Stories tagged with "photovoltaics"

A Resilient Suburbia? 3: Weighing the Potential for Self-Sufficiency

Posted by jeffvail on November 24, 2008 - 12:07pm
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: gardening, original, photovoltaics, rainwater harvesting, self-sufficiency, solar power, suburban energy, suburban gardening, suburban water, suburbia [list all tags]





A backyard garden in Oregon

Over the past two weeks, I have examined the challenges facing suburbia in a post-peak world. I’ve argued (in Part 1) that financial reality will prevent us from building an alternative to suburbia, and (in Part 2) that the superficial transportation issues facing suburbia are better viewed as a much broader economic threat posed by peak oil that equally threatens urban and suburban living. In this post, I’ll look at some of the unique advantages of our present suburban arrangement—is it possible that suburbia not only won’t be abandoned post-peak, but that peak oil will act as a catalyst for the adaptation of suburbia into a flourishing, vibrant built environment? I think it’s possible, but that it will be challenging. In this post I’ll explore this possibility—both the potential, and the challenges—of creating A Resilient Suburbia.

There's more… (2162 words) | Comments (275) | | Permalink | Without comments

The Energy Return of (Industrial) Solar - Passive Solar, PV, Wind and Hydro (#5 of 6)

Posted by Nate Hagens on April 29, 2008 - 9:00am
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: hydroelectric, passive solar, photovoltaics, solar power, wind [list all tags]

Below is 4th in a series of installments by Professor Charles Hall of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and his students attempting to update the 'balloon graph' of EROI x Scale for fossil and renewable energy sources with help from theoildrum.com readership. Todays post deals with solar energy, specifically: Hydropower, Passive Solar, Photovoltaic, and Wind energy. Next will be Geothermal and Wave energy systems.

There's more… (6448 words) | Comments (199) | | Permalink | Without comments

Powering Civilization to 2050

Posted by Stuart Staniford on January 28, 2008 - 9:00am
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: 2050, agriculture, climate change, globalization, peak oil, photovoltaics, plateau, relocalization, renewable energy, solar power [list all tags]

Global marketed primary energy production 1970-2050. Expressed in thermal equivalent of millions of barrels/oil day (ie electricity streams such as hydro or photovoltaic are treated as if they had been converted from fuel at 38% efficiency). Source: BP for fossil fuel, hydro, and nuclear data, EIA and IEA for renewable data, and author's calculations as described in the text for projections. This is a scenario not a forecast.

There's more… (3147 words) | Comments (546) | | Permalink | Without comments

Photovoltaics: From Waste to Energy-maker

Posted by Engineer-Poet on October 8, 2007 - 9:00am
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: ecological niche, landfill, naptha, nuclear, oil, original, photovoltaic cell, photovoltaics, silicon, silicon shortage, waste [list all tags]

One recurring theme in nature is that anything which creates a waste product tends to also create an ecological niche for something which uses that product.  This has also occurred in technology.  It is relatively common for waste products which contain energy to find uses, but we may be about to see something a little different and more radical.  For the past century, millions of tons of a particular waste product have been piling up all over the earth.  This waste product contains no useful energy or rare elements, so its potential has taken longer to be widely recognized.  It might just become something far more important to the future:  a cheap and abundant energy-maker.

There's more… (1769 words) | Comments (289) | | Permalink | Without comments

Concentrating Solar Power

Posted by Chris Vernon on May 31, 2007 - 11:10am in The Oil Drum: Europe
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: concentrating solar power, desert, hvdc, photovoltaics, solar power [list all tags]

This is a guest article by Gerry Wolff, coordinator of TREC-UK. 'TREC' stands for the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation, their website is at www.trecers.net. These webisites are a fantastic source of informaion on concentrating solar power.

concentrating solar power
Dish/engine systems from Solar Systems at Umuwa, South Australia
There's more… (2094 words) | Comments (184) | | Permalink | Without comments

That cubic mile

Posted by Engineer-Poet on February 28, 2007 - 10:50am
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: efficiency, heat, nuclear, photovoltaics, solar power [list all tags]

A lot's been said lately about how much energy is in a cubic mile of oil.  This is roughly the amount the world uses in a year.


Assumptions: The Three Gorges Dam is rated at its full design capacity of 18 gigawatts. A nuclear power plant is postulated to be the equivalent of a 1.1-GW unit at the Diablo Canyon plant in California. A coal plant is one rated at 500 megawatts. A wind turbine is one with a 100‑meter blade span, and rated at 1.65 MW. A solar panel is a 2.1‑­kilowatt system made for home roofs. In comparing ­categories, bear in mind that the average amount of time that power is produced varies among them, so that total energy obtained is not a simple function of power rating.
src: Joules, BTUs, Quads—Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, IEEE Spectrum, January 2007
Illustration: bryan christie design. Click to enlarge.

Leaving aside some errors (the coal and nuclear numbers are off by about 10% to each other, and the capacity factor of wind turbines should be closer to 30%) the most essential oversight in that equation is elephantine:

It compares oil's inputs to the other's outputs.

Compared to that, the rest is small potatoes.

There's more… (738 words) | Comments (202) | | Permalink | Without comments

Is the World's Biggest Machine Breaking Down?

Posted by Prof. Goose on January 14, 2007 - 11:00am
Topic: Supply/Production
Tags: cascade, electric grid, electricity, nuclear, photovoltaics [list all tags]

Jason Godesky at Anthropik offers "The World's Biggest Machine is Breaking Down":

Many of the so-called "alternatives" to fossil fuels rely on the electrical grid. We have seen the problems that nuclear and photovoltaics will face even delivering on their production promises, but even if they were to somehow solve those problems, there is still the problem of the grid itself. Most of the energy sources offered are simply means of generating electricity; this is applied to necessities like transportation through innovations like hydrogen batteries or electric cars. Even so, the electricity itself must be transported from the nuclear power plant, PV cell, or other means by which it is produced, to the car it will power, or the home it will heat, or whatever other task the energy is needed for.

That transportation is provided by the electrical power grid. Sometimes called "the world's biggest machine" by engineers, most of the energy "alternatives" proposed will require it to not only continue supplying us with the energy we use now (and the energy we'd need for economic growth anyway), but additionally to also carry the energy load we will need to replace our fossil fuel usage. This will be an impossible feat, since the current load alone is already breaking down "the world's biggest machine" under the weight of its own complexity.

A few other goodies under the fold as well...

There's more… (188 words) | Comments (175) | | Permalink | Without comments

Currys To Stock Photovoltaics

Posted by Chris Vernon on July 31, 2006 - 3:41pm in The Oil Drum: Europe
Topic: Alternative energy
Tags: electricity, photovoltaics, solar power [list all tags]

Currys, a leading high street electrical retailer have announced they are to start stocking photovoltaics. I sign of the times? I think so although I expect the move is as much a publicity stunt, jumping on the `green' bandwagon as a viable stand alone product.

The announcement is covered in this Guardian article.

They say it will cost the average three bedroom household about £9,000 to buy and install solar panels - compared to £16,000 in specialist stores. There are also grants available through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

Customers opting for solar power can expect to reduce their energy bill by up to 50% and could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to two tons per year. In addition, up to half of the cost of the panels can be offset by an increase in property value, Currys said.


Curious they make the point that half the cost can be offset by increased property value. Isn't this just like saying you'll be able to sell them to the person you sell your house to for half the price you paid for them? That's not my only concern with this announcement though.
There's more… (380 words) | Comments (15) | | Permalink | Without comments