Philadelphia Renewable

The United States is spending a great deal of money trying to combat problems caused by the use of fossil fuels. Environmental degradation is forcing everyone, worldwide, to consider other sources of energy. One of the more popular alternatives that is starting to be used extensively throughout this country is solar energy. By using photovoltaic panels or solar thermal collectors, the heat and energy from the sun’s rays can be transformed into electricity. Solar power can also be used for heating and cooling of a building. Solar America Cities is a partnership through the U.S. Department of Energy and is comprised of 25 major cities in the U.S. who are striving to expand their use of renewable resources, particularly through the use of solar technology. Continue Reading »

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When it comes to finding new sources of energy, the days of waiting until “things get bad enough” are over. The fact that much of oil used in the US comes from politically unstable areas, combined with rising oil costs, environmental concerns, and the recent BP oil spill, is creating an increasing demand for new sources of energy. Philadelphia is a city doing its part to solve the energy crisis. Biofuel is gaining attention as an alternative fuel possibility because it takes waste products and creates them into a cleaner burning fuel. Biodiesel is made by using either soybean oil, poultry waste or used fryer oil in a chemical process that alters the molecules in the oil. After the original product has been altered, it can either be combined with diesel fuel or used completely in replace of diesel. Any diesel engine can use this product, though some engines require slight modification. By creating a fuel type from a renewable resource and making it into a fuel burning cleaner than oil, it achieves environmental efficiency. Continue Reading »

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The Philadelphia area has several research universities in its backyard. This is very essential to being a city on the cutting edge of the latest developments in energy efficiency. The University of Pennsylvania has an Energy Research Group that is conducting extensive research on various methods of storing hydrogen for energy use. Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about electric cars and hybrid vehicles as they are finally available in marketable quantities. One other type of car that is receiving a lot of attention in the research industry is a hydrogen car.Using hydrogen presents greater challenges and requires more advances than many of the hybrid cars on the market already. However, when perfected, they will be a zero-emissions product with the only emission being water vapor. Hydrogen does not naturally occur on Earth and therefore must be separated from its other properties in compounds such as water or methane. When a car is fueled at a hydrogen station, the hydrogen is then burned in either a combustion engine or a fuel cell and can then power the vehicle. Continue Reading »

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