Enlisting the services of an environmental consultant is becoming increasingly popular in countries that are racing to meet targets set by government legislation regarding reducing carbon emissions. There are a number of options available for producing energy from sustainable sources; these commonly include solar power, wind turbines and tidal power, but there are more unusual solutions on the horizon. Environmental consulting could soon be recommending balloon farms as a way of providing energy for whole communities.
Using wind to generate power is not a new phenomenon; wind turbines have had a slow but steady introduction to the UK, both on and off shore. The popularity of wind turbines however has not been great, and many residents still oppose the introduction of wind farms close to their property even though they claim to support the work of environmental consulting firms. The usual reason for vetoing such proposals is down to aesthetics.
Residents often consider the wind powered turbines to be a blot on the landscape; the general consensus from these people is that the introduction of turbines is a great idea, but not in their back garden. An alternative has been proposed, and it offers a solution that will have little effect on the landscape, utilise sustainable energy sources and one unit will have the potential to provide energy for ten homes.
The new idea is to use recreational hot air balloons to generate energy via a method that is similar in nature to a two stroke engine. Each balloon would be capable of replicating an engine that has a capacity of 45 million litres. Using solar power the air inside the balloon is heated causing the balloon to rise, pulling on an anchor line which is attached to a generator. The pulling action causes the generator to turn, and when the balloon has reached 3 kilometres, a vent opens to allow the air to escape; this enables the balloon to be bought back down with less effort. The process produces a net power gain which can be used for residential and commercial purposes.
Balloons of 44 diameters are able to power ten homes for the same price as power produced through wind turbines, but if the size of the balloons were doubled, the costs would be less, making balloon power more economical than land based turbines. Unfortunately environmental consulting firms are unsure of the reception the technology will get from residents. Although the balloons will be nothing more than a speck in the sky for most of the time, they will still have to come back down to earth, which may cause some residents to object to these plans too.
Author Resource:-
Dom Donaldson is an energy expert.
Find out more about Environmental Consulting in the environmental engineering industry at URS Corp.
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