Which is your personal favourite 'alternative' energy, like wind turbines, tidal power or nuclear and why? Are there any really good ones that no-ones heard about? Personally I like the idea of Fusion Power, but say whatever you like!
What is the best 'alternative' energy?
- Thread starter Majithicus
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Different situations suit different alternative energy sources but solar is probably the most universal.
not a lot of space, you would need to put them in the lake (its possible) the buildings in the city don't have the wiring to handle the power supply and the buildings would not be able to support the weight of the fans.Debatra said:
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why not tidal power in the Gulf?
why not in the Pungent Sound? oh yea... Ted Kennedy
private companies sell everything you need to make a solar array or a wind farm, the issue is zoning
Hydrogen. Plenty of it around, zero emissions, could also help lower the risk of rising tides 
They just need an efficient enough method of using it.
I'm also in favour of nuclear. It gets a bad rep because when it goes wrong it really goes. But in terms of the amount of power you get for the waste, it's a winner.
They just need an efficient enough method of using it.I'm also in favour of nuclear. It gets a bad rep because when it goes wrong it really goes. But in terms of the amount of power you get for the waste, it's a winner.
I support nuclear power. It's obviously not the solution to every type of energy, but it works really well and I'm sure better ways of handling nuclear waste aren't too far in the future.
I heard that there was this idea to put these pressure-based turbines under Times Square so that when people walked over it power would be generated. Something like that sounds pretty cool.
not really, the issue is finding a place where you can get sunlight in a city enviorment you need a building that was built to support the solar array and depending on where the location is you might only be able to get a few hours of direct sunlight a daycarnkhan4 said:
I would hedge my bets on wind power, its expensive but if you put them high enough you can get solid wind power, 24 hours a day 7 days a week regardless of the suns location. (Alaska, northern Russia, Scandinavia would all be better off with wind OR tidal power because they only get a few months of sun exposure.
Yeah, they have had 'solar furnaces' that focus the sun (in quite hot places) through many, many mirrors on to a tiny spot where you can melt a hole in steel plate.carnkhan4 said:
I agree with geothermal. I seem to recall reading somewhere that there are several geothermal power plants already in construction (can't remember where, though). Also, I once had an idea to set up lightning rods in open areas like deserts, and use the heat from the strikes to power steam turbines.Typhusoid said:
nuclear right now its the only truly viable alternative energy source against oil wind turbines and solar might be a more "eco friendly" option but they wont meet our energy demands fully and with modern technology nuclear energy is an extremely safe technology as well
The original fusion generator produced something like 1/3 of the energy of the input. Maybe not the most efficient in the world.Typhusoid said:
solar power is still generally inefficient, also not making any power at night so you need a way to store energy(also leads to energy loss)Debatra said:
Wind farms eh not bad but have you heard the noise they make? sounds like a low pressure whoosh constantly over and over, so they have to be kept away from people. also not a whole lot of energy for the space they take up.
I'm just gonna go with nuke power as best, or hydroelectric, at least untill will come up with a better way to harness sunlight.
Well, I have great faith in a method currently in development, which harnests the energy which is generated when fresh water meets salt water. The principles behind it is quite complex, but if it proves to be economically possible to mass produce these factories, they are going to be good news for all countries who have a lot of rivers and such. The factories are buildt so that they (hopefully) won't harm the environment.
The first factory is currently being buildt in Norway (yay!) and is due in 2015.
EDIT: Here's a link [http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2027794.ece]
The first factory is currently being buildt in Norway (yay!) and is due in 2015.
EDIT: Here's a link [http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2027794.ece]