ENVIRONMENTAL
Preserving the Environment and Powering the Future India Accelerates Development Of Renewable Energy Projects By: Micheal Knox ENGIE Committed To Tackling The Challenges Of The Energy Revolution
Geothermal, Solar, Wind, And Hydroelectric Energy
Recycled Products And Clean Energy
Contents
Preserving the Environment and Powering the Future — 3 Energy Consumption— 4 Current Traditional Energy Cost— 5 Geothermal Energy— 6 Solar energy— 7 Wind Power— 8 Hydroelectricity— 9 Recycled Materialsy— 10 Sustainabilit — 11 Preserving the Environment and Powering the Future— 12 Salvaging Compact Discs (CDs) For Solar Power— 13 References — 1$
Preserving the Environment and Powering the Future By Micheal Knox| December 9, 2017
The world leaders have to find a way to work together to find sustainable solutions to preserve our environment and avoid a future energy crisis. Energy consumption in the United States accounts for more than one-third of the global warming emissions with the majority generated by coal-fired and natural gas-fired power plants. These forms of energy are major contributors to pollution. Creative ways to make energy using recycled products is beneficial to our health, environment, and could help grow our economy with by creating jobs. The things to consider are energy consumption, sources for renewable energy, cost, and sustainability. The biggest challenges will be the cost for governments to build new factories, educate people, decrease consumer cost and get the world to agree to work together for future generations. These challenges belong to the entire world because pollution anywhere will eventually affect the world. We must all do our fair share to become clean energy consumer. Clean energy has to be a major part of energy consumption for the future. These types of projects are developing world wide and will help everyone live cleaner to preserve the environment for future generations to come.
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Energy Consumption
The above U.S. Energy Information Administration's recently released International Energy Outlook 2016 (IEO2016) projects that world energy consumption will grow by 48% between 2012 and 2040.
The world uses a lot of non-renewable forms of energy, like petroleum and coal, and these forms of energy are high polluters of air and water. This major problem can be resolved with affordable renewable energy systems. Preserving our environment is in part determined by how we consume our energy in the future.
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Regular Gasoline
U.S. Average
2.47
-0.1
Diesel
U.S. Average
2.84
0.0
Prompt-Month Energy Futures, 12/07/17 Settlement Product
Price
Percent Change*
Volum e
Prior Day Open Interest
Crude Oil ($/barrel) - Nymex Jan
56.69
+1.3
588
483
Gasoline-RBOB ($/gallon) - Nymex Jan
1.70
+2.4
92
135
Heating Oil ($/gallon) - Nymex Jan
1.90
+1.9
81
124
Natural Gas ($/million Btu) - Nymex Jan
2.76
-5.4
422
390
12.15
0.0
0
<1
1.32
-0.2
<1
1
Coal ($/ton) - Nymex Jan Ethanol ($/gallon) - CBOT Jan
Current Traditional Energy Cost Notes for Prompt-Month Energy Futures The daily wholesale and retail prices for various energy products are shown above, including spot prices and select futures prices at national or regional levels. Prices are updated each weekday (excluding federal holidays), typically between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. This page is meant to provide a snapshot of selected daily prices only. Prices are re-published by EIA with permission as follows: Wholesale Spot Petroleum Prices from Thomson Reuters, Retail Petroleum Prices from AAA Fuel Gauge Report, Prompt-Month Energy Futures from CME Group, and Select Spot Prices from SNL Energy.
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Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy is a renewable energy from heat energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. The geothermal energy of the Earth's crust originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials. Geothermal energy today accounts for just 0.3 percent of globally installed renewable energy capacity. However â&#x20AC;&#x201C; once start-up costs are met â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is one of the lowest-cost and most reliable renewable energy sources available. The global potential for geothermal is estimated to be in the region of 200 gigawatts. This energy source can play a major role in the preservation of our environment.
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Solar energy Solar energy is one of several commonly used renewable energy sources. Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the sun that is gathered using panels or other units to generate energy. While this form of energy is great for the environment it is often too expensive for average consumers. The key to making clean energy available to more people is to make it affordable. Recently, scientist and engineers have looked more closely at the advantages of using recycled materials to build solar panels. These efforts will help clean our landfills and provide supplies to make solar panels. Countries such as India are accelerating development of renewable energy projects to provide cheap, reliable and clean power to its people. The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s per-capita on-grid electricity consumption has increased significantly over the four years; due to increased industrial activity, higher uptake of electrical appliances by residential electricity users and the addition of new consumers to the grid. During this period, the cost of electricity from rooftop PV has halved, due to fierce competition in the market and a drop-in equipment prices. In contrast, average retail electricity rates have increased by 22% in the same period. This has made rooftop PV cheaper than commercial and industrial grid tariffs in all major states in India.
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Wind Power Wind power is the use of air flow through wind turbines to mechanically power generators for electricity. Wind power, as an alternative to burning fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, and uses little land. The net effects on the environment are far less problematic than those of non-renewable power sources. This clean renewable energy source is the fastest growing industry and offers another option for preserving our environment. Major companies have started to understand the value in clean energy. Google recently reached power purchasing agreements with Avangrid Renewables for 196 MW of wind power. The agreements cover two wind farms, producing enough energy each year to power 50,000 households. The additional capacity helps Google reach its goal of purchasing enough renewable energy to match its energy use in global operations. Gary Demasi, Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s director of global infrastructure stated: â&#x20AC;&#x153;with solar and wind declining dramatically in cost and propelling significant employment growth, the transition to clean energy is driving unprecedented economic opportunity and doing so faster than we ever anticipated.
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Hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity is the electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. This is a commonly used clean energy source. ENGIE a popular company in Brazil provides hydroelectricity. ENGIE is the largest private power producer in Brazil. 90% of the Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s installed capacity in the country come from clean, renewable sources, with low emissions of greenhouse gases. ENGIE is committed to what it sees as tackling the challenges of the energy revolution, towards a world more decarbonized, decentralized and digitalized. It aims to become the leader of this new energy world by focusing on three key activities for the future: low carbon generation in particular from natural gas and renewable energy, energy infrastructure and efficient solutions adapted to all its customers (individuals, businesses, territories, etc.). Innovation, digital solutions and customer satisfaction are the guiding principles of ENGIEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development. It will take more companies like ENGIE to provide clean energy worldwide.
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Recycled Materials Using recycled materials are already a major part of preserving our environment. The recent repurposing possibilities of DVDs, CDs, and Blue-ray discs have been promising. CDs, DVDs and Blue-ray discs have been the major media storage products. The production of CDs, DVDs and Blue-ray discs uses various metals, plastics and dyes that take energy and earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resources. These discs are recyclable and reusable. The materials can be reused in many ways and one major ways is to make solar panels.
Sustainability Clean energy has to be a major part of energy consumption for the future. The key to sustainability is making it affordable. If the average consumer has access to affordable clean energy long term, this is good for the consumer and the environment.
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To preserve our environment by reducing climate change the world governments must move towards clean affordable and renewable energy. This change will have a lasting benefit for the future because of the decreased dependence on dirty fossil fuels. Developing low cost energy programs will help all consumers play a role in the success of preserving the environment. There are World Energy Conferences held annually worldwide, with this common interest goal.
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Salvaging Compact Discs (CDs) For Solar Power By Micheal Knox| December 10, 2017 The world is facing an energy crisis, and it is expected to get worse over the next couple of decades. Non-renewable fuels are used at a really high level worldwide at about 85 percent so there needs to be an immediate change to develop fuel sources that are renewable, low cost for all to use, and less harmful to the environment. Energy sources that have gained success are sunlight, wind, biomass, geothermal, and water, and Table 1 list the cost per kilowatt produced per hour of a number of different energy sources.1 In the United States, less than 1 percent of land is used for solar energy production, and to develop large solar farms could cost hundreds of millions of dollars (See Photo 1).2 Relying on the government is not always good. I have an idea that is good for the environment and the individual, and that is to recycle compact discs (CDs) and Digital Video Disc (DVDs) into low cost solar panels. Millions of CDs and DVDs are being made, sold, and thrown away every year, and the items that make up CDs and DVDs are made up of aluminum, plastic, gold, dyes, water, glass, silver and nickel. All of these items end up in the landfill and hurts the environment. But if we recycle those materials, the aluminum, gold, silver, and nickel could be used to make the solar panels, and the plastic could be recycled to make the clear covering that go over solar panels.3
Photo 1: Solar Farm
References: 1. YOUR GUIDE TO RENEWABLE ENERGY 2017 [cited 2017 12/10]; Available from: http://www.renewable-energysources.com/. 2. Information About Solar Panel Farms. [cited 2017 12/10]; Available from: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/information-solar-panel-farms-79604.html. 3. Facts/General Information. 2006-2017 [cited 2017 12/10]; Available from: http://cdrecyclingcenter.org/learn/facts-general-information.