CONSUMER'S GUIDE TO SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES -- ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Alternative Energy

Introduction
Primary Links
For More Information
Organizations

Introduction

Whether you're looking to increase your energy self-sufficiency or just want information about where your power comes from, home energy use is one of the most important areas where you can lower your environmental impact. That's because electricity generation from fossil fuels is the single most polluting activity today in industrialized countries. Most U.S. power plants burn coal, which is a leading cause of acid rain, greenhouse gas emissions, smog, tiny particulate pollution, and toxic metal contamination.

And as the population grows, homes get bigger, and people use more and more electronic items, energy consumption keeps growing. Though energy efficiency standards for appliances and more stringent building codes for homes help to reduce demand, energy consumption is expected to increase 87% between 1997 and 2020.

A renewable energy source is one which we cannot deplete or which we deplete at a rate less than that necessary for regeneration. Although one can argue that fossil fuels are renewable, it takes millions of years for them to regenerate. Better sources given the human time frame:

solar
wind
geothermal
small-scale hydroelectric
hydrogen

Another reason to start thinking now about renewable energy is the current move to deregulate the U.S. electric power industry. Some time in the near future (or even now if you live in certain areas), you will be able to select where you buy your electricity. If you choose to purchase from a less-polluting source, you can have a major influence on the environmental impact of energy consumption.

Questions? Please see our page of Frequently Asked Questions about Alternative Energy.

Primary Links

Your Source Resource: The Energy You Can Choose

URL: http://www.repp.org/greene/buy1.html
A simple chart comparing relative polluting effects of different energy forms, including renewable and fossil fuel sources.

Glossary: Coming to Terms with Renewable Energy

URL: http://www.repp.org/greene/glossary.html
Comprehensive yet clear glossary of renewable energy terms. In addition to definitions of energy sources, includes extensive entries specific to utility operators and deregulation.

An Information Survival Kit for the Prospective Geothermal Heat Pump Owner. by Kevin Rafferty, PE

URL: http://www.oit.osshe.edu/~geoheat/ghp/ghptable.htm
Useful information for anyone considering investing in a geothermal heat pump, including in what situations this type of system doesn't work well. In addition to basic terminology and the fundamentals of heat pump design, this site includes a guide to available equipment and how to read performance ratings. Also available to download as a PDF file.

SolarGuide Factbase: An Introduction to Solar Energy Topics

URL: http://www.ases.org/solarguide/fbhdt.html
An overview of renewable energy topics and a more in-depth explanation of solar energy technologies, including photovoltaics, thermal solar and passive solar. Includes a glossary of terminology. An excellent starting place for anyone seriously interested in solar energy.

The Source for Renewable Energy

URL: http://energy.sourceguides.com/index.shtml
A comprehensive guide to over 3300 renewable energy businesses and organizations around the world. You can search by geographic location, product type, business type, or business name.

Wind Energy Resource Atlas of the United States

URL: http://rredc.nrel.gov/wind/pubs/atlas/atlas_index.html
A lengthy source published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as an assessment of wind energy potential in the United States and its territories, this guide divides the nation into twelve regions and rates their annual and seasonal average wind resources. Though much of the information is pretty technical, it allows a potential user to determine the general feasibility of wind as an energy source before doing a more site specific analysis.

For More Information

General

Consumer's Glossary of Energy Terms

URL: http://www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo/glossary.html
Comprehensive definitions of energy related terminology from the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network.

Home Power Magazine: the hands-on journal of home-made power

Phone: (800) 707-6585
URL: http://www.homepower.com
This magazine was started to fill an information void for users and would-be users of home-made electricity. Every issue features at least one system article with charts, spreadsheets and system schematics. Each issue also contains lists of events, questions & answers, and a classified ads section.

International Solarserver

URL: http://solarinfo.com
A database of information on photovoltaics, thermic and wind power. Includes free uploads of news and information related to renewables. Available in German and English.

Solstice

URL: http://solstice.crest.org/index.shtml
Solstice is the Internet information service of the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST). It has a variety of information about renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable living, including links to organizations, documents, databases and discussion groups.

Geothermal

Geothermal Energy - Power from Earth's Heat: Geothermal Q'S and A'S

URL: http://geothermal.marin.org/pwrheat.html
Clear and concise definitions and descriptions of terms relevant to geothermal energy, this site is a good primer for anyone interested in knowing more about geothermal energy. Also includes interesting tidbits about historical, industrial, agricultural, recreational and even aquacultural uses of the earth's heat.

What is Geothermal Energy?

URL: http://www.eren.doe.gov/geothermal/whatisgeoenergy.html
The U.S. Department of Energy produced this guide to geothermal energy sources. Provides a good primer in how we get geothermal energy from the earth. Also includes information on basic terms, history, applications, and how geothermal energy use contributes to a cleaner environment.

Hydrogen

The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Letter

Edited and published by Peter Hoffmann
P.O. Box 14, Rhinecliff, NY 12574-0014 USA
Phone: (914)876-5988
URL: http://www.hfcletter.com
A monthly publication covering events and developments in the hydrogen and fuel cell field.

Solar

Catalog of Successfully Operating Solar Heat Systems

URL: http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/seia_slrthrm/index.html
A catalog published by the Solar Energy Industries, it is an introduction to applications for solar process heat technologies. It provides a detailed summary of several existing system designs and statistics of solar process heat systems in use today.

Sun Angle

URL: http://susdesign.com/sunangle/
This shareware Javascript program calculates solar angles based on location, date, and time.

Wind

National Renewable Energy Laboratory's National Wind Technology Center

URL: http://www.nrel.gov/wind/info_res.html
A dense site with a lot of information for those seriously interested in researching wind energy resources, it has documents available for download, brief accounts of successful applications of wind energy technology, links to other useful sites, and a database of literature on the impact of wind energy development on birds. Come armed with an understanding of the basic physics and terminology of wind energy technology.

Wind Energy Information Guide

For a free copy contact sally_evans@nrel.gov
Be sure to include your U.S. postal address.
This guide is designed to help readers search for information in the wind energy field, including history, technology basics, environmental issues, and the latest in research and development. Although it is primarily written for engineers, researchers, and manufacturers, it is useful for anyone interested in knowing more about wind energy technology. It also provides a list of associations, bibliographies, conferences, databases, directories, internet sources, periodicals, research centers, and software directories and depositories.

Organizations

American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy

URL: http://solstice.crest.org/efficiency/aceee/index.html
1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 801, Washington, D.C. 20036 USA
Phone: (202) 429-8873
ACEEE is dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection.

American Hydrogen Association (AHA)

URL: http://www.clean-air.org
1739 West 7th Avenue, Mesa, Arizona 85202-1906 USA
Phone: (480) 827-7915
The AHA is an association dedicated to the advancement of inexpensive, clean and safe hydrogen energy systems.

American Solar Energy Society (ASES)

URL: http://www.ases.org/
2400 Central Avenue, G-1, Boulder, CO 80301 USA
Phone: (303) 443-3130
ASES promotes the use of solar energy through publications, conferences, and political action. They publish the magazine Solar Today.

American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)

URL: http://www.awea.org
122 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001 USA
Phone: (202) 383-2500
AWEA promotes the development of wind energy through conferences, public advocacy and political action.

Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT)

URL: http://www.ceert.org/index.html
1100 Eleventh Street, Suite 311, Sacramento, California 95814 USA
Phone: (916) 442-7785
CEERT is a collaboration of environmental organizations, public interest groups and clean technology companies working to achieve a more sustainable energy future.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EE)

URL: http://www.eren.doe.gov/
Phone: (800) 523-2929
An agency within the Department of Energy devoted to developing cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies that protect the environment and support economic competitiveness.

Geothermal Resources Council (GRC)

URL: http://www.geothermal.org
P.O. Box 1350, Davis, CA 95617 USA
Phone: (530) 758-2360
The GRC encourages the development of geothermal resources through the collection and distribution of technological information and the promotion of research, exploration and development of geothermal energy. The GRC also has an on-line library of over 23,000 articles, including information on geothermal heat pumps and an international vendor list.

Geo-Heat Center

URL: http://www.oit.osshe.edu/~geoheat/index.htm
Oregon Institute of Technology
3201 Campus Dr., Klamath Falls, OR 97601 USA
Phone: (541) 885-1750
A major national center of research and experimental projects on the development of direct heat utilization of geothermal energy, the Geo-Heat Center's resources and technological information are available to the public.

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association

URL: http://www.nesea.org/
50 Miles Street, Greenfield , MA 01301 USA
Phone: (413) 774-6051
This organization fosters the use of renewable and sustainable energy and the responsible use of non-renewable forms of energy.

Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP)

URL: http://www.repp.org
Phone: 202-293-2898
REPP is a public policy organization which seeks to promote growth strategies for renewable energy technologies. They are a source of information and grants for community-based projects as well as publications about a variety of alternative energy source topics.

Alternative Energy

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