Other forms of renewable energy

As we have discovered in the past blog posts, solar and wind energy are both very reliable and a great step forwards in becoming completely renewable when I come to energy. In this post we will learn about a few other forms of renewable energy. Some of which are very efficient while other and just as efficient but more of a hassle to obtain. The first former we will talk about is hydroelectric energy. That word may sound crazy but ithe is actually fairly simple. Hydroelectric is simply a turbine that is spun by water being carried downhill by gravity. You always see huge dams and wonder what they are for. Well, this is it. water is carried through these spinning massive turbines which create a lot of power. The water is then sent somewhere else whether it be the other side of back where it came from to be used again. Hydroelectric can be used in Colorado with the Big Thompson river or the Poudre river. The next form isnt exactly renewable but is pretty close. This is hydrogen and the reason I have it on here even though it isn't renewable is that there is an abundance of it. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel in cars to replace gasoline and it has very little pollutants. Hydrogen can also be made into fuel cells, which are basically just batteries, to power electric cars. This is a crazy thought but if you know how electric cars are made then you'll know the factories making their batteries produce nearly as much pollutants aso gas ando diesel vehicles. What if these factories were powered by hydrogen or some sort of clean fuel. This would make the production and product be both clean. The final form I will go over is very efficient but just barely out of our reach to use. This is hydrogen fusion and plasma. We have all the technology to make this possible AND have but not for a sustained period of time. With temperatures reaching 1x10^6K, or 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit, you can see why this was only sustained for .1 seconds. If we are able to find ways to contain and or lower this heat then this form of Energy will be very powerful.
Of all the forms I've talked about, which do you believe would be the most beneficial to us?
Source:
http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/renewables.html
http://phys.org/news/2016-07-wendelstein-x-successful.html

Colorado's efforts to be cleaner

      Everyone knows about all the negative effects that our ways of obtaining energy have on our wonderful planet. With more and more being built every single day this damage doesn't stop and won't unless we do something about it. In this post we will be looking at the wonderful state of Colorado and our efforts to reduce this. EERE or The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is helping Colorado in many ways to help reduce energy efficiency and consumption. Some of these ways are sustainable transportation, renewable energy generation, and energy efficient homes, buildings and manufacturing. Their plans to make transportation more efficient and sustainable are to use electric vehicles and to switch oils with clean domestic fuel. Since Colorado is growing so much there isn't much room for wind turbines to help with generating power we need to use solar panels. Solar panels are becoming very effective and starting to be cheaper and cheaper. In a matter of a few months a large solar field was developed on the west side of Loveland. That also proves development efficiency is fairly quick and can be done in many places. Solar energy doesn't have to be in such large scales like a solar field to contribute. By simply placing a few panels on the roof of your house you can have a positive impact on the environment all by yourself. This ties into energy efficient building and manufacturing. For instance, if your whole neighborhood switches to solar panels then that is a huge impact. Given that personal solar panels are more expensive than buying mass amounts might make this a little harder but by no means impossible.
      Knowing that every little bit counts, what will you do to contribute to reducing the negative impact by using renewable energy?

Source:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/states/pdfs/57709.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwiYnMTzs53QAhVLMyYKHQ0WD24QFggdMAA&usg=AFQjCNHox8LmHckm73KiMmz_iYCsV3DMZw&sig2=3AkO5JybQMCYwvYm1GEq0w (eere.energy.gov pdf)

What are your thoughts?

With the massively growing renewable energy sources each different form has its pros and cons. Solar and wind will be the two we focus on for now. Starting with the pros and cons of solar energy the main and probably the most obvious is that it is renewable. As long as there is light there will be power, which is also one of solar powers downfall because it is only available during the day. Although the low impact and other benefits of solar power may be outweighed by the very expensive cost to manufacture and install in order for them to start producing energy. That decision varies from person to person and is up to you to decide. Wind energy is very similar to solar in the ways that it is renewable and has little to no impact on the environment. Wind turbines are the exact opposite as solar powers in the way they are visible. Most times you may not see a solar panel but wind turbines stand up to 328 feet tall. According to the source wind energy is infinite and very effective, powering up to 600 homes for each unit. Since 1980 wind turbines have decreased in price by 80%.


While each source of energy has their own list of pros and cons, as does everything, you need to decide which one is the best fit for you and your town. Would you rather have something smaller and more expensive or something much larger and much cheaper? Would you be willing to have to conserve energy at night with solar or sometimes not have wind at all?
   

Sources: http://energyinformative.org/wind-energy-pros-and-cons/
               http://energyinformative.org/solar-energy-pros-and-cons/