our jaw will just drop because of your present electric utility bill for that month. It gone higher by around 15 to 20 percent compared to your previous electric bill. You are not using excess appliances except to your new microwave open which you are using for just 25 to 30 minutes in a week. How come you have arrived on such high electric bill?
High cost of power generation is one of the major reasons for that. Remember that most of power plants operating in the United States are still using imported crude oil as its main fuel. It is a fact that prices of such oil is volatile because of several factors such as weather condition, quantity of production, and some times political and economical conflicts.
Once prices go higher, importers have no other choice but to impose higher price to the power generation companies. The latter will pass the burden to the electric utility which is responsible on distributing generated electricity on residential and commercial consumers. That is how the cycle goes, and it will keep running as long as we are dependent on imported energy supplies.
The U.S. Department of Energy is tasked by the federal government to look upon the matter. That is why DOE is now working on the renewable energy sources that are domestically available. Research and studies are conducted to know the viability of renewable energy projects. After finding out the viability of these projects, the federal government together with different financial institutions is starting to provide funds that will be used in renewable energy investments. Of what it is and how it works will be discussed through the rest of this article.
Renewable Energy Investment
Renewable energy investment (REI) is a program planned by the federal government together with different financial institutions in the country which concerns on raising investment capital, arranging finances and investments in renewable energy projects, and different technologies to improve energy efficiency. Investments covered viable renewable energy sources which includes solar power, wind power, hydropower, different bio-fuels (bio-methane and bio-diesel), geothermal power, ocean energy (tidal and thermal conversion), and waste heat recovery.
One integral part of REI is the venture capital. It is generally composed of funds raised in the capital markets by different specialized companies, funds, and investors. It is used to finance renewable energy that has potential in expanding their operation.
When a renewable energy company avails of venture capital, the investor who provided the funding will take part in the company’s management, and normally will receive profits, shares, and royalties. However, these investors are not interested in dividend income. They are much interested on the growth of their stocks inside the company and at the same time seeing the company grow in a rapid rate.
REI Requisites for Renewable Energy Companies
There are certain REI requisites that a renewable energy should follow to avail the program. These are the following:
1. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) - it is an indicator that the investment injected in a particular company will grow and the company’s operation will expand in estimated time frame. Investors will not fund a company or project if it is not competitive enough.
2. Market Potential – it is the viability of the project. The company must have renewable energy projects that can create an entirely new market in order to achieve a high growth rate than projects in existing markets where there are large number of competitors.
3. Management – the company must have personnel organization with requisite skills, talents, capabilities, and industry experience to implement and supervise projects and other peripherals.
Renewable energy investment is just a step forward to reduce our dependence on imported energy supplies and at the same time expanding renewable energy. After all, we will be benefiting from it.
The development or renewable energy sources is considered to be a major turning point in energy generation and investment. It eventually resolves the problem of possible energy shortage due to the depletion of coal reserves and natural gas deposits which is used as fuels for power plants. It also neutralized increasing prices of these energy resources which causes drastic price movements of other commodities.
Renewable energy sources are presently developed in order that it can sustain alone the needs of every household, community, or industry in terms of electricity and power. Most of these are utilized right now for electricity production, but this article will concentrate its discussion about geothermal energy. Continue reading and learn how Earth’s heat can actually generate electricity.
Geothermal Energy: An Overview
The word geothermal is derived from the Greek word “geo” which means “earth” and “therme’ which means “heat”. In other words, it simply means earth heat. Geothermal energy is derived from the heat coming from the hot steam that lies beneath the Earth’s surface. The heat derived from the Earth’s surface is used for electricity generation.
In locations with hot ground water temperature at low depths, wells are pierced into normal crack in basement rock or to porous sedimentary rock. Hot water or steam runs through these wells by means of pumping or by flashing flow. That is the common process of recovering heat from these sources.
Electricity Generation
The first electricity produced through geothermal energy was generated at Larderello in Italy in 1904. Since then, the use of geothermal energy as means of generating power has developed around the world, producing an estimated 8,000 megawatts; 2700 megawatts are accounted for power produced by the United States.
There are three types of power-generating plants which uses geothermal energy to produce electricity. These are discussed briefly in the following items:
• The dry steam power plant takes the steam out of the normal fractures and uses it to drive the turbine shaft which is connected to a generator.
• The flash power plant takes the hot water, generally temperatures exceeding 200 degrees Celsius, out of the ground and allowing it to boil in steam segregators and then running the steam through the turbine shaft.
• The binary power plants allow hot water to run through heat exchangers and then boiling an unrefined fluid that makes the turbine move.
Geothermal Power Plants in the United States
The largest dry steam power plant field in the world is The Geysers, which is situated about 90 miles north of San Francisco, California. It began its operation in 1960 which has 1,360 megawatts of installed capacity and can generate about 1,000 megawatts. It is recharged by injecting treated sewage from the city of Santa Rosa and the Lake County sewage treatment facility. This sewage is dumped into river and streams and piped into the geothermal field where it restocks the steam generated for power production.
Another major geothermal field is situated in south Central California, on the southeast side of the Salton Sea. There were 15 geothermal plants operating in this site as of 2001, and it produces a combined power of about 570 megawatts.
Advantages of Using Geothermal Energy for your Home
There are two distinctive advantages of using geothermal energy for electricity generation.
• It is flexible for use at residential level. Heat pumps and thermal energy storage structures provide both heating and cooling. You will find such systems more advantageous especially if you are situated in areas with hot climate.
• Geothermal systems do not have an impact on the appearance of your home. The piles and coils that will be used are placed 5 feet under ground. In addition, your system will not be altered by anyone without digging first to the ground.
Geothermal energy is certainly a favorable option in electricity generation. No pollution, low monthly electric bills, easy to maintain thermal systems. What more can you ask for?
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