10 great misunderstandings concerning energy and power generation

Technologies related to the environment and energy are just progressing rapidly and yesterday's common sense is quickly becoming insane. I tried organizing 10 topics related to so-called "new energy".

Details are as below.
The 10 big energy myths | Environment | The Guardian

1. Is solar power generation too expensive and not useful?
Currently, solar power only uses 10% of solar energy. But in the future more efficient solar cells will be developed. Also, if you use heat as well as light, efficiency will be better. There are various restrictions such as the area of ​​the land and weather conditions to install a panel or a plant, but it can be installed in the desert of Africa if long distance transmission of electric power becomes possible.

2. Is wind power generation less reliable?
During some time of the first half of this year, wind power was responsible for 40% of the Spanish electricity demand. Supply in North Germany exceeded demand. Weather conditions in North Scotland are good so we can cover 10-15% of the demand across the UK with fossil fuels at a similar cost. As the size of the turbine increases and the maintenance cost decreases, further profitability will improve. Turbine installation and servicing also have the effect of creating employment.

3. Is ocean energy stalled?
Tidal currents off Scottish northeast have enough energy to cover the electricity demand in London. The waves that are spreading to Spain and Portugal are stable and strong, so you can get a lot of power. In recent years, it seems that the development of equipment that can be operated in a fast flowing tide is achieving results. Rather economic factors make ocean energy development difficult. In recent years, a lot of taxes are being used by the London Royal Opera House rather than the marine energy industry.

4. Nuclear power generation has low carbon dioxide emissions and is cheaper compared to other methods?
By successfully operating nuclear power generation, some of the environmental and energy problems will be overcome. However, there are some problems such as the spread of waste and nuclear weapons using it. Also, the cost required for installation often jumps beyond expectations. Then it may be cheaper to attach a carbon dioxide removal device to existing thermal power plants.

5. Is the electric car slow and cool?
Electric cars are slow to accelerate, they can not ride far and are considered poorly appearance. However,Tesla's RoadsterThere are some that have performance that is not much different from gasoline cars. Progress is further accelerating and it is also possible to run at a cost of one twentieth of the current diesel engine.

6. Is biofuel harmful to the environment?
Biofuels were struggling to starve and to reduce the forest to increase the field. These are of course unsuccessful, but that does not mean that biofuel is useless. In the future, disassembling agricultural waste and diverting it to fuel will reduce the burden on the environment. Of course biofuels are not all solutions. It is best that biofuels are made without dropping food production.

7. Do I have to do organic farming due to climate change?
Organic cultivation has only about half the efficiency compared with a method which is not so. Now, although 6 billion people have to make food to eat, it will increase to 9 billion people in 2050. To cope with this increase rate, it will be necessary to use methods other than organic cultivation.

8.Zero carbon buildingIs it the best way to reduce greenhouse gases from buildings?
Greenhouse gases from buildings account for half the world's emissions. However, even if regulating only newly constructed buildings, it is too meaningless and it makes no sense to completely build a zero carbon building. Rather it will be better to encourage renovation of old buildings.

9. Is it as efficient as a large power plant?
Huge gas-fired power plants convert about 60% of the fuel into energy and the rest are discarded as heat. Furthermore, 10 to 15% will be lost at the transmission stage, but still it was better efficiency than other methods. This situation is rapidly changing. Small sizeCombined generationThe machine converts half of the fuel energy to electric power, and further efficiency is improved because the heat which had been thrown away in normal power generation can also be used.

10. Is high technology necessary to change the climate?
As with nuclear power, the technology used to solve a problem may cause another problem.biomassSimple technologies such as adsorbing carbon dioxide by making charcoal using sometimes have great effect.