At the moment the amount of electricity generated in this way remains tiny, but the potential is huge
Throughout history many cultures have worshiped the Sun for its life-giving powers. In reality it is not the Sun itself, but rather the plants that have learned to harvest that all powerful sunshine, to whom we should bow on bended knees.
Think about it. Everything you have ever eaten, or will ever eat, can ultimately be traced back to an organism carrying out photosynthesis. The word itself, “Photosynthesis” says it all: “To create from light.” And the precious oxygen we breathe is one of the waste products of that creation.
The oldest known fossils are those of cyanobacteria, microscopic organisms that 3.5 billion years ago evolved the ability to turn water, carbon dioxide and sunlight into sugar, that magic molecule that fuels all cellular life. Through a fateful encounter with a different and more complex cell, cyanobacteria eventually gave rise to the ancestor of those organisms today known as plants. Today those remnant cyanobacteria are known as chloroplasts.
Most people know that plants take in water and CO2 and produce carbohydrates and gaseous oxygen. But what is often misunderstood is the source of those oxygen molecules. They come from the splitting of water, not the CO2.
The first step in photosynthesis uses the energy of sunlight to break a water molecule into its basic parts; an atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen. Known as “photosystem II” (named that way because it was discovered after the second step in the process, photosystem I) the hydrogen protons are stripped away from a water molecule and two atoms of oxygen are joined together released as a waste product.
As positively charged protons accumulate on one side of a membrane a sort of chemical battery is created, the power of which is then used to generate the energy-rich molecule ATP which in turn is used to fix CO2 into the sugars that feed almost all life on the planet.
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Generating electricity from plants
- New EPA rules cut carbon, mercury and other pollution from coal and gas power plantson April 27, 2024 at 4:00 am
The coal-fired Homer City Generating Station, which closed in 2023. The EPA finalized a suite of pollution rules for natural gas and coal-fired power plants in the U.S. Thursday. The new rules include ...
- New EPA rules will force fossil fuel power plants to cut pollutionon April 27, 2024 at 4:00 am
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released a sweeping set of rules aimed at cutting air, water and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Environmental and clean energy ...
- We have never been responsible for protecting combined heat and power, thermal, and hydroelectric power plants – Ukraine's infrastructure ministeron April 26, 2024 at 10:47 am
Ukraine's Ministry of Infrastructure has never been responsible for protecting energy generation facilities such as combined heat and power plants, thermal power plants and hydroelectric power plants.
- New EPA rules subject Georgia Power to severe emissions restrictions at planned plantson April 26, 2024 at 4:37 am
Georgia Power will be required to capture 90% of carbon dioxide emissions at three new gas-fired plants under new federal guidelines..
- ‘It’s going to be a scramble.’ What’s next for EPA’s power plant rule.on April 26, 2024 at 3:44 am
The Biden administration still needs to publish the final rule — and will have to fend off challenges on Capitol Hill and in the courts.
- Experts say new EPA power plant rules will drive up energy costs and further destabilize U.S. gridon April 25, 2024 at 2:46 pm
China has increased its total coal-fired generation capacity by 233 gigawatts, whereas the U.S. has retired more than 95 coal-derived gigawatts in production.
- US energy giant sounds alarm on Biden's climate rules targeting power plantson April 25, 2024 at 2:17 pm
One of the nation's largest energy companies, which provides power to more than eight million customers, said President Biden's environmental regulations will threaten the grid.
- Five Things to Know About Biden’s New Power Plant Ruleson April 25, 2024 at 10:59 am
The Biden administration released a major climate regulation aimed at virtually eliminating carbon emissions from coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels and a driver of global warming.
- New EPA Rules Drastically Limit Emissions From Power Plants That Burn Fossil Fuelson April 25, 2024 at 5:35 am
But the rules do not cover existing gas-powered plants, which account for 43.1% of electricity generation in the U.S.—more than any other source. The EPA projects the policies will lead to “$370 ...
- Biden admin cracks down on power plants fueling nation's gridon April 25, 2024 at 2:00 am
The White House on Thursday announced new environmental regulations cracking down on fossil fuel power plants, which are the largest source of electricity nationwide.
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Power from plants
- New EPA rules cut carbon, mercury and other pollution from coal and gas power plantson April 27, 2024 at 4:00 am
The coal-fired Homer City Generating Station, which closed in 2023. The EPA finalized a suite of pollution rules for natural gas and coal-fired power plants in the U.S. Thursday. The new rules include limits on climate-altering carbon dioxide from coal and ...
- Explainer-New EPA power sector rules set up likely legal clasheson April 25, 2024 at 3:58 pm
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized new regulations targeting pollution from power plants, including a landmark rule that requires sweeping reductions in carbon emissions from existing coal and new gas plants to combat climate change.
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