New report on the Future of Green Energy

If you do not want to see more coal fired and nuclear plants polluting our earth then I have some good news for you. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s has released a green energy study that says positive things about the state of future energy use in America. Solar power, power from the wind and hydro power were included in this research. This research found that “Renewable electricity generation from technologies that are commercially available today, in combination with a more flexible electric system, is more than adequate to supply 80% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2050 while meeting electricity demand on an hourly basis in every region of the country.”
While this study does say that we need more innovation and money spent the renewable energy field to meet these predictions but there do seem to be several holes in this study. One thing that the study states is there will be no growth in demand for electricity in the next forty years because it will be offset by a increase in solar power technologies but this has already been proven not to be the case in California. California is one of our biggest solar power states and has seen almost a 20 % rise in demand for electricity over the last ten years. Another flaw in the study counts on the number of power lines doubling in the next forty years. This is not going to happen do to the huge monetary cost of such a project.
If we continue to focus only on the current technologies that we have and do not increase the money allocated to study and put in place new technologies it is going to be hard to reach the predicted 80% of total electricity usage. We should all push our representatives in Washington DC to provide more money for renewable energy projects. You can read the full report at the National Renewable Energy Labs website. If you are interested in solar power for your yard and home there are Green Living Stores that carry renewable energy products for every use.

A Huge Leap Foward in Solar Cell Technology

Scientist at the Niels Bohr Institute have found out one nanowire crystal is capable of super-concentrating the amount of the sunlight that it is exposed to up fifteen times. This discovery means that the assumed limit to solar cell efficiency can be increased dramatically. The discovery should lead to new types of smaller more efficient solar cells like are used in solar phone chargers, but also will have uses in other electronics.
While doing the research the scientist found that “the nanowires naturally concentrate the sun’s rays into a very small area in the crystal by up to a factor 15. Because the diameter of a nanowire crystal is smaller than the wavelength of the light coming from the sun it can cause resonances in the intensity of light in and around nanowires. Thus, the resonances can give a concentrated sunlight, where the energy is converted, which can be used to give a higher conversion efficiency of the sun’s energy.”
This will have a huge effects on the design and production of solar cells although it will be a few years before the new technology will be in use by industry and start to show up in your solar powered devices like solar phone charger.

Welcome to Ecologic-Power

Welcome to our blog. Now more than ever our planet needs a viable renewable source of energy. Our power system is currently based on a finite and toxic energy source that will get more expensive as supplies run lower, not to mention the carbon and other emissions that are poisoning our environment and making many of us sick. I do not think that any one source of renewable energy is the answer with our current technology but a combination of wind, solar and hydro power could set us well on the way towards providing power to our world without destroying it in the process. Thankfully many states are in the process of passing laws that will make it far easier for small and personal clean energy projects to get off the ground .
We will be covering breaking news and information on hydro, wind and solar power. Our primary focus is small renewable energy projects in the United States of America but we will also be bringing you news on various clean energy projects from around the world as well as how- to articles for individuals highlighting ways you can use renewable energy on a personal level. A good example of this would be using solar powered exterior lighting in your yard or a combination of a solar battery charger and a electric lawnmower to keep up your yard.
If we all work together making small changes in our daily lives and also let or representatives in government know that we the people need renewable energy now, we can make the world a better place.