Begin Typing to Search Submit Search. More and more businesses in the US and abroad are embracing sustainable practices as they begin to feel the impacts of the climate crisis where it matters most: their bottom lines. As wind and solar energy achieve cost competitiveness with fossil fuels and investors wake up to the long-term risks of continuing to power their businesses in ways that impact the environment, addressing the climate crisis has become an economic imperative.
And the best part is, you are helping them do it every day, and you might not even know it. Here are five we think are doing an especially great or surprising job of powering the economy with affordable clean energy. The company met percent of its US electricity use in with its purchase of 3. Last year, Intel installed the then-largest wind micro-turbine array in the US on the roof of its worldwide headquarters in Santa Clara, California. It has facilitated 18 on-site solar plants at several of its facilities, representing an installed solar capacity of approximately 7, kW and growing.
Intel Corporation believes that global climate change is a serious environmental, economic, and social challenge that warrants an equally serious response by governments and the private sector.
The company also sees real opportunity ahead. Of its 1, stores in 49 states, 1, are Energy Star-certified and locations feature on-site solar panels, according to the retailer. When biomass is burned, the chemical energy is released as heat and can generate electricity with a steam turbine.
Biomass is often mistakenly described as a clean, renewable fuel and a greener alternative to coal and other fossil fuels for producing electricity. However, recent science shows that many forms of biomass—especially from forests—produce higher carbon emissions than fossil fuels. There are also negative consequences for biodiversity. Still, some forms of biomass energy could serve as a low-carbon option under the right circumstances. For example, sawdust and chips from sawmills that would otherwise quickly decompose and release carbon can be a low-carbon energy source.
Drilling deep wells brings very hot underground water to the surface as a hydrothermal resource, which is then pumped through a turbine to create electricity. Geothermal plants typically have low emissions if they pump the steam and water they use back into the reservoir. There are ways to create geothermal plants where there are not underground reservoirs, but there are concerns that they may increase the risk of an earthquake in areas already considered geological hot spots.
Some tidal energy approaches may harm wildlife, such as tidal barrages , which work much like dams and are located in an ocean bay or lagoon. Passive solar homes are designed to welcome in the sun through south-facing windows and then retain the warmth through concrete, bricks, tiles, and other materials that store heat.
Some solar-powered homes generate more than enough electricity, allowing the homeowner to sell excess power back to the grid. Batteries are also an economically attractive way to store excess solar energy so that it can be used at night. Scientists are hard at work on new advances that blend form and function, such as solar skylights and roof shingles.
Geothermal technology is a new take on a recognizable process—the coils at the back of your fridge are a mini heat pump, removing heat from the interior to keep foods fresh and cool. In a home, geothermal or geoexchange pumps use the constant temperature of the earth a few feet below the surface to cool homes in summer and warm houses in winter—and even to heat water.
Geothermal systems can be initially expensive to install but typically pay off within 10 years. They are also quieter, have fewer maintenance issues, and last longer than traditional air conditioners. A backyard wind farm? Boats, ranchers, and even cell phone companies use small wind turbines regularly. Dealers now help site, install, and maintain wind turbines for homeowners, too—although some DIY enthusiasts are installing turbines themselves.
Depending on your electricity needs, wind speeds, and zoning rules in your area, a wind turbine may reduce your reliance on the electrical grid. Wind- and solar energy—powered homes can either stand alone or get connected to the larger electrical grid, as supplied by their power provider. Electric utilities in most states allow homeowners to only pay the difference between the grid-supplied electricity consumed and what they have produced—a process called net metering.
If you make more electricity than you use, your provider may pay you retail price for that power. Unlike intermittent wind and solar energy, biomass can be used continuously or according to a schedule.
Biomass is derived from wood, waste, landfill gas, crops, and alcohol fuels. Traditional biomass, including waste wood, charcoal, and manure, has been a source of energy for domestic cooking and heating throughout human history. In rural areas of the developing world, it remains the dominant fuel source. Globally in , bioenergy accounted for about The growing use of biomass has resulted in increasing international trade in biomass fuels in recent years; wood pellets, biodiesel, and ethanol are the main fuels traded internationally.
In , global biomass electric power capacity stood at GW, increasing 5. The United States had 16 GW of installed biomass-fueled electric generation capacity. In the United States, most of the electricity from wood biomass is generated at lumber and paper mills using their own wood waste; in addition, wood waste is used to generate the heat for drying wood products and other manufacturing processes.
Biomass waste is mostly municipal solid waste , i. On average, a ton of garbage generates to kWh of electricity. Landfill gas contains methane that can be captured, processed and used to fuel power plants, manufacturing facilities, vehicles and homes. In the United States, there is currently more than 2 GW of installed landfill gas-fired generation capacity at more than projects.
In addition to landfill gas, biofuels can be synthesized from dedicated crops, trees and grasses, agricultural waste, and algae feedstock; these include renewable forms of diesel, ethanol, butanol, methane, and other hydrocarbons. Corn ethanol is the most widely used biofuel in the United States. Roughly 39 percent of the U. Gasoline with up to 10 percent ethanol E10 can be used in most vehicles without further modification, while special flexible fuel vehicles can use a gasoline-ethanol blend that has up to 85 percent ethanol E Closed-loop biomass, where power is generated using feedstocks grown specifically for the purpose of energy production, is generally considered to be carbon dioxide neutral because the carbon dioxide emitted during combustion of the fuel was previously captured during the growth of the feedstock.
While biomass can avoid the use of fossil fuels, the net effect of biopower and biofuels on greenhouse gas emissions will depend on full lifecycle emissions for the biomass source, how it is used, and indirect land-use effects. Overall, however, biomass energy can have varying impacts on the environment. Wood biomass, for example, contains sulfur and nitrogen, which yield air pollutants sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, though in much lower quantities than coal combustion.
Geothermal provided an estimated TWh globally in , with 97 TWh in the form of electricity with an estimated Total global electricity generation in was 26, TWh. In the United States, nearly 17 TWh of geothermal electricity was generated in , making up about 3. Of these, California accounted for 80 percent of this generation. Geothermal areas are generally located near tectonic plate boundaries, where there are earthquakes and volcanoes.
In some places, hot springs and geysers have been used for bathing, cooking and heating for centuries. Water is pumped down this well, where it is reheated by hot rocks. It travels through natural fissures and rises up a second well as steam, which can be used to spin a turbine and generate electricity or be used for heating or other purposes.
Several wells may have to be drilled before a suitable one is in place and the size of the resource cannot be confirmed until after drilling. Additionally, some water is lost to evaporation in this process, so new water is added to maintain the continuous flow of steam. Like biopower and unlike intermittent wind and solar power, geothermal electricity can be used continuously. Enhanced geothermal systems use advanced, often experimental, drilling and fluid injection techniques to augment and expand the availability of geothermal resources.
BBC Science. National Renewable Energy Laboratories. The U. The interconnected North American power grid enables two-way trading and benefits both Canada and the United States with enhanced …. View Details Download pdf, 1 MB. Tags Climate Innovation. Technology Solutions » Electricity. Renewable Energy.
At-a-glance Renewable energy is the fastest-growing energy source in the United States, increasing 42 percent from to up 90 percent from to Renewables made up nearly 20 percent of utility-scale U. Solar generation including distributed , which made up 3. The secret? It may seem counter-intuitive, but in China had by far the largest amount of solar PV and wind capacity installed of any country — by a long shot.
With ample sun, Morocco decided to go big. Bigger than anyone else in the world, in fact. The largest concentrated solar plant earth is nearing completion in Morocco. In the US, a new solar energy system was installed every two minutes and 30 seconds in , earning the US fifth place on the installed solar PV capacity global rankings. America also has the second-highest installed wind energy capacity in the world after China.
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