Alternative Power Sources (Wind and solar)

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nexcare

Well-Known Member
Hey all, how is it going? I am curious about alternative energy sources, for powering an op. I am interested in wind and solar mostly.

I am a Petroleum Engineering student, so I know the facts about these energy sources, and know that they do not have a legit chance of replacing any countries power. These devices are not good for "energy", because (esp. solar panel) they need more energy to be created, then they will ever create. But I am over that, and want as much power in one op as possible, without throwing up signs.

Power here is very cheap. Adding 2k in lights would raise my bill ~ $40 a month, but 2k+ in KWH is very noticeable.

What viable options are there for creating 2kW? (Please note: I am wanting to add 2kW onto what I am already running...)

I am looking in numerous price ranges, since this wont come into effect until 2 harvest and $$$ is not an option.

I know all about the quite generators, but they are not a viable option. I am in the 4th floor attic, so solar and wind would be great.

Here is a site of some decent wind powered devices:
http://www.pacwind.net/products.html
 
GlassFreak

GlassFreak

Well-Known Member
look into how much solar or wind energy could generaly create and figure out how much KWTs it will save you. the more it saves you the less shows up on your bill.
 
D

dbo24242

New Member
yeah if you made a small solar farm, enough to power a pump for hydro you could make a greenhouse hydro. powering kW lamps might take a lot of wind though.
 
Brick Top

Brick Top

New Member
The problem is not one of not being able to produce the total wattage you would need but instead to produce a constant level or amount of the wattage you would need and to be able to do that in a cost effective way. Unless you went for massive overkill and redundant systems of various types I do not believe that you can be able to totally cover your overall electricity needs on a constant basis and to go for overkill to attempt to do so would be cost prohibitive.

I think the most you could hope for would be a system that feeds into the grid and where it would be metered so your electricity bill would be reduced in cost based on the amount of electricity you produced and fed into the grid but your overall use of wattage would still be reflected on your account.

As much as people dream about having an alternative source of electricity production/energy for their homes or whatever the technology just does not exist to make it feasible for most.

If you live very close to a river or stream that does not freeze and had a good constant steady flow all year 'round and you have wind most of the time and are in a location where solar panels will be able to collect a respectable amount of energy many days of the year if you tap into all of them you could likely cover your overall needs and operate off the grid.

Anything less than that would make it very difficult to do so and highly unlikely that you would be able to do so, again unless you have the money and are willing to spend it to go for major overkill with only one or maybe two types of alternative electricity/energy production, and of course that would also depend on your location as to how possible and practical it might be.
 
N

nexcare

Well-Known Member
Brick Top, I appreciate the input! We are both on the same page on alternative energies...they just arent advanced enough or practical. Thanks for the info! Ill look into plan B. Saving money, buying 10-50 acres, and using generators into large shipping containers...

As much as people hate to hear it, fossil fuels and nuclear power are the only 2 viable energy sources. Nuclear is the safest and best, but people have bad impressions in their mind b/c of past incidents. Brick Top, the storage and peak usage is a very big problem with the wind turbines in El Paso. They have no infrastructure to store and move the needed power, thus rendering them not too useful.
 
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mazirra

Member
Hi

Nonrenewable fossil fuels—coal, petroleum, and natural gas—provide more than 85% of the energy used around the world. In the United States, fossil fuels comprise 81.6% of the total [COLOR=red ! important][COLOR=red ! important]energy[/COLOR] supply, nuclear power provides 7.7%, and all [COLOR=red ! important][COLOR=red ! important]renewable [COLOR=red ! important]energy [/COLOR][COLOR=red ! important]sources[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]
 provide 7.3%. Wind power, active and passive [COLOR=red ! important][COLOR=red ! important]solar [COLOR=red ! important]systems[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR], geothermal energy, and biomass are examples of renewable or [COLOR=red ! important][COLOR=red ! important]alternative [COLOR=red ! important]energy [/COLOR][COLOR=red ! important]sources[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR]. Although such alternative sources make up a small fraction of total energy production today, their share is growing. Scientists estimate that easily extractable fossil fuels will be largely used up within the twenty-first century (known petroleum reserves will last less than 40 years at current rates of use). Nuclear power has several drawbacks, among which are military vulnerability, and waste disposal problems. Further, nuclear power technologies cannot be disseminated globally without disseminating at the same time all of the materials and much of the know-how for producing nuclear weapons. Achieving wider use of renewable sources of energy is thus, seen by many planners as key for a sustainable global economy. In 2002, the 15-nation European Union declared its intention to shift away from both fossil fuels and nuclear power, with an initial goal of generating 12% of its total energy and 22% of its electricity from renewable sources.

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