Geothermal powerGeothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 26 countries, while geothermal heating is in use in 70 countries. As of 2019, worldwide geothermal power capacity amounts to 15.4 gigawatts (GW), of which 23.9 percent or 3.68 GW are installed in the United States.
Wind turbine designWind turbine design is the process of defining the form and configuration of a wind turbine to extract energy from the wind. An installation consists of the systems needed to capture the wind's energy, point the turbine into the wind, convert mechanical rotation into electrical power, and other systems to start, stop, and control the turbine. In 1919, German physicist Albert Betz showed that for a hypothetical ideal wind-energy extraction machine, the fundamental laws of conservation of mass and energy allowed no more than 16/27 (59.
Floating wind turbineA floating wind turbine is an offshore wind turbine mounted on a floating structure that allows the turbine to generate electricity in water depths where fixed-foundation turbines are not feasible. Floating wind farms have the potential to significantly increase the sea area available for offshore wind farms, especially in countries with limited shallow waters, such as Japan, France and US West coast. Locating wind farms further offshore can also reduce visual pollution, provide better accommodation for fishing and shipping lanes, and reach stronger and more consistent winds.
Tesla turbineThe Tesla turbine is a bladeless centripetal flow turbine patented by Nikola Tesla in 1913. It was his 100th patent. Nozzles apply a moving fluid to the edges of a set of discs. The engine used smooth discs rotating in a chamber to generate rotational movement due to the exchange of momentum between the fluid and the discs. The discs were arranged in an orientation similar to a stack of CD's on a pole. The Tesla turbine uses the boundary-layer effect, instead of the method employed by more conventional turbines, wherein fluid turns the blades.
Wave powerWave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC). Waves are generated by wind passing over the sea's surface. As long as the waves propagate slower than the wind speed just above, energy is transferred from the wind to the waves. Air pressure differences between the windward and leeward sides of a wave crest and surface friction from the wind cause shear stress and wave growth.
Gas turbineA gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the direction of flow: a rotating gas compressor a combustor a compressor-driving turbine. Additional components have to be added to the gas generator to suit its application. Common to all is an air inlet but with different configurations to suit the requirements of marine use, land use or flight at speeds varying from stationary to supersonic.
Gorlov helical turbineThe Gorlov helical turbine (GHT) is a water turbine evolved from the Darrieus turbine design by altering it to have helical blades/foils. Water turbines take kinetic energy and translates it into electricity. It was patented in a series of patents from September 19, 1995 to July 3, 2001 and won 2001 ASME Thomas A. Edison. GHT was invented by Alexander M. Gorlov, professor of Northeastern University.
Wind tunnelWind tunnels are machines where an object is held stationary inside a tube, and air is blown around it to study the interaction between the object and the moving air. They are used to test the aerodynamic effects of aircraft, rockets, cars, and buildings. Different wind tunnels range in size from less than a foot across, to over , and can have air that moves at speeds from a light breeze to hypersonic velocities. Usually, large fans move air through the wind tunnel, while the object being tested is held stationary.
AC powerIn an electric circuit, instantaneous power is the time rate of flow of energy past a given point of the circuit. In alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductors and capacitors may result in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow. Its SI unit is the watt. The portion of instantaneous power that, averaged over a complete cycle of the AC waveform, results in net transfer of energy in one direction is known as instantaneous active power, and its time average is known as active power or real power.
Electricity generationElectricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery (transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its storage (using, for example, the pumped-storage method). Usable electricity is not freely available in nature, so it must be "produced" (that is, transforming other forms of energy to electricity). Production is carried out in power stations (also called "power plants").
