scholarly journals Solar energy discourse in the Sunshine State

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 63-85
Author(s):  
Prisca Augustyn

This case study of a 2016 Florida constitutional amendment analyses the semiotic devices and mechanisms of shaping public opinion on solar energy and beliefs about energy distribution. After a nationwide rise in rooftop solar installations between 2014 and 2015, utilities in several US states were faced with challenges to their business models. Anticipating similar problems in Florida, utilities and energy corporations promoted constitutional amendments. This semiotic analysis follows the voter from the billboards and flyers to the text on the ballot. Starting from Peirce’s phenomenological categories, this critical analysis of the campaign reveals how the goals of the amendment were shrouded in positive environmental and consumer protection narratives. Lakoff ’s cognitive linguistics and Stibbe’s ecolinguistics support a deeper analysis of the ballot text. This study shows that by leaving key concepts (especially net metering) out of the discourse, the ballot text successfully framed an anti-solar amendment as a pro-consumer measure, while hiding the direct legal implications concerning alternative energy distribution. In particular, this study explains the opposition to the sharing of surplus in the context of neoclassical economics as a key factor in shaping beliefs about alternative energy distribution.

2014 ◽  
Vol 592-594 ◽  
pp. 2409-2415 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Naga Sarada ◽  
Banoth Hima Bindu ◽  
Sri Rama R. Devi ◽  
Ravi Gugulothu

In recent years with the exacerbation of energy shortage, water crisis increases around the world. With the continuous increase in the level of greenhouse gas emissions, the use of various sources of renewable energy is increasingly becoming important for sustainable development. Due to the rising oil price and environmental regulations, the demand of utilizing alternative power sources increased dramatically. Alternative energy and its applications have been heavily studied for the last decade. Energy and water are essential for mankind that influences the socioeconomic development of any nation. Pure water resources become more and more scarce every day as rivers, lakes wells and even seawater pollution rapidly increases. Solar energy is one promising solution to secure power and potable water to future generation. The process of distillation can be used to obtain fresh water from salty, brackish or contaminated water. Water is available in different forms such as sea water, underground water, surface water and atmospheric water. Clean water is essential for good health. The search for sustainable energy resources has emerged as one of the most significant and universal concerns in the 21st century. Solar energy conversion offers a cost effective alternative to our traditional usages. Solar energy is a promising candidate in many applications. Among the alternative energy sources used for electricity production, wind and solar energy systems have become more attractive in recent years. For areas where electricity was not available, stand alone wind and solar systems have been increasingly used. The shortage of drinking water in many countries throughout the world is a serious problem. Humankind has depended for ages on river, sea water and underground water reservoirs for its fresh water needs. But these sources do not always prove to be useful due to the presence of excessive salinity in the water. To resolve this crisis, different methods of solar desalination have been used in many countries. Distillation is a well known thermal process for water purification, most importantly, water desalination. Most of the conventional water distillation processes are highly energy consuming and require fossil fuels as well as electric power for their operation. Single basin solar still is a popular solar device used for converting available brackish or waste water into potable water. Because of its lower productivity, it is not popularly used. Numbers of works are under taken to improve the productivity and efficiency of the solar still. There are large numbers of PCMs that melt and solidify at wide range of temperatures, making them attractive in a number of applications. PCMs have been widely used in latent heat thermal storage systems for heat pumps, solar engineering and spacecraft thermal control applications. The use of PCMs for heating and cooling applications for buildings has been investigated within the past decade. The experimental results computed in the field of water distillation process using solar energy in the presence of energy storage materials sodium sulphate and sodium acetate are discussed in this paper. Keywords: solar energy, saline water, distillation, phase change material.


Author(s):  
E. Ogbonnaya ◽  
L. Weiss

Increasing focus on alternative energy sources has produced significant progress across a wide variety of research areas. One particular area of interest has been solar energy. This has been true on both large and small-scale applications. Research in this paper presents investigations into a small-scale solar thermal collector. This approach is divergent from traditional micro solar photovoltaic devices, relying on transforming incoming solar energy to heat for use by devices like thermoelectrics. The Solar Thermal Collector (STC) is constructed using a copper collector plate with electroplated tin-nickel selective coating atop the collector surface. Further, a unique top piece is added to trap thermal energy and reduce convective, conductive, and radiative losses to the surrounding environment. Results show a capture efficiency of 92% for a collector plate alone when exposed to a 1000 W/m2 simulated solar source. The addition of the top “glazing” piece improves capture efficiency to 97%. Future work will integrate these unique devices with thermoelectric generators for electric power production. This will yield a fully autonomous system, capable of powering small sensors or other devices in remote locations or supplementing existing devices with renewable energy.


Author(s):  
Yu. Selikhov ◽  
K. Gorbunov ◽  
V. Stasov

Solar energy is widely used in solar systems, where economy and ecology are combined. Namely, this represents an important moment in the era of depletion of energy resources. The use of solar energy is a promising economical item for all countries of the world, meeting their interests also in terms of energy independence, thanks to which it is confidently gaining a stable position in the global energy sector. The cost of heat obtained through the use of solar installations largely depends on the radiation and climatic conditions of the area where the solar installation is used. The climatic conditions of our country, especially the south, make it possible to use the energy of the Sun to cover a significant part of the need for heat. A decrease in the reserves of fossil fuel and its rise in price have led to the development of optimal technical solutions, efficiency and economic feasibility of using solar installations. And today this is no longer an idle curiosity, but a conscious desire of homeowners to save not only their financial budget, but also health, which is possible only with the use of alternative energy sources, such as: double-circuit solar installations, geothermal heat pumps (HP), wind power generators. The problem is especially acute in the heat supply of housing and communal services (HCS), where the cost of fuel for heat production is several times higher than the cost of electricity. The main disadvantages of centralized heat supply sources are low energy, economic and environmental efficiency. And high transport tariffs for the delivery of energy carriers and frequent accidents on heating mains exacerbate the negative factors inherent in traditional district heating. One of the most effective energy-saving methods that make it possible to save fossil fuel, reduce environmental pollution, and meet the needs of consumers in process heat is the use of heat pump technologies for heat production.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Szabó ◽  
P. Enyedi ◽  
Gy. Szabó ◽  
I. Fazekas ◽  
T. Buday ◽  
...  

According to the challenge of the reduction of greenhouse gases, the structure of energy production should be revised and the increase of the ratio of alternative energy sources can be a possible solution. Redistribution of the energy production to the private houses is an alternative of large power stations at least in a partial manner. Especially, the utilization of solar energy represents a real possibility to exploit the natural resources in a sustainable way. In this study we attempted to survey the roofs of the buildings with an automatic method as the potential surfaces of placing solar panels. A LiDAR survey was carried out with 12 points/m2 density as the most up-to-date method of surveys and automatic data collection techniques. Our primary goal was to extract the buildings with special regard to the roofs in a 1 km2 study area, in Debrecen. The 3D point cloud generated by the LiDAR was processed with MicroStation TerraScan software, using semi-automatic algorithms. Slopes, aspects and annual solar radiation income of roof planes were determined in ArcGIS10 environment from the digital surface model. Results showed that, generally, the outcome can be regarded as a roof cadaster of the buildings with correct geometry. Calculated solar radiation values revealed those roof planes where the investment for photovoltaic solar panels can be feasible.


10.23856/3304 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-49
Author(s):  
Kateryna Andriushchenko ◽  
Lidiya Shergina ◽  
Vita Kovtun ◽  
Nataliia Revutska ◽  
Andrii Vashchyshyn

The transition to alternative energy sources requires a long period, attracting significant investments in the process of creating and developing environmentally friendly fuels. Creating an environmentally safe, energy-efficient economy is a prerequisite for sustainable development of each country. The above-mentioned factors determine the relevance of the study of the problems of the functioning and development of energy, which is mainly due to the economic expediency of renewable energy and the requirements of the country's energy independence. The objective of the article is to determine the features of ensuring the energy efficiency of the Ukrainian economy using alternative energy sources. Research shows that the development of alternative energy will allow us to move away from the use of traditional fuels and create the prerequisites for the energy independence of countries. Taking into account the natural factors and the significant dependence of Ukraine on imported primary energy sources, it is determined that solving the problem of increasing energy efficiency of the economy is possible only with the stimulation of the use of alternative energy sources. The most promising sources of energy are identified, namely: biofuels, wind energy, geothermal energy, solar energy, solar thermal, controlled thermonuclear fusion, energy of tides and effluents. The recommendations for realization of such directions of the policy of the state regulation in the energy sphere as energy security, energy efficiency, energy saving are given.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Pimonenko ◽  
O. Lyulyov ◽  
N. Letunovska ◽  
O. Lytvynenko ◽  
A. Nazarenko

The article aims to study current trends in the use of solar energy in Ukraine and the world as one of the main directions of decarbonization of the national economy. The authors systematize the prospects, advantages and disadvantages of the development of renewable energy sources. They conducted a comparative analysis of the "efficiency" of solar energy in some countries and Ukraine. The authors determined that the leading position in terms of the share of energy consumed from renewable sources is occupied by countries with developed economies due to the availability of effective motivational mechanisms. From the experience of EU countries, the authors concluded that renewable energy sources form a prerequisite for obtaining additional socio-economic and environmental effects. In the presence of favorable market conditions, renewable energy sources can increase the level of energy security in the country and its energy independence. The article analyzes the legislation of Ukraine on stimulating the development of alternative energy. The authors proposed two opposed ways of further developing solar energy in Ukraine. In particular, the country can implement methods of using alternative energy, which developed countries have successfully implemented. Another area involves increasing research and innovation in implementing, using, maintaining, and utilizing energy-generating devices from alternative energy sources. Despite the polarity of the proposed directions for further development of renewable energy, in both cases, the state policy on attracting investment and promoting the use of energy from alternative energy sources is crucial. In addition, the authors noted the benefits for society from the development and implementation of alternative energy sources. The scaling up and promotion of energy production technologies from alternative sources can reduce carbon emissions, which has been an urgent problem globally.


SINERGI ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamzah Eteruddin ◽  
Atmam Atmam ◽  
David Setiawan ◽  
Yanuar Z. Arief

People can make solar energy alternative energy by employing solar panels to generate electricity. The utilization of solar energy on a solar panel to generate electricity is affected by the weather and the duration of the radiation, and they will affect the solar panel’s temperature. There are various types of solar panels that can be found on the market today, including Mono-Crystalline and Poly-Crystalline. The difference in the material used needs to be observed in terms of temperature changes in the solar module. Our study’s findings showed that a change in the temperature would impact the solar panel’s output voltage, and the solar panel’s output voltage would change when it was connected to the load although the measured temperatures were almost the same.


2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110543
Author(s):  
Sean F Kennedy ◽  
Ryan Stock

California is one of the most climate-challenged regions of North America and is considered the vanguard of climate action in the United States. California's climate policy framework has strongly promoted the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure, and the state generates more solar energy than any other in the nation. Using the case of Lancaster, a city of 170,000 residents in northern Los Angeles County seeking to position itself as the “alternative energy capital of the world,” this article examines private investments in solar energy infrastructure as a response to California's entwined economic and ecological crises. Drawing on recent scholarship on socioecological fix, we argue that private accumulation through renewable energy infrastructures in California has required both the presence of crisis conditions and innovations in financial risk mitigation that manage tensions between mobility and fixity inherent in the formation of fixed capital. However, a narrow focus on short-term financial risk obviates other forms of risk, including future impacts of extreme weather on grid infrastructure and electricity supply. While this does not foreclose opportunities for solar energy infrastructure to support positive social and ecological transformation, we argue that such opportunities may be constrained under a mode of energy transition predicated on private accumulation.


Author(s):  
Richard Albert

Some constitutional amendments are not amendments at all. They are self-conscious efforts to repudiate the essential characteristics of the constitution and to destroy its foundations. They dismantle the basic structure of the constitution while at the same time building a new foundation rooted in principles contrary to the old. Changes on this scale are not properly called constitutional amendments. They are better understood as constitutional dismemberments. A constitutional dismemberment is incompatible with the existing framework of the constitution. It intends deliberately to disassemble one or more of the constitution’s elemental parts by altering a fundamental right, an important structural design, or a core aspect of the identity of the constitution. To use a rough shorthand, the purpose and effect of a constitutional dismemberment are the same: to unmake the constitution. But what, then, is a constitutional amendment? This chapter explains that there are four fundamental features to a constitutional amendment: its subject, authority, scope, and purpose. The most important feature of an amendment is its scope, which at all times must not exceed the boundaries of the existing constitution. This chapter therefore defines a constitutional amendment in terms of what it is and what it is not, with illustrations drawn from around the globe. This chapter considers constitutions from Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Dominica, Guyana, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States.


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