Irish people are presently following energy independence and encourage development of their vigorous economic system through the execution of research and development into alternative energy resources.

The Ireland has been utilized Hydroelectric power very effectively since the thirties, but more of it needs to be build. Ireland also needs to harness the wave power of the Atlantic Ocean, which on its west coast is a potential energy source.

In the meantime, Ireland is for the most part focused on reaching the point where it can produce 15% of the nation’s electricity through wind farms, which the government has set as a national objective to be reached by 2010. But universities, research institutes, and government personnel in Ireland have been saying that the development of ocean wave energy technology would be a true driving force for the nation’s economy and one which would greatly help to make Ireland energy independent.

A test site for developing wave ocean energy has been set up in Ireland, less than two miles off the coast of An Spideal in County Galway Bay. This experimental ocean wave harnessing location is known as “Wavebob”. The most dynamic waves in the world are located off the West coast of Ireland, says Ireland’s Marine Institute CEO Dr. Peter Heffernan. The technology to harness the power of the ocean is only just emerging and Ireland has the chance to become a market leader in this sector.

Wave energy is a promising new renewable energy resource which could one day make a significant contribution to Ireland’s electricity generation power thereby further reducing the reliance on fossil fuels.

Ireland has the potential to become an energy exporter, with the energy potential rests in Ireland’s significant wind, ocean wave, and biomass-producing alternative energy potentialities. Ireland could become a supplier of electrical energy to continental European Community.

A Shell station in Ottawa has become the first in the world to sell gasoline blended with biofuel made from wheat straw, the global oil giant said Wednesday.

Although initially is much cheaper to get hooked up to the local electric company’s grid than it is to set up and hook into wind turbines, in the long run one saves money by utilizing the wind for one’s energy needs—while also becoming more independent. Not receiving an electric bill while enjoying the advantages of the modern electrically driven life style is a wondrous feeling.

Electric bills and fuel bills are rising steadily, but the cost of wind turbine energy is zero, and the cost of installing and hooking up a turbine is steadily coming down as demand rises and more commercial success is realized by various companies producing the turbines and researching technologies to make them ever more efficient.

In addition, people are moving away from the traditional electric grids and the fossil fuels for personal reasons including desire for greater independence, the desire to live remotely or rurally without having to “go primitive”, political concerns such as fears of terrorist strikes on oil fields or power grids, or concerns about the environment.

Again, this motivation to get away from the traditional energy sources is the same one that causes people to seek the power of the wind for their energy, giving more business opportunities to profit from wind turbine production and maintenance, which drives their costs down for the consumers.

In many provinces in Canada and states in the US where homeowners are allowed to sell their excess energy back to the power company under what are called “net metering laws”. The rates that they are being paid by the local power companies for this energy are standard retail rates, in other words, the homeowners are actually profiting from their own energy production.

Some federal lawmakers are pushing to get the federal government to mandate these tax breaks and other wind power incentives. Japan and Germany already have national incentive programs in place.

The Jatropha is a drought resistant plant that is very robust and can grow in arid conditions with little maintenance. It has a high tolerance to heat and can withstand light frosts. It can also grow in saline environments and in soil that is deficient in nutrients producing seeds for up to fifty years, making it the ideal solution for natural, clean burning renewable fuel.

The Seeds of Jatropha plant contain gummy oil of about 28 to 40 % by its weight. The extracted oil from the seeds is then convert to bio diesel fuel which can be used as a substitute for fossil fuel. The Jatropha is so concentrated that technically you should be a
ble to crush and extract the oil from the seed and use it immediately in a diesel powered engine. The obvious benefit with the less processing is the less energy and emissions.

Who would have conceived that a lowly, unassumingly little seed would be the stuff bio fuel legends are made of and have the might to power today’s jumble jets?

After oil extraction, its pulp does not go to waste either, it can be used as fertilizer and makes for a good, natural insecticide, an environmentally conscious fuel with no waste or harmful by-products that does not contribute to CO2 emissions, a dream come true for the aviation industry.

In 2008, the seed of the Jatropha plant was used as an ingredient in a 50:50 bio diesel, jet A1 fuel cocktail in one of 4 engine fuel tanks. This mixture was used to power an Air New Zealand 747-400 aircraft (and amongst a handful of others) in a bid to test its viability as a potential replacement for jet fuel, with encouraging results, it withstood the usual pressures that come with high altitude flying.

Air New Zealand is convinced that they can replace 10% of their regular jet engine fuel with bio diesels by 2013. Because the average Jatropha yield takes two to five years, Air New Zealand believes that they will be ready to implement Jatropha fuel on a grand scale by the time it can be grown in volume to keep up with aviation industry demand.

Additional advantage of Jatropha plant is that it does not require precious, nutrient rich land reserved for food crops due to its ability to flourish in low nutrient conditions while encouraging diversity of revenue for local farmers with the potential creation of some 18,000 local jobs.

Jatropha is fast becoming a major challenger for the title of bio fuel heavyweight champion. Goldman Sachs recently cited Jatropha as one of the best candidates for future bio diesel production.

Biofuel

Plants use photosynthesis to grow and produce biomass. Also known as biomatter, biomass can be used directly as fuel or to produce biofuels. Agriculturally produced biomass fuels, such as biodiesel, ethanol and bagasse (often a by-product of sugar cane cultivation) can be burned in internal combustion engines or boilers. Typically biofuel is burned to release its stored chemical energy. Research into more efficient methods of converting biofuels and other fuels into electricity utilizing fuel cells is an area of very active work.

Liquid Biofuels

Liquid biofuel is usually either a bioalcohol such as Read more