The current world leader in solar power generation is Germany. Two years ago the solar power plants were recorded as generating over 20 gigawatts of electric power per hour. Last year that number increased to nearly 24 gigawatts. To put this in perspective, it would take nearly 20 nuclear power plants at maximum output to equal this amount of power generation. Germany is in the process of replacing nuclear power plants with renewable sources of energy including solar power. This is not without controversy, however, since the photovoltaic cells required in these plants are currently much more expensive than the materials needed for more traditional power generating plants. Germany has placed itself in the global spotlight by directly scoffing critics that say solar power cannot produce enough electricity to meet the needs of an entire country. While there is no plan to generate all of Germany’s electricity needs through solar power, they are certainly generating a significant amount. Interestingly enough, there are some critics that say too much solar power generation could flood the grid and cause storage problems for the country.

Running a distant second behind Germany is Spain. An example of the size of these solar power plants can be seen in the side-by-side arrays located at the solar power plant in Seville. The smaller array has 624 mirrors that focus sunlight toward a 40 story tower. The heat from the focused sunlight is used to convert water into steam, which turns a turbine that feeds a generator and makes electricity. The larger array has 1255 of these mirrors. The goal for the site was to power 180,000 homes with the electricity generated from these two arrays by the end of 2013. Similar to the problems Germany is seeing, it is currently more expensive to generate power in this method than the more traditional methods of coal-burning, natural gas and nuclear power. The budding industry is confident that as the technology continues to improve the cost will continue to drop.

The country that generates the third largest amount of electricity from solar power is Japan. Not surprisingly, Japan has taken huge and speedy steps away from nuclear power generation after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Accomplishments in terrestrial solar power generation aside, one Japanese company hopes to construct a solar power generating plant on the moon. Even though construction of the megalithic project is not scheduled for another twenty years, it is still garnering quite a bit of attention. Two immediate advantages to having solar power plants that are outside the Earth is that they can generate power continually without any interference or other complications from the atmosphere. The proposal is to use robots to mine material from the lunar surface to build mirrors which will line the Moon’s equator. The energy collected at the moon will be beamed back to the Earth in the form of microwaves and collected at various stations in the Earth’s oceans. A lofty plan indeed, but not entirely outside the realm of possibility.

The last country to make the list is the number four producer of electricity from solar power. This is the United States of America. Currently there are several solar projects in either the developmental or planning stages across the United States. Some of the states that are planning these projects are Arizona, California, and Colorado. These projects are each estimated to supply 100,000 homes with electricity. Unfortunately, just like in Spain and Germany, the cost associated with solar power is higher than desired. Research into photovoltaic cells is actively being examined by the United States government, not to mention several other institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Perhaps this is where the United States can contribute to the global move toward solar powered energy

Source:

http://1bog.org/blog/top-10-countries-using-solar-power/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/26/us-climate-germany-solar-idUSBRE84P0FI20120526

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/08/the-solar-power-towers-of-seville-spain.html

http://qz.com/152384/japans-plan-to-supply-all-the-worlds-energy-from-a-giant-solar-power-plant-on-the-moon/

http://energy.gov/articles/5-super-sized-solar-projects-transforming-clean-energy-landscape

There are several methods that can be used to generate electricity. All of them have similarities and differences between them. The purpose of this blog is to outline three processes that are used to generate electricity, including how they work and some of their advantages and disadvantages.

The first process for examination is a coal-fired plant. The coal is used to generate heat which in turn is used to convert liquid water to steam. Because of this it is desirable to obtain the most heat from the coal as possible. This is accomplished by converting the coal into a very fine powder and burning it while it is suspended in very hot, dry air. This ensures that there will be total combustion of the coal and a maximum amount of heat will be produced. This heat is used to convert purified water into steam under very high temperatures and pressures which is then fed into turbines. As the steam passes through a system of giant turbines, the pressure causes them to rotate. Each turbine is connected to a generator consisting magnets that spin inside coils of wire, which in turn induce an electric current within the wires.

Equally important is the process by which the steam is returned to water so that it may be used again. A nearby river or lake is used to bring in cool water that aids in condensing the steam back to liquid water. The condensed steam can then be sent back to the plant to be converted into steam over and over again. Similarly, the cool water can be returned to the environment with no contamination.

For plants that convert natural gas into electricity, the gas must be burned just as the coal is burned in the previous example. Natural gas plants siphon in the natural gas and mix it with air before burning it. Aside from generating heat, this burning process also creates an expansion gas that builds up pressure and drives turbine blades (again quite similar to the process for coal burning plants). Before the combustion gas is released into the environment, it is cooled by using the heat to convert water into steam. Finally, the combustion gas is released through a tall construct known as a stack that is of sufficient height that the combustion gas will disperse before reaching ground level. In this way, natural gas plants are considered to be very environmentally friendly. The steam is also used to help spin the turbines, and then cooled in exactly the same manner as the steam from the coal burning plants.

Nuclear power plants work in a very similar manner. The source of heat that is used to convert water to steam is nuclear fission of uranium atoms. The core of the nuclear reactor contains control rods that are comprised of uranium oxide. These rods are struck by individual neutrons which sometimes cause a molecule of uranium oxide to release more neutrons. The energy that was initially used to bind the neutrons to the uranium oxide molecule can now be used to heat water exposed to pressure greater than 150 atmospheres to temperatures of 300 degrees centigrade. This high temperature water is cycled around much lower pressure water that is converted to steam and used to power turbines just as with the other two plants. The water from the core is cycled back to be reheated and the steam is collected and sent back to the steam generator where it is also reused. Most nuclear power plants use a sea or an ocean as the source for the water that is used to cool the steam.

In closing, it should be mentioned that each of these plants takes the generated electricity and run it through a system of transformers to convert it to a very high voltage. This high voltage electricity can now be easily transported wherever it needs to go. It is generally considered that nuclear power is an extremely clean form of electricity generation. Natural gas plants are also considered to be environmentally friendly, while the coal plants do not benefit from such a perception.

Sources:

http://www.duke-energy.com/about-energy/generating-electricity/coal-fired-how.asp

http://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/generation-gas

https://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/generation-nuclear

A group of 2,600 people living in Faldsboldsrad’s town in southern Bavaria, playing a role cautiously in a bold experiment in a renewable energy generator in Germany, it is called “Energiewende” and it means “a shift in power.” The shift is an absent from nuclear power and fossil fuels and it is considered one of the complicated initiatives undertaken by the government two decades ago.

In the town of Faldsboldsrad, dozens of homes and public buildings are equipped with solar cells that are high-tech. Also on the hills there are wind turbines financed by the local population, and many of the farm buildings are build next to it a biogas plants.

This produces equipment and other similar projects, equivalent to about 500 percent of the requirements in the town of Faldsboldsrad comes from energy. Thanks to the new German Renewable Energy Law, which gives priority to the wind power and solar energy from the energy produced by coal and gas. The renewable energy is expanding quickly and unimaginably then before. Guenther Mugel, deputy mayor of the town, says: “I think the people of the town were amazed by the quick transformation of energy produce”

Berlin estimated that the total cost of this transformation project could be up to one trillion euros. Claudia Kimfirt, an energy expert at the German Institute for Economic Research, says: “The fear of the Germans has always been the power outage and the danger of nuclear energy. Now they are afraid of the new experiment of the shift in power. There will always be a poor management in the process, and there is an urgent need to improve government.”

Pressure will be increased on the new government in order to rethink the process of Germany in this prominent project, and it will be monitored globally. Said Ulrich Grillo, president of the German Federation Industries: “It was always clear that there is a price for that, but they were getting into new engineering energy that supplies without the presence of an engineer”

It is expected that most of the production of alternative energy in Germany will be in the north, which requires high-pressure lines for electric power transmission to the south. But the creation of these lines decline, because the Germans do not want to see the view of an ugly electricity pylon near their homes.

Sources:

http://www.wikipedia.org

http://aawsat.com/details.asp?section=31&article=679212&issueno=12235#.UvGtO3mgTf4

http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/analysis/2323207/hollande-deepens-franco-german-renewable-energy-ties

Once again we have encountered with Lego Robot in our previous class, but this class we used our robots for another purpose other than just programming the robot to go forward and backwards. In our previous class we have learned about acceleration, velocity, distance, and displacement; with all of this information we used our Lego robot to demonstrate how these factors apply in real life.

As an engineer I have learned these factors in previous years. Knowing how to apply them and how they are represented in real life. However, it is always a good learning phase to get back to the basics and be refreshed more in these lessons. It is also very helpful to learn the basics with different aspects from each professor; it can clear more of the concepts of these factors.

In last week class, the task was to measure the velocity of the robot by a ruler and compare it with lab view measurements with different power source, but at equal time of 1 second and at finally find the error of the measured and the lab view . My partner and I (Pavel) have completed this task successfully with no problem accrued.

Velocity = distance/time (m/s)

Error = absolute (measured – lab view)/((measured + lab view)/2)*100

As an electrical engineer at Suffolk University, I have employed the Lego robot many times since my sophomore year. I have always been interested in robotics and how to program them. Learning that we will once again be using the Lego robot, I became excited.

Our task at first was to build the robot and                                                                                         Our second task was to program it.

First Task:

Building the robot was not hard at all; I have always known my self that I am capable of building Legos. I was introduced to Lego games since I was young. Furthermore, Building the robot was an easy task knowing that I have the guidance to help me build it in a fast and efficient way.

Second task:

Programing the robot was also easy for me because I have learned this skill in one of the engineering courses, which took me some time to learn where are the tools to build the program, and seeing my fellow classmate that are not an engineering major; programing it for the first time and it worked, was very interesting and admiring to see.

         When Mother Nature gets angry, no human can stand in front of her. Hurricane Sandy strokes the northeastern coast of the United States of America in the 29th of October, which is part of the tropical cyclone that hit the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Sandy caused the biggest interruption of energy electricity in history! Where the storm uprooted giant trees from their roots and destroyed power lines, leaving more than five million people in the dark! In addition, the hurricane devastation caused also fires, floods, high winds and heavy rains inundated the streets of two cities New York and New Jersey and other U.S. states.

The recorded tidal was high more than expected during the hurricane, the number of deaths has reached 185 people. In addition, 52 billion dollars went for losses, the stock was closed, and all flight was canceled knowing that the force wind was 175 miles per hour. The hurricane flooded the tunnels, trains and metro water, and New York City was the city most affected by the hurricane, followed by the city of New Jersey.

The Hurricane affected all coastal states in the United States, including Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, New York, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It did not only harm the United States, but Hurricane Sandy reached some states and other coastal cities, such as Canada, Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

To deny that Sandy was intensified because of climate change would be to deny science. Rising ocean temperatures and sea levels make storms like Sandy more powerful and disastrous. Three years ago, the federal government actually predicted that we would be seeing storms like the one we have just been through.

sources:

1- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/climate-change-sandy.html

2- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Sandy

3- http://earthjustice.org/blog/2012-november/as-sandy-victims-shiver-america-must-stay-alert?gclid=CKDo_cOhrrwCFcY7OgodmSwA2g

          Now as we live in the 21-century, houses are highly dependent on electricity use, which is one of the top energy sources extremely handy in current time. Humans have now developed a sociological believe that without this energy there is no meaning to life or it is impossible to survive in it. Because this energy supplies a lot of our daily electronic devises. Knowing this information we can understand in this century how hard it is to live without the use of electronic devises. Saudi Arabia is one of the top 20 countries in electricity consumption. Furthermore, the question is, what is this energy? Where does it come from? And how does it supply our devices? Those question all tight up to one comparable answer, which is energy grid.

          Have you ever imagined waking up in one day without electricity? I sure cannot! Electricity lights up our home, cooks our food, power our computers, and other electronic devises. Moving electrons from one atom to another can make electricity. When those electrons move between the atoms, a current of electricity is created. The electrons move from one atom to another in a “flow”. At least now we got the idea of what is this energy that supplies our daylily lives.

             Now we ask our selves who supplies this energy? It is called energy gird. The energy grid, can also be called “grid energy storage”, the grid is a network of cables and wires, which are spread across the country. It is also being described as a high voltage electric power transmission connecting power station and major substation and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere. The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) was established in 2000 as a Saudi Joint Stock Company with paid-up capital of SR (33.7) billion. SEC provides power generation, transmission, and distribution, either by itself or by its subsidiaries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has a power transmission network that spans around 38,000-circuit km of high voltage lines and cables and range from 110kV to 380kV. Transmission Business Unit (TBU) of Saudi Electricity Company, as the owner and operator of this huge transmission system, is legally mandated to ensure the highest level of reliability and quality of electricity supply to its customers. The Saudi Arabian Grid Code is expected to play a vital and enabling role in helping the TBU in effectively dealing with the new challenges in the restructured power sector in the Kingdom.

            Last but not least, how does electricity reaches to us? The electrical generator produce about 25,000 volts and that is not enough to be send in long distance, so then electricity first passes through a transformer in the power station, that boosts the voltage up. When the electricity leaves the transformer it goes to the grid. The grid carries it from the generating stations to the towns and cities that will use it. This transformed electricity is much more powerful to self use. There is another transformer that will reduce this electricity again. I know I may be confusing to others or hard to understand. Therefore, I found a picture that will demonstrate exactly how electricity is transformed to our home

.

 Advantages:

Some advantages include, surplus power could be used to pump water up into reservoir to be used to generate hydroelectric power, power can be diverted to where it is needed, and pollution can be kept away from cities and large power station can be built, which are more efficient.

Disadvantages:

Some power is wasted heating the cables.

Sources:

www1.nationalgrids.com

www.wikipidia .com

www.wiki.answers.com