Distributed generation Distributed generation, also called on-site generation, dispersed generation, embedded generation, decentralized generation, decentralized energy, distributed energy or district energy,[1] generates electricity from many small energy sources. Most countries generate electricity in large centralized facilities, such as fossil fuel (coal, gas powered), nuclear, large solar power plants or hydropower plants. These plants have excellent economies of scale, but usually transmit electricity long distances and can negatively affect the environment. Local wind generator, Spain, 2010 Economies of scale[edit] Historically, central plants have been an integral part of the electric grid, in which large generating facilities are specifically located either close to resources or otherwise located far from populated load centers. For example, coal power plants are built away from cities to prevent their heavy air pollution from affecting the populace. Grid parity[edit] Cogeneration[edit] Microgrid[edit]
Solar Power Information and Facts Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun's energy and make it useable. As of 2011, the technology produced less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand. Many are familiar with so-called photovoltaic cells, or solar panels, found on things like spacecraft, rooftops, and handheld calculators. On a much larger scale, solar-thermal power plants employ various techniques to concentrate the sun's energy as a heat source. How to Harness Solar Power In one technique, long troughs of U-shaped mirrors focus sunlight on a pipe of oil that runs through the middle. Other solar technologies are passive. Solar energy is lauded as an inexhaustible fuel source that is pollution- and often noise-free. Pitfalls Solar energy doesn't work at night without a storage device such as a battery, and cloudy weather can make the technology unreliable during the day.
Complete Green Job Search Guide|Green Career Resources for Job S Aprovecho Research Center Renewable Energy Certificates (United States) Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), also known as Green tags, Renewable Energy Credits, Renewable Electricity Certificates, or Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs), are tradable, non-tangible energy commodities in the United States that represent proof that 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from an eligible renewable energy resource (renewable electricity). Solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) are RECs that are specifically generated by solar energy. These certificates can be sold and traded or bartered, and the owner of the REC can claim to have purchased renewable energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Green Power Network,[1] RECs represent the environmental attributes of the power produced from renewable energy projects and are sold separately from commodity electricity. Once in the grid, renewable energy is impossible to separate from the conventionally generated energy.
Solar Energy Basics | NREL Solar is the Latin word for sun—a powerful source of energy that can be used to heat, cool, and light our homes and businesses. That's because more energy from the sun falls on the earth in one hour than is used by everyone in the world in one year. A variety of technologies convert sunlight to usable energy for buildings. The most commonly used solar technologies for homes and businesses are solar water heating, passive solar design for space heating and cooling, and solar photovoltaics for electricity. Solar panels installed on a home in Colorado. Businesses and industry also use these technologies to diversify their energy sources, improve efficiency, and save money. Solar Photovoltaic Technology These technologies convert sunlight directly into electricity to power homes and businesses. Concentrating Solar Power These technologies harness heat from the sun to provide electricity for large power stations. Solar Process Heat Passive Solar Technology From the U.S. Solar Water Heating U.S.
Everblue - LEED AP Certification Exam Prep Courses, LEED Consult In 2013, 70% more homes were energy rated in the U.S. and issued a HERS Index Score. There were 218,864 ratings conducted in 2013, compared to 128,000 in 2012. RESNET Executive Director Steve Baden commented on this increase, “These numbers reflect that home energy ratings are fast becoming a mainstream in the U.S. housing market. It is also encouraging th at the average HERS Index Score was 64. Baden acknowledges that homebuilders are increasingly seeing energy efficiency as a major selling point for buying a new home. Legislation to Support Energy Auditing in 2014 Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) announced that energy efficiency legislation will be reintroduced shortly. The legislation will include the SAVE Act. Shaheen, who has co-sponsored the legislation (S. 1392) with Portman, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Energy Subcommittee that the bill had a “great chance” of becoming law due to bipartisan support in both chambers. inShare5
Solar Energy, Solar Power, Solar Heating, Photovoltaics, solar e Community Associations Network New water-cooling solar panels could lower the cost of air conditioning by 20% | Science | AAAS Most of us have heard of solar water heaters. Now there’s a solar water cooler, and the technology may sharply lower the cost of industrial-scale air conditioning and refrigeration. The new water coolers are panels that sit atop a roof, and they’re made of three components. The first is a plastic layer topped with a silver coating that reflects nearly all incoming sunlight, keeping the panel from heating up in the summer sun. Researchers at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, recently placed three water cooling panels—each 0.37 square meters—atop a building on campus and circulated water through them at a rate of 0.2 liters every minute. “It’s an excellent paper,” says Ronggui Yang, a mechanical engineer at the University of Colorado in Boulder, who earlier this year reported the development of a plastic film that cools everything it touches up to 10°C.