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A "virtual power plant" is an aggregation of many small power generation and energy storage systems that can be managed using a modern computer based control system to behave like a traditional power plant. (See illustrations in Figures 1 and 2.) An early example of this technology is the new program starting summer 2016 in New York City and Westchester County by a collaboration between the power utility Consolidated Edison, rooftop solar provider SunPower, and energy storage provider Sunverge Energy. Three hundred homeowners who participate in the program will have leased high-efficiency SunPower solar systems installed on their homes and have Sunverge Energy battery systems, owned by Con Edison, installed and connected to their SunPower systems. The...

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Roadways and roadway right-of-ways have been sites for experimenting with renewable energy for over 60 years. In 1948 a bridge on US 97 over a canal in Klamath Falls, Oregon utilized geothermal de-icing to address a traffic safety issue on an intersection with a steep grade. More recently, site specific geothermal systems have been used in a number of states. Focus has now shifted to utilizing roadways to generate renewable energy. Several states and the federal government have been investigating use of highway real estate for a variety of renewable energy purposes.

The first solar highway project in the U.S. came on line in 2008 in Oregon. Known as "Oregon's Solar Highway Demonstration Project," a 104-kW ground-mounted solar array was installed at...

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This website covers all types of renewable and alternative energies available, with helpful tips, information, resources and articles, from Solar, to Wind to Hydro Energy.

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Tidal energy takes advantage of the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of gravitational forces exerted by the moon, sun, and rotation of the Earth to generate electricity. (See Video 1) Although there are very few operating tidal energy systems at this time, tidal power has the potential to generate significant quantities of electricity in certain areas of the world. One big advantage of tidal power over other forms of renewable energy is that the tides are very well understood and consistent. The biggest challenges are its relatively high cost compared to other forms of power generation and the limited availability of sites with the necessary tidal ranges or flow velocities. However, technological developments and improvements, both...

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The nuclear power industry in the United States has had a history of wild swings from optimism to pessimism to fatalism. After the first wave of over 100 nuclear reactors that were planned in the 1960's and 1970's was completed, there has been a span of 2 decades without a new reactor being built. Then, starting in the early 2000's, a new feeling of optimism arose as the nuclear industry, electric utilities, the US government, and even some environmental organizations realized that nuclear power could be the solution to the world's global warming problem. And with the high cost of fossil fuel (at a time before hydraulic fracturing technology drove natural gas prices...

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Major enhancements:

• wind farm sizing - additional details regarding the full wind farm are provided and plotted.
• transmission system - the most appropriate electricity transmission system for the wind farm is determined and sized
• cost model - the cost model for wind farms was revised to more closely align with NREL categories
• platform costs - costs for turbines, engineering, and hull and deck unit construction costs were revised to better align with NREL values

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Updated to include information on the most powerful wind turbine in the world recently installed offshore UK.

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Updated to include information on the largest solar complex in the world - the 850 MW Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in eastern China.

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Updated to include information on the first commercial floating offshore wind farm - Hywind Scotland.

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