Micro wind turbines are being designed which address many of the limitations of their much taller counterparts. They’re small enough that they won’t disrupt an entire neighborhood, and since they’re tiny, they won’t cost you as much as traditional wind turbines.

Right now there are a number of companies attempting to bring affordable small wind generators to market. Although they have interesting products, it’s not hard to find flaws with their pricing and design. In fact, recent tests have shown that small wind turbines generally aren’t as efficient as claimed by the manufacturer because of varying wind conditions, especially in urban areas.

There’s a reason that wind turbines tend to be tall. Most researchers have found that optimal wind turbine installations involve tall structures. Small gear-like installations of wind turbines are interesting, but the jury is still out on how effective and reliable they really are.

The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust studied different models of micro wind turbines and had a negative general assessment of their performance.

“We’re certainly disappointed by the performance we’ve seen to date but we believe there is potential for microwind,” said program director James Christo said. “People just need to take a more critical look and be cautious.”

For right now it appears that the technology is getting better, but is not sufficient for home electrical production for most people.

Many of the solar panel kits being offered these days won’t require a ton of expertise to build. You’ll need to be able to follow written instructions and you’ll need certain tools. Other than that, it won’t take a highly skilled worker to begin utilizing the sun’s power for your home electricity needs.

Ever since Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect in 1832, people have been fascinated with the ability to harness an energy source as significant as our solar system’s sun. If you’re interested in the process from an academic perspective, or you just like learning about how things works, assembling your own solar panel using a solar panel kit could prove mesmerizing.

How solar panels work explained

Once you build your own solar panel kit, you can think of yourself as a home scientist who is not only making the world a less polluted place, but someone who’s on the cutting edge of technological development. The solar panel industry has made some amazing strides in recent years, allowing for solar panel installations that go a long way towards providing homeowners with all of their electrical needs.

Solar panels produce a photoelectric or photovoltaic (PV) effect which will cause a conversion of light energy into electrical energy at the atomic level. Once this electrical energy is produced, it can be used immediately for your needs, or you can store it, and utilize it later when you need it. Depending on the utility company in your area, you may even be able to sell excess electric energy to them, making yourself a tidy profit.

The type of Photovoltaic (PV) system you ultimately build will depend on a number of factors from budget to design constraints. Solar panel kits shouldn’t be an expensive proposition. Like any product, you need to try and find the best value for the money.

As this video shows, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to do a solar project. This person shopped on Ebay and found a bargain. Plus he wasn’t afraid to innovate when it came to putting the unit together. As he stated, he only spent about $250 and 20 minutes to build his solar panel kit.

Solar panel kits represent an affordable way to experiment with solar power and see how it works and how it can be utilized in your life.

Refurbished wind turbines may come with a limited warranty at a steeply discounted price. If you’re a thrifty consumer, finding a refurbished used wind turbine that’s been retooled by a company with a good reputation, you may not even notice the difference between your unit and a new one. A thriving business has sprung up selling used wind turbines from quality manufacturers like Nordtank, Micon, Vestas, Bonus, Windmatics and Windworld Systems.

Depending on how handy you are, you may even be able to assemble your own wind turbine from used parts. Of course you’ll need to know what you’re doing. But if you do, you can order every single piece you’d need from a variety of vendors.

In the United States, wind energy is a big part of the Obama Energy Plan. This should bode well for anyone looking to buy used wind turbines. As more federal money becomes available, expect many organizations to upgrade their existing wind turbine installations. As they do, the used wind turbines will be absorbed by the after market. More inventory for used vendors will mean cheaper pricing for potential customers.

Now is the time to begin searching for used wind turbines.

Solar energy is a key component to the Obama energy policy. As such, the administration of President Barack Obama is pushing solar technology in way that hasn’t been done before. There are a number of tax credits available to homeowners who install solar panels in their home. Now, more than ever, an investment in solar energy technology for the home has a chance at resulting in a positive return on investment.

Getting a good return is important because installation of solar panels tend to remain pricey, despite increasing demand. However, increases in tax credits and a general willingness by state legislatures to promote green energy will likely have a positive effect on solar energy deployment by pushing costs down. Several states are now pushing for solar energy to be an option on new homes.

“It’s just like the granite countertop upgrade or the two-car garage or the larger closet — these are options the homeowner can choose to purchase,” said Jeff Lyng, who manages the renewable energy program for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s Energy Office.”

Of course, if given this option upfront, more homeowner’s would readily deploy solar energy in their new homes. If this legislation were to pass, it could server as a needed catalyst for solar power for homes.

It’s not just solar panels that are being considered as options, either. Starting January 1, 2010 in Hawaii, all new homes are to be built equipped with a solar hot-water heater. Right now, Hawaii imports 90% of the fossil fuels used, so the move towards solar makes particular sense.

“Living on an island, that’s not the kind of thing we want to be depending on,” said Russell Pang, a spokesman for Governor Linda Lingle.

These proposals are just the beginning. And as a tiny acorn becomes a mighty oak, solar power promoters are hoping these new pieces of legislation will help grow the solar energy movement into a revolution.

So far it’s clear that Obama is serious about clean energy and will continue to use his immense clout to promote green energy.

“The clean energy revolution is here now,” said Greg Wetstone.

It’s hard to argue with his sentiment as more evidence mounts that solar energy is being utilized across the nation. Solar power in the home is emerging as a potent reality for many, with future growth ensured by current legislation.

For more information on Solar Energy:

• Solar Energy For Your Home
• Solar Energy Pros and Cons
• American Solar Energy

Solar energy use in the US

The primary expansion of solar energy use in the United States will come from the upsurge in solar panel installations for homes, commercial buildings and government offices. The Department of Energy has already made a move in the direction of this expansion with a $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra, Inc.

Solar energy use in America is set to soar with new solar panel installations on the rise

“Solyndra’s proprietary solar panel design transforms glass tubes into easy-to-install, inexpensive, high-performance solar panels, which can be installed on low-slope commercial, industrial, and institutional rooftops. Solyndra deposits thin films of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), a photovoltaic material, on the inner surface of glass tubes, which are then hermetically sealed on both ends with a metal caps. The glass tubes are then assembled into large, flat solar panels. The cylindrical design enables the CIGS material to capture direct, diffuse, and reflected sunlight, allowing the panels to be mounted flat and close together. This makes greater use of the rooftop area than a traditional flat solar panel, which is typically mounted in racks that tilt the panels toward the sun. The design also allows air to flow through the panels, keeping the operating temperature down and reducing wind loads, which in turn makes installation easier,” said the Department of Energy in a press release.

This is the type of investment that the US government will looking to make more of. With a technological improvement and a broad launch, new solar panel installations will rise sharply. This will help immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce unemployment. The number of potential houses and office buildings that could be upgraded to solar is enormous, creating enormous potential for companies that specialize in solar energy production. American solar energy is bound to see a huge increase in coming years. Right now, total electrical production from solar energy in the US is around 1% of all energy consumed. That number will rise substantially as more solar panels are installed.

Greentech industry leaders are extremely happy about current legislation that is encouraging green collar job creation.

“We’re pleased about everything that happened — the solar energy incentives plus the green jobs bills,” said Mike Mattioli of Consolidated Solar Technologies. “When you look at the number of renewable energy bills that passed in the aggregate it gives you reassurance that our legislators are not just talking the talk — they’re walking the walk too.”

The current climate is a positive one for alternative energy companies. Since oil prices have dropped, less investment dollars are flowing into alternative energy companies so direct stimulation by the government comes a time when these companies might have been slacking off in the past. The US government plans on creating the demand by stimulating the market through “green” upgrades of government owned office buildings as well as by passing legislation that is favorable to green industries.

American solar energy has never experienced a more positive time than now. This may very well be remembered as the “Golden Era” of solar energy in the United States.

Efficient home design is the key to building solar energy friendly homes

One of the most obvious areas where homes can use solar energy is if they’re designed with the Sun in mind. New or existing homes can also have solar energy collectors installed which helps store the Sun’s natural energy. A combination of natural lighting and energy collectors can generally sufficiently supply a home’s energy needs.

In areas that receive a lot of sunlight, excess energy can be collected and stored for use on a daily basis. A typical solar energy system can run from $10,000 to $40,000. Depending on your electrical budget, this could be paid off by you living in the house long enough.

“Although the up-front costs of conversion are not insignificant (a typical household system can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000), the energy generated will meet all or part of your future energy needs, lowering your utility bills and helping to pay for the initial cost of the system over time. In fact, homes that generate more power than they need and remain connected to the energy grid may actually put that extra energy into the grid and receive a rebate from the local electric company”

Certainly that’s the best case scenario and the one you should be looking for if you’re considering making a large investment into the solar energy for your home arena. If you live in an area where sunlight is abundant and your local utility company will pay you for excess electricity than you produce, installation of a solar energy system might be extremely attractive.

Obama Energy Plan hopes lower cost of solar energy will encourage widescale adoption

Electrical production from solar energy is a big part of the Obama Energy Plan, so you can expect that homeowner’s will be looking at a large range of incentives in the next few years to convert their homes to solar energy production.

Check out the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency to see what incentives your state has. When the final details of the Obama Energy Plan are finally worked out, a combination of tax rebates and incentives that make solar energy installations extremely affordable are likely.

Lower prices should serve as the catalyst to put solar energy production into overdrive. Obama has touted several figures of potential employment created by the surge in the solar power industry, but mainly he appears to be speculating. In any event, a large scale deployment of technology like this one will spark an increase in demand as well as increased hiring.

The push towards wind and solar energy will also serve to lower greenhouse gas emissions which are contributing to global warming. Obama hopes to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring that 10% of all US energy consumption comes from renewable sources by 2012.

If you have been considering solar energy for your home, now is an excellent time to begin your search in earnest. Technology is advancing, prices are becoming more affordable, and the government is offering plans to make such an installation pay off in the form of a long term investment.

Cons of solar energy

1. Cost. The single biggest barrier to deploying solar energy throughout the USA is the cost. That’s likely to change due to stimulus from the Obama Energy Plan. As more solar panels are produced and installed, the cost of deployment will fall. As the price falls, adoption of the technology increases. Since solar energy is such a big part of the new “green jobs” push, we will most likely see price drops. But for now, the price of solar installations can be prohibitive.
2. Certain geographic areas don’t get enough sunlight to effective produce solar energy.
3. Bad weather hurts solar energy production efficiency. Areas with poor weather that changes frequently might experience difficulty producing enough solar energy.
4. Solar energy production is affected by pollution. In areas with high levels of pollution this could quickly turn into a major headache. If this dimming gets bad enough, it could be “lights out” for solar energy production in the worst areas. “But airborne particles also scatter light that does get through, and that diffuse light cannot be used by solar energy concentrating systems that produce electricity, Daniel Murphy, a scientist at NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., reported in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.”

Pros of solar energy

1. Solar energy is renewable and sustainable. The production of solar energy does not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions or contribute to climate change.
2. Solar energy production is quiet. There is not a lot of attendant noise caused by producing solar energy.
3. Solar energy is very effective in areas with high degrees of sunlight. In areas that aren’t blessed with strong natural sun, solar energy technology is rapidly improving. With improvements to storage capacity, the weather will become less of a factor.
4. The solar energy industry can produce jobs. The jobs are not necessarily demanding of great training, so people who are out of work can be re-trained relatively quickly into the “green jobs” offered by the solar energy industry.
5. The cost of electrical production through solar energy is low. The initial startup cost can be expensive, but once you’re up and running the savings on electricity tend to be enormous.

President Barack Obama is sold on the capability of solar energy production. He’s made increasing the solar energy industry into one of the mainstays of his energy policy. For that reason alone the technology is guaranteed to proliferate massively in the next few years.

Solar energy is clean, proven, and can create badly needed jobs right now as the United States re-tools for a “green future.”

Obama has stated that he wants the USA to double the amount of alternative energy production in the next three years. SEIA President Rhone Resch says that the recession is taking a big bite out of solar energy installations, but that could change quickly with a big enough push by the federal government.

“That is going require a substantial ramp up in the use of solar and that doesn’t just happen organically,” he said. If the ramp up occurs, the future is very bright indeed for solar energy.

Ocean wave energy is powerful and represents massive energy potential.

“Waves are caused by the wind blowing over the surface of the ocean. In many areas of the world, the wind blows with enough consistency and force to provide continuous waves. There is tremendous energy in the ocean waves. Wave power devices extract energy directly from the surface motion of ocean waves or from pressure fluctuations below the surface.”

The energy created by waves varies from location to location throughout the world. One of the absolutely best places for tapping ocean wave energy is located just off the coast of Florida.

Alternative energy from ocean currents

Florida is quickly becoming the hotbed for ocean wave energy research. Let’s be frank, the potential for this research is huge. If energy could be easily and cheaply produced from the ample bounty of the ocean, you’re looking at clean energy that is sustainable and renewable. Plus it could prove a boon to economic development in the state of Florida.

Florida Atlantic University researchers say the current could someday be used to drive thousands of underwater turbines, produce as much energy as perhaps 10 nuclear plants and supply one-third of Florida’s electricity. A small test turbine is expected to be installed within months.

Right now the abundance of technology is merely in the planning stages. But the enthusiasm is catching for many. Right now there are no commercial-scale projects to tap ocean energy, and ocean isn’t mentioned as part of Obama’s Energy Plan.

But all that could change if a technological discovery is made that proves commercial applications are possible. The amount of research being done is increasing, so it seems at least ocean wave energy production is becoming more of a reality.

Safety is a concern, as usual. There’s talk of a “Cuisinart effect” which would be caused by underwater blades. Also, no one knows how economically feasible the whole idea is, given the scant amount of research done so far. That knowledge should rise dramatically in the next 12 months.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has already issued 47 temporary permit for projects based on ocean wave energy.

Alternative energy from the ocean is becoming closer to reality. Already signs of development are coming from money released by the Obama Energy Policy. Like this underwater turbine development.

For years, researchers in Dania Beach have been developing an underwater turbine prototype that will be powered by ocean currents to generate energy.

They got a boost this week by landing $1,189,375 from the big spending bill signed into law by President Obama, the first time the project has gotten federal money.

The researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Ocean Energy Technology plan to join Congressman Ron Klein on Friday to announce the funding at their SeaTech campus in Dania Beach.

The Dania Beach researchers are hoping to make underwater turbines a viable commercial product. This could conceivably give birth to an underwater energy production industry.

Once these turbines are developed they could be sold to energy companies around the country who could quickly deploy them into underwater turbine farms capable of commercial energy production.

The positive impact on employment in coastline areas is obvious. Alternative ocean from the energy is rising fast.

Obama hired Dr. Steven Chu to head the Department of Energy. As we looked at in a recent article, Chu has a positive attitude towards nuclear energy. He and Obama both said they wouldn’t ignore nuclear energy as a viable alternative energy, as long as it could be produced safely and the radioactive waste could be dealt with in a secure environment.

Dr. Chu has now announced a new panel to look into those issues.

Obama has already ruled out a radioactive waste repository, like the controversial one that was proposed for Yucca Mountain. Therefore Chu has stated he’ll be selecting a “blue-ribbon panel” of experts to look at viable solutions on what can be done about nuclear waste.

Chu was meeting with the Senate Budget Committee to discuss details of Obama’s immense 3.3. trillion energy spending plan. He said that the nuclear policy and the “blue-ribbon” panel initiatives would become more clear before the end of the current year.

“I don’t want to suggest what this blue-ribbon panel might determine but let me stress this will be done this year,” Chu told the committee.

Chu said that nuclear energy must be used along with solar and wind energy, which seems to be the clear pragmatic solution for helping wean the United States from its insatiable appetite for foreign energy.

20% of the total electrical production in the United States currently comes from nuclear power. In order to increase nuclear energy production, a large investment in nuclear power plants must ensue. Chu hinted at just how the Obama administration could help stoke that fire.

Chu stressed that federal loans worth 18.5 billion dollars were still available. He also said that the government’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission rather than the Department of Energy is the agency that approves licenses for new nuclear plants.

He said that DoE and NRC are now teaming up to offer a stream-lined process that should make getting licenses much easier.

This is great economic news for companies who are big players in next-generation nuclear production capabilities. This includes industrial stalwarts Westinghouse Electric, a division of Japan’s Toshiba Corp., and General Electric. Both companies stand to benefit greatly from a faster licensing process that would encourage speedier deployment of nuclear assets.

As to the waste issue, Chu said it’s not compelling enough to halt the way of increased nuclear production. Right now nuclear waste can be stored at nuclear power plants using “dry cask storage.” That method can store nuclear waste for decades, which will buy us time until the “blue-ribbon” panel figures out a permanent radioactive waste scheme.

There are currently 31 proposed applications for new nuclear power plants that could be quickly ramped up if the storage solution problem is ignored for the time being. Chu said he didn’t think the NRC should be holding up these proposals.

Presumably a new Golden Age of Nuclear is nearing. The keys in coming months will be to see just what the new blue-ribbon panel is about and what solutions they come up with for the radioactive waste conundrum.

With 3.3 trillion dollars in spending to back them. a combination of wind, solar, and nuclear energy production could help the United States make the quantum leap needed to become a 21st century nation with a largely “green economy.” The high paying jobs that will be created based on these 31 plants becoming reality would be enough to help halt employment and even put a dent in the construction crisis.

If the Obama Energy Policy lives up to its potential, America really will be a cleaner, better place for it.

Pros of Wind Energy

1. Wind energy is cheap to produce. Once the initial cost of a wind turbine is paid for, future energy is free. Of course maintenance will be necessary, but it won’t cost much compared to the energy produced.
2. Wind energy is sustainable and renewable. Wind energy production will not contribute to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. Wind is sustainable because there’s a virtually limitless supply of the stuff.
3. Wind energy has been in use by man for 5,000 years and has proven reliable in many installations.
4. Wind turbines and wind turbine farms offer economic development opportunities. Wind turbine farms will create jobs. People who install wind turbines in their yards may be able to get their own electrical energy free as well as getting payments from aggregators. Plus the wind energy industry will create jobs for Americans.

Cons of wind energy

1. Wind is not always reliable. On certain days, you may not be able to produce reliable wind energy. Most people have very specific electric needs that must depend on a reliable supply.
2. Wind turbines are damaging or disruptive to animals. Wind turbines tend to be large and ugly structures which aren’t pleasant to look at and may be dangerous to birds or other animals.
3. Wind energy production tends to cost more than producing electrical energy the traditional coal-based way. Costs should tend to go down as more people adapt to wind power.
4. Wind energy is unlikely to replace any but a small amount of our national energy needs. If we’re looking for a way to replace coal-based energy production and we want to do it a relatively short timeframe, then wind energy is probably not the best solution. Wind energy appears to be a part of the solution in specific geographic areas, and that should be good enough to get an active industry moving in the United States.

Wind energy production is being called on to provide more of America’s electrical production in the coming years and that’s a definite step in the right direction. But even proponents have to be realistic about the long term potential for wind energy to completely replace traditional electric production. Wind energy has been around for 5 Millennium, yet only accounts for about 1% of the nation’s energy needs.

Surely that number will grow immensely now that the Obama Energy Policy will soon spring into action.