Renewable Energy Consulting Services

There are many renewable energy consulting services around today, as a result of the increase in popularity of natural energy sources. You may need the help of an energy consultant when you have plans for a large scale renewable energy project for your home or business. Renewable energy consultants will be able to provide an array of services, information and expertise in many of the aspects surround the use of natural energy sources, and the available renewable energy financing options which may be available from your government or local authority. An added benefit to using energy consulting services, is that they can take the strain of research off you and advise you in the best approach to a renewable energy system installation. Many energy consulting services will have contracts with governmental organizations and large business, so be sure to check who they are working with to gain an even greater level of trust. Renewable energy consulting services may be costly for smaller projects, yet if you are planning on selling renewable electricity back to the grid, the investment may be worthwhile. The services of renewable energy consultants can range from general advice, to plans for integration and the checking of renewable energy plans. When investing large sums of money to finance natural energy projects, it is always a good idea to have the help of a renewable energy consultant, to make sure you receive some of the best advice in the industry. There are a number of ways in which you can find alternative energy consulting services for energy projects, and this can range from a simple search on the Internet, to looking in your local business directory. As renewable energy technologies become even popular, more renewable energy consulting services are entering the market. The use of natural energy sources is a great way to improve the quality of our environment, and there are many energy services out there who can help you achieve this goal.

Alternative Energy

The use of alternative energy sources can improve the quality of the environment we live in and the air we breathe.

The use of these alternative renewables is vital as our planet sees further industrial growth and a higher energy requirement.

Alternative energy is also commonly referred to as renewable energy. which is the many different, clean and also natural energy sources we are able to use again and again without ever running out of them.

The use of fossil fuels (such as oil, coal and gas) over alternative fuels (such as solar, wind and geothermal) results in the ever decreasing levels of these fossil fuels.

As the worlds reserves of fossil fuels reduce, prices will rise and conflict is likely to occur, so it is time we became less dependent on the relatively low quantities of fossil fuels, and more dependent on the use of alternative, renewable energies which are available to all.

The use of alternative energies is also a great way to bring electricity to remote locations, and provide a low cost electricity supply (after the initial investment of hardware).

This is the great thing about renewable energy, you only have to pay for the hardware to harness it, there's no cost involved with the purchasing of fuels such as; coal or oil.

The future is set to see a significant increase in the use of alternative energy sources for many countries, we are already beginning to see mass development of renewable energy technologies in wealthier

countries. A huge industry has evolved around research for alternative fuels to power our future, and we have also begun to see many renewable energy consulting services around to advise and guide customers through the process of alternative energy installation.

It is important that industry giants do more to reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants which are pumped out into the air in huge quantities every day.

We also need to focus on the reduction in deforestation, and the development of further forest to absorb the increase of carbon dioxide levels.

Financing Renewable Energy

Many countries offer incentives for financing renewable energy projects, and these grants allow you to follow bigger plans than you first anticipated, or just cover some of the costs of your original plan.

For a long time, home owners wishing to develop renewable energy projects had to find the funding to finance the project entirely on their own, yet with government grants, this process has become much easier.

An example of these renewable energy finance plans can be found in the U.K, for householders wishing to install renewable energy products such as solar panels. The "Low Carbon Building Program" is aimed towards the type of householders who are already doing what they can to reduce carbon emissions through energy conservation in the home.

If you meet the criteria for renewable energy financial support, you can receive as much as £400 for a solar hot water project in the U.K.

You can either see this grant as a discount on the overall financial cost of your renewable energy project, or you can make plans to install higher spec systems with the additional financial support.

There are also additional grants that may be available from your local council or other suitable authority, and before planning a renewable energy project, you must ensure you contact the appropriate authority to inquire about these possible financial grants.

Renewable Energy Finance Grants - Disadvantages

The disadvantage of renewable energy financing grants from local authorities is mainly down to the criteria chosen.

For example, these local financing grants may only be available to renewable energy projects for a specific area, class (social groups) or specific building type.

Financing for renewable energy will not be around forever, so if you're considering a renewable energy installation, do some research into the possible grants available for you, and when they are likely to run out, this will give you an idea of how long you can afford to wait.

There are many sources out there which will give in depth information into financing renewable energy in your area, and we strongly recommend you take a look at these, as not every country, state or county is the same.

Cheap Gas And Electricity

There are many ways in which you can receive cheap gas and electricity for homes or businesses and a number of methods specifically related to how to lower home energy or electricity bills by using less gas and electricity from your supplier.

A more popular choice for finding cheap gas and electricity services is through the use of online comparison services which will compare the many different gas and electricity companies in the market today.

These companies also have the ability to not only compare gas and electricity bills, but can also offer you cheap, or cheaper; water bills, insurance, loans, phone/broadband packages, credit cards etc.

Some comparison websites can quickly search the numerous gas and electricity, water and heating suppliers in order to show you a range of cheaper quotes to what you currently pay.

We strongly suggest that if you are looking for cheap gas and electric prices, you take a look at a similar website and see how much you could save.

Now we shall look at the alternative ways in which we can save money on home energy bills not relating to switching to cheap gas and electric supplies.

For more information on the following topics, take a look at our how to conserve energy page, you may find this useful if you wish to reduce your energy bills, while also helping the environment.

Using gas or electricity can be a very pricey solution for heating our homes and businesses, and it is advised that you turn your gas, electric or heating thermostats down by just one degree to make a saving on home energy bills.

More little solutions to save energy and provide you with cheap gas and electricity bills include switching appliances off when not in use, unplug phone chargers when not in use and switching off lights. We also advise the use of energy saving light bulbs to lower your energy consumption, and energy bills. If you are in a financial position to invest in alternative energy technologies which will cut down on your dependence on the gas and electricity industry, while providing cheap, clean and free power for your home, why not take a look into solar panels, or wind turbines. These energy source are a great alternative to industry supplied gas and electricity for the

home.

Cheap Gas And Electricity Providers

Cheap gas and electric providers are able to offer affordable gas and lower priced electricity bills due to the very competitive energy market.

These energy companies offer you cheaper gas and electricity in order to receive more customers who they can sell their services to.

How To Conserve Energy

If you are interested in how to conserve energy, then this article can be of use to you in explaining the basic and advanced methods of how we can conserve energy including the use of natural resources. Using natural energy resources doesn't necessarily mean you will conserve any energy, yet we do advise every household to research the possibility of implementing natural energy resources to influence their home power supply. This will conserve the fossil fuels we are currently consuming at an alarming rate. Many little things can be done in an attempt to conserve energy in the home. It is knowing how to do these little energy conservation processes that many people do not know about, understand, or just don't care. Another way relating to how we can conserve energy is to ensure whenever we have finished using appliances that may have a light on them (such as a standby light), we switch the appliance off, or unplug after use. Little things can make a big difference in conserving energy around the home, and this is especially true for dishwashers, washing machines and dryers. Modern dishwashers have energy saving wash cycles, we strongly advise the use of such features, washing machines can be set to lower temperature washes, when used with the right washing powder, and a dryer, well if you own a dryer, get rid of it and dry your washing naturally on a washing line.

Hybrid cars can make a difference to your carbon footprint, and can help you save energy. No, they will not eliminate carbon emissions from their exhausts, yet they will greatly reduce the amount of carbon you pump into the air each year.

The only reason you should need a 4x4 vehicle is if you live in a rough terrain area, or constantly snowy area.

When you choose your next car, be sure to check the miles per gallon to see how efficient your car will be, this not only helps the environment but it saves you money on fuel too.

When conserving energy, we can also look to our heating methods, why not reduce your heating thermostat or radiators by only 1 degree for a lengthy time, and compare your heating bill?

If you recycle more, you will be helping to conserve energy put into making new versions of what you have recycled, and this also reduces the burden on landfill sites and incinerators which are not good for the environment.

Natural Gas Energy

When most people hear the term natural gas energy, they somehow seem to think by using this natural gas, they are helping the environment.

This is not the case, and there is an obvious explanation if you just take time to think about it, how do we generate gas power?

In order for electricity to be generated by natural gas, we have to burn it, which gives off emissions harmful to the environment.

As you can see from the image below, large power stations which use gas as an energy source, have to get through a large amount of gas each day. This creates large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

The Effect Of Gas Power Stations On The Environment

So what is this doing to our environment? Well, although this type of energy does burn slightly cleaner than other fossil fuels (such as coal and oil), it still pumps out significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, and this isn't good for us, our environment, or the fight against climate change.

The more carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere, the greater the greenhouse effect has on the earth. In this day and age, we should be focusing on trying to curve the greenhouse effect by reducing the levels of greenhouse gases we produce.

So what other energy sources could we use? Well we should really be using renewable energy resources such as solar energy, wind energy, or even geothermal energy. If you care about the environment and want to improve its quality for future generatio

ns then we need to do something about it now.

The majority say they care about the environment, yet this majority just carry on doing nothing, as that's what everyone else seems to be doing.

Installing home solar panels is relatively easy, a wind turbine on your house can be cost effective, you can charge batteries from the use of these natural energies, or connect them to your power circuit and see the savings you will make on your electricity bill.

Natural Energy Sources

The three main elements for generating electricity from natural energy sources, come in the form of the sun, wind, and tide.

Other renewable energy sources are geothermal energy, and hydroelectric (which we will not go into on this page.)

All of the above natural energies have advantages and disadvantages, we shall now go into each one.

The use of natural energy sources still has many advantages over the use of fossil fuels, yet the cost of investment can sometimes be too high for most people.

Solar Energy Source

Solar energy is energy the earth receives from the sun in the form of solar radiation. We can use this energy source to generate electricity, and to heat water.

Photons contained within the suns rays, make the production of electricity possible through the use of a solar cell or panel.

The main disadvantage of the use of solar power, is that the panels can be quite expensive, and you usually need more than one solar panel, depending on how much electricity you require.

An advantage of solar electricity devices is the relative ease of installation, and the long term cost effectiveness. This makes solar panels the most common renewable energy source for home owners.

Wind Energy Source

Wind turbines are great for using the winds natural energy source to give a boost to your home power supply.

The problem with renewable wind energy is mainly down to the relatively low output of electricity you could receive.

To get a decent output, you need a large wind turbine, but now you are faced with the problem of noise pollution, and increasing cost.

You should always consider solar energy sources over wind energy sources, if suited to your location.

Tidal Power

An energy source increasing in popularity over recent years is tidal power. This highly renewable energy source has a huge force behind it, and is able to drive water turbines (much like a water mill), around 100 meters out to see as the tides go in and out.

The main problem with this method is the effect it can have towards sea life and the blocking of hipping access to various coastlines.

Energy audits and ag producers

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is seeking applications from eligible intermediaries to help rural small businesses and agricultural producers reduce energy costs and consumption. Funding is provided to conduct energy audits and provide renewable energy development assistance.

"This program promotes efficient use of energy which can help curb our dependence on fossil fuels," Vilsack said. "In keeping with the Obama administration's effort to create a clean energy economy, these audits will enable owners of rural businesses, farms, and ranches to better monitor their energy usage and take steps to reduce consumption."

USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, is making available $2.4 million for fiscal year 2010 for energy audits. The funds are provided through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the farm bill).

The farm bill allows agricultural producers or rural small business to recover up to three-quarters of the cost of an energy audit. Audit funds are not provided directly to an eligible producer but are allocated instead to an intermediary. The intermediary provides funds to the audit recipient. Eligible intermediaries for energy audit grants include state, tribal, or local government entities; land-grant colleges and universities and other institutions of higher education, including 1994 Land Grant Colleges (Tribal Colleges), 1890 Land Grant Colleges and Historically Black Universities; rural electric cooperatives; and public power entities.

Rural Development is accepting applications for this program until July 26, 2010. For more information on how to apply, please see the May 27, 2010 Federal Register. To learn more about USDA's REAP and other renewable energy programs, please visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_ReapEaReda.html.

The Rural Development program is similar to a separate energy audit program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Through their Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), NRCS provides audits to improve milk cooling efficiency, irrigation pumping, heating and cooling of livestock production facilities, manure collection and transfer, grain drying, and similar common on-farm activities.

USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages more than 40 housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a national network of 6,100 employees located in the nation's capital and 500 state and local offices. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $138 billion in loans and loan guarantees.

Department of Energy Actions on BP Oil Spill

The National Laboratories were convened by the Department of Energy and tasked to begin looking at ways to plug the leak in the Gulf the week of April 26th.

At the direction of the President, Secretary Chu assembled a scientific team of top scientists and has made three trips to Houston, monitoring the progress of BP's effort to contain the leak and helping to design the strategies for moving forward. The team includes:

• Dr. Tom Hunter, Director of the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories
• Dr. George A. Cooper, an expert in materials science and retired professor from UC Berkeley
• Richard Lawrence Garwin, a physicist and IBM Fellow Emeritus
• Dr. Alexander H. Slocum, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT

Secretary Chu is on the phone with his science team a minimum of 1-2 times a day, 7 days a week, and the calls frequently last 90 minutes or more. Secretary Chu and members of his team also have a dialogue with BP executives each morning.

In addition, the Department of Energy, along with NASA and other scientific agencies, has between 6 and 8 scientists on the ground in Houston, and more than 200 scientists, engineers and other experts from the National Laboratories have been actively supporting the efforts to respond to the spill.

Key Dates:

• Starting on April 21 - the morning after the explosion and days before there were solid indications that the well was leaking - the Department of Energy was in contact with current and former oil industry contacts to assess what happened and what went wrong, as well as to determine the configuration of the BOP.
• On April 29th, the Department of Energy convened the national laboratories to solicit ideas within 24 hours on capabilities for mitigation, environmental remediation and other response efforts.
• On Friday, April 30th, Secretary Chu directed the Sandia, Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories to send scientists to Houston to assist in the response efforts. The team arrived the next day -- Saturday, May 1. The early focus of this team included developing crucial pressure measurements and radiographic imaging of the blowout preventer.
• On May 3, following a meeting with BP CEO Tony Hayward, Secretary Chu directed additional and highly talented laboratory staff to be dispatched to Houston, including Dr. Tom Hunter, Director of Sandia National Laboratories.
• On May 10th, at the request of President Obama, Secretary Chu assembled a team of top scientists from the National Laboratories as well as leading universities. Secretary Chu and members of this team have made three trips to Houston, monitoring the progress of BP's effort to contain the leak and helping to design the strategies for moving forward. Secretary Chu is on the phone with his science team a minimum of 1-2 times a day, 7 days a week, and the calls frequently last 90 minutes or more. Secretary Chu and members of his team also have a dialogue with BP executives each morning.
• On May 12th Secretary Salazar and Secretary Chu conducted a site visit of Cameron Facility, the company that manufactured the blowout preventer stack for the Deepwater Horizon. They also visited a competing manufacturer, National Oilwell Varco.
• From May 24 to May 28, Secretary Chu and members of his science team were in Houston at the BP command center monitoring the "top kill" attempts. The team conducted flow and resistance calculations, evaluated pressure data in real time and provided independent analysis of the results of the effort.
• From June 2 to June 4, Secretary Chu was in Houston to provide assistance as BP placed a top hat on top of the BOP and began collecting oil at the surface. While he was there the Secretary also received a detailed briefing from BP officials about the plans for drilling the relief well that will ultimately kill the well.
• On June 8, the Department launched a website - energy.gov/oilspilldata - to provide online access to schematics, pressure tests, diagnostic results and other data about the malfunctioning blowout preventer. Secretary Chu insisted on making the data widely available to ensure the public is as informed as possible, and to ensure that outside experts making recommendations have access to the same information that BP and the government have.
• On June 15, based on updated information and scientific assessments, Secretaries Chu and Salazar joined U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt to release an improved estimate of how much oil is flowing from the leaking well - between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day. Secretary Chu stressed that the upper number is less certain, and numbers can change as we continue to refine the estimate.
• On June 15th, Secretary Salazar and Secretary Chu convened a meeting with oil industry executives to review BP's updated containment plans and identify additional resources that could be brought to bear to build upon what is already the largest cleanup effort in the nation's history. While the companies have already offered and provided expertise and resources, the meeting was an opportunity to update those efforts based on the expanded and accelerated containment plan that the government recently directed BP to develop. White House staff also attended the meeting.

Key Contributions of Secretary Chu's Scientific Team:

• Secretary Chu and his team of scientists have urged BP to use the choke and kill lines to collect oil from the BOP. These lines are designed to pump mud into the BOP and are not used to produce oil under normal circumstances. BP had discounted that option initially but were pushed by the team to look at it again, and decided after the choke/kill attempt that it would work. Since only one ship can be connected to the riser that is connected to the top hat, BP has connected the choke line to another ship on site. That line is now available, allowing another 5,000 - 10,000 BPD to be produced in addition to the 18,000 BPD that can be collected by the Enterprise from the top hat.
• The team insisted that BP bring in additional ships, so they will have the capacity to collect more oil from the BOP, and has examined the configurations of lines BP is using to optimize the amount of oil that can be collected. For example, a ship currently leased by Chevron is being prepared to join the collection effort.
• Our science team has designed a new more permanent cap with BP that can replace the top hat and allow a permanent production riser to be attached to the BOP. This could have a capacity to collect the entire flow of the well up the main riser.
• The enhanced and accelerated plans urged by the Administration will enable BP to collect up to 90 percent of the leaking oil by the end of June, with additional collection capacity coming online in July.
• Due to our suggestion, BP used high energy gamma rays to image parts of the internal state of the BOP. Lab personnel have independently analyzed the 2D gamma ray images. That imaging is crucial in helping understand what is happening inside the BOP and informing the approach moving forward. For example, it told engineers which valves and rams inside the BOP were closed and which were open, and it showed that a piece of drill pipe was stuck inside the BOP. Trying to determine what was wrong with the BOP without this information is akin to determining why your car has stopped running if you have no working gauges and can't open the hood.
• They strongly encouraged BP to collect additional pressure measurements, which were very valuable in interpreting the behavior of the well and BOP after each top kill and/or junk shot attempt, and ultimately those measurements helped the government and BP determine that the top kill was not going to work and that it was time to move on. The measurements also showed that the top kill attempts did not significantly erode the BOP.
• During the top kill attempts, the team suggested rechecking all of the hydraulics on the BOP, which BP did. As a result, one of the pipe ram valves closed more tightly and provided more resistance to the flow.
• The team conducted an extensive suite of structural analyses to assess the stability of the riser system in support of the choke and kill series.
• The team conducted an independent set of analyses to explain the oil and mud flow during the choke and kill series. This provided an understanding of the operational limits of the containment system going forward.
• The Secretary asked for and received detailed briefings from BP on the work to drill the relief wells that will ultimately kill the well. The team continues to monitor progress and evaluate the effectiveness as this proceeds to ensure that BP is on track to stop the leak.
• Team members have suggested design improvements for the top hats to achieve a tighter seal and capture more of the oil. Some of these modifications may be incorporated into additional top hats in construction if they are needed.
• The team insisted that BP add a device to measure pressure in the top hat so that a more accurate flow estimate could be obtained. These pressure readings helped inform the improved flow estimates announced on June 15.
• BP has asked the scientific team to develop additional backup and contingency plans. For example, they have asked the team to propose ways of storing some of the oil captured from the well undersea in the event that an approaching hurricane forced the drillship Enterprise (which is collecting the oil from the top hat) to leave the scene.