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Main Page | Articles (2) | Quotes (5) | Facts (3) | Videos (2)

Renewable Energy

Overview

Renewable clean energy sources, including solar, wind, water (hydropower), geothermal and biomass, are being promoted as an alternative to fossil fuel sources for power generation. Tax credits for wind, solar and geothermal energy, in particular, have helped increase demand for these sources of energy. However, currently only about 2.5 percent of the electricity generated in the is from non-hydroelectric renewable energy sources.

Wikipedia, Renewable Energy

Supporting Viewpoints

Renewable energy tax credits expire at the end of 2008, and Congress is currently considering extensions of the credits to encourage continued research and investments in these technologies.

Wind energy is used to drive wind turbines or wind mills that in turn drive generators to generate electricity. Wind power capacity in the increased by 45 percent in 2007 to 16,800 MW, enough to serve 4.5 million households. Costs of wind generated power have decreased dramatically from 30 cents per kwh in the early 1980s to less than 5 cents per kwh in 2007 with tax credits. The long term potential is excellent. If the good wind areas could be “harvested”, wind farms could provide one and a half times as much as the total electricity consumption in the .

Solar energy can be used for either heating or for conversion to electricity. Photovoltaic systems convert light energy into electricity while Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use a series of mirrors to focus the suns energy to generate heat which is used to generate electricity with a steam generator. Solar heating systems are used to heat water or store and heat homes and buildings. Solar Power is primarily used in small applications, but has potential for large scale operations in desert climates.

Supporting Websites

Department of Energy, EERE
Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Energy
National Renewable Energy Association
International Energy Agency
Union of Concerned Scientists
American Wind Energy Association
Science Daily
Renewable Energy Access.Com

Opposing Viewpoints

There are no major “opponents” as such of renewable energy sources. However, there are some negatives that need to be addressed in the broader context of energy. While the cost of generating electricity from wind and solar sources has decreased, in large scale city environments it is still not as cost effective as electricity generated from fossil fuels, particularly coal.

With wind power, the remoteness of the best “windy sites” adds to the transmission costs to population centers. Furthermore, local opposition to the transmission line routes across pristine natural areas has caused some to oppose this aspect of wind power.

Wind is also intermittent, and therefore cannot be used exclusively. Nearing populated areas, there is also concerns about noise and aesthetics. Local opposition groups have complained about the proposed erection of wind turbine towers near their neighborhoods. In particular, the Cape wind energy project on Nantucket Sound has faced delays as a result of local opposition.

Solar power’s main disadvantage is cost; solar cells and panels are very expensive. Smaller roof top applications by home owners have a high initial investment and can take a long time to pay out. Local neighborhood deed restrictions may prohibit solar roof panels.


Renewable Energy Content

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Fact:
Fact on Renewable Energy 7/20/2008
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Published:7/20/2008 by American Wind Energy Association
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Submitted by:Shayon 78 days ago
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Category: Renewable Energy
Fact Details:     Wind energy eeduces smog and eliminates a major source of acid rain; could reduce total US emissions of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) by 1/3 and world emissions by 4%.
Video:
Can Wind Aid Energy Crisis?
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Published:7/8/2008
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Submitted by:Shayon 78 days ago
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Category: Renewable Energy
Energy
Article:
Big Solar Project Planned for Arizona Desert - Marianne Lavelle (US News and World Report)
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Published:2/21/2008
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Submitted by:Frank K 221 days ago
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Categories: Energy & Renewable Energy
Article Details:   Arizona Public Service announces plans to build the world's largest "concentrating solar power" plant, a $1 billion project to spread parabolic mirrors over a 3-mile-square stretch of desert 70 miles southwest of Phoenix. It will generate 280 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 70,000 homes.
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Fact:
Fact on Renewable Energy 2/14/2008
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Published:2/14/2008
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Submitted by:Frank K 235 days ago
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Category: Renewable Energy
Fact Details:     Every hour, more energy from sunlight strikes the Earth than is consumed on the planet in a year. US Department of Energy.
article1f
Fact:
Fact on Renewable Energy 2/14/2008
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Published:2/14/2008
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Submitted by:Frank K 235 days ago
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Category: Renewable Energy
Fact Details:     The total amount of electricity that could potentially be generated from wind in the United States has been estimated at 10,777 billion kWh annually—more than twice the electricity generated in the U.S. today. American Wind Energy Association.
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Quote:
Hillary Clinton on Energy 1/15/2008
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Published:1/15/2008
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Submitted by:Frank K 222 days ago
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Categories: Energy & Renewable Energy
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Quote Details:  That 2005 energy bill was big step backwards on the path to clean, renewable energy. That’s why I voted against it. That’s why I’m standing for the proposition — let’s take away the giveaways that were given to gas and oil, put them to work on solar and wind and geothermal and biofuels and all the rest that we need for a new energy future.
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Quote:
Barack Obama on Energy 1/15/2008
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Published:1/15/2008
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Submitted by:Frank K 222 days ago
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Categories: Energy & Renewable Energy
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Quote Details:  The reason I voted for it [the energy bill] was because it was the single largest investment in clean energy — solar, wind, biodiesel — that we had ever seen. If we are going to deal with our dependence on foreign oil, then we’re going to have to ramp up how we’re producing energy here in the United States.
Renewable Energy
Article:
Hot Air and Wind - Robert J. Michaels (CATO Institute)
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Published:12/20/2007
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Submitted by:Frank K 232 days ago
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Category: Renewable Energy
Article Details:   Proposed legislation for a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) reverses decades of improvement in environmental regulation, where cap-and-trade markets have replaced command regimes and regulators set allowable emissions by comparing costs and benefits. Instead, it forces the use of politically favored technologies rather than allowing market participants to choose their own methods of environmental compliance.
Video:
Nuclear vesus Renewable Drawbacks
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Published:10/25/2007
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Submitted by:Jason K 214 days ago
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Categories: Nuclear Energy & Renewable Energy
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Quote:
Ralph Nader on Energy 6/3/2005
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Published:6/3/2005
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Submitted by:Frank K 221 days ago
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Categories: Energy & Renewable Energy
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Quote Details:  Ten years ago Japan's solar electricity output was less than half that of the U.S.A. Now Japan is looking to bigger export markets for solar and is 50 percent of their domestic electricity from solar power by 2030, giving new meaning to the "land of the rising sun."
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Quote:
Ralph Nader on Energy 6/3/2005
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Published:6/3/2005
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Submitted by:Frank K 221 days ago
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Categories: Energy & Renewable Energy
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Quote Details:  What of solar? Ninety five percent of the tax dollars and subsidies in current energy legislation are slated for the polluters while only five percent goes to energy efficiency and renewable technologies like geothermal and solar power. Big Business plunders while the people sleep.
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Quote:
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Energy 2/28/2005
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Published:2/28/2005
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Submitted by:Frank K 221 days ago
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Categories: Energy & Renewable Energy
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Quote Details:  Today, in California where we are famous for the sun, we are going to put the positive benefits of that sun to good use. Through the 'Million Solar Roofs Initiative' and the willingness of the building community to join us in this effort, we will succeed in providing a stable alternative source of energy."



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