A common misconception about green energy production is that there is no cost associated with it. Because the fuel source that turns the turbines that generates the electricity is free in the form of wind, sun and flowing water, it would seem that it could be manufactured this way with far less expense than using any method that required a purchase of the fuel source. While the costs of buying or mining a fossil fuel are additional to those seen in green technology, at this point in time the total costs are still lower using fossil fuels. This is due to an Achilles Heel that is present in green technology, the expense of the equipment required, and the cost to repair or replace the sensitive computer electronics inside these systems equipment.
Fossil fuel energy production uses the burning of a fuel source to turn turbines and produce the electricity. The transport and delivery of that electricity uses the same system no matter what the production method, so it would be logical that methods that do not need to pay for the fuels would be less expensive. However in order for green technologies to fully utilize the free fuel sources and generate enough electricity to be viable to power large communities, they must involve control equipment that is computerized and quite expensive. This equipment is positioned in the field in the wind and solar farms, and connected directly to the solar panels and the wind turbines responsible for the collection of the fuel source. This means that when lightning strikes these exposed components, the damage is not isolated to the strike point. Instead, the surge of electricity that comes with it is allowed to travel from the strike point through the structure and overwhelm the control equipment connected to it through the power and data transfer lines. While some protection can be had using standardized diversion mechanisms to attract the lightning elsewhere, the best protection is found in the form of surge protection equipment.
Surge protection devices are installed throughout the system along any path that electricity can follow from device to device. This provides the ability to create a gap and stop the flow before it moves to the next component in the system, essentially isolating the damage to components only near the strike point. As surge protection technology evolves and improves, the systems that produce green energy will be able to further reduce their operational costs, and eventually bring their costs in line with fossil fuel production methods. Once this happens, there is no reason to continue using the old energy production methods because green technology will be both cleaner and cheaper, as well as better for the environment. One such improvement in the surge protection technology is the development of an “always on” Strikesorb SPD by Raycap. This device does not need the typical resetting and replacing of the active surge protection component, necessary with so many other technologies, to restore functionality to a system that has been triggered by a lightning or power surge. This allows affected systems to be restored more quickly, and thus utilize more of the free sources of fuel while they are available. The future of green energy is found in places you might not expect, and Raycap is leading the way.
