Chernova, Y (2008 June 30). Energy (A Special Report): Consumers; Shedding Light on Solar: Why is it so expensive? What subsidies are available? And answers to other questions for the perplexed. Wall Street Journal, p. R6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/399108668?accountid=14166
Yuliya Chernova is an investigative reporter from the Wall Street Journal who specializes in venture capital, startups and clean energy. Converting ones home to solar energy requires cost benefits extremely similar to those involved in venture capital, which along with clean energy are specialties of the author. The article in a short brief following by a longer question and answers section. It is targeted at the general public, specially those considering the switch to solar. The author highlights the costs of switching to solar, as well as the various government aid available for those looking to make the switch. This article directly relates to my groups cost benefit analysis of switching to solar. There doesn’t seem to be a bias in the article as the author seems to support clean energy, but concedes that it is more costly to do so. This is a highly respected periodical specifically in the financial sector, although it is well known to the general public.
Cardwell, D. (2014, November 24). Renewable energy starts to win on price. New York Times. pp. B1-B4.
Diane Cardwell covers energy as a Business Day reporter for the New York Times. With her focus mainly on energy, the information is well investigated and written but she does not have any personal or professional background in energy sources or science. This article focuses on the increasingly competitive cost that solar and wind energy sources are reaching in comparison with the traditional energy sources such as coal and natural gas. It addresses the current price drops for renewable fuels in states such as Texas and Oklahoma, the availability of renewable energy, and government subsidies for the solar and wind industries. In many cases renewable energy is now the cheapest option for energy but the downside is that the energy sources only produce energy intermittently (sun is shining, wind blowing) and solar and wind energy is not dispatchable. Also, with many government subsidies coming to an end, alternative energy suppliers are looking into getting those subsidies extended for the time being. This article is intended to inform the everyday consumer in the lowering costs of alternative energy and to inform them of a few entities that have already made the switch to getting their energy from alternative sources and in doing so saving their rate payers money. With this article just being published last year the information is reliable but in this booming business it is hard to say how much growth has already happened since it was published. This article was noticeable because it focuses on the trend of decreasing prices for alternative energy. Many people are still not knowledgeable on the topic of alternative energy and it is good for consumers to keep informed of prices so that they can be better informed to make the switch.
Books:
Chwieduk, D. (2014). Solar energy in buildings: thermal balance for efficient heating and cooling. Saint Louis, MO, USA: Academic Press.
This book was written by Dorota Chwieduk, is Senior Researcher and Deputy Director of the Institute of Heat Engineering at Warsaw University of Technology and President of the Polish Solar Energy Society. This book shows solar radiation fundamentals and how to apply them in buildings through the use of new materials, technologies and design options. Solar energy is more significant than ever by providing energy savings and improving thermal comfort in buildings. This book has in-depth explanations of energy balance and heat transfer in buildings and is supported by case studies, showing calculations and design approach. It explains the best uses of innovative technology such as concentrated solar thermal, thermoelectric and polymetric materials. In today’s modern world I think this book is an invaluable information source for the next wave of construction and energy production. With it being published only last year, all the information is up to date and on the cutting edge of solar energy. Buildings of the future are ones that are independent from energy supplies and can be self-sufficient or even energy plus. With more and more people looking to cut back on fossil fuels and traditional energy sources, solar energy is the way of the future and this book is key to making solar energy the norm.
Palz, W. (2011). Power for the world: The emergence of electricity from the sun. Pan Stanford Pub.
The author, Wolfgang Palz is a great source in the world of solar energy. He is the president of the American Council on Renewable Energy. He has done work in over 50 scientific journals and contributed to many others work. Since the publication is very new it has a strong impact on the world of solar energy. He shows the history of Solar Energy and how the topic has been pushed toward a global effort to reform energy. Furthermore, with over 100 illustrations it is no surprise that anyone can understand his concepts, even someone without a degree in Physics. Although it is a technical book anyone can get a grasp. It can be seen that he is a clear supporter of solar energy but shows some of the negatives as well including the initial costs and the work involved. It will help us develop a better understanding of the global economy of solar energy.
Reference Source:
Leyk, M. (2012). Solar Energy. Pierce, M. (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Energy (Vol.4). Hackensack, New Jersey, USA. Retrieved from http://online.salempress.com
Manja Leyk has her PhD in Theory of Architecture from the Brandenburg University of Technology in Brandenburg, Germany. She was a professor at Springhill College in Mobile, Alabama and taught several classes on energy. This source was published in the Encyclopedia of Energy under the category of energy resources. The publication includes an intensive definition of solar rays, how solar energy can become a primary energy source, how to manifest solar energy, the history of solar energy, and the government incentives to use solar energy. For a brief time, Manja worked in the marketing department of Herlt Sun Energy Systems. Anyone interested in straying away from secondary sources of energy will be interested in this article because not only will coal, gas, and oil eventually be depleted, the renewing rate of solar energy will continue for the next 4-5 billion years. This article may be bias toward promoting solar energy but all of the facts to support its growth back up her point that solar radiation can be used for many human needs such as heating buildings to generating electricity. The date of this publication is 2012, making its data recent and relevant. There is only one illustration that shows solar cells harvesting radiation to turn thermal energy into electricity. This encyclopedia entry is a perfect reference for Power resources and can be found as an electronic document or in paper format. Morris A. Pierce is the general editor of Encyclopedia of Energy.
Website:
Trigg, T. (2015, February 5). Renewable energy shines in 2014. Retrieved from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/plugged-in/2015/02/05/renewable-energy-shines-in-2014/
Tali Trigg is an energy analyst, technology policy advisor and writer. He has over 10 years experience doing work as an analyst and researcher on international energy issues and transport. He has been employed by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in Dakar, Senegal and joined the Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness, conducting research and analysis on US rail vehicle and lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. He was selected for a Fellowship at the Rocky Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Colorado, and is also worked for the International Energy Agency. He has a BS degree in Political Science from Georgetown University and a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University. The information conveyed in this blog article is to inform the reader of the recent cost improvements in renewable energy. It is intended for a general audience and uses no technical language. The attitude is somewhat positive and may present a bias towards this industry and against fossil fuel. The article is current and upto date and this is of value in deciding on a course of action related to investment in such industries. There is a photograph of a wind-farm to illustrate the article. This article shows the recent positive movement towards the need for such energy solutions. The Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States and is based in New York city. It has been a leading source and authority for science since it was founded in 1845.
Scholarly Journal:
Lewis, N (2007). toward cost-effective solar energy use. Science, 315(5813), 798-801. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20038948
Nathan Lewis is has a PhD of Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The article is from 2007, which is recent enough to be relevant, but slightly outdated in this rapidly advancing science. The article is targeted toward scientists and is mostly about the potentials of solar energy. This is very important to the cost benefit of going solar! Through words along with several graphs and illustration the author highlights the potential for storage and reuse of solar energy. The author goes as far as suggesting the plausibility of having infrastructure that, once in place, could reduce the cost of energy to zero. He goes into several highly technical ways of achieving this, but most importantly shows that it is possible to create an entirely self-sufficient energy system. The key to doing this is to be able to store the energy gathered, and the author goes into highly technical means of making a battery capable of doing so. I chose this article to show what is possible with solar energy: no cost energy. Science is a highly reputable scholarly journal aimed at those with a higher understanding of the sciences.