To:
Dr. Thalia Anagnos, Professor
From:
Susie Solar, Vincent Vientos, Students
Subject: Planning for Proposal on Alternative Energies
Date:
13 April 2009
Purpose
This memo introduces you to our proposal topic, gives you a brief idea of what we plan to
propose, and indicates who our intended audience and potential client are. The topic we have
chosen for the proposal is “Compare the effectiveness of at least three alternative energies for a
particular application. Propose the best alternative.” We represent EnvironSJ, a firm that has
been developing alternative energy solutions to energy producing companies for the past 10
years. Our potential client is Energy Inc., a leading provider of retail electric service in the state
of California for past 25 years. Their major source of generating electricity has been burning
fossil fuels, but now Energy Inc. wants to go green and have an alternative
clean/green/renewable source for generating electricity. They have come to EnvironSJ and asked
us to propose the best and most appropriate solution. In our proposal to Energy Inc. we will be
comparing three alternative energy sources, namely wind, solar, and hydro. From these we will
be proposing wind energy as the best solution.
Summary
The proposal will consist of five main sections.

Section 1: This will be an introduction that will summarize what we are proposing and
what the following parts of the proposal contain.

Section 2: This will be a background on how energy is produced and some history. We
know that burning fossil fuels to generate electricity has been our primary source of
energy for past several decades. But now as awareness is increasing about carbon
emissions and their bad effects on global warming, people have begun to seek cleaner
and renewable sources of energy that are available in nature in abundance and do not
produce harmful gases in the process. There are several ways to produce electricity such
as fossil fuels, natural gas, water turbines, windmills, solar cells, nuclear power plants,
etc. Whatever the primary source of energy, it is used to spin a turbine, which in turn
spins a generator. This generator is made of an electric conductor, for example copper.
When this conductor spins with a magnetic field an Alternating Current (AC Power) is
produced.

Section 3: The third part will have four subtopics. The first three topics will each give a
brief background on different forms of energy and discuss various evaluation factors like
availability, geographic conditions, cost, etc. The fourth subtopic will again review wind
1
energy as the best solution and rename all its advantages and state why we think its the
best solution.
 Wind: We will give a brief background on how wind is used as a primary source for
generating electricity, the factors it depends on, and what factors to keep in mind for
using this source (advantages and disadvantages, availability, associated costs, etc.)
 Solar: We will give a brief background on how sun rays are used as a primary source
for generating electricity with the help of solar cells, the factors it depends on, and
what factors to keep in mind for using this source (advantages and disadvantages,
availability, associated costs, etc.)
 Water Energy: We will give a brief background on how waterfalls are used for
spinning turbines and as a source for generating electricity, the factors it depends on,
and what factors to keep in mind for using this source (advantages and disadvantages,
availability, associated costs, etc.)
 Solution: This subsection will discuss why we think wind energy is the best solution
and reiterate all the advantages and also advantages over the other two forms of
energy.

Section 4: This section will contain the plan for how to set up the best solution should the
client agree. We will go a little deeper in the project budget, problems that can be faced,
geographic location best suited for this solution, timeline and how to balance out the
profit, etc.

Section 5: The summary and conclusion of the proposal will summarized the key points
the client should consider and next steps if they wish to proceed.
The work is divided as follows:

The introduction, comparison of solar and water energies, and details on wind energy will
be done by Susie.

Vincent will be doing the introduction to wind energy and provide its advantages over
solar and water energies, and the fourth part of the project which involves planning.

The conclusion will be completed jointly.
Conclusion
We have already completed the initial research for all the three energies and advantages of wind
energy. We now have to do the fourth part of the project, the planning phase. We will be
completing that by April 20 and then work on the final draft of the proposal by April 27. Please
find the Gantt chart attached with this memo. In conclusion, our main topic is to compare three
forms of alternative energy and provide the best solution.
NOTE TO STUDENTS FROM PROFESSOR ANAGNOS: This proposal is a good start but
DOES NOT properly discuss the Gantt chart and the tasks each member will complete.
2
References
Clemmitt, M. (2006, January 27). Climate change. CQ Researcher, 16, 73-96. Retrieved April
13, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online. http://0library.cqpress.com.library.wvmccd.cc.ca.us/cqresearcher/cqresrre2006012700.
Cooper, M. H. (2005, February 25). Alternative fuels. CQ Researcher, 15, 173-196. Retrieved
April 13, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online. http://0library.cqpress.com.library.wvmccd.cc.ca.us/cqresearcher/cqresrre2005022500.
Weeks, J. (2005, September 30). Domestic energy development. CQ Researcher, 15, 809-832.
Retrieved April 13, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online. http://0library.cqpress.com.library.wvmccd.cc.ca.us/cqresearcher/cqresrre2005093000.
3