They say that necessity is the mother of invention and when it comes to emerging power technology, the energy crisis that has evolved over the last couple of decades has necessitated many new inventions and technologies. From well tested, but still emerging wind and solar technology, through expanded use of hydro and geothermal power, power generation is an exciting and changing field.
Wind power has been around for decades but is still in the emerging power technology sector due to new inroads in terms of storing unused energy for resell or future use. At one point, if wind turbines were able to create more energy than could be used by the grid, it became wasted. An obvious shortcoming of wind technology for power is the intermittent and unpredictable nature of its primary resource – wind.
Most everyone is familiar with hydro-electric dams, but small hydro is another emerging power technology. Instead of building massive dams that take billions of dollars and years to complete, small hydro takes a comparatively small amount of money to construct and also benefits from low operating costs. This brings the availability of small hydro within the grasp of smaller communities and industries.
Geothermal power comes from tapping underground steam that naturally occurs to power traditional steam turbine and power generation equipment. The initial investment may be high to tap the source, but the ongoing fuel and maintenance costs are low. Once the initial investment is complete, geothermal power is extremely reliable and renewable.
Solar is another power technology that has been around for a while, but reduced cost to produce the cells are making it more cost-effective for companies with small power needs to be able to take advantage. In addition, since it is renewable government rebates and incentives are plentiful to help defray the cost. Finally, unused energy can be stored and resold back to the utility companies, so potentially a solar customer could actually profit from energy consumption.
There are many more emerging power technologies on the horizon as governments, utility companies and industry try to find new, dependable, and most important renewable sources to power our growing needs.
