1. Renewable Energy: Ready for Prime Time? Part B
Peter Schwarz Professor of Economics, Belk College of Business and Associate, Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) UNC Charlotte
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2. Outline Introduction Why Renewable Energy? Government Subsidies
The Rising Tide of Alternative Energies
Barriers to Acceptance of Alternative Energies
Other Currently Available Renewables
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3. Rising Tide of Renewable Energies (1)
Solar, wind, biofuels growing very quickly in annual percentage terms
But from a small base, at least in the U.S.
Primarily as a source of electricity
But also transportation
Such as ethanol
From corn or sugarcane.
Some reports show wind capacity (MW) now exceeds hydro.
However, capacity and production (MWh) are not the same thing.
As of 2015: Renewables 13%
Hydropower = 6%
Other renewables = 7%
Biomass = 1.6% Geothermal = 0.4% Solar = 0.6% Wind = 4.7%
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4. Rising Tide of Renewable Energies (2)
European Union uses a lot more renewables than the U.S.
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5. Rising Tide of Renewable Energies (3)
Germany achieves 30% renewables
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6. Barriers to Acceptance of Renewables (1)
Private cost higher in the absence of subsidies
Although fossil fuels not fully priced
No carbon price in U.S.
Levelized costs
Levelized Cost Projections for 2022
Wind close to parity or even cheaper than NG by 2022, according to EIA.
Solar close to parity with NG due to substantial subsidy.
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7. Barriers to Acceptance of Renewables(2)
Intermittent and non-dispatchable
Wind currently operates at 42% of its capacity
Objections to locating where best wind is available
Solar PV operates at 26% of capacity
Wind, solar, can’t be used for baseload
Hard to match with demand
Can cause surges on grid.
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8. Barriers to Acceptance of Alt Fuels (3)
Levelized cost underestimates cost of wind, solar (Joskow 2011)
Intermittency has a cost
Need backup fuels that are readily available
Can ramp up quickly
NGCC
Available at certain hours
Wind available at night
TX gives it away –low value
Solar available during day
Overlaps, but does not coincide, with hours of highest (peak) demand.
Replacing NG peaker units, not coal (or nuclear) baseload units
So carbon reduction is smaller than if it replaced coal.
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9. Barriers to Acceptance of Renewables(4)
The Duck Curve
Main problem comes at 6 PM.
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10. Barriers to Acceptance of Alt Fuels (5)
Environmental Shortcomings
1800 MW nuclear plant
1.7 sq mi. (1100 acres – 1100 football fields)
Equivalent amount of solar energy
7.4 acres of PV solar panels
21 sq mi. (13,320 acres)
Equivalent amount of wind
MW turbines
169 sq mi. (108,000 acres)
Biofuels take more acreage than wind
Corn-based ethanol takes far more land than sugar-cane-based ethanol.
Numbers based on 90% capacity factor.
If wind capacity factor is 40% and solar 25%, you would need 2.25x as much land for wind, and 3.5x as much land for solar.
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11. OTHER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE RENEWABLES (1)
Hydropower
Close to half of all renewables
Share declining; wind may now be largest renewable source in U.S.
Less intermittent, more dispatchable
Can store water seasonally or for peak hours
Norway – pumped storage
But droughts
Dams affect ecosystems
And few remaining desirable sites
Yali Falls Dam in Cambodia
Fewer big floods
More small floods
Three Gorges Dam in China
Relieved floods
Relocated over 1 million people
Former villages now underwater
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12. OTHER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE RENEWABLES (2)
“Hydropower” of a different type
Waves
NC Outer Banks
Research at UNC Charlotte
Tides
Bay of Fundy
Total capacity of 64 megawatts, equivalent to the power needs of 20,000 homes at peak tidal flows. This subsea infrastructure will allow small turbine arrays to connect to the electricity grid.
Feed-in tariff program for a total of 17.5 megawatts of electricity
15-year power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power.
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13. OTHER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE RENEWABLES (3)
Geothermal
Generate electricity
Direct heating
Can be depleted if used more quickly than it is replenished.
Visit Yellowstone
Some geysers dying
Old Faithful may not be so faithful anymore.
A long-term study of Yellowstone National Park's iconic geysers suggests that dry spells caused by climate change are slowing—and may even stop—the geysers' clockwork-regular eruptions.
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