Demand Response is when there are changes in electric usage. Demand Response are programs designed to be fiscally and environmentally responsible. Demand responses are ways for a quick response in times like peak hours. Cost and environmental impact are a big scenario.

Demand Response programs have incentives like temporarily reducing usage for businesses who voluntarily participate in the program. There are even particular programs such as PEAR, Peak Energy Agriculture Rewards that specialize in serving agriculture producers: Irrigation, Cold storage and Processing are a few of the specialized services.

“The electric power industry considers demand response programs as an increasingly valuable resource option whose capabilities and potential impacts are expanded by grid modernization efforts.”(energy.gov) During peak hours this program helps to reduce the cost and use of electricity.

Demand Response programs can lower the cost of electricity in most large markets. Time based rates like time of use pricing,critical peak pricing,variable peak pricing, real time pricing and critical peak pricing. Direct load control programs provide the ability for power companies to cycle air conditioner and water heaters during peak hours in exchange for lower electric bills. Overall Demand Response is beneficial and will create cheaper electric bills in the long run.

http://pearcalifornia.com/what-is-demand-response-program

http://energy.gov/oe/technology-development/smart-grid/demand-response

Our project is on Solar Power. We decided to try and build a project similar to the solar cell lab in which we could collect the solar energy and look into the way it works. After visiting the museum of science we decided to create a collection device in which it would collect 1000 watts per square meter under clear sunny skies.

For this experiment we would need 2-three inch circles cut from white construction paper, 2-three inch circles cut from black construction paper. Then we would need one of each in the bottom of four equal sized plastic beverage containers.Then we would put 1/4 cup cold water in each container and record the temperatures. One bottle  with a white circle in it and one bottle with a  black circle in it. Then we would have to place all the bottles in a sunny location.

we would have to check on the bottle frequently, every five or ten minutes. By having two bottles,one with white and one with black we will be able to see which is more profitable in the collection of solar power.The benefits of solar power are that it doesn’t emit any greenhouse gases. Besides maintenance solar energy is completely free and easy. Solar energy is all off the grid so there is no connection to an electricity grid therefore houses don’t have a sudden spike in payments.Overall solar energy is beneficial and eco-friendly.

In this experiment we learned about the source and power of electric energy. Farradays law states that changing magnetic fluxes through coiled wires generate electricity,exchange of currents and voltage. In this lab we shook a tube which had a magnet that traveled back and forth through a coil of wires. The greater the magnetic flux then the greater the currents and voltage.

The number of shakes in the generator equaled to 30 seconds an interval at different rates with voltage.We connected wires to NXT and counted the number of shakes. We did this three different times at three different speeds and then we repeated all the steps three more times. The equation we used was e=m^4/volt and the sum of the values gives the average value of shakes. The faster you shake the greater the generated voltage is.Overall this experiment was very beneficial In learning about power and voltage and the different ways you can generate power.

In the lab we used the ideas of Newtons second law. Force equals mass times acceleartion. In this experiment the motor exerts the force onto the weights to make them move up the pulley The lab taught us how to use different weights in order to make it accelerate.

First we ran the experiment three times with different power levels and the same weight. The first trial the weight was 250 kg which is .25 kilograms. The power level was 40 and the result was the acceleration was 9 rpm. The second trial the power level was 60 and the result was the acceleration increased. The third dial the power level was 100 and the result was the acceleration increased.

Next we ran the experiment where the weight changed but not the power level. The power level was 40. In the first trial it was .19 kilograms and the result was the acceleration increased. The second trial 1.3 kilograms and the result was the acceleration increased. The third trial was .07 kilograms and the result was the acceleration increased.

Tom Vales Presentation was not only informative but extremely interesting. Mr. Vales showed us many different electrical inventions such as a hot air engine that contained a cup filled with water and when the water heated up it would move between the bottom and top of the cup. When the water in the bottom of the cup was heated it would make the turbine type windmill turn. Another invention was a Wireless Transmission which used alternating current and when the cork was put into the situation it then changed the transmitter.  The Sterling Engine was an invention that was a substitute for the steam engine. Mr. Vales also showed us multiple “quack medicine” inventions that people believed actually helped realign and cure them, when in reality they did absolutely nothing but they were fun to play with. The Mendesedo Motor was a four solar cell that makes current go through a wire and propels the machine in mid air. One of the most interesting invention was the Tesla Coil which was invented in 1880. This had a motor spun coiled wire that created electricity and the nail in the top of the coil created a current of electricity that ran through it. Overall Tom Vales presentation was extremely informative, he was a fairly humorous person. His way of teaching was interesting and fun I hope he gets to come teach something else in the near future.

The Fukushima Disaster was a reaction to the earthquake in March of 2011. There are eleven reactors at four nuclear power plants in the region and when the earthquake hit it shut down all these reactors at the same time.”The operating units which shut down were Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (Tepco) Fukushima Daiichi 1, 2, 3, and Fukushima Daini 1, 2, 3, 4, Tohoku’s Onagawa 1, 2, 3, and Japco’s Tokai, total 9377 MWe net. Fukushima Daiichi units 4, 5 & 6 were not operating at the time, but were affected.” originally it was inspected and determined that the earthquake did not affect the plants but the inspection was wrong. THe main problem was Fukushima Daiichi units 1,2 and 3 and the fourth unit wasn’t a problem until later on.

Not only was the earthquake an awful tragedy but it also caused a lot of health concerns.Due to the damage of the nuclear reactor it cause radiation exposure to many people. Land exposure,food contamination and building terrain were all effect by this devastation.

Fukushima not only effected the environment but has also left the country with serious health concerns. When people are exposed to radiation so many concerns come into play such as Girls are  at greater risk of thyroid cancer. Reports find an increased risk for breast cancer,small additional rick of contracting cancer as well. Overall anybody exposed to the Fukushima disaster two years ago are at a much higher risk of cancer.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident-2011/#.UUnKBUJc_mA

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/01/reassessing-health-effects-fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-accident

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/fukushima-cancer-rates-risks_n_2779729.html

Alexa Kay

The Solyndra Scandal is a huge issue. Solyndra is a company that produces clean energy by using solar panels and it was put together during the Bush administration in 2006.  Solyndra  is a company that sells solar photovoltaic systems of panels and mounting hardware for large commercial roofs.  This is very beneficial to helping generate more electricity but in 2011 the company filed bankrupcy and had to lay off all its employees.

Solyndra was shocked when FBI agents came knocking on the door with a search warrant. The company received a government loan in 2009 for $535 million dollars.

There were multiple backers in this company as it seemed to be a great idea to produce  ” green jobs” said  Obama who was a big supporter.Another large supporter was the Kaiser family who is a oilman out of oklahoma. This company was a leading light in the Obama campaign. Investors loaned the company another $75 million which was said to be paid back immediantly.

Earlier, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: “There are no guarantees in the business world about success and failure. That is just the way business works, and everyone recognizes that.” He added that “you cannot measure the success based on one company or the other.” Is this why it failed or was it political pressure?

Steven Spinner, the former department of energy official  was at the center of the Solyndra scandal. Spinner signed a waiver saying he would not be involved in the loan but later it was discovered and emails confirmed that he was a heavy promoter for the loan.Overall this is a colossal mess and to resolve this is going to take some more time and some great efforts to fix this issue.

References:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/solyndra-scandal-timeline/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904836104576558763644374614.html

http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/05/key-solyndra-scandal-figure-dodges-cameras-at-dnc/

Natural gas play a huge role in contributing to our nations clean energy. The U.S has large amounts  of natural gas reserves due to drilling horizontally and hydraulic Fracturing technologies which enable us to get large amounts of natural gas. This provides economic safety, energy safety and many environmental benefits.

Natural gas is being used in a lot of the Hydraulic Fracturing to help preserve the environment. The Houston based Apache corp has switched to using natural gas in there drilling. Its a proven process that allows producers to safely recover natural gases and oil. This technology has potential to reduce our foreign fuel imports and reduce Carbon dioxide accelerations.

There is also lots of fear that Hydraulic Fracturing is dangerous to the human population. It is believed that trying to drill out of tightly packed rock may cause too much pollution. This process affects a lot of the water because you have to use so much of it, therefore environmentalist and farmers fear that it will pollute the water source.“Our concern is with maintaining the quality of the water in our streams and preventing groundwater contamination,” said George Jugovic Jr., president of Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, an advocacy group.

High pressure liquid cracks the rock and the sand helps keep the fracture therefore allowing the gas to escape and be contained. Over all so far in Canada there have been over 700 wells cracked and next is the U.S. The oil is being distributed to places such as Shell and Chevron.

Sources:

http://www.epa.gov/hydraulicfracture/ 

stream.aljazeera.com

http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/123618/Natural_Gas_Powering_Apache_Hydraulic_Fracturing_Ops

http://www.hydraulicfracturing.com/Pages/information.aspx  Hydroluic fracturing

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/business/energy-environment/race-is-on-to-clean-up-hydraulic-fracturing.html?_r=0

Alexa Kay

The past two weeks we did a lab on building and controlling a robot car. This experiment was beneficial and I learned a lot. First we put together the car,assembling pieces to this car was difficult at first but then we figured it all out. The lego pieces didn’t all seem to fit but once we found the sheet where you look and compare the sizes it was a lot easier. After we assembled the car we programmed it using software we watched a video on prior. We then plugged the car up to the computer and connected the two cords to the correct sources. After programing the car we then unplugged the car and we could control the speed and motion of the car. After we figured out how to control the car we then readjusted the speed of the wheels so we could create a circular motion. We then could make the car go in a circle of two meters. Monday in class we also figured out the wheel rotation and the speed of the robot. We also learned about the percent era so we could figure out the correlation error.

Alexa Kay

Fuel is a precious thing and we are trying to reduce our use of it by using different methods of electricity. The obama administration issued new rules that require automobile manufactures to increase the efficiency of new cars and truck to 55 mpg by the year 2025. Thats still a really long time from now but at least its a start. This new goal will cause automobile makers to have to work harder to produce more fuel efficient ways to make cars. Automobile companies are trying to reach a 35.5 mpg by 2016.

The government has put a massive amount of $60 million dollars into research about this issue.  This has been put to road testing multiple alternative fuel technologies for vehicles. There has been a wide range of ideas for alternative fuel. For example converting body heat or perfecting fuel cells that transform hydrogen into power. These ideas are being prepped to share with U.S carmakers. The military operate under the most harsh conditions so if scientist and automobile makers can make tanks and other military cars run off these ideas then they figure they can make any vehicle function under these terms.

Military researchers are trying to improve parts such as the drain energy,radiators, air filters and mufflers. There are many experiments workers are trying to capture like engine power thats wasted as exhaust heat and make it into electricity that can charge batteries or run the internal computers.  after developing the prototype they will install it in a tank and test everything out.

Obama states in an article on CNN that “In the midst of a deep recession and financial crisis, the collapse of the auto industry would have caused enormous damage to our economy.”  If GM reinvented itself then it would be good for the automobile industry and could help rebuild the industry completely. Treasury department put 19.4 billion into GM and 4 billion into Chrysler.  The estimated cost for each new vehicle is 1,300 in order to reach the 2016 automobile goals.  Automobile goals are high and it will be hard to accomplish but if we keep working at this I think our economy can handle the pressure.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/fuel_efficiency/index.html

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-17/better-gas-mileage-thanks-to-the-pentagon

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/15/obama.autos/index.html