The Earth’s atmosphere can’t take too much more of these depleting fossil fuels. But where do we find a replacement for these fuels? Are there sources of clean renewable energy?

The answer of course is yes there are alternative energies and not only are they renewable but green as well. Solar energy, wind power and marine energy all have the potential to supply the world’s need for electrical power. All three are limitless in supply and all three have no negative impact on the environment.

Click here for instructions on making your own renewable energy source.

Solar power is probably the best known and most visible of the sources of renewable energy. Everyday the sun emits enormous amounts of heat and light energy that we are finally beginning to harness to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Photovoltaic cells can capture the sun’s light and convert it into electricity.

Solar collectors mounted on rooftops can absorb the heat from the sun and then convert it into a source of energy to heat water up to 125 degrees. Combining these two technologies, a household or a business could completely divorce itself from traditional electrical power and gas heating.

The wind is another powerful source of renewable energy. Wind energy is really a byproduct of solar energy. When the sun heats the atmosphere it cause the air to shift with hot air rising and cold are rushing it to take its place. So long as the sun shines there will be an abundant supply of wind.

Unlike solar, wind energy has actually been used by Man for centuries. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese used windmills to grind grain and pump water. Wind was the first “cheap” source of energy and as a result was preferred over using manual labor or animals to perform tasks.

When new “cheap” sources of energy like coal and oil became available; the wind powered industry basically disappeared.

In the mid 20^th century Europe started using windmills to generate electricity. The idea has caught on and it is now a rapidly developing industry with wind farms sprouting up in most of the developed nations.

This time change comes because a promise of cheaper power once the technology is perfected, and an elimination of greenhouse gasses that are causing global warming.

Marine energy perhaps holds the biggest potential of all the sources of alternative energy. Have you ever sat on a coastal beach and watched the waves come in? Can you imagine the amount of energy that those waves and the swells represent?

Capturing that energy presents some serious technological challenges but France and Scotland have both set up operational power plants based on marine energy. The U.S. has a number of government experiments running on both coasts as well.

If you happen to live by a geothermal field then you could take advantage of another alternative energy source. A few miles below your feet are artesian waters that are being super heated by the molten core.

Probably the most familiar examples of this energy are the “Old Faithful” Geyser and the innumerable hot springs that can found around the country. If you drill down to those water sources you can tap into an amazing source of steam that can be used to power turbine generators.

In fact the geothermal heat pump is the new “next big thing” in energy products. It is an abundant supply of green energy but has limited availability as everyone is not so fortunate as living above one of these fields.

Click here for instructions on making your own renewable energy source.

The “Inconvenient Truth”, Al Gores movie that details our need to change the path we are on today or risk destroying the world, brings home the need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and take positive steps to repair and reverse the damage they have done to our environment.

Using renewable green energy makes such perfect sense when you think about the dangers and risks of a continued reliance on fossil fuel and nuclear power. As a nation, we should be thinking about the consequences of staying with the status quo.

Aside from the devastating effects on the environment, fossil fuels are running out. We need to turn to green energy sources like solar, wind power and marine energy.

These sources emit no toxins into the atmosphere and can help heal the planet but more importantly, they are renewable and represent an endless supply of energy.

Click here for instructions on making your own renewable energy source.

Climatologists agree that the consumption of fossil fuel has placed the planet on a path to global warming. The burning of those fuels release, among other things, carbon dioxide which traps the heat from the sun not allowing it to dissipate as it is designed to do naturally. Even small changes in temperature can have devastating effects. Land can become arid, and will no longer support plant life. Polar caps can melt resulting in rising oceans and flooding of lowlands. Entire populations will have to shift location in order to survive. Countries will have to deal with new waves of refugees looking for limited resources. Our own military has said global warming will likely cause war. Can there be a stronger motivation to develop renewable green energy?

Reversing global warming will require that we reduce or eliminate the burning of fossil fuels. Understand that we need them, particularly petroleum as it is an essential part of so many everyday products and medicines. The objective is to stop using them as energy and limit them to their role as an “ingredient”. To do this we have to turn to existing renewable green energy sources like solar and wind and also develop new technologies as well.

Solar power is being used in a number of countries and its use is growing in popularity. Solar energy is limitless and non-polluting. In countries like Japan, Australia and Israel it is not uncommon to see small solar collectors used to provide hot water to the households. It’s time that the U.S. adopt some of these designs as well. Global warming is not the problem of a single country but a global problem. It requires that all people do what they can to reduce fossil fuel use and utilize green resources for their energy needs.

Here’s a perfect example of what I mean by adopting green energy into a design. Recently I was traveling through Europe and stopped in Vienna to see a home that is well known for its energy efficiency and its use of alternative energy.

The outdoor lighting of the house is solar powered. The design and placement of the windows were such to allow an abundant amount of light, and heat into the home during winter with screens designed to keep it cool in the summer. The walls and ceiling used a high efficiency insulation to minimize both heat and cooling. And of course it had a solar powered hot water system for bathing, laundry and dish washing. This is what I mean by adapting our way of life to accommodate the very real need to reverse our reliance on fossil fuels.

Tax law encourages people to buy homes and invest in education. Renewable energy law encourages the development and implementation of new green technology.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005, passed in July of 2005, addresses the need for this country to develop a policy to deal with a rapidly emerging energy crisis.

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Not only were there concerns about the continued availability of conventional energy fuels, but there was an increasing awareness that those very fuels were having a devastating effect on the environment as well.

As a result, the law was designed to encourage industry to research and develop new renewable sources of energy by providing tax incentives and government loan guarantees.

Part of the Act specifically targeted the development of wind energy as a source of generating electrical power. Wind power is an amazingly clean source of an energy that is in constant demand.

The biggest hurdle to this industry had been the initial capital outlay for land and wind turbines. To lower that hurdle, the Act provides for a production tax credit of $0.019 for every kilowatt per hour produced for a period of 10 years.

This was the incentive the industry needed and the now wind power in the U.S. is developing at a rate greater than any other developed nation in the world.

The government included this incentive because it was confident that it would both serve to create new green renewable electricity, and create new jobs to work that industry.

Getting this country back to work is a priority and the current Administration sees renewable energy as a growth opportunity for employment. Continuing the incentives is important both to the investors and to the country’s job recovery.

Another beneficiary of the Energy Policy Act was geothermal power. This technology is obviously limited by location but when you look at Iceland which is almost entirely powered by geothermal, you can’t ignore developing the limited opportunities that exist in America.

The Act provides a tax production for this industry as well. A later law also stipulates that the Department of Energy will spend no less than $95 million each year on researching geothermal technology.

Another area that has to be taken into consideration by the renewable energy law is marine energy. Marine energy involves harnessing the energy of the ocean tides, waves and wind. It represents huge challenges but the potential is equally huge.

As a result of this directive, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission set up a number of studies into marine energy.

Today there are active and meaningful experiments being conducted in San Francisco Bay, New York, Washington state and Rhode Island. Without a renewable energy law it would be doubtful that private industry would invest in such a challenging technology.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, laws are made to encourage behavior. Renewable energy law is essential to the furthering of new green technologies and their commercial implementation.

Congress can not be satisfied with the status quo and must continue to ensure that this nation’s energy requirements and environmental needs are met by encouraging the development of alternative energy sources.

Click here for instructions on making your own alternative renewable energy source.

You’re probably also aware that these fossil fuels have been blamed for causing enormous damage to our environment as a result of the toxic emissions they give off when burned.

As a result, there is an enormous interest in developing alternative sources of power like solar energy that can provide a greener cleaner planet to live in.

Solar power with its unlimited supply of energy represents an excellent alternative to the depleting stocks of fossil fuels. So long as the sun generates light there is an opportunity to harness its energy.

Heat generated by the sun is not that important. True you can capture the heat in solar collectors and use it to provide hot water, but it is the light that the sun emits that is important. The sunlight is what powers photovoltaic cells to make electricity.

Click here to start using alternative solar energy by making your own solar or wind power.

As a result, solar power can be harnessed in the coldest of areas provided there is sufficient sunlight

That said, if the sun is an abundant source of free energy that can be used anywhere the sun shines, why aren’t more people and businesses taking advantage of it to create electricity?

The answer is the cost of the technology used to convert the “free” sunlight into power. While enormous strides have been made in recent years to increase the efficiency of those technologies, they are still very expensive and outside the reach of most people.

There is a way that most people can capture part of the sun’s energy and use it to reduce their reliance on energy coming from fossil fuels. Solar collectors are relatively inexpensive and can even be built at home.

Solar collectors store the heat from the sun and then transfer that heat to water pipes which in turn can provide a household with all of their hot water needs for bathing, laundry and dish washing.

Actually, solar collectors are very common in the West as a means to heat outdoor pools. Mounted on roofs, the collectors absorb heat and then transfer it to feed pipes that go to the pool. It’s a simple, inexpensive way to keep a swimming pool useable all year long.

There are many uses for solar power and more and more developers are including them in the designs of new homes and buildings.

Large Fortune 500 companies like Wal-Mart, General Electric and even Google have made significant investments in solar powered systems. Google powers it’s headquarters campus with a 1.6 megawatt photovoltaic system that has resulted in a 30% reduction in their power costs.

However, you won’t be seeing traditional power companies switching over to solar energy anytime soon. Their approach is simply a question of profitability and currently, solar energy would not be profitable.

We are actually in a transition period. We know we need greener technologies to save the environment and we know they are available.

However we are in that in between time where converting is going to carry a fairly large cost. The question is, do we really have a choice.

Click here to start using alternative solar energy by making your own solar or wind power.

Make your own solar panels at home

The sun’s energy is the most abundant source of energy available on planet Earth.

Nature uses it to control nearly every aspect of the planet. Solar power grows plants, creates weather, determines what plant and animal species will live where and on and on. It is an enormously powerful resource that Man is just now turning to in a big way.

Solar power is becoming the most popular of the alternative energy sources.

Click here for instructions on making your own solar panels.

Why is that you ask? Well let’s take a look at some of the many advantages of solar power:

• The only “fuel” required by solar energy is the light from the sun itself and that is in abundant and free supply. What’s more this “fuel” emits absolutely nothing toxic into the atmosphere unlike fossil fuel.
• Solar energy is one of the least expensive forms of energy. True there is an initial investment to install panels and collectors, but once installed, the energy is free. The cost of the installation can be recovered over a few short years as a result in the savings created by the free solar energy.
• Reliability is another feature of solar energy. The sun’s power can be stored and called upon when needed. No worries about what to do when night comes, simply tap into the stored energy. Say goodbye to power outages caused by other people overloading the grid.
• A solar energy system has very few moving parts which mean maintenance is a snap. Actually the panels and collectors have no moving parts. All this equates to minimal maintenance costs and very little downtime. Another reason to consider using solar energy to power your home.

We’ve talked about getting a solar powered system, but what can you actually use it for?

The most obvious answer is to use it to replace your electrical bill. Virtually all of your electrical needs for light, appliances, television, computer and every imaginable electrical device can be powered with a solar system.

Remember, this electricity is being fueled with free energy. Imagine the savings you’ll get over what you pay today.

Solar collectors can be used to heat your house and provide for all of your hot water needs. No more gas furnaces or hot water tanks are needed.

The collectors absorb the heat (energy) from the sun and then transfer it to water pipes which in turn feed into the house. Once again, this source of hot water is free.

This one is a bit unusual. You can cook with the sun. You can boil, roast or bake using nothing but the sun. No gas, no electric stove.

The food is as tasty as if made conventionally but it does take a bit longer to do. Eventually someone will improve that technology as well.

You can make solar power an important part of your life if you want to. True some parts of the country are better suited than others but this is a system that will save you money and do the earth a favor at the same time.

Do a little research and see if there isn’t a solar installation near you. It might be beneficial if you took a look at it so you have a better idea how it could benefit your particular situation.

Click here for instructions on making your own solar panels.

Take Part and Build Your Own

Investments in alternative energy can be a smart and profitable addition to any portfolio. Investing in technologies, production firms and even companies specializing in installation of alternative energy systems is an investment in the future.

Green stocks are expected to be a multi billion industry by 2013.

Wind energy is a perfect example. New technologies for wind turbines are proving to be far more efficient and less problematic in operation than the old technologies.

New models are now generating electricity on a competitive basis with conventional power providers. The new wind energy is a growth technology that is a perfect fit for an aggressive growth portfolio.

Click here to invest in alternative energy by making your own solar or wind power.

What started out as a clever way to power pocket calculators is now becoming a new opportunity to provide power to entire neighborhoods. Photovoltic cell technology, the same technology that powers such diverse devices as calculators and harbor buoys, are finding their way into applications that will power entire building complexes.

As the efficiency of the technology goes up, the cost goes down and they become an attractive alternative to convention power sources.

One reason for the boom is this particular application is the greatly increased conversion ratio of the cells. Conversion ratios compare the amount of energy required to produce the cell versus the amount of energy the cell actually provides. In 1982 the typical silicon cell had a ratio of 4%.

Today’s technologies offer a conversion of 20%. That’s a five fold increase in efficiency and future models promise even higher ratios.

The reason this increased efficiency is so important is space. Today’s installation only requires one fifth the roof space as the 1982 model to produce the same amount of power.

Photovoltic cells are still not practical for high demand industrial use simply because the industrial facilities rarely have enough roof space to allow for the number of panels required. As efficiency increases space decreases and a new and profitable market of industrial electricity becomes available.

This is a fast growing, clean alternative energy source that’s bound to become a big player.

Another source of alternative fuel energy that has truly unlimited potential is marine energy.

Many investment advisors see a great opportunity in companies involved in developing technologies that capture energy from tidal movements, rivers, temperature fluctuations and currents. France is the leader in hydro-electric power. Scotland and the U.S. are seriously studying the possibilities.

A major challenge for any technology deployed in the ocean or in any body of water is corrosion. Add to that marine life like barnacles, violent storms and shifts in current and you get an idea of just how vast the problems are.

However, it has been estimated that 1% of the oceans wind energy potential is sufficient to meet the entire world need for electricity. The challenges are big but the payoff is huge.

Investment in what we would consider conventional hydro-electric power continues to flourish. New dam designs have eliminated many of the ecological problems of our older dams.

Those improvements however, come with a higher cost. Of new interest are “in current” turbines that are placed in rivers and powered by the current and require no damming at all.

The bottom line is that investments in alternative energy has a solid future and the resulting green will not only be a cleaner planet but a wealthier investor.

Click here to invest in alternative energy by making your own solar or wind power.

Today, the very practical problem of what to do with spent, and highly radioactive fuel is creating a dilemma. Nobody wants that material buried in their back yard.

Couple that with the threats represented by earthquakes, melt downs and even terrorist attacks and it is obvious that nuclear power is not the choice of the future.

Money spent in researching and developing nuclear energy could have been much better spent investing in renewable energy development of green technologies.

Imagine for a moment how much further along development of wind and solar energy would have been in money spent on atomic energy had actually been used on these green technologies?

Quite possibly those technologies may have progressed to the point that they were competitive with traditional fossil fuel sources.

Click here for a guide on making your own renewable energy source.

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory is charged with leading the government’s research efforts in renewable electricity and fuels, energy system integration and strategic energy analysis.

While it’s nice to know that the government has an interest, this year’s (2009) funding is a relatively small $140 million. That’s not very much money compared to the urgent need for new green sources of energy.

Private investors however, are jumping into renewable energy development in a big way. Developing new green alternative energy is big business with potentially huge profits and smart investors are grabbing them up.

Green stocks are becoming more and more popular with investor portfolios.

The Rock Star of adventure and innovation, Richard Brandt, has committed $3 billion for research, development and implementation of energy sources that can replace fossil fuels.

Other big names that see the value and potential profit of alternative energy are G.E, Wal-Mart and Google. Google actually installed a 1.6 megawatt photovoltic system to power its headquarters and is currently realizing a 30% reduction in its power costs.

Private Citizens are also investing in new sources of power and means to conserve energy as well. Solar hot water systems are common in the West. Increased use of insulation to conserve heating and cooling expenditures is on the rise.

The use of LED lights and Compact Fluorescent Lights are now common place in households. The purchase of appliances is now determined to some degree by its energy efficiency.

And of course our love affair with our cars is dependent on what kind of fuel it uses and what kind of mileage it gets.

Alternative energy development is now a part of our everyday economic and personal lives.

This is not just a fad, it’s becoming a way of life. In these difficult economic times, it is important that you stay informed about renewable energy development so you can take advantage of any new savings into your energy expenses.

Click here for a guide on making your own renewable energy source

Working on Electrical Panel

It’s rumored that Ben Franklin first discovered electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. It would be over 100 years before Franklin’s discovery resulted in a commercially available light bulb. However since that magic bulb was created, Man has not been able to slake his thirst for electrical energy.

With the exception of hydro-electric plants, most electricity is produced by using superheated steam to power turbines which in turn power generators. The basic concept is pretty simple. The design of the systems, turbines and generators are constantly improved but the process remains the same.

So the big difference in how electricity is produced is really in how the steam is produced. As you read on we will cover the pros and cons of each method.

Click here for instructions on making your own electricity using solar and wind power.

Power generating stations that burn fossil fuels are a common sight all over the world. These plants create steam by boiling water using coal, oil or natural gas as the source of heat.

These carbon based fuels emit tons of pollutants and are responsible for greenhouse gases and global warming. Further, they are using carbon based fuels that are rapidly disappearing.

Continued reliance on fossil fuel will not only continue to pollute the environment, but when they become truly scarce, their cost will be overwhelming.

Nuclear power plants rely on a controlled atomic chain reaction to provide heat to boil water and create steam. At first it was thought to be the perfect alternative fuel but then problems with disposing of spent nuclear fuel and the disaster at Chernobyl pointed out the dangers of this form of energy.

Nuclear plants are still the choice of many emerging nations because they don’t require the transportation infrastructure like railroads or pipelines that fossil fuel plants require.

Methane gas captured from animal waste and decomposing trash is a relatively new way to heat water. These applications are typically confined to self sustaining operations. For example methane from a pig farm probably only generates enough energy to create power just for the pig farm.

Electricity is produced in a couple of non-steam powered methods as well. Hydro-electric plants are typically built alongside or in dams. Cascading water falls from the dam’s higher elevations powering the turbine using the power of gravity.

Another application is lowering small turbines into a river and using the power of the current to turn the turbines. While there are no emissions, dams can often times have adverse effect on the ecosystem of both the lake being dammed and the riverbed below the dam.

That said, hydro-electric power represents 90% of the total electricity generated by renewable energy sources.

Lastly, and growing in popularity is wind power. Windmills harness the force of the wind by allowing it to spin rotors attached to a shaft which in turn is attached to a turbine.

Wind power may represent the future of how electricity is produced. It is clean, renewable and abundant. Wind farms on land are impressive but the real source of wind energy is on our oceans where the wind blows longer and stronger.

Harnessing ocean winds could potentially provide enough electrical power to serve the entire planet.

Click here for instructions on making your own electricity using solar and wind power.

Go Green and Build Your Own Solar or Wind System

It’s no secret that this beautiful planet that we live on and share with an enormous number of plant and animal species, has suffered some pretty severe damage over the past 100 years thanks in large part to the burning of fossil fuels.

Our demand for electrical power increases each year causing an increase in the use of fossil fuels. If we are to reverse this polluting trend then we have to find an efficient and practical green energy technology

One of the most visible forms of pollution caused by the burning of carbon based fuels is acid rain. Fossil fuels release sulphuric acid into the atmosphere when it burns.

As the acid rises higher into the atmosphere molecules of moisture attach themselves and when the combined weight of the acid and moisture is great enough, it falls back to earth as rain.

Click here for instructions on making your own green energy using solar and wind.

Acid rain kills plants and trees. It poisons lakes and ponds and all the life that lives in them. It can even poison the very ground that it falls on.

Acid rain may be the most visible element of fossil fuel pollution but it is not the most dangerous. Global warming, which has potentially catastrophic consequences, is also caused in large part by the burning of these fuels. For decades the earth’s temperature has continued to rise. In order for us, and all the life we share this planet with, to survive, we have to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel and look to clean green energy technology.

Where will this green energy technology come from? The logical place to start looking is at the sun. If you think about it, nature already uses solar power for almost everything it does from the growth of plants, to the weather to the rise and fall of our lakes and oceans. Solar energy is abundant, clean and perhaps the ultimate green energy. The challenge is developing technology to efficiently use it.

We have developed some technology to capture solar energy. Solar collectors or solar panels which are normally installed on roofs, are designed to capture the heat from the sun and transfer that heat to pipes in which water runs through. Typically the sun, aided by the technology, can heat that water up to 125 degrees providing hot water to a household for baths, laundry or even heating a swimming pool.

In the works is a technology that will enhance the heat transfer of the solar panel to such a degree that it can actually boil the water in the pipes creating steam. Once this is achieved, that steam can be used to power a turbine generator and provide a household with the bulk of its electrical power needs. This is an example of the efforts of science and industry to develop green energy technology as a replacement for our current use of non-renewable carbon based fuel.

Power providers estimate that households could reduce their use of electricity from fossil fuels by as much as 75% if the solar technology can be perfected. This would have a huge impact on greenhouse gases and other pollutants. In the meantime, using what ever green energy technology we can, even if it has just a minimal effect individually, has a cumulative effect if everyone does it.

Click here for instructions on making your own green energy using solar and wind.

As you read this article you’ll learn the answer to the question “what is alternative energy?”

Let’s take a brief look of some of the more popular sources of alternative power.

Solar power revolves around the photovoltaic cell which coverts the sun’s rays into electricity. These cells are usually found on rooftops in panels. They can provide electrical power for your lights and all of your electrical appliances.

In another form, solar collectors, the sun’s energy is used to heat water and once again can supply all the hot water needs of a household without the need of gas or electric hot water heaters. And of course because the “fuel” for these systems is the sun, there are no harmful emissions.

Click here for instructions on making your own alternative energy using solar and wind.

Wind energy is almost as old as written history when you consider the wind is what powered the sails of that time. Of course windmills played a big part in pumping water and grinding grain.

Today modern wind farms with high tech triple blade rotors catch the movement of the wind and convert it to electricity. These farms have become very popular and it is projected that they may end up providing half our electricity in the not distant future.

Like solar, wind is a completely green alternative energy.

Marine energy, or the energy created by ocean waves has a huge potential as an alternative fuel source.

France has a generating station that operates on this technology and it has been performing excellently over a number of years. Scotland and Ireland are both experimenting with marine energy given their coastlines on the powerful North Atlantic.

Another older technology is hydroelectric. While it can generate electricity more efficiently and cleaner than fossil fuels, it has become problematic because of other environmental and political concerns.

Basically nobody wants a new dam in their back yard. Smaller run-of-the-river systems where the turbines are lowered into a river and use the current to turn the turbines are becoming both practical and popular for smaller electrical demands.

Geothermal energy is located just below our feet. Okay a couple of miles below our feet. Artesian waters are superheated by our incredibly hot molten core and can be tapped into to create steam to drive a turbine generator. This is an abundant alternative energy and needs more exploration.

Methane created by waste gases can be used in power cells to fuel standard electrical generators. This is taking an environmental problem, land fills, and turning them into an alternative energy.

As the trash decomposes it forms methane. This methane is then captured and used in the power cells.

The gasoline substitute Ethanol is made by distilling any number of grains or even wood chips. It is most commonly associated with distilled corn. The arguments against ethanol are pretty serious. First, it takes more energy to create the substance than ethanol can produce.

That’s not very efficient. Secondly is the argument that the world’s food supply is in danger because farmers receive a higher payment from ethanol manufacturers than they do the commodities market.

Biodiesel energy gets a lot of press because it is something of a novelty. Biodiesels are made from the oil of plants such as rapeseed, soybean and sunflower seeds.

What you typically see on TV is some guy buying up used grease from a restaurant’s deep fat fryer and then running his converted car on it. Actually there has been an increased interest in this form of energy because it runs much cleaner than fossil fuels.

Atomic energy is created by nuclear fission and is capable of generating huge amounts of electricity.

The principal concern about atomic energy is what to do with the spent fuel. This material is highly radioactive and will take hundreds of years to become inert.

Click here for instructions on making your own alternative energy using solar and wind.