These animations were created for the Renewable Energy episode of the Modern Marvels series airing on The History Channel. They are presented here without audio to avoid intellectual property issues. All content is the original work of Rickert Digital Design except as noted. Satellite imagery in map animations is courtesy of NASA.

Act 1

Act 1 is all about solar power.

Photons from sunlight excite silicon in a photovoltaic cell. The electrons escape, flowing through the circuit created by conductive metal traces on the surface of the cell and the metal sheet behind the cell. This animation had to be matched to live video frames. It uses photography provided by Actuality Productions.

Covering 10,000,000 square miles (equivalent to about ten percent of Nevada) with photovoltaic cells manufactured with today's technology would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the US.

Built by the ancient Pueblo people (sometimes called Anasazi) of the American southwest, the complex known as Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado is built in an enormous alcove in a sandstone cliff. In the winter, when the sun is low, the warming sunlight reaches the dwellings inside. In the summer, when the sun is high, the alcove shades the dwellings from the sun, keeping them cool. The models in this animation were built with the help of 3D laser scan data generated from the archaeological site.

As with photovoltaic power, if Nevada would just give over ten percent of its land area to solar thermal power plants, it could supply the entire electrical grid of the US.