Posts Tagged ‘Wind Energy’

Top 5 Green Energy Companies From 2008

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
green energy
Nick Tart asked:


Thousands of organizations and businesses are going the extra mile and spending the extra dollar to buy utility-scale energy from renewable resources. So much so that the United States E.P.A. (Environmental Protection Agency) compiles a quarterly list of the top green power companies from their Green Power Partnership program which came out in July 2008.

Some businesses take diminutive steps towards a green campaign, but these companies are proving their allegiance to a greener environment by voluntarily spending millions of dollars on clean energy.



Intel purchased 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in January 2008. This compensates for 47 percent of the companies overall energy use.

PepsiCo purchased 1.1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2007, the equivalent of powering 90,000 homes for an entire year. This accounts for 100 percent of their annual energy use. PepsiCo was named Green Power Partner of the Year in 2007 by the E.P.A.

U.S. Air Force has already purchasd 9 million kilowatt hours of electricity this year as of July 2008. They have invested in a number of biogas, biomass, geothermal, solar and wind energy providers.

Wells Fargo has purchased 5.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity from wind energy providers thus far in 2008. They are also a Green Power Partner of the Year in 2007. More than green energy, Wells Fargo has made a number of other commitments to their green campaign including LEED certifying their buildings and offering online account statements.

Whole Foods Market, the past two years has purchased enough green energy to compensate for 100 percent of their energy use, totalling to over 5 million kilowatt hours annually. The company is also investing in multiple other efforts to reduce their carbon footprint on the environment.



Other organizations ranking high on the E.P.A.’s list are Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson and the University of Pennsylvania.



Wind As Alternative Energy Source - Wind Power Unleashed

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
hydro fuel
Abhishek Agarwal asked:


wind. Wind is an environment-friendly source of energy. It is also inexpensive. As such, it is gaining popularity vis-à-vis high fuel prices and the ensuing damage to the environment caused by conventional fuel. In addition to windmills, winds are fast becoming the moving force for creating electricity.

Did you even imagine that almost 3 percent of the sun’s energy can be converted to wind power? Of course, the origin and use of the energy are quite complex, involving continuous variables that have a direct effect on its efficiency and long term usage. Huge turbines are used for this purpose. Wind energy is converted to power using efficient wind turbines. The wind power turns the blades, generating huge electrical current. This current is then turned into a generator.

You can see wind farms all across California too. The energy of the wind can be harnessed to produce electricity. Wind farms which have 200 turbines generally produce 200-300 watts of electricity. These turbines are grouped together in wind farms. Wind power is successfully harnessed to its best capacity by the leader in this field, i.e. Germany. All throughout this country, the energy of wind is used as a generator.

There are many variables which affect the output of the electrical energy of the wind. They are the location of the turbines, their proximity to each other, and more importantly, the speed of the wind. Scientists are experimenting with these variables so that they can get the optimum output of electricity using the wind energy. The turbines are placed as high up on the mountains as possible and they are grouped together so as to gather the wind power most efficiently.

Though the wind comes free, the turbines are expensive to make and a lot of cost is involved to put them in place. The turbines are also quite noisy and detrimental to animal life. If these drawbacks can be overcome, wind energy could well prove to be a viable source of energy and of wide use. It is necessary to store the energy so generated so that it can be used only when needed.

It should also be practical to use this stored energy. Scientists are finding ways to store up the energy so that it can be widely used.

One way is to increase the output of energy to the maximum and store the surplus amounts for future use. This usage could fluctuate as per the need. It would also need to be cost-effective. So cost comparisons are imperative. This energy storage facility is hydro-electric and is known as flywheel.

Wide scale studies are going on to explore this alternative form of energy. Leaders in the field including China, Brazil, United Kingdom, Canada and Denmark. Turbines are even manufactured by Denmark for self-consumption. We are as yet novices in the field. The US has yet to learn to use the power efficiently.