Distributed Electric Power Storage

Distributed Electric Power Storage The storage of electrical power has been an age-old challenge facing the electricity industry. A number of electric utilities are now in the process of placing equipment in residential areas that is capable of storing several hours of electricity supply. These localized or distributed technologies include lithium ion batteries and underground compressed air...

Potential Barriers to the Rebirth of Nuclear Power

With the recent offer of federal loan guarantees to the Southern Company to build two new nuclear reactors and plans to expand these federal loan guarantees by a factor of seven as part of a comprehensive energy policy, the electric power industry is taking a huge step toward introducing a new generation of nuclear power plants. Recognizing that it has been almost 40 years since the last nuclear...

Nuclear Power – Fuel Cycle Options

Fuel Cycle Choice is a Critical Decision As the electric industry moves towards a rebirth of nuclear power one of the more critical decisions will involve choices around the nuclear fuel cycle. These choices will include: Type of fuel, Type of reactors, and Spent fuel storage and/or disposal These decisions will have a direct bearing on the four challenges that need to be overcome to include...

The Economics of Nuclear Power

Nuclear Power Fails Initial Economic Tests Nuclear Power Station Nuclear energy has the potential to return to the forefront as an acceptable solution to the environmental challenges posed by pulverized coal and natural gas combined cycle plants. To do so, it must surpass the performance characteristics of forms of renewable energy and gain public acceptance. Some of the actions will be necessary...

Nuclear Energy and the Environment

Many electricity consumers would like to believe that the solution to providing clean electrical energy is to simply add scrubbers to the stacks of fossil-fired plants and ultimately replace these plants with renewable sources of electricity (e.g. wind and solar). The vast scope of the capacity of the fossil-fueled plants that supply more than 60 percent of the U.S. electricity output and current...

Public Perceptions of Nuclear Power

Nuclear Power Provides an Imperfect Solution Nuclear Power Station Almost 40 years have passed since a U.S. electric utility last broke ground on a new nuclear power station. Despite this rather extended passage of time, the seemingly slow introduction of attractive alternative renewable energy technologies, a heightened interest in energy independence, and a greater appreciation for the need to...

Green Energy Sources

Environmentally friendly and non-polluting sources of energy are gaining a foothold in the international community’s efforts to plan for future electricity needs. Typically, the focus on green energy includes creating a renewable energy portfolio (e.g. bio-fuels, geothermal, wind, hydro power and its related wave and tidal technologies, and solar with some consideration for nuclear power) and...

Residential Photovoltaic Power Systems

Photovoltaic (PV) electric systems use solid state power inverters to convert DC voltage produced by PV panels (solar panels) during daylight hours into conventional residential AC voltage. Three Types of PV Electric Systems Solar Panel House These photovoltaic electrical systems can be categorized as one of three types: Stand-alone systems operate independent of the electric grid. Since the...

Wind Turbines

What is a Wind Turbine? Wind turbines are electro-mechanical systems that convert the wind’s kinetic energy into electricity (wind power). They are generally categorized as either horizontal axis (propeller style) or vertical axis (egg beater style) turbines: The horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT) is the more efficient of the two designs, but it requires tall towers that are typically hard to...

Home Wind Generators

Small wind generators, ranging in size from several hundred watts to tens of kilowatts with rotors 25 feet in diameter, can lower a residential customer’s electricity bill and/or provide backup power. Typically, they are found in rural areas with a fairly consistent wind source. Since most of these generators produce varying voltages (in terms of amplitude and frequency), they usually require...