Difference between revisions of "Energy"
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[[Image:SOHO solar flare cropped.jpg|right|120px|The sun (image from SOHO spacecraft)]] We have these major sources of energy available to us, in no particular order and not including fossil fuels that we currently rely on for the majority of our energy provision: | [[Image:SOHO solar flare cropped.jpg|right|120px|The sun (image from SOHO spacecraft)]] We have these major sources of energy available to us, in no particular order and not including fossil fuels that we currently rely on for the majority of our energy provision: | ||
| − | *'''[[Solar power|Solar]]''': photovoltaic, solar thermal, [[w:solar chimney|solar chimney]], stratospheric solar array. Prospective: [[w:solar power satellite|solar power satellite]] | + | *'''[[Solar power|Solar]]''': photovoltaic, solar thermal, [[w:solar chimney|solar chimney]], [[stratospheric solar array]]. Prospective: [[w:solar power satellite|solar power satellite]] |
*'''[[Wind power|Wind]]''': land-based wind turbine, off-shore wind turbine. Prospective: [[w:Airborne wind turbine|jet-stream sky windmills]] | *'''[[Wind power|Wind]]''': land-based wind turbine, off-shore wind turbine. Prospective: [[w:Airborne wind turbine|jet-stream sky windmills]] | ||
*'''[[Ocean-based power generation|Ocean]]''': wave, tidal, ocean currents | *'''[[Ocean-based power generation|Ocean]]''': wave, tidal, ocean currents | ||
Revision as of 01:53, 13 December 2006
- Solar: photovoltaic, solar thermal, solar chimney, stratospheric solar array. Prospective: solar power satellite
- Wind: land-based wind turbine, off-shore wind turbine. Prospective: jet-stream sky windmills
- Ocean: wave, tidal, ocean currents
- Hydro-electric: reservoir-fed, small river water mill
- Nuclear: nuclear fission. Prospective: nuclear fusion and accelerator-driven thorium-fuelled energy amplifier
- Geothermal: shallow geothermal heat pumps, volcanic related geothermal, deep geothermal
- Biomass: vegetable oil, compost methane, sustainable wood, burning of organic waste, algae, animal dung and rubbish
These sources of power far exceed our current and likely future energy requirements. Also steadily increasing energy efficiency, due to improved machine design and increasing cultural awareness, will become a significant factor in our energy use. Having power generation located much more locally to end use will help reduce current grid transmission inefficiencies.
