Green energy may be closer than we thought

The sun shines, the wind blows, tides hit the shor and now our eyes have opened on a new day and a better future. Innovations in renewable energy have begun to rapidly advance.

With the latest global events such as the recession and the Copenhagen Summit, the focus on renewable energy in the world has increased exponentially. Whether it is global warming, choking air pollution, fossil fuel addiction, high utility bills or the creation of job opportunities, the world is now speaking about a single common solution to save the planet: GO GREEN!

Novel ideas like that of solar roadways, solar islands, solar-powered cell phone towers, fuel cell-based waste water treatment plants, electric vehicles and HVDC wind power transmission, are exploring newer areas where conventional fossil fuels could be replaced by clean energy.  

According to a new study coauthored by Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson, the world can be powered by alternative energy using today's existing technology in 20-40 years. The research provides interesting and thought-provoking results and  gives us a new direction for thinking. Today, the main factors that prohibit the use of unconventional energy in the conventional manner are its costs and variable nature. The research proposes "bundling up renewable energy sources" in order to meet the "base load" energy, the minimum amount of energy that must be available to customers at any given hour of the day.

Solar and wind are complementary, as wind often peaks at night and sunlight peaks during the day; hydroelectric power can be used to fill in the gaps. This allows demand to be met precisely by supply in most cases. Other renewable sources like geothermal and tidal power can then be used to supplement wind and solar power.

The study found that in order to meet the world's energy demand with wind, water and solar resources, the footprint needed is about 0.4 percent of the world's land (mostly solar footprint) and the spacing between installations is another 0.6 percent of the world's land (mostly wind-turbine spacing).

The actual footprint required by wind turbines to power half the world's energy is less than the area of Manhattan," Jacobson said.

If half the wind farms were located offshore, a Manhattan-sized island would suffice!

Though Texas is ranked number one in installed wind capacity, touching 8,800 mega-watts by the end of 2008, the state lags far behind when it comes to solar energy. Interestingly, the State Energy Conservation Office of Texas evaluates that "The energy from sunshine falling on a single acre of land in West Texas is capable of producing the energy equivalent of 800 barrels of oil each year."

Why is Texas nowhere close to California when it comes to solar power even though the state has the highest solar resources in the U.S.? Most wind farms in Texas are located in the southwest and surprisingly, solar footprints are concentrated in the very same area. Why not integrate the two technologies and use land more wisely?

With the winds of change and an aroused interest in pursuing renewable energy, Texas A&M is steering research into different renewable energy technologies. Whether it be integration of renewable energy to the grid or achieving cost parity of solar power, A&M is working on every facet of renewable energy.

The ground is set and the resources are at our disposal; now all that remains is our contribution. With an interest and new ideas to contribute, we are surely not far from making a difference. When we fully explore and understand the existing problems, we can find better solutions.

 Renewable energy is still in its adolescence,  compared to conventional energy. Ideas, innovations and implementation will grow this technology into maturity and finally make renewable energy a clean and dominating force.