Sustainable Energy Solutions

 

1. Algaculture
   A form of aquaculture involving the farming of species of algae. Algae may become a great biofuel source.



2. Biogas Power Plants
   a system where biogas (produced by the fermentation of organic matter including manure, sewage sludge, municipal solid waste, and biodegradable waste) is used to generate electricity. The gas which is produced via anaerobic digestion is used to drive an electricity generator. By-products of this process are steam and hot water.
3. Biofuel
   any fuel that is derived from biomass — recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows or the cellulose of plants.
4. Biogas
   a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas is a type of biofuel. There are two types: one produced by anaerobic digestion or fermentation of biodegradable materials such as biomass, manure or sewage, municipal waste, and energy crops, the second is wood gas which is created by gasification of wood or other biomass.
5. Biomass
   biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production. (solar plant that also burns biomass)
6. Carbon Emissions Trading
   involves the trading of permits to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. It is one of the ways countries can meet their obligations under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce carbon emissions and thereby mitigate global warming.
7. Carbon Offset
   zeros out (offsets) all or part of the carbon dioxide emissions of a party, by reducing the emissions - or increasing the carbon dioxide absorption - of another party.
8. Carbon Offset: City-Run, Transparent Program
   city run program that collects fees from city agencies for vehicle/air travel (and eventually from the public) and funnels money to pre-approved nonprofits that reduce carbon emmissions.
9. Carbon Sequestration
   term describing processes that remove carbon from the atmosphere. A variety of means of artificially capturing and storing carbon, as well as of enhancing natural sequestration processes, are being explored. This is intended to help mitigate global warming.
10. City-Financed Solar Power
    City program which pays up-front for the cost of solar installation for property owners. Property owner is then taxed over 20 years to pay back the city.
11. City Subsidy for Solar Power
    City program which proposes to provide $3,000 to $5,000 in subsidies to residents and up to $10,000 to businesses who install solar panels. If implemented, this could be the biggest program in the U.S.
12. Clean Cookstoves
    efficient cooking stove that is cheap and durable and reduces indoor pollution and global warming emissions.
13. Cogeneration
    The use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat.
14. Community Choice Aggregation
    the regionalization of electricity markets. Allows municipalities to aggregate their communities to be served by electric service providers. Can lead to reduced costs for consumers and increased use of renewable energy sources.
15. Concentrating Solar Power Systems
    (or high temperature solar thermal energy) uses lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus sunlight into a high intensity beam capable of producing high temperatures and electricity conversion efficiencies. Article: The World's 13 Biggest Solar Thermal Energy Projects
16. Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) Photovoltaic Cells
    High efficiency photovoltaic cells (CIGS cells) made from a new semiconductor material comprising copper, indium, gallium, and selenium. The PV panels are in the form of polycrystalline thin films.
17. Deep Lake Water Cooling Systems
    uses cold water pumped from the bottom of a lake as a heat sink for climate control systems. Because heat pump efficiency improves as the heat sink gets colder, deep lake water cooling can reduce the electrical demands of large cooling systems where it is available.
18. Energy Efficient Light Bulbs
    compact flourescent and the new, even more efficient and mercury-free, LED bulbs significantly reduce the energy consumption of lights and last several times longer than incandescent light bulb designs.
19. Energy Conservation
    the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used while achieving a similar outcome of end use.
20. Energy Star
    U.S. EPA program to help businesses and individuals reduce energy consumption. Includes promotion of Energy Star labeled energy efficient appliances.
21. Geothermal Power
    the use of geothermal heat for electricity generation. It is often referred to as a form of renewable energy, but because the heat at any location can eventually be depleted it technically may not be strictly renewable.
22. Gulf Stream Energy
    a field of underwater turbines moored 1,000 ft below the surface in the center of the Gulf Stream could - by drawing from its 8 billion gallons per minute flow rate - become a good energy source.
23. Helix Wind Energy
    an elegant small scale wind power solution for home and small business owners using unique and highly efficient vertical blade design.
24. Meters for Homes and Businesses
    New meters find power hogs in the home or business and limit how much they use.
25. Micro (Home and Small Business) Combined Heat and Power (Cogeneration)
    A heating unit that produces both heat and electricity (which can, in certain areas, be sold back to the power utility company).
26. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
    a way to generate electricity using the temperature difference of seawater at different depths.
27. Oil End Game
    strategy for ending oil dependence by Rocky Mountain Institute.
28. Passive Solar Design
    technologies that can be employed to convert natural sunlight into usable heat, to cause air-movement for ventilation or cooling, or to store the heat for future use, without the use of electrical or mechanical equipment.
29. Plastic Solar Cells
    lightweight and inexpensive photovoltaic nanochips that can be bonded to almost any surface and harvest energy from visible light. If this technology were combined with technology that can harvest energy from infrared light, it could match the efficiency of traditional solar panels.
30. Reducing Standby Power
    a surprisingly large number of electrical products cannot be switched off completely without being unplugged. These products draw power - called "standby power" - 24 hours a day. Efforts are underway to reduce standby power consumption in electrical products.
31. Small Scale Hydroelectric Power
    the application of hydroelectric power on a commercial scale serving a small community or medium sized industry.
32. Solar Cookers
    a way of harnessing the sun's power to cook. A metal box forms the simplest solar cooker.
33. Solar Hot Water, Space or Radiant Home Heating Systems
    heat water through solar energy. Generally composed of solar thermal collectors, a fluid system to move the heat from the collector to its point of usage, and a reservoir to stock the heat for subsequent use. Learn more at Heat Your Water with the Sun.
34. Solar Pool Heating System
    pool water circulates through a large heat exchange surface, usually located on your roof, and absorbs the sun's energy.
35. Solar Power
    the technology of obtaining usable energy from the light of the sun.
36. Solar Power from Photovoltaic (Utility-Scale)
    A California utility company is building utility-scale photovoltaic solar power plants - the first time such large scale photovoltaic plants are being built in the U.S.. Rates are said to now be competitive with other renewables.
37. Solar Power Storage
    inexpensive, revolutionary discovery for storing solar power - discovered at MIT.
38. Solar Thermal Collector
    generally used in solar power plants where solar heat is used to generate electricity by heating water to produce steam and driving a turbine connected to the electrical generator. Some examples includes solar parabolic, solar trough and solar towers.
39. Solar Updraft Tower
    a proposed type of renewable-energy power plant where air is heated in a very large circular greenhouse-like structure, and the resulting convection causes the air to rise and escape through a tall tower. The moving air drives turbines, which produce electricity.
40. Thin-Film Solar
    thin-film solar modules are cheaper than crystalline modules and produce more energy per unit of installed capacity
41. Tidal Power
    a means of electricity generation achieved by capturing the energy contained in moving water mass due to tides. Article: Lunar Power comes to New York.
42. Venture Capitalists Investing in Clean Energy
    increasingly venture capitalists are looking to make money from investing in new renewable energy technology that has a strong chance of grabbing market share in the six trillion dollar energy market.
43. V2G - Electric Vehicle to Grid Power
    electric-drive vehicles, whether powered by batteries, fuel cells, or gasoline hybrids, have within them the energy source and power electronics capable of producing the 60 Hz AC electricity that powers our homes and offices. When connections are added to allow this electricity to flow from cars to power lines, it is called "vehicle to grid" power, or V2G.
44. Waste Heat Recovery
    Recycling the heat that is emitted from industrial smokestacks and turning it into energy.
45. Wave Power
    refers to the energy of ocean surface waves and the capture of that energy to do generate electricity.
46. Wind Power
    the conversion of wind energy into electricity using wind turbines.