With every hike in the price of electricity, more and more people are thinking about using renewable energy for at least part of their regular supply.

What type of renewable energy you decide to use will likely be decided by whereabouts you live. If you enjoy a reasonable climate and the sun shines for much of the year, you’ll likely decide to use solar energy.

If you live in chillier climates, chances are that your thoughts will turn to using the power of the wind instead.

Each of these has advantages and disadvantages.

Pretty obviously, solar power only works in daylight, even if the efficiency of modern solar cells means the sun can be hidden from view. If you’re in a hot area, the sun will be shining at the time you most need your power for air conditioning and other such items. In cooler climates, solar power almost certainly won’t be your only option, although it would still contribute to (say) heating your pool in the summer or providing extra light in your garden for those evenings where it isn’t too chilly to stay outside.

Wind power needs some kind of wind but they’ll also have an upper limit of windspeed, beyond which they won’t operate – if the wind falls below a certain speed, they won’t operate, if it blows too fast the turbine may struggle to keep up. You also need to remember that even in the most windy places, there are times of dead calm, so you’ll need a battery or regular power connection for such times. This problem also means that unless you have your own storage, you shouldn’t totally go off grid power if you rely on wind.

Your next choice is whether to have your renewable energy system professionally installed or to give the DIY option a try. You can get a set of comprehensive renewable energy instructions to help take you down this path if you like, with the added advantage that you’ll be saving hundreds of dollars if you go down the DIY renewable energy path.

Source: solar energy

Although it is much less expensive to initially get hooked into the local electric company’s grid than it is to set up and hook into wind turbines, in the long run one saves money by utilizing the wind for one’s energy needs—while also becoming more independent. Not receiving an electric bill while enjoying the advantages of the modern electrically-driven lifestyle is a wondrous feeling.

Electric bills and fuel bills are rising steadily—but the cost of wind turbine energy is zero, and the cost of installing and hooking up a turbine is steadily coming down as demand rises and more commercial success is realized by various companies producing the turbines and researching technologies to make them ever more efficient. In addition, people are moving away from the traditional electric grids and the fossil fuels for personal reasons including desire for greater independence, the desire to live remotely or rurally without having to “go primitive”, political concerns such as fears of terrorist strikes on oil fields or power grids, or concerns about the environment.

Again, this motivation to get away from the traditional energy sources is the same one that causes people to seek the power of the wind for their energy, giving more business opportunities to profit from wind turbine production and maintenance, which drives their costs down for the consumers. In nearly thirty states at the time of this writing, homeowners who remain on the grid but who still choose to use wind energy (or other alternative forms) are eligible for rebates or tax breaks from the state governments that end up paying for as much as 50% of their total “green” energy systems’ costs.

In addition, there are 35 states at the time of this writing where these homeowners are allowed to sell their excess energy back to the power company under what are called “net metering laws”. The rates that they are being paid by the local power companies for this energy are standard retail rates—in other words, the homeowners are actually profiting from their own energy production.

Some federal lawmakers are pushing to get the federal government to mandate these tax breaks and other wind power incentives in all 50 states. Japan and Germany already have national incentive programs in place. However, “A lot of this is handled regionally by state law. There wouldn’t really be a role for the federal government,” the Energy Department’s Craig Stevens says.

And as might be imagined, there are power companies who feel that it’s unfair that they should have to pay retail rates to private individuals. “We should [only have to] pay you the wholesale rate for … your electricity,” according to Bruce Bowen, Pacific Gas & Electric’s director of regulatory policy. However, the companies seem to be more worried about losing short term profits than about the benefits, especially in the long run, of the increased use of wind turbines or wind farms. Head of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies of California V. John White points out, “It’s quality power that strengthens the grid.”

Solar Power Products
alternative energy power, wind power

Source: alternative energy

The New York Times has published an article on an aging power grid and the potential setbacks to wind energy and other sources of renewable energy.

Current electric transmission lines are not able to handle the load produced my massive wind farms such as the Maple Ridge Wind Farm in New York.  The 200 turbine strong wind farm, is being forced to shut down production at times to cope with fees that are associated with pumping too much electrical current into the power grid.  This bottle neck is limiting the advances of wind power and is one of the major drawbacks slowing down the implementation of a nation wide renewable energy grid. 

While wind turbines located in places like the Mid-West can generate much more power than the same turbines placed on the east coast, there is not yet a reliable way of transmitting the electricity needed across many states.  Since control of power grids is generally left to state governments, there is little incentive to provide better transmission to out-of-state facilities.  Within each state, transmission lines may be owned by many different companies, causing any upgrades to be a painstaking process.  The Energy Policy Act of 2005 allowed the U.S. government to extend approval of transmission lines in the event that states are not providing upgrades and maintenance, through this has led to little direct expansion and infrastructure upgrades, especially in relation to peak supplies of inconsistent energy sources such as wind power.

The issue of transmitting electricity throughout the United States is something that must be recognized and remedied before further goals of expanding our renewable energy base can be implemented further.  The problems facing the aging power grid are by no means new.  In 2001, North American Electric Reliability Council, was advising congress on the problems facing the current power infrastructure.  Seven years later we are still facing the same concerns but on a much larger scale.  Incentives for renewable energy are great, but the United States must realize that it means nothing if transporting electricity can not be carried out in an efficient, reliable manner.

Companies such as MidAmerican Energy, which happens to lead the country in generation of wind power, and American Electric Power are making steps to help improve transmission lines that will carry some of the renewable energy that is generated throughout the U.S.  This proposal shows that energy companies have something to gain by working together to transmit the power that they are producing.  Without partnerships like these, future renewable energy projects can not proceed at a profitable level. 

While, further development in technologies such as Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) and fuel cells, may allow temporary storage of electricity generated by renewable energy sources, transporting energy from state to state is still a needed upgrade to contend with the U.S. goal of energy independence.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, the United States is now the leader in wind energy production. Wind energy in 2008 has risen and current wind power capacity is rated at 19,549MW, an increase of 2,726MW from 2007. Germany currently has a wind power capacity of about 23,000MW, but generates less power due to stronger winds in the U.S.

The AEWA also projects that by end of year 2008, some 7,500MW of wind power capacity will be brought online in the United States. This projected capacity demonstrates a 45% increase from 2007. Recent fossil fuel prices and tax incentives have provided a prime environment for wind energy related projects.

One issue causing wind projects to be rushed before the end of 2008, is the uncertainty of federal tax incentives and rebates that are set to expire late 2008. Without these credits, the future of new wind energy projects is in jeopardy. Recent jobs and businesses catering to the wind power industry will have to be scaled back without the benefits experienced in 2008, extended throughout 2009. Though, financial burdens will first be absorbed by the wind industry, these high costs will be passed on to consumers, and create a recess of clean energy production.

AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher stated, “At a time when unemployment is at a 4-year high and the economy needs every stimulus it can get, a rapid extension of the credit should be on any economic priority list for Congress.”

Congress must look to clean energy solutions to help rebuild an economy that threatens the livelihoods of millions of Americans. In addition to providing jobs, wind power can help secure America’s Independence from foreign sources of electricity. The United States has an opportunity to lead the world into new innovating ways of producing energy and electricity, provided U.S. leaders provide incentives to expand the renewable energy infrastructure.

First, lets not give the current administration more credit than they are due. Whatever your opinions are on our current foreign policy and actions, they are not the reason for the state of our environment. We are in this situation, because ALL of us consume massive amounts of energy and resources every day we drive to work, head to the grocery store, and buy our favorite electronics. We created our problems, and all of us need to fix them. This is not something that can just be fixed by creating laws and hoping that industry and businesses follow what has been laid out.  We need to have industry that benefits from helping keep the earth clean.   Many people make the decisions in this country, and we all have a voice. We can’t expect our leaders to listen when all they hear is the lobbyists for big industry yelling their “opinions” that global warming is not real.  We need to make our voice heard.

Why would certain industries try to suppress the research of the EPA and other environmental groups? Well, the simple answer is greed. How can companies continue to post huge profits during a recession when they now are being penalized for greenhouse emissions? Regulating emissions will be extremely costly and will take a commitment from every single person in this country. If the U.S. government acknowledges that our current practices are contributing to the rapid increase in global warming, they will be forced to spend countless dollars remedying the situation and passing regulations for greenhouse emissions. This is clearly not something the richest country in the world can take lightly. This is extremely sensitive and a new territory for companies that will be effected the most by these “green” policies. So what is the solution?

Corporate diversity in the energy sector is one answer. Companies need not be afraid they will lose money, instead they have a major opportunity to make MORE money by bringing their past innovations to solve our current environmental problems. The sooner they realize this is something that is going to happen, the better off the pocket books will be. Americans love this country because of the opportunities to do almost anything they can dream up. We now have the biggest chance of all to make a difference AND fix our economy.

T. Boone Pickens is one person trying to do just that. This self proclaimed “Oil Man” is working towards reducing our dependence on foreign oil and building a system of renewable energy to save Americans money and rebuild our environment. I highly recommend checking out the Pickens’ Plan website. This network of people is determined to press our Congress into actually working towards the ideas and innovations of the public. At the time of this article, over 35,000 people have signed up to learn more information about this plan.  Though, Pickens clearly has money at stake, environmentalism is another area that will benefit from the American economics.  If anything at all you will leave the Pickens’ Plan site with more green knowledge than you had 5 minutes ago. This is how we begin at home.  Spend a few minutes each day reading about alternative energy, living a green lifestyle, or learning why nature is so important to preserve.