If you're new here at Alternative Energy HQ, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed for all the latest updates on energy news. Thanks for visiting!

Solar energy is in the news and it is something that sounds good since by using it you are able to save on paying expensive energy bills, though not everyone may be attuned to what is solar energy and who would thus need to learn about it in as simple terms as possible. The simplest answer to what is solar energy is that it is a means whereby rays from the sun are captured and either stored, or converted into energy and maybe even into heat.

Like Sitting In A Very Hot Car During Summer Months

You should think about solar energy in terms of sitting in a very hot car during the summer months, or imagine what it is like to touch the burning tar roads during the summer heat because these items get extremely heated and the thing that heats them is the power from the sun. Though not exactly solar power, it is something along these lines that solar power works on because the rays from the sun are captured and they are then converted into heat with the help of the very best of technology which is how your home gets heated, or is provided energy all through the day.

This is basically what is [tag-tec]solar energy[/tag-tec], and this is then followed by storage or conversion process and the solar power that has been captured is converted with the help of different types of solar panels, or it may be stored to be used later on. There are also a number of options available with regard to what is solar energy, and solar power may be used for different usages including heating of swimming pools for which there are special systems that have been designed. Even otherwise, you can use solar power on small scale as well and there are many systems available that you can purchase at an affordable price and then hook them in order to heat up your water, and you may also wish to use solar pond pumps that will help in keeping your pond clean without costing a lot of money.

More: continued here

Energy Tags: Solar energy

The benefits of solar energy are great, before you understand of solar energy; you need to know about solar energy and the process of harnessing this energy.

There have two different categories of solar energy: thermal and light. Thermal energy is more commonly used and is the energy that is used to passively heat buildings through the use of certain building materials and architectural design. It is obtained from the sun and has a variety of purposes and applications, including the production of hot water, space heating and cooling.

The sun is an incredibly powerful energy source and is made up of hydrogen gas. There are a number of great uses for this energy; the most common use for being the storage and collection of heat and another use is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. More on The Benefits of Solar Energy

Since fossil fuels are slowly renewable, integration of passive solar design is a strategically correct long-term perspective, as due to heavy dependency on the resource its price over time will be increasing. For countries with limited initial sources of fossil fuels, this can be a too heavy economic burden to carry. When creating price scenarios for natural gas and crude oil, scientists use several variables. They include the current forward market for the product, current prices ion the market, external price forecasts, the historical trends. In such way, even if the growing demand for fossil fuels is ignored considering increasing scarcity of these resources, natural gas prices will reach $5.00 by 2015, $5.50 by 2025, and $7.50 by 2025.

It should be noted, that inflation is not considered in the price scenario, prices should be viewed in terms of current value per dollar. The current trend of technologies employed in passive solar design of building will be going the opposite direction, as a technological advance alongside with cost efficiency is predicted for solutions implemented in solar design as demand for them will be increasing. In such way, passive solar design of buildings is cost efficient in the long run especially for countries with limited crude oil and natural gas resources, as the dependency of these countries on foreign oil and gas will only be increasing alongside with the price per gallon. Integration of passive solar design makes houses more affordable, comfortable, and energy-efficient.

Implementation of passive solar design solutions is cost efficient, minimizes energy consumption and dependency on renewable sources of energy, is environmentally clean, and can be easily implemented at any geographic location. Practical implementation of the solutions also proved to be effective. Going even further then this, in the light of limited resources, implementation of passive solar design solutions is a step forward towards a greater level of efficiency and economic freedom in the future. As such, it is my firm belief that passive solar design is one of the most efficient ways to minimize energy consumption at any geographic location.

Jennifer Burns

Jennifer Burns is a professional freelance academic writer at Custom-Writing.org, research paper service. Jennifer specializes in movie critique and <a href='http://custom-writing.org/dissertation-writing' target='_blank&#

Well in taking advantage of abundant local resources San Joaquin Solar has gotten themselves a contract with PG&E of California to provide 106.8 megawatts (MW) of solar thermal-biofuel hybrid power to the PG&E power grid. The combo energy project is to be built near Coalinga CA, a location only known for a powerful earthquake centered there many years ago. Coalinga is located in the region west of the central valley of CA and in an area once known for its oil wells. Now it features lots of cows, agriculture, and tons of sunshine year round. The plants will generate solar power and biofuel power from the burning of agri business waste and cow manure.

Getting the most of local resources I would say.

The solar-biofuel projects will deliver a total of 700 gigawatt hours (GWh) annually of renewable electricity to PG&E customers throughout northern and central California. More on Solar, Biofuels and Manure - Talk about a well rounded energy resource!

Energy Tags: biodiesel, energy resources

DOE Secretary Samuel W. Bodman Names Selected Solar Technology Projects During Visit to Konarka Headquarters, Lowell, Massachusetts

Lowell, Mass. – March 8, 2007 – Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Power Plastic™, a material that converts light to energy, today announced the company is one of 13 selected industry-led solar technology projects to be awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of President Bush’s Solar America Initiative (SAI), a component of his Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI), announced in his 2006 State of the Union Address. In the photo - Nobel Lauriat Dr. Alan Heeger; Dr, Samual Bodman, US Secretary of Energy; Howard Berke, Chairman and CEO In the photo (L to R) – Konarka Chief Scientist & Cofounder and Nobel Laureate Dr. Alan Heeger; Dr. Samuel Bodman, US Secretary of Energy; Howard Berke, Chairman and CEO

The SAI project sponsors, to receive up to $168 million (FY’07-’09) in funding, subject to appropriation from Congress, were announced today by U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman while visiting Konarka Global Headquarters in Lowell, Massachusetts.

“Solar technology can play a crucial role in moving toward affordable net zero energy homes and businesses – which combine energy efficiency and renewable energy produced on-site,” commented Secretary Bodman. “Efficient buildings with solar power generation can help reduce peak demand and ease the need for expensive new generating capacity, transmission and distributions lines as our economy grows.”

Konarka’s project will focus on manufacturing research and product reliability assurance for extremely low-cost photovoltaic cells using organic dyes that convert sunlight to electricity. Partners for this project include NREL and the University of Delaware. Subject to negotiations, DOE funding for the first year of the project is expected to be $1,200,000, with approximately $3,600,000, available over three years if the team meets its goals.

These projects will help significantly reduce the cost of producing and distributing solar energy. As part of the cost-shared agreements, the industry-led teams will contribute more than 50 percent of the funding for these projects for a total value of up to $357 million over three years. These cooperative agreements, to be negotiated, will be the first made available as part of President Bush’s Solar America Initiative.

President Bush’s AEI challenges Americans to change the way we power our nation. As an integral part of the AEI, the Solar America Initiative aims to bring down the cost of solar energy to make it competitive with conventional electricity sources in the U.S. by 2015. The SAI is also part of the President’s commitment to diversify our energy resources through grants, incentives and tax credits and aims to spur widespread commercialization and deployment of clean solar energy technologies across America, which would provide long-term economic, environmental and security benefits to the nation.

Solar energy is a clean, abundant, widespread, and renewable energy source that can be used to increase electricity generating capacity while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions as compared to other energy conversion pathways. Photovoltaic-based solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity. They are made of semiconductor materials similar to those used in computer chips. When sunlight is absorbed by these materials, the solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, allowing the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity. The process of converting light to electricity is called the photovoltaic effect.

Craig Cornelius, the technology manager of the Department of Energy Solar Energies Program, “Because of its potential to deliver very low cost solutions to the existing grid-tied markets, the DoE considers organic photovoltaics to be a vital element of our research and development portfolio. As well, with its manufacturability, high volume potential and desired material attributes, it can open up new applications for the market.”

For more information on the solicitation and facts about the Solar America Initiative, visit: www.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_america. About Konarka Technologies, Inc. Konarka builds products that convert light to energy – anywhere. As the leading developer of polymer photovoltaic technology that provide a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors for commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications, Konarka has a broad portfolio of patents, technology licenses and an accomplished technical team. The Company's technology is focused on delivering lightweight, flexible, scalable and manufacturable products. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., U.S.A., with European headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and research and development facility in Austria. For additional information, visit http://www.konarka.com.

Energy Tags: alternative, energy