Energy sources that do not rely on the consumption of an exhaustible fuel. Tidal, geothermal, and the direct and indirect solar energies (direct: photovoltaics, CSP, solar thermal; indirect: wind, wave, biomass) are renewable energy.
15
votes
4answers
2k views
Are tidal power plants slowing down Earth's rotation?
Are tidal power plants slowing down Earth's rotation to the speed of the orbiting moon? (1 rotation per 28 cca days)
Are they vice versa increasing the speed of moon orbiting by generating some ...
2
votes
1answer
338 views
Can energy be extracted from clouds?
Can cloud charge imbalance be used as an energy source?
First off quite some energy must be present in clouds: a lightning path is quite long, and electrical breakdown of air requires about 1MV/m. ...
0
votes
3answers
9k views
Charging 12V 150Ah battery
I want to charge a 12V battery of 150Ah with a solar panel. The solar panel specs is
12V, 25 Watt.
Can anyone please provide me how to calculate that how much time it will take to charge the battery? ...
22
votes
3answers
845 views
Wind generators - why so few blades?
Why commercial wind generators usually have just 2-3 blades?
Having more blades would allow to increase power OR decrease diameter.
Decreased diameter would also reduce stress due to different wind ...
9
votes
3answers
150 views
What does the quantification of causes and effect look like, for clouds in offshore wind turbine wakes?
At Horns Rev windfarm off the coast of Denmark, sometimes in winter, clouds appears in the wake of the turbines. I've only seen photos of the phenomenon when the wind direction is exactly aligned with ...
2
votes
2answers
121 views
What are the current possibilities for large-scale storage of electrical energy?
I'm curious as to how large-scale electrical storage is managed now, how much they can store, how well they scale and for how long (and what is their loss rate).
(I'm not asking about technological ...
2
votes
2answers
201 views
Is it possible that windmills can consume the wind?
Can windmills allow us to consume (and, eventually, over-consume) the wind as a natural resource somewhat in the same manner that we are over-consuming many other natural resources?
3
votes
3answers
379 views
How bright can we make a sun jar?
A sun jar is an object that stores solar energy in a battery and then releases it during dark hours through a led.
Assume:
a $65cm^2$ solar panel
a 12h/12h light/dark cycle
insolation of ...
0
votes
1answer
503 views
Coil design and magnet orientation in a unique generator
First, I am not an electrical engineer - I am a hobbyist building a prototype linear-stlye generator based on an idea I had which, for various reasons, cannot be built with magnets that pass ...
