Green is the word, these days we hear and see it attached to almost everything, “Green Power, Green Energy, Green Fuels, and Green Belt” but what does it all mean?  Are we being invaded by little green men from otter space?  What does this word ”Green” mean?  Well… to put it as simply as possible “Green” is the “buzz word” used by science and industry to describe technologies and products which are non-detrimental to the eco-system.

“All well and good”, one might say.  “We are all concerned about the environment but what can I do to be ‘Green’? I am not a scientist of a captain of industry, how can I be a contributor? It all sounds very expensive to me”.  In fact the good news is you can, as a private citizen, not only take and active part in helping to clean up the environment and fight the effects of excessive carbon emissions, you can actually profit from your efforts, another good use of the word “Green”… you could put some “Green” back in your pocket in other word you could “Fire Your Power Company”.

When ever I mention the possibility of turning a “Profit” the response is usually “Where do I sign up”?  My reply to this is always “Whoa! Hold on a minute… first we need to determine if you are a good candidate for a program which helps you generate ‘Green Energy’”, for instance, if you live in a high rise apartment building in the middle of a crowded metropolis, you are unlikely to be able to participate in the generation of “Green Energy” but do not despair there are other ways you can “Profit” from power created by other producers for more info on how, visit Profiting from Green Energy but if you live in a rural community or on a farm them you could be a prime candidate to become a producer of “Green Energy”. The next area we need to explore is which of the generation technologies is most applicable to you particular situation, if you live in a climate where the sky is cloudy most of the time then you’ll most likely want to look at systems other than solar panels.

So what are your options now that you’ve made the decision to become a “Green Power Generator” let’s look at what technologies are currently available to the private producer…

Solar Panels… Recent advances in “Photovoltaic Cell” technology have made this a very affordable and viable choice for all type of applications, even some enterprising apartment have found ways to take advantage of this system to at least lower their electricity bill.  Photovoltaic Cells convert visible light into directly into electricity, each cell produces a tiny amount of electricity but when combine in what are referred to as “Solar Arrays” they have the ability to generate enough energy to power an entire house.
Wind Turbines… Most of us have at least seen images of this technology, typically rows and rows of huge windmills resembling massive airplane propellers stuck on top of a tall pole turning slowly and majestically in the summer breeze.  Farmers and ranchers have used wind power for generations to drive pumps to draw well water for drinking by people and livestock also to help with soil irrigation during dry weather.  However modern “Windmill Technology” is now available to the average rural dweller which can allow them to produce enough power to meet their own needs and in some cases to profit by selling surplus energy generated, back to the power company, without having to turn over acres of valuable food producing land to the huge “Wind Farms”

Water Power… The third and for the purposes of this article the final option is “Water Power” or “Hydro Electric Generation” this technology, is however quite limited in its applications, generally a source of fast moving water such as a swift river or waterfall is required to turn the energy producing turbines which tend to be very expensive to buy and install.  So it is for these reasons that we do not consider a truly viable choice for most individuals seeking to create their own “Green Energy”.

Other Technologies… There are a number of other methods of power creation which may be utilized to alleviate the ever increasing financial burden of powering our homes, these include “Geothermal Energy” and “Biomass Gas Generators” but I will leave the discussion of these for the next article, more information on all of these technologies and “Green Energy” in general in available at “Be Your Own Power Company”.