News about Solar, Wind and alternative green power technologies

There has already been an unjustifiable amount of toxic black oil spread out in the Gulf of Mexico. This is certainly a strong appeal for change in national energy policies not only for the Obama administration but for the whole world. However, in terms of energy supply, United States of America could learn a great deal from simply evaluating energy sources on the other side of Atlantic.

European v.s American

The median emission of carbon dioxide of a European is roughly 50 percent less than that of an American. The Europeans does also use far less electricity. The vehicles used in America consume approximately 40 percent more fuel than European cars to drive a mile. In Europe people enjoy the same standard of living as in America but with half the greenhouse emission footprint.

Europe’s Policies

It is through ingenious and strategic government policies that Europe has been able to become more environmentally friendly in comparison to their counterpart, America. It is with the tight collaboration with the private sector that businesses, households and consumers have fostered the commitment towards greener energy sources.

On the other hand, United States is pursuing a strategy to secure more oil, including policies such as encouraging offshore drilling. In Europe, a cleaner strategy is in the pipeline. The landscape is slowly taking a renewable picture. There are tidal turbines, windmills, solar panels and solar arrays in various regions. They are geared to maximise the use of renewable sources of energy.

There are even “smart” energy-efficient buildings establish to maximise the energy provided by sunlight. Buildings are equipped with temperature sensors and monitors. These sensors are used to close and open windows automatically to regulate temperature with less electricity (substitute for air conditioning). In Europe technologies geared to harness the body heat is also becoming a possible reality. The pace at which Europe is advancing with its powerful inventions are leaving developed countries such as the USA far behind.

Europe is the leader in wind energy. Currently, U.S has approximately only half and china a third of Europe‘s wind farm capacity. Moreover, in the European Union solar power is growing at 70 percent per annum. There are also a variety of other sources that are in expansion as well including biomass, geothermal and small-scale hydropower.

The dream of generating power from the sea is also being accomplished through cylindrical structures harnessing energy through the motion of waves. There are even underwater turbines known as “sea mills”” that converts tidal energy into electricity. These alternative sources of energy are spreading across the European continent. Various grant schemes offered to clean energy solutions are the main motors for this positive trend. It provides the essential benefit leading to economies of scale when dealing with renewable technologies.

The focus is on boosting energy conservation. For the last half century, most construction has been guided by the principle of energy efficiency. This involves paying close-attention to energy efficient designs and architectures, which can range from low-flush toilets to urban buildings.

In Europe, it is estimated that building accounts for roughly 50 to 70 percent of all energy consumption. This is why E.U, directives are encouraging the use of; motion sensors to turn light to stand by mode; low wattage light bulbs; us of more energy efficient appliances. They account for a major way to reduce the overall energy consumption across the continent.

Another European policy is “Cogeneration”. It is a technology used to recapture heat that is wasted in power plants. The heat is sent via insulated pipelines from the power plants to heat millions of buildings and households. In Denmark, Finland and Netherland cogeneration energy accounts for around 40 to 50 percent of the energy required and in Poland and German for around 20 percent. However, “cogeneration” does merely account for 8 percent of total energy supply in America.

It is also known that German Buildings use 30 percent less energy than average American buildings. This means that simply enhancing the energy efficiency of buildings could decrease America’s carbon emission by around 25 percent.

Furthermore, Europe is a leader in the transport sector as well. They have the most highly efficient speed trains and also fuel-vehicles (including hydrogen cars and electric cars) in the world. They are also supporting walking and bicycling to decrease traffic congestion, pollution and combat heath problems associated with a lavish and unhealthy lifestyle.

America has been seeing a steady increase in oil consumption by 21 percent since 1980 while in Europe there has been a slight drop. In Sweden and Denmark oil consumption for the same period has fallen by roughly 30 percent, Germany by nearly 20 percent and France by 14 percent. America consumes almost 25 percent of world’s energy demand for energy. If only they would match Europe’s energy productivity, they would be able to decrease their dependency on oil by 20 percent.

There have been hundreds of thousands of green jobs created in Europe. There are also more environmental policies for green energy projects ahead. There is an ambitious plan to reduce carbon emission by 20 percent and increase the use of a renewable energy mix by 20 percent by 2020. In America, roughly 6 percent of its energy demand is produced via renewable energy.

However, in Europe the stemming instability of energy supply from Russia and the Middle East has positively supported renewable energy solutions. It is also seen that steady investment in infrastructure is paying off in many ways; lower energy consumption and less dependency on fossil fuel

Source: Pointer’s Weekly