“By 2020, Hawaii is aiming to generate 20 percent of its energy from non-fossil fuels” (Brown et al. 2008, 11). According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Arent et al. 2009, 1-2), petroleum accounts for 90% of Hawaii’s energy consumption and 75% of their electricity. Since Hawaii has no pipelines or oil fields, they are forced to import petroleum to accommodate their energy needs (Arent et al. 2009, 1). Hawaii is disconnected from the rest of the United States, which means that Hawaii has to take care of its own energy needs (Croucher 2010, 79).How can alternative energy sources reduce the need to import of petroleum? Hawaii’s geography is optimal to make use of biofuel, solar, and geothermal resources (Brown et al. 2008, 27). The focus of this paper will concentrate on three alternative energy solutions: 1. Biofuels, 2. Solar Power, and 3. Geothermal. Biofuels will be broken down into biomass, ethanol and biodiesel. Solar energy will be divided into solar power plants, residential solar and passive solar systems. Geothermal energy is constituted of geothermal power plants, geothermal water heating and heat pumps. How biofuels could reduce Hawaii’s dependence on petroleum? When speaking about biofuels Koh and Ghazoul (2008, 2452) stated: “In its simplest analysis, biofuels are considered to be carbon neutral because all CO2 released during biofuel combustion is offset by carbon fixation during plant growth”. Hawaii is perfect for biofuels because according to Tran et al. (2011, 1757), “The Hawaiian Islands have varying agro-climatic regions with a year-round growing season, and relatively large arable lands.” This allows for a variety of fuel crops to be grown in Hawaii. Banagrass, Sugarcane, Eucalyptus, Leuca... ... middle of paper ... ...mass-to-ethanol production facilities in Florida and Hawaii." Renewable energy no. 10 (2-3):279-284. Sanner, B., C. Karytsas, D. Mendrinos, and L. Rybach. 2003. "Current status of ground source heat pumps and underground thermal energy storage in Europe." Geothermics no. 32 (4-6):579-588. Tran, N., P. Illukpitiya, J.F. Yanagida, and R. Ogoshi. 2011. "Optimizing biofuel production: An economic analysis for selected biofuel feedstock production in Hawaii." Biomass and Bioenergy. Turchi, Craig. 2010. Solar Power and the Electric Grid. edited by National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Turn, S.Q., V. Keffer, and M. Staackmann. 2002. "Analysis of Hawaii Biomass Energy Resources for Distributed Energy Applications." Honolulu: Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, University of Hawaii:21. Yap, Britt. 2008. "Hawaii's Next Big Export: Municipal Trash." USA Today, July 14, 2008.
Stauffer, Nancy. ”MIT ethanol analysis confirms benefits of biofuels.” Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. January 2007.
It is believed that the world's supply of oil will last until about 2040. If you think about it, that’s not too far in the distance future. Oil is running out fast and we need to think of an alternate energy source. When we burn oil, we release carbon dioxide into the air which causes the earth’s climate to warm; a temperature rise of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit could have serious if not devastating consequences. In the United States alone 60 percent of each person’s carbon footprint comes from the goods they buy, while the other 40 percent comes from their energy use at home, driving, and flying. That totals out to be about 10 billion tons a year. There are other energy sources but let’s think about the environmental and energy benefits of algae biofuel. Algae was first explored as a fuel alternative in 1978. Gas prices had skyrocketed, and the government was looking to help ease the crisis. The Aquatic Species Program run by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, researched high oil-output algae for biofuel. After testing 3,000 types of algae, the program concluded that the algae, if...
Palmieri, Nancy. “Off the Grid or on, Solar and Wind Power Gain.” USA Today 12 April 2006. Print.
The future of the United States solar energy industry will be shaped not only by economic growth, but also by the rate of declining oil resources and the global realization of the consequences of human induced climate change. Political responses to this realization in the United States include; new policies, legislature, and tax incentives to both businesses and private households to promote growth and investment in the solar power industry.
The year is 2200. The world is going through a fossil fuel shortage. Oil reserves are almost completely consumed and it is becoming impossible to find new fossil fuel sources. Not prepared for this event to occur, The United States, has no alternative options. As a result of the oil shortage, the standard of living deteriorates. Heat in homes, supermarkets full of food, and transportation, all basic necessities taken for granted, will be depleted because fossil fuels are used to power almost everything. The key to the prevention of this future is renewable energy. Unfortunately the support for the use of renewable energy is weak and ineffective. Unless the US puts forth effort to research and promote the use of renewable energy to consumers, conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy will no longer be an option.
Energy is the basic necessity of daily life. Nowadays, dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs becoming lower in numerous countries due to the potential of renewable energy to supply sustainable energy to the huge populations in many developing countries who are short of clean and continues energy. Generally, renewable energy can be defined as energy that is derived from natural resources which are constantly replenished and theoretically inexhaustible. Fossil fuels on the other hand can be described as energy that cannot be renewed and will eventually diminish. Thus, in many developing countries renewable energy is the alternative energy to replace non-renewable energy or commonly known as fossil fuels. In addition, according to Sorensen (2004), there is a greater demand for renewable energy sources nowadays due to the uncertainty of fuel price rise in living expenses. Commonly, there are many types of renewable energy available in our world such as wind power, biomass energy, solar energy, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. However, the main three example of renewable energy are hydroelectric power, solar and biomass energy (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, over half of the oil used in the USA is imported. Most of this imported oil is located in the middle east and is controlled by OPEC members. Subsequent oil price shocks and price manipulation by OPEC have cost our economy dearly—about $1.9 trillion from 2004 to 2008—and each major shock was followed by a recession (Reduce). We may never be able to fully eliminate our need to import oil, but we can reduce cartel market control and the economic impact of price shocks by reducing our demand (Reduce). One way we can reduce our reliance on oil is through investing in renewable energy. Solar power, wind power, and hydro power are all forms of energy which come from renewable resources. Unlike oil, solar, wind and hydro electric power is abundant and can be obtained locally.
Preview: Today I will discuss the potential that solar power has to become this country’s main supply of energy and the latest research that can make solar power more efficient and cost effective. I will also present the environmental benefits that come with using solar power over other and more harmful forms of energy.
For the generation of electricity, hot water, at temperatures ranging from about 700 degrees F, is brought from the underground reservoir to the surface through production wells, and is flashed to steam in special vessels by release of pressure. The steam is separated from the liquid and fed to a turbine engine, which turns a generator. In turn, the generator produces electricity. Spent geothermal fluid is injected back into peripheral parts of the reservoir to help maintain reservoir pressure. If the reservoir is to be used for direct-heat application, the geothermal water is usually fed to a heat exchanger before being injected back into the earth. Heated domestic water from the output side of the heat exchanger is used for home heating, greenhouse heating, vegetable drying and a wide variety of other uses.
2. In Asia, there is a project led by Mitsubishi Research in Japan which plans to start the demonstration of ethanol production with waste seaweed in 2012 to develop cultivation technologies by 2016. After which, they aims to set up a production process by 2020. The South Korea National ENergy Ministry has started a 10 year project with their aim of producing 400million gallons a year of ethanol by 2020. The Philippine government also has invested more than $5 million US dollars to build an ethanol plant with seaweed bioethanol technology from South Korea.
When picking an energy resource for the topic of this paper, I bounced around a lot of ideas. Then it occurred to me that I should write about what I will be living with in about a month. My mom just finished designing and building our earthbag, solar, off-grid house, a four-year endeavor. I will soon live in a place powered by one of the most common alternative energy resources, solar energy, so I should learn more about it. At our new house, we have two stand alone pedestals with six 170W panels on each pedestal, making for a 2040W or 2kW solar system.
Federal funding of research and development in geothermal will make geothermal the best solution for providing electrical power in the United States Brittany McManus Abstract: The unprecedented Paris Agreement means the United States needs to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the highest percentage of greenhouse gases emitted, the United States must replace fossil fuels in the production of electricity. Currently there are several options being put forth but their distribution/access remains limited due to natural resource availability.
The 'Standard'. Alternative Energy. Chicago. The. HillCrest Publishers Ltd. Demirbas, A. a.
The world that we live into today affords us the expectation that the flip a switch will turn the lights on. As populations increase and developing nations undergo dramatic economic growth, this energy demand will only continue to grow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that “the world’s energy needs could be 50% higher in 2030 than they are today” (ElBaradei). Given this projected growth, it is necessary for world leaders must take action to secure the energy supply. Meaning that world leaders need to start seriously considering an alternative to non-renewable energy sources. “In 2012, the United States generated about 4,054 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. About 68% of the electricity generated was from fossil fuel (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), with 37% attributed from coal” (U.S. Energy Information Administration). The fossil fuels that are used to supply over half of our country’s energy are in finite supply and are increasing in price to astronomical heights.
In addition to, a huge issue with non-renewable energy is the fact that we get most of it from foreign countries. According to a recent study done by Energy Information Administration, “58% of our petroleum comes from outside the country”, this means as some speculate, that o...