesc.html
Gives specifications on how to get a really accurate solar panel. I could not get the rest of the article, but it seems very promising to look further into.

http://repository.up.ac.za/upspace/bitstream/2263/6510/1/Coetzee.pdf
This one caught my eye from the start with a very common question, "Solar Panel Traffic Signals". 629-644pg. Goes in depth with the power usage of all the traffic lights (halogen and LED versions) and the savings. Gives the most effective locations, and how much it would cost to fit those locations with solar panel traffic lights. It also states in the conclusion that solar panels will help the traffic lights in the event of a blackout, which could provide to be quite useful in some cases.

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2007/115-4/innovations.html
Even though this is criticized in places where electricity is readily available, this option still proves useful everywhere else. As the article explains, the Vaccines need to be cooled to 3~5 degrees Celsius, without power variation for the best results. Unfortunately, this is good news for places where power is hard to some by, and has a lot of sun.

Mr Energy aka Nate Luis

Nate Luis was very detailed in his research and will help me a lot as I do my own. As I was looking through my research I could not decide which green energy or other energy solution I should choose. I was tied between wind and solar for quite a while as wind will probably be introduced on the Neighbors ranch, and solar panels were almost installed on our house. In the video, he showed that wind power does not provide that much power, even if we covered our planet with it. Then showing us the amount of solar panels we would need.

Although he pointed out that not all the solar panels would be concentrated in one location, I believe that that option would be the highest potential at this time. But we are still behind in finding options about transportation of that energy. Our solutions range from local panels on each house and stored by battery to further options such as a globalized source running large high gauge cables.

Too concentrated of a power facility (taking up a state his his map) seems a little bit unfeasible as it is like "putting all your eggs in one basket". Creating a threat if that one facility had to replace a crucial component, terrorist incident, cloudy day and so fourth... Paint on houses seem like a great option, but towns without sun (such as Oregon and Washington that rain every other day) are in for a big surprise. A mixture of transportation and localized solutions need to be addressed.

Touching on Harmatz' topic for a second, I believe that we need a major break though in that technology to even be considered a possibility 50 years in the future, let alone 100 years. If we somehow stumble upon some miracle reaction, than this option could possibly knock itself into a placement, but it would have too be monumentally better. (then again, so would solar)