Energy resources wind power

The discovery of chemical N2 fixation under ambient conditions is more compatible with a simple, complementary, low temperature and low pressure system, possibly operated electrochemically and driven by a renewable energy resource (qv), such as solar, wind, or water power, or other off-peak electrical power, located near or in irrigation streams. Such systems might produce and apply ammonia continuously, eg, directly in the rice paddy, or store it as an increasingly concentrated ammoniacal solution for later appHcation. In fact, the Birkeland-Eyde process of N2 oxidation in an electric arc has been... 

Renewable energy sources or renewables contributed 2% of the world s energy consumption in 1998, including 7 exajoules (EJ) from modem biomass and 2 EJ for all other renewables (UNDP, 2000). The renewables are clean or inexhaustible and primary energy resources. Renewable technologies like water and wind power probably would not have provided the same fast increase in industrial productivity as fossil fuels (Edinger and Kaul, 2000). 

The committee did not consider hydroelectric power explicitly except as part of the electricity grid mix. The remaining renewable energy resources—except wind, solar, and biomass—were not considered owing to their current small fraction of total primary energy supply or small projected growth. 

Consider the total amounts possible for each in the light of the 14-20 TW of carbon free power needed by 2050. Table 5 provides a summary 26 clearly the additional energy needed per year over the 12.8 TW fossil fuel energy base is simply not attainable from biomass, wind, nuclear and hydroelectric options. The answer to this supply dilemma must lie with solar energy. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the solar energy resource with particular emphasis on the solar spectrum. 

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