Renewable Energy Geography

Here in suburban Detroit, especially Downriver, we have an inferiority complex. We sometimes believe life is better in other places, and sometimes friends/relatives tell us so.

One thing that is better other places  are natural resources, for example Texas and Alaska have oil, but not here.

Florida and California have tropical fruit plantations, but not here.

The coasts have winds to turn turbines, but not here. Or is it.

It turns out that there are some decent winds in side the Great Lakes, and the mountain passes of the West are great too.

Wind seems to be the most practical in terms of land usage since it produces considerable power, and the land can generally be used for something in addition.

Link to source

Solar power depends on the average cloudiness as well as the brightness of the sun. It helps to live in the desert. The plains states do OK though.

This map is at odds with the Energy Department calculation of energy yield from semiconductor photovoltaics shown below, where cloudiness seems far more important than the brightness of the sun.

In this table Boulder Colorado is the best.

How much energy will a grid-connected photovoltaic system produce?*
System Size	1-kW	2-kW	3-kW	4-kW	5-kW
Seattle, WA	970	1940	2910	3880	4850
Sacramento, CA	1399	2799	4198	5597	6996
Boulder, CO	1459	2917	4376	5834	7293
Minneapolis, MN	1286	2571	3857	5142	6428
Des Moines, IA	1292	2584	3876	5168	6459
Houston, TX	1220	2440	3660	4879	6099
Pittsburgh, PA	1099	2197	3296	4395	5494
Jacksonville, FL	1286	2571	3857	5142	6428
*Estimated annual output in kWh/year (source: PV WATTS). A typical home uses an average of 9,400 kWh per year.   National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service

http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/data/images/biomass_map.jpg

Michigan does better with biomass, which in this context means wood for fuel. Wood and burnable grasses have a lot to do with rainfall.

This map shows where petroleum is produced today -- obviously Texas and Alaska stand out.   Coal and natural gas are on this site. 













Having said all this, alternative energy develop is not going to happen until petroleum and natural gas prices climb enough to make these energy sources relatively cheap. Sometimes governments give subsidies, but experience shows that subsidies only last until the party of government changes.

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