After the Middle East unrest, all eyes are now on the Arctic
Learning that current levels of oil production and use are not going to bring down civilisation with the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and it doesn’t fill me with relief and satisfaction which everyone seems to think it should.
I would have thought that, irrespective of Middle Eastern problems, renewable energy sources should be taken seriously, individuals, organisations and governments should champion and accept a good policy for manufacturing now, given that oil supplies are indeed finite, and seize the day and invest heavily in becoming world leaders in innovative and ever more efficient alternatives to oil.
Oil supplies from unstable regions
Competition for oil and gas in the Arctic regions are now going to increase, especially since More »
Tags: alternative energy, energy production, solar panels, solar power systems
A record number of homeowners had solar panels installed this month, according to energy regulator Ofgem.
Solar cells, also called photovoltaic (PV) cells by scientists, convert sunlight directly into electricity. PV gets its name from the process of converting light (photons) to electricity (voltage), which is called the PV effect. The PV effect was discovered in 1954, when scientists at Bell Telephone discovered that silicon (an element found in sand) created an electric charge when exposed to sunlight. Soon solar cells were being used to power space satellites and smaller items like calculators and watches. Today, thousands of people power their homes and businesses with individual solar PV systems. Utility companies are also using PV technology for large power stations.
Many power plants today use fossil fuels as a heat source to boil water. The steam from the boiling water spins a large turbine, which drives a generator to produce electricity. However, a new generation of power plants with 
A few decades ago it may have seemed a bit ludicrous to actually assume that your personal home could be used as a power generation station that can supply you and even your surrounding area with your own electricity if developed properly. Today, with the growing interest in wind turbine technology and its applications, however, millions of people worldwide are seeking out personal residential wind turbines for their own usage at home or elsewhere.