Various forms of energy, how it is measured, units of measurement and rate of energy transfer (Power). By Richard Muller, physics professor at UC Berkeley and Senior Scientist at LBL.
The DOE’s lab for renewable energy R&D, develops energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and practices. Advances related science and engineering, transfers knowledge and innovations to address the nation’s energy and environmental goals. See educational resources for a mix of lessons, projects and learning guides for teachers and students.
From the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, hundreds of Web sites and thousands of online documents on energy efficiency and renewable energy. Search through their Publication and Product Library database.
“Assessment of current and potential future energy systems, covering extraction, conversion, and end-use, with emphasis on meeting regional and global energy needs in the 21st century in a more sustainable manner … examine various renewable and conventional energy production technologies, energy end-use practices and alternatives, and consumption practices in different countries. “
“This course is designed to give you the scientific understanding you need to answer questions like: How much energy can we really get from wind? How does a solar photovoltaic work? What is an OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Converter) and how does it work? What is the physics behind global warming? What makes engines efficient? How does a nuclear reactor work, and what are the realistic hazards? … understand the fundamental laws and physical processes that govern the sources, extraction, transmission, storage, degradation, and end uses of energy.”
How much Petroleum was consumed in the US in 1951? Coal in 1965? How many metric tons of Carbon dioxide were emitted in 1997? How about an Excel spreadsheet of vehicular Alternative Fuel consumption broken down by fuel and year? This data and more available here from the EIA. This organization was formed to provide “policy-independent data, forecasts, and analyses to promote sound policy making, efficient markets, and public understanding regarding energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment”.
A project by the U. S. Geological Survey, conducts geologic studies providing an understanding of the quantity, quality, and geologic distribution of world oil and gas resources.
To harness the energy of nuclear fusion, this collaboration between China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United States was formed. To help gain a better understating of what nuclear fusion entails, see these Teaching Resources on the EUROfusion website.
Micropower, distributed generation, and the ‘intelligent grid’, or ‘energy web’. (Wired magazine)
“Connects Thermodynamics with Economics … Thermoeconomics is presented as the physico-mathematical background for energy-economic-ecological analyses which are made in different fields of knowledge. To this end the concept of exergetic cost is employed; this is a concept close to that of embodied energy or cummulative exergy consumption …”
from the CIRCE Centre for Research of Energy Resources and Consumption, University of Zaragoza, Spain
The ultimate community access nuclear fusion reactor, our Sun. In operation ~4.6 billion years and still going strong, conveniently located in the sky for the benefit of all.
From the U.S. Department of Energy – an introduction to the many ways Solar energy can be captured and turned into useful forms of energy.
A research lab looking into answers to today’s energy challenges, including Photovoltaic Research and Concentrating Solar Power. See the Data and Tools section covering modeling and analyzing photovoltaic (PV) technologies, cell efficiency charts, Solar Radiation Database, modeling of the flow of mass and energy in the PV industry, and more.
A listing of Solar Energy businesses around the world. By Source Guides, which publishes a comprehensive listing of Renewable Energy Businesses in the World.
Plans, discussions and links to resources for using the heat of the Sun to cook food.
Solar Cooker Models & Plans. See the Fresnel Solar Cooker and Precautions and Tips for use of solar stoves.
Usenet discussion forums on solar energy. For a searchable interface see alt.solar.thermal & alt.solar.photovoltaic here and here on Google Groups. Downloadable archives available on archive.org: alt.solar.photovoltaic.mbox.zip, alt.solar.thermal.mbox (archives only go back to 2013, but most usenet traffic had withered away by then). Like much of usenet these discussion forums are now overrun by spam, but still contain useful info.
“This list is for discussion of solar concentrators for thermal
and photovoltaic applications. This includes discussions about dishes,
troughs, and heliostats or any kind other of solar concentrator.”
Unfortunately this list no longer exists, all that remains are these archives on the Internet Archive. I’ve included it here as there may be some useful info that can be searched within it, and also to point out how the importance of on-line discussion forums that can be archived and widely shared across time. Discussions on Facebook, Reddit, Discord etc are convenient, but when they go they are gone forever.
“For those who dream of giant solar collectors which can generate temperatures high enough to melt steel … a method for building your own Solar Furnace of any size you desire.”
These are the proceedings of a workshop “assessing the current state of the field in a number of potential applications and discusses technologies for which concentrated solar energy might be utilized. Contains all papers submitted by the speakers as well as summaries of the presentations and discussions that followed each session.” Compiled into a book, online HTML version freely available, PDF version also available (after creating free account).
A list of Solar projects on the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) website, including solar powered Composting Toilets, Solar Cookers, solar water filter and more. GEN is ”…a growing network of regenerative communities and initiatives that bridge cultures, countries, and continents.”
From the US Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy – how wind turbines work, where they can be situated, their relative impact on wildlife on land & human health and more. Also see Wind Energy Basics for more info on the advantages of harvesting this form of energy.
History and development of windmills, including modern windmills and turbines