Renewable energy
Clean and renewable energy presents an opportunity for America to become more energy independent and economically secure. Clean energy is the smart phone of electricity, it is sleeker and cheaper every day and it is making lives better by using today’s technology to improve the way we live. As America’s largest grassroots environmental organization, the Sierra Club is working to move America Beyond Coal – not just by retiring dirty, dangerous and increasingly expensive coal-fired power plants, but by making sure job-creating and money-saving clean energy solutions are being installed as coal rightly takes its place in our history books. Find out more about clean energy below.
Wind Energy
Wind energy is the fastest-growing source of power on the planet. With our tremendous wind resources - what some have deemed the 'Saudi Arabia of wind'- the United States can become a world leader in wind energy. It's no surprise that wind energy accounted for 93 percent of total installed renewable electricity capacity in 2008. In fact, in 2008 the United States surpassed Germany as the world leader in installed wind capacity. Iowa already gets 20 percent of its power from wind, and the Department of Energy says that we can get 20 percent of our power as a nation from wind energy alone by 2030.
Wind is not only abundant; it is also an affordable and reliable source of energy. In the summer of 2011, when record heat waves in Texas threatened the reliability of the state’s power grid, Texas turned to wind to provide the crucial power it needed to prevent blackouts.
As a growing power source, wind energy is a major sorce of economic development. Not only do farmers already harness the wind and sell the extra energy they generate for a profit, but wind farm development brings construction jobs, leasing royalties, and increased tax revenues to local communities. If the United States were to produce just 20 percent of its energy from the wind, roughly 800,000 jobs would be created, annual property tax revenues would increase to $1.5 billion, and annual payments to rural landowners would increase to $600 million by 2030.
How does it Work?
Standing as tall as 300 feet to capture the full force of the wind, modern wind turbines use state-of-the-art technology to turn wind into electricity. When the wind blows, the blades begin to spin, turning an electric generator to create electricity. This electricity is carried through the turbine tower underground, where it feeds into the electric grid.
Solar Energy
Solar energy is the cleanest, most abundant, renewable energy source available, and the U.S. has an ample and infinite supply of sun. With this tremendous potential, it is no surprise that solar is one of the fastest growing sectors of the American economy, with more than 5,500 solar companies employing people in every state in the Union. States across the country understand the promise of solar power and California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Colorado are all leading the way in domestic solar installations.
Solar is not only clean, it is affordable. In 2011, San Antonio discovered that solar had become so cost-effective that the city opted to scrap plans for a new coal-fired power plant and install a large-scale solar facility instead.
Solar is also a great way to create needed jobs in America. Generating power with solar creates seven times as many jobs as generating power with dirty, dangerous and increasingly expensive fossil fuels like coal.
How does it Work?
Solar technologies allow us to capture the sun's energy in two principal ways. Solar PV panels, which frequently sit atop buildings, convert sunlight directly into electricity. These solar panels are made of cutting-edge silicon materials, similar to those used in computer chips. As light passes through the panels, it creates a current which generates electricity. This process of converting light (photons) to electricity (voltage) gives us the photovoltaic effect.
Also currently in use are solar thermal systems, which use the sun's heat to warm water for our businesses and homes, and large-scale CSP systems, whichproduce energy at a central power plant using mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect the solar energy and convert it to heat. This heat can then be used to produce electricity via a steam turbine or heat engine driving a generator.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is right under our feet. The earth's core is like an inner sun, heating the earth's surface and warming the water and rocks beneath. This steaming water and rock can be used to generate heat and electricity. The uppermost six miles of the earth's crust alone contains more energy than all the oil and gas reserves in the world. Geothermal resources are reliable and are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The United States leads the world geothermal electricity capacity and generation, with most of that power installed in California. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that geothermal power plants can provide15,000 MWs of new capacity within the next decade.
How does it work?
The most common form of geothermal power plant, a flash steam plant, uses high pressure pumps to send naturally heated water from under the ground to electricity generation equipment at the surface.
Getting Clean Energy Right. From the Start.
In order to end America's dependence on dirty, polluting energy like coal, we need to quickly expand all kinds of clean energy—from solar panels on homes to large-scale wind and solar projects located in places like California’s desert.
Any large energy project brings potential to harm the wildlife and wild places the Sierra Club has worked to protect for more than a century. That's why we are working hard to ensure that the large clean energy projects we desperately need are built in the best possible way—ensuring minimal damage to wildlife like desert tortoises and golden eagles. Sierra Club has worked closely with wildlife agencies and responsible developers to reconfigure energy projects and identify solutions to wildlife conflicts, and we will continue to do so.
Projects that are Smart from the Start are built on land that is already developed or disturbed—near roads and transmission lines, on degraded farmland or similar lands. They're designed so as to minimize conflict with sensitive plants and animals.
Developing large clean energy projects carefully won't always be easy—but it couldn’t be more important. If we don't ramp up clean sources of energy quickly, we won't be able to impact climate disruption—the single greatest threat to wildlife and wild places. As the nation's oldest grassroots environmental organization, we have a responsibility and an important opportunity—to make sure that we get clean energy right, from the start.
