Tuesday, October 9, 2012

General energy facts – Part 01

China is the world's largest manufacturer of not only solar panels but also wind turbines.

Standard commercial solar panels have a lifespan of 20+years.

Coal is still the mostly used fuel to generate electricity on worldwide scale.

Approximately 40% of the world electricity production comes from coal.   

According to the study by the Michigan State University it is 36 percent more efficient to grow grain for food than for fuel.

Geothermal heat pumps are always more efficient at heating compared to being used as pure electric heaters, even when extracting heat from cold winter air.

According to the study from Brazil's National Institute hydroelectric dams hurt climate more than oil by releasing significant amounts of methane into the environment, because of the rotting vegetation submerged when the reservoir floods.

Colorado was the first U.S. state to create a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), back in 2004.

World fastest growing energy technology is photovoltaic production that is increasing by an average of 48 percent each year since 2002.

Wind power provides about 20% of electricity production in Denmark which is significantly higher proportion than in any other country in the world.

Unlike wind and solar resources, which are more dependent upon weather fluctuations, geothermal resources are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The New Hope Power Partnership, located in South Bay, Florida, is the largest biomass power plant in North America.

Currently around 90 % of all buildings in Iceland are heated with geothermal power.

Biomass is the second most common renewable energy source in United States that satisfies around 4% of nation's electricity demand.

The world's largest wind farm is located in Texas, The Roscoe Wind Farm with the capacity of 781 MW.

California has more photovoltaics installed than all other U.S. states together.

Solar panels perform optimally when placed in direct sunlight so it is always wise to position your photovoltaic array directly under the noontime sun in order to achieve maximum efficiency.

Global geothermal heat pump capacity is growing by 10% annually.

Biofuels provided 1.8% of the world's transport fuel in 2008.

Coal is mostly used energy source to generate electricity (approximately 49% of the United States electricity comes from coal) despite being the "dirtiest" energy source of them all.

In the 2010 there were more than 85,000 people employed in the US wind industry.

Chinese plan to have 5 million electric cars on the nation’s road by 2020.

Biodiesel has 10 to 12 percent lower energy density compared to standard diesel fuel meaning you get a lower mileage for biodiesel compared to ordinary diesel fuel.

In 2009 U.S. accounted for only five percent of the world’s solar cells production.

US has very long history in harnessing geothermal energy because the first U.S. geothermal power plant was opened at The Geysers in California, more than 50 years ago, in 1960.

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