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Just a thought - would it be possible to install wind turbines low down to the ground at the end of airport runways? I'm just thinking about when a plane takes off; when commercial jet engines power up to full thrust that's a lot of energy being released backwards. Perhaps we could somehow harness the jet blast? I guess the main concern would be safety.

Could you ever see this happening?

If we utilised it to capacity, I'd guestimate perhaps 100TWh. There would be outcry from conservationists though, so I don't see it happening in the near future.

Industrial factories with large ovens, or even foundries with molten metal spring to mind. Other candidates could include traditional power plants, large shopping centres and indoor stadia.

[quote author=allegrif link=topic=208.msg518#msg518 date=1449156938]
When compared to the price of constructing/installing/planting it? Does it increase the value of the property more than the cost of the green roof, or are you more likely to spend more on the roof than what you'd get back by selling the property at a higher price?
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How long is a piece of string? If it's a perfect candidate for solar and produces electricity very efficiently, then I'd imagine you'd be looking at a decent gain on investment. If you're facing the wrong direction, under a tree and in an area that always rains, then I don't think it'll raise your property value much at all!

[quote author=JamesH link=topic=171.msg384#msg384 date=1448626464]
I personally don't see it happening. the 22.5GW mosnter is China will probably remain the largest in my opinion. I don't see Egypt/Brazil damming up the Nile or Amzon, and that's probably the only way it could be exceeded.

What do you think?
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Any successor would have to be built on a new, artificial river for the reasons given above. I can't see any nation fashioning a new river out of nothing anytime soon, so for now it looks like the 3 gorges will go unrivaled.

[quote author=LucidEnergy link=topic=198.msg495#msg495 date=1449083600]
I didn't know that.  But then again they invested their oil money more wisely. They also have a smaller population to supply and an almost endless amount of fjords.
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Yeah, I didn't think about that. I suppose if two countries have a similar size but differing populations the one with the smaller population will be easier to transition to renewables. You only need to pick the top few dam locations etc then.

[quote author=JamesH link=topic=197.msg504#msg504 date=1449084663]
Well, it's in the right direction at least, but a tiny percentage per year is not fast enough really.
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I agree, it needs to speed up. You'd think the Chinese people would be sick enough of the smog they have to endure in the big cities to put some pressure on the government, but then again criticising the government isn't really a done thing over there. If all of China were to go renewable though we'd wipe out a huge chunk of the world's CO2 emissions in one go.

[quote author=JamesH link=topic=194.msg540#msg540 date=1449159398]
Surely the constant flow of upwards air could power a flat turbine mounted at the top of the towers? In addition, water going into the boil could pass through pipes here first, thus requiring less fuel to boil.
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That's so simple, yet so effective. I wonder how fast the air is rising in a cooling tower... it may be a considerable amount of renewable energy we could produce there.

[quote author=Jemappelle link=topic=215.msg553#msg553 date=1449194012]
The technology exists, and we gain fuel as a by-product. So should we invest more in co2 capture and removal from the atomsphere?
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Absolutely. If we already have this technology, then why aren't we deploying it everywhere already? Sometimes my mind boggles at the people making our decisions. Climate change is the single biggest issue facing us as a species, and I feel like we just sit back here and watch it happen. If the wealthier billion people of the world all had to give £10 to invest in renewables and stopping climate change, we'd have £10,000,000,000 to play with - a lot of money. Something like this initiative needs to be considered.

For me it's not the immediate safety concerns, it's the dumping of radioactive waste. We should not be investing in a process that produces waste that is so hazardous to its local environment. All it takes is one major mishap and we have a serious situation on our hands.

I have a friend who powers her biomass boiler using purely her rubbish. Her needs aren't very high; she lives alone and doesn't spend much time in the house. She does generate a lot of waste though, so this has been a Godsend for her. I'm not sure I'd be able to manage the same, but I bet it feels satisfying burning your rubbish [i]and[/i] saving on your energy bills!

Something people don't realise as well is that burning things like paper can be completely carbon neutral. If the trees that are cut down are from sustainable areas, the trees that grow to replace them will soak up any CO2 released by burning their predecessors. It's a cycle.

Not quite green roofs, but I thought this forum best matched the subject. What do you make of green walls? That is, a wall covered in plant life? This is one example:

[img width=250 height=149]https://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/france-green-roofs-law-solar-panels-20150819/france_roof.jpg/image[/img]

They're nice for oxidising the air, but they're a lot more limited in their application than green roofs. Additionally, many people don't like the look of them and they can cause cracking in the underlying wall. Would you want to see more of these, or should we just stick to roofing?

[quote author=CuriousGeorge link=topic=138.msg452#msg452 date=1449002851]
Anything that would help with the range on an electric car would be warmly welcomed I feel. A little off-topic from solar, but how about building a small wind turbine into the front of the car as well. For example, it could go where the badge of a car manufacturer usually goes and wouldn't have to protrude from the vehicle. If a car's travelling at 70 MPH, you're looking at a constant 70 MPH windflow into the turbine, which should recycle at least some of the energy?
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You'd be looking at a very, very low volume of electricity being produced there. It may power the radio, but that's about it I'd think. It would be a nice novelty to have though, and I guess every little helps.

[quote author=CuriousGeorge link=topic=167.msg451#msg451 date=1449002686]
But surely it can be stored for night-time usage?
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Storing electricity is harder than you think. It's not like water where you can just keep it in a tank (although storing water can be one means of storing electricity!)

Batteries are often used, but there are not efficient and a lot of the energy is wasted as they naturally decay. This means the guaranteed outage of solar panels is, unfortunately, a real issue.

[quote author=LucidEnergy link=topic=153.msg316#msg316 date=1448463849]
What can a DIYer do on a budget to improve home insulation?

I don't want to spend a small fortune, but my house is poorly insulated and I'd like to change that. Any tips you'd have for some cheap DIY insulation?
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This something I'd only recommend if you really, really know what you're doing. If you cut corners and go the DIY group and use irregular materials, you're opening up the possibility of your insulation being a fire hazard. I would strongly recommend leaving this to a professional company unfortunately.