For example, if your local utility burns oil or coal to generate electricity, any efforts you make to reduce usage translates into cleaner air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages local governments to “promote further energy use reductions in the residential sector by promoting ...
Also, some energy sources, such as the coal-burning power plants that generate nearly half of U.S. electricity, pour out carbon dioxide, which threatens to change Earth's climate in dangerous ways [source: Dosomething.org]. Energy vampires drain pocketbooks as well. In 2011, each American ...
Nanosolar claims that its super-efficient manufacturing process and revolutionary semiconducting ink can reduce the cost of making electricity from sunlight to a mere 30 cents per watt. If that holds true, solar may finally be competitive with coal. Staff Engineer Addison Shelton works with a solar...
Furthermore, we restate the obvious fact that the investment climate in Sweden must improve if the wish is to avoid having coal‐based electricity production on the margin.αMats Nilsson, Lule University of Technology and Vattenfall R&D, and Kristian Gustafsson, Vattenfall R&D. Mats Nilsson is ...
Most electricity is generated by burning coal and other fossil fuels. Every time you turn on the lights, you create a little pollution. (See the sidebar.) In fact, the average home pollutes more than the average car! (See my Carbon Footprint Calculator for the numbers.) So saving ...
There are currently more than50 million smart metersinstalled across the US. Although they’re helping people reduce electricity usage, it’s still not enough to reach the desired energy-saving goals. We need real-time energy consumption data. And that’s where technology comes into play. ...
But the splendid science behind this amazing trick has less to do with the power plant than with the fuel it burns. The real magic isn't that power plants turn fuel into electricity: it's that even small amounts of fossil fuels contain large amounts of energy. A kilogram of coal or ...
Generating Electricity with Tidal Power / Wave Power How to Generate Electricity with Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy is energy from within the earth. The earth from inside is too hot. This heat from within the earth can be used to turn turbines and produce electricity. This technology is st...
The most popular way to make steam is to heat water by burning coal. It's also possible to use controlled nuclear reactions to turn water into steam. You can read about the various types of power stations in How Hydropower Plants Work, How Wind Power Works and How Nuclear Power Works. ...
The U.S. energy transition that began during the nineteenth century—a shift from biomass to coal, which was jump-started by technological improvements to the steam engine—took nearly 100 years. If the world is to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, it must tra...