Shipments of these cells have increased around the world, and it is the second fasted growing form of renewable energy behind wind power. Archimedes recorded raising temperatures by using the sun to heat up mirrors (Borowitz, 1999, p
By 1998, the cost dropped to $800 per kilowatt, and this makes it quite competitive with coal-generated energy. In addition, "The wind-power market, valued at roughly $2 billion in 1998, has seen annual growth rates of more than 20% during the 1990s, making it the world's fastest-growing energy source" (Flavin & Dunn, 1999, p
The biggest change in public opinion comes from the growing knowledge that the Earth's climate is changing as a result of global warming, and global warming is a direct result of fossil-fuel emissions from cars, buildings, coal and oil burning plants, and homes heated with fossil fuels. However, much of the public does not like many forms of renewable energy, because they take up valuable open space (such as wind farms and solar collectors), they reduce the picturesque value of certain areas, and they can even smell bad, as is the case for some geothermal production facilities (Pasqualetti, 2000, p
However, they do not generate power when the wind is not blowing, and that can be a major drawback to their continued development. One expert notes, "Recognizing that the energy of the wind is proportional to the cube of the wind velocity, a critical criterion in wind project site selection is determination of the long-term wind characteristics of candidate sites" (Rogers, 2000, p
Renewable fuels received considerable attention during the Carter administration in the late 1970s, and less attention from the following administrations. Another researcher writes, "During the Carter administration DOE [Department of Energy] supported and encouraged research on solar and other renewable energy sources and demonstrated concern for long-range energy policy" (Shakespeare, 1994, p
Incorporating Renewable Energy Resources in UK Energy Supply System: As mentioned earlier, in order to minimize global warming and other environmental threats, working on the lines of sustainable development is essential. In order to achieve sustainable development, it is essential that renewable energy resources are incorporated in the energy supply system of United Kingdom (Ottinger & William 2002)
Renewable Energy Sources Today: A Review The emergence of modern-day developed economies depended heavily on the availability of cheap and abundant energy, but the planet's oil reserves, which supplies over 35% of the world's energy needs, are projected to be depleted within a hundred years (Balat 19)
Given that building structures consume 35.3% of energy worldwide (Chan, Riffat, and Zhu 781), the development and use of passive solar technology will become critical to relieving our dependence on fossil fuels
9% of the energy supplied by renewable energy sources (Balat 18). Biomass is converted to useable energy through combustion to generate heat, anaerobic digestion to produce methane, oil extraction for biofuels, or gasification to produce high grade fuels (Panwar, Kaushik, and Kothari)
Nevertheless, all such initiatives have been adversely affected by the economic crisis that has rocked the country in recent months and these issues are discussed further below. Impact of Economic Crisis on Solar Energy Initiatives Today, Greece is classified as an emerging market but the country is embroiled in a financial crisis that threatens to destabilize the nation and the region (Blanchard, Das & Faruqee 2010)
While a relatively reliable energy source (the sun does not always shine of course and some regions of the earth receive far less sunlight than others), biomass systems represent a reliable resource and this technology is discussed further below. Biomass Biomass is an umbrella term that is used to describe any type of organic substance that can be used to generate energy, including industrial, commercial and agricultural wood and plant residues, municipal organic waste, animal manure, and crops that are grow specifically for energy-generation purposes (Cleveland & Morris 2006)
2009). Recent innovations in nanotechnologies and organic materials that can be used in solar cell arrays, though, may provide superior performance of these systems in the near future (Cunningham 2007)
Besides the relatively high start-up costs that are involved, though, there are some tradeoffs to these benefits, including the large amounts of suitable land that is required (solar power farms must be situated on flat terrain) and the loss of potentially arable land that could be used for agricultural purposes (Soto 2011). Nevertheless, the amount of land that is required for a typically solar power farm is less than comparable hydroelectric plants when the land that is flooded in factored in, as well as coal-powered electricity plants when the amount of land required for mining is taken into account (Dorn 2009)
This author adds that, "The winds are an indirect form of solar power and they have been used for centuries as a source of energy. More recently wind power has become one of the more successful renewable energy technologies" (Elliott 1999, p
To the extent that demand for fossil fuels in Greece is lessened will be the extent to which the country is forced to import oil and gas from countries that are not friendly to its interests. Reduced demand for fossil fuels through solar energy initiatives would help to lower the national budget, improve the balance of payments deficient and reduce the amount of money being sent abroad, in many cases to countries that are hostile to democratic nations (Farrell 2008)
89). Although wind farms have a number of attributes, including the fact that they do not require any fuel or water to operate and they do not generate any pollutants, greenhouse gases, or toxic wastes, the downside includes the aforementioned space requirements, they are noisy, many observers suggest they are an eyesore and represent a threat to migrating birds (Hollander 2003)
Despite this extensive use of solar power, it was not until 1954 that scientists at Bell Laboratories developed the first photovoltaic cells (Rosentreter 2000). Photovoltaic cells allow the conversion of sunlight into electricity (Katsioloudis et al
Recent innovations in nanotechnologies and organic materials that can be used in solar cell arrays, though, may provide superior performance of these systems in the near future (Cunningham 2007). Although commercial solar-powered plants are still costly to implement initially, their costs are lower during the later operating life span of the plants (McKee 1999)
4). The question remains, though, whether any further investments in Greece's alternative energy initiatives can be garnered during a period of lingering global economic downturn, particularly in view of the problems described above (Miller 2010)
Fossil fuels such as coal and oil, though, are finite in supply while alternative energy sources are renewable and can be sustained over time. Indeed, many experts predict that peak oil (the point at which oil supplies will begin to be permanently depleted) may be as soon as the mid-21st century (Rosentreter 2000) or between 2070-2120 in a best case scenario (Nath, Hens, Compton & Devuyst 1999)