What is this? Look familiar

An Introduction to Renewable Energy A Quick look at ch. 7

 Does Energy Affect our Lives?  Happy New Yorkers out for a Stroll! Why did this happen? Exercise is good, but they’re walking for a different reason. FOXnews 8/15/2003 060721

 Does Energy Affect our Lives?  Happy New Yorkers out for a Stroll! Why did this happen? NYC trains lost electric power Coal burning trains were banned years ago to reduce pollution. The same laws were extended to diesel locomotives, and only electric trains entered the city. FOXnews 8/15/2003 060721

Energy Overview Conventional fuels, such as used in coal, oil, or gas-fired boilers or transportation, will increase in price as supplies diminish (crude oil ~$95/bbl) That’s the law of supply and demand! Where could we get energy if conventional energy price becomes too expensive for most people? Why are renewable energies becoming more important? What about the costs? 080101

Energy Source Categories Non renewable Renewable Conventional Coal Oil Gas Nuclear Fission Alternative Nonrenewable energies come from combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. Their creation took millions of years, and we are using it faster than it was produced and faster than it is being created. Renewable energies come from the sun. Collection is from natural occurrences. While the energy is free, it costs money to collect it. Nuclear and geothermal energies aren’t renewable but are treated that way since the quantity is so large. 060813

Energy Source Categories Non renewable Renewable Conventional Coal Oil Gas Nuclear Fission Wood Hydro Human/Animal Wind Water Pumping Alternative Wood used to be conventional for cooking and home heating. Horses and oxen plowed fields and pulled wagons. 080101

Energy Source Categories Non renewable Renewable Conventional Coal Oil Gas Nuclear Fission Wood Hydro Human/Animal Wind Water Pumping Alternative Geothermal Oil Shale Tar Sands Methane Hydrates Geothermal is limited in extent, and oil shale with tar sands are fossil fuels. Methane hydrates are found in deep water and thus are difficult to harvest. 080101

Energy Source Categories Non renewable Renewable Conventional Coal Oil Gas Nuclear Fission Wood Hydro Human/Animal Wind Water Pumping Alternative Geothermal Oil Shale Tar Sands Methane Hydrates Wind Solar Biomass Wave/Tide Ocean Current Renewables face economic challenges. Sustainable means using less than is renewed; if water is withdrawn from a dam faster than it is refilled, the level drops and hydro power is lessened, and finally fails 080101

Renewable Energy Generalities Renewable energy systems transform incoming solar energy and its primary indirect forms (wind, wave, ocean current, and river flow), usually without pollution-causing combustion Renewable energy emits no pollution or carbon dioxide (although the building of the energy conversion components does) Renewable energy is sustainable indefinitely, unlike long-stored energy from fossil fuels that will be eventually be depleted or become too expensive Coal provides a cheap, efficient source of heat, but it creates pollutants and CO2 through its combustion. Developing countries such as India and China rely heavily upon coal and thus have high concentrations of pollution. Far more pollution is expected from them in the future unless they can be convinced that renewable energy is preferable. 080101

More on Renewable Energy Biomass can be heated with water under pressure to create synthetic fuel gas (synfuel); but burning biomass creates pollution and CO2; in the long term, biomass has zero net emissions due to combustion and absorption of CO2 over a long growing period Fuel combustion produces “greenhouse gases” that are widely believed to lead to climate change (a.k.a. global warming), thus combustion of biomass is not as desirable as other noncombustion energy Nuclear fission, tidal, and geothermal energies are not renewable, but sometimes are treated as though they were because of the very long depletion periods Nonrenewable energies come from combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. Their creation took millions of years, and we are using it faster than it was produced and faster than it is being created. Renewable energies come from the sun. Collection is from natural occurrences. While the energy is free, it costs money to collect it. Nuclear and geothermal energies aren’t renewable but are treated that way since the quantity is so large. 060920

The Eventual Decline of Fossil Fuels Millions of years of incoming solar energy were captured in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas; current usage thus exceeds the rate of original production! Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) estimated resources are 6 months to a few years, and would take ten years to develop. 060622

The Eventual Decline of Fossil Fuels Millions of years of incoming solar energy were captured in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas; current usage thus exceeds the rate of original production! Coal may last 100 to 250 to 400 years and estimates vary; not as useful for transportation due to thermal losses in converting to convenient liquid “synfuel” Greenhouse gases threaten to increase the temperature of the Earth with long-term consequences. These are extremely lengthy processes, and there is debate about the cause and effects. 060622

The Eventual Decline of Fossil Fuels Millions of years of incoming solar energy were captured in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas; current usage thus exceeds the rate of original production Coal may last 100 to 250 to 400 years and estimates vary; not as useful for transportation due to thermal losses in converting to convenient liquid “synfuel” Cheap oil (<$150/42-gallon barrel) is estimated for 2 to 40 years; natural gas for 20 to 60 years Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) estimated resources are 6 months to a few years, and would take ten years to develop. As oil becomes expensive, more natural gas will be consumed, and the estimated life will be shortened. 080915

The Eventual Decline of Fossil Fuels Millions of years of incoming solar energy were captured in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas; current usage thus exceeds the rate of original production Coal may last 100 to 250 to 400 years and estimates vary; not as useful for transportation due to thermal losses in converting to convenient liquid “synfuel” Cheap oil is estimated for 2 to 40 years; natural gas for 20 to 60 years We can conserve energy by reducing loads and through increased efficiency in generating, transmitting, and using energy Conservation and efficiency are necessary to reduce the costs of renewable energy. 060721

The Eventual Decline of Fossil Fuels Millions of years of incoming solar energy were captured in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas; current usage thus exceeds the rate of original production Coal may last 100 to 250 to 400 years and estimates vary; not as useful for transportation due to thermal losses in converting to convenient liquid “synfuel” Cheap oil estimated for 2 to 40 years; natural gas for 20 to 60 years We can conserve energy by reducing loads and through increased efficiency in generating, transmitting, and using energy Efficiency and conservation will delay an energy crisis, but will not prevent it from eventually happening! Saving existing energy pushes out the time that it is depleted. 060721

The Hubbert Curve Predicts Fossil Fuel Decline Dr. M. King Hubbert, a geophysicist, predicted that the US oil peak would be reached in 1970. Later, others predicted the World oil peak would occur in the first decade of the 21st Century. Past the production peak at 2006-2011 (?), oil prices will increase as extraction becomes more difficult and the price is bid up. We run out of cheap fuel, not all fuel. www.hubbertpeak.com/midpoint.htm 060920

Top 5 Producers of Oil Top 5 Consumers of Oil Rank Countries Amount # 1     Russia: 10,120,000 bbl/day    # 2     Saudi Arabia: 9,764,000 bbl/day    # 3     United States: 9,056,000 bbl/day     # 4     Iran: 4,172,000 bbl/day    # 5    China: 3,991,000 bbl/day   Top 5 Consumers of Oil Rank  Countries  Amount     # 1     United States: 18,690,000 bbl/day    # 2     China: 8,200,000 bbl/day   # 3     Japan: 4,363,000 bbl/day   # 4     India: 2,980,000 bbl/day # 5     Russia: 2,740,000 bbl/day     

How does the US use Crude Oil & its Products? Power Transportation Gasoline Diesel Utilities Bunker C or #6 oil Materials Plastics Containers Hoses Wire Insulation Cars Paints Resins Clothing, tarps, bags Medicines Fertilizers Paving 060918

Future US Gasoline Problems Volume now is within the average range Was the production peak this year? US Gasoline demand is about 9169 million barrels per day (August, 2006) Supply is about the same, or prices would rapidly rise or fall An “Oil Shock” occurs when there are shortages when the supply is temporarily interrupted, 1973 or post-Katrina Depletion is far worse! Ref.: EIA 060815

Who gets our Gas Money? Exxon Mobil had 2nd quarter profits of $10.4 billion, up 32%! Sales were $99 billion; so profit was 10.5%! 080101

Energy Considerations for 2050 (If you are 20 years old in 2008, you’d be 62 in 2050) Fossil-fuel energy will deplete in the future; it took millions of years to create that much fuel US oil production peaked about 1974; World energy estimated to peak about 2010 or so We won’t know the peak until it’s well past! Renewable energy will eventually become mandatory, and our lifestyles will have to change to adapt The transition to increased renewable energy must occur well before a crisis occurs Replacing cheap fuel with renewables will cost much more! 080101

Energy Utilities Usage US 2000 Yourenergyfuture.org United States Transportation, Residential, Industrial Fossil Fuels 60% 060721 2004 http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/images/piechart.gif

Solar Energy Intensity Energy from our sun (~1372 W/m2) is filtered through the atmosphere and is received at the surface at ~1000 watts per square meter or less; average is 345 W/m^2 Air, clouds, rain, and haze reduce the received surface energy Capture is from heat (thermal energy) and by photovoltaic cells yielding direct electrical energy Energy is proportional to brightness multiplied by time. 060721

Variations in Surface Energy Affect Potential Capture A flat-plate collector aimed normal to the sun (directly at it) will receive energy diminishing according to the amount of atmosphere along the path (overhead air mass Ξ 1); (you can look at the sun at dawn or dusk) The received energy varies around the World due to local weather; in Central Florida, direct normal radiation is 4.0 to 4.5 kWh/(m2 - day); 4.7 equivalent sun hours Throughout the Contiguous United States, daily solar energy varies from <3.0 to 7.0 kWh/(m2 - day) The collector is tilted to be at 90 degrees to the sunlight at solar noon. SUN Latitude Angle 080101

Solar Energy: Thermal Low-temperature extraction of heat from ground; ~70° F to 80° F Water heating for home and business; ~90° F to 120° F High-temperature process-heating water for industry; ~200° F to 400° F Solar thermal power plants; ~1000° F California has several 200 MW parabolic solar plants called SEGS near Barstow. Why is AZ greater than Florida? 060920