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Alternative Energy Group A
- 1. Alternative Energy Group A JeremyHarris Tommy Long Stephan McGarry
- 2. Problem • CO2 gassesemitted by fossil fuel power plants are destroying the environment • Climate change is occurring at a rapid pace • Very expensive to control pollution
- 3. Solution • Renewable EnergySystems • Wind • Solar • Geothermal • Biomass • Hydropower • Nuclear
- 4. Wind Power • Zeroemission power generation. • Land can be used for other purposes. • Relatively cheap to build compared to other systems. • Constant wind is required. • Lots of land required. • Visually impacting to environment.
- 5. Solar Energy • Zeroemission technology. • Low Maintenance. • Reliant on weather and geography. • Unable to operate 24 hours a day. • Manufacturing process environmentally detrimental.
- 6. Geothermal • Environmentally lowimpact. • Beneficial for cities in cold environments. • Fuel deposits are self replenishing. • Heavy upfront costs with construction. • Highly dependent on location. • Deposits cannot be over utilized.
- 7. Biomass Energy • Easilyavailable renewable resource. • Lowers dependence on fossil fuels. • Carbon neutral. • Not completely clean burning. • In-efficient. • Expensive.
- 8. Hydro Power • Proventechnology. • Low Carbon footprint. • Reliant on geographical location. • Carbon offset can be nullified impact on ecosystem. • Massively expensive to install.
- 9. Nuclear Power • Highlyefficient. • Demonstrated effectiveness. • Resources available. • Publically and politically unpopular. • Expensive to build and maintain.
- 10. Commercialization Barriers • Challenges 1. Prospecting 2.Permitting 3. Marketing 4. Installation, Operation & Maintenance 5. Profitability
- 11. Prospecting Challenge 1 • Publicallyacceptable site. • Good access to transportation. • Access to the power grid. • Access to required resources.
- 12. Permitting Challenge 2 • Permittingissues for conventional energy technologies are generally well understood, and the process and standards for review are well defined. In contrast, renewables often involve new types of issues and ecosystem impacts • New standards need to be established to help renewables move forward in the future
- 13. Marketing Challenge 3 • Start-upcompanies must communicate the benefits of renewables to customers in order to persuade them to switch from traditional sources. • Public education will be a critical part of a fully functioning market if renewables are to succeed.
- 14. Installation, Operation & Maintenance Challenge4 • Workers must be trained to install, operate, and maintain new technologies. • Some renewables need operating experience in regional climate conditions before performance can be optimized. • Therefore training must be factored into cost analysis. • High maintenance costs due to components and specialized training can lead to zero sum profits.
- 15. Profitability • Economies ofScale • costs for photovoltaic modules can be reduced from about $2.25 per watt to $1.80 per watt by increasing production from 1 MW to 10 MW • Challenges similar to solar panels are inherent to all alternative energy sources. • Challenges must be weighed against benefits. Challenge 5
- 16. References • Barriers toRenewable Energy Technologies. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2017, from http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/smart-energy-solutions/increase- renewables/barriers-to-renewable-energy.html#.WNRKvI3D_IV • Flibe Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2017, from http://flibe-energy.com/ • Pros and Cons of Renewable Energy. (2016, December 24). Retrieved April 09, 2017, from http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/pros- and-cons-of-renewable-energy.php
Editor's Notes
- #2 Narration: -(Introduce yourself, describe credentials, describe subject of presentation.)-
- #3 Narration: -Carbon Dioxide Emissions have been a growing problem since the early days of industrialization. As the demand for industry grows with the population, the amount of CO2 emissions and the damage they cause have been growing to a dangerous point. It is becoming a compounding problem, costing millions per year to control and only expected to grow as time goes on.
- #4 Narration -Renewable energy systems present the opportunity for us to reduce the amount of harmful substances released into the environment by transitioning to new sources of power generation. As electrical power generation is by far one of the most important industries in the world, it has also become one of the most prominent sources of air pollution. Currently there are several options on the table for lowering the environmental impact of the energy industry.
- #5 Narration: -Wind power is a true zero emissions power solution when active. And is beneficial to potential land operators/owners as the land can be dual purposed for other uses, like farming or animal grazing. -Compared to the other alternative energy sources, wind farms can be more affordable in the long run due to low cost of maintenance and operation. Farms and ranches can easily be convinced to supplement their usual income by adding wind turbines to the already utilized property. -Drawbacks however are directly related to the nature of wind as a resource. Fleeting weather conditions can result in days where power generation is nearly zero. Often leading wind power installations to rely on back-up power generation from non-renewable sources like coal or gas. In these cases, the benefits of utilizing wind power are often nullified by the secondary source used to keep up with demand. Mass battery storage like the Tesla provided system active in Southern California or the one currently planned for the Australian outback are a possible solution to the wind issue, however the technology is still highly expensive and not yet fully developed. -Land is an issue as well, as effectively generating enough power to even make a dent in current demand requires a large number of turbines, each requiring a large section of land to be individually effective. These massive installations are often seen as eyesores by residents in nearby areas, resulting in diminished public support for the projects.
- #6 Narration: -Solar energy is a popular Zero Emission power source, often cited as an ideal example of clean energy by experts and activists alike. Of all the sources of alternative energy, solar installations have perhaps the lowest operational impact on the adjacent environment due to their almost completely stationary nature. The installations are low maintenance, save for panel replacement, power collection, and monitoring duties. -Drawbacks to usability are present as effective generation requires the installations be large in size (often covering acres of land) and placed in areas of the globe where sunlight is abundant. Solar installations are at the mercy of both the orientation of the planet and weather, and also often require a back up source of power generation to maintain demand to populated area. As the system is physically incapable of operating for a full 24 hour cycle, direct integration of battery storage technology has been discussed as a central part of the installation. But again, this is both expensive and currently in it’s infancy technologically. -Solar panels are clean in operation, but highly toxic in construction. High levels of compounds like Hydrochloric acid, raw copper, and trichlorosilane gas are integral to the construction process, all hazardous to both the environment and the workers that assemble the panels. The panels themselves contain trace elements of all the compounds used in construction, as well as elements like Cadmium Telluride, Copper Indium Selenide, and Silicon Tetrachloride in their actual construction. All these chemicals are deposited with discarded panels upon replacement, and cannot be completely reclaimed for future use.
- #7 Narration: -Geothermal energy is a popular alternative energy in colder climates due to it’s additional use as a source of heating for homes and businesses. Installations in countries like Iceland and Sweden have proved beneficial to communities as a source of power as well as utility, and are equally profitable in both sectors. As it draws heat directly from geological activity below the Earth’s surface, Geothermal energy can be used indefinitely if properly managed. The plants have a low footprint on regions, as much of the facility can be build underground, and do not put off CO2 emissions from the power process. -Costs become a major drawback to installation and maintenance of facilities using this resource, as plants are difficult to construct and potentially hazardous for workers. -Although air emissions are limited, drilling and tapping of underground heat sources can result in discharge of Sulfur Dioxide and Silica into ground water sources and the nearby environment. Geothermal drilling can also result in geological instability with potential earthquakes and sinkholes becoming hazards to the plant and the surrounding area. -Installations are highly dependent on finding the proper location, and might not be convenient for use with larger communities. Successful utilization depends on finding underground heat sources that are located close to a source of water for turbine steam, as well as a solid connection to the power grid. -Heat sources are self-replenishing, but can be over utilized causing cooling to the point where the deposit (and plant) is now useless.
- #8 Narration: -Biomass energy is simply put, using renewable resources like sawdust or plant fibers in the same manner as gas or coal. In that vein it lowers dependence on fossil fuels by using an alternative source of heat to fire the generation process. -Although it does generate a large carbon footprint due to the fuel manufacture process and the amount of land that must be cleared/deforested to feed the system, the lower emissions can be a leveling factor. -The plants are however not completely clean burning, and highly in-efficient compared to other fuel sources due to the lower temperatures of the burning biomass fuel. -Biomass fuel plants are expensive alternative energy sources due to the costs of producing, refining, re-seeding, and transporting the amount of fuel required for mass utilization. -As de-forestation and clear cutting is often a part of the fuel acquisition process, Biomass is waning in popularity with environmentally conscious governments and groups.
- #9 Narration: -Hydroelectric power has been in use since the early 20th Century the world over and is a proven commodity. Many countries generate a large percentage of their power from dams or similar installations. Hydroelectric power has a very low carbon footprint in operation, generating no air pollution from power generation and having a very small footprint from support activity. -Hydroelectric power is highly reliant on geography as a large, running source of water is needed for practical use. -Clean air benefits provided by Hydroelectric power are unarguably beneficial, however the impact of damming on local eco systems can be catastrophic. Geographical changes can displace entire species of flora and fauna, and can have a direct and catastrophic impact on aquatic species especially. Flooding caused by dams have displaced settlements and caused homelessness in the past, and continue to do so today. -Dams are massively expensive to install and operate, as Hydroelectric engineering is a massive undertaking.
- #10 Narration: -The popular boogeyman of politicians, activists, and celebrities alike. Nuclear power is often overlooked as a potential source of zero emission energy. It is however a highly efficient power source, able to generate millions of kilowatt hours of electricity from a small source. Nuclear power plants are still active worldwide successfully providing fuel for millions of customers, and have demonstrated effectiveness in delivering power to the masses for over half a century. -Although much controversy has spawned due to the three major nuclear incidents of the past thirty years (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima), all these installations were based on outdated technology. Newer reactors like the GE Hitachi PRISM (currently being build in the UK) and the long neglected Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor are free from the flaws that caused the meltdowns experienced in the past. And have been demonstrated to be physically safer than their 1950s vintage counterparts that currently dominate the market. Modern reactors have the potential to be self securing and redundantly safe. -With modern technology, spent nuclear fuel from the older reactors can be effectively recycled into fresh fuel, and utilized to a point where it’s inherent radioactivity is less hazardous than the previous waste product. Resulting in dramatically reduced hazardous storage times. Thorium based reactors can take advantage of a fuel that is more abundant than the fuels of the past, and far less radioactive in use and disposal. -Despite demonstrations to the contrary, popular opinion on Nuclear power is still dominated by a climate of fear generated by political and public figures. Although demonstrations of modern methods have showed that accidents are potentially a thing of the past. Public opinion is still a massive hurdle in adoption, location scouting, and funding of future Nuclear development. High costs of construction and maintenance are also a concern, but future technology development may find a solution to this issue.
- #11 Narration -As with all new technologies there are inherent barriers to the active commercialization of these new sources.
- #12 Narration: -Finding a publically acceptable site is often one of the biggest challenges of installing new power stations. Although clean energy is low in actual emissions, they can be high on mass and noise pollution. Nearby populations can also protest the installation of a new facility due to the influx of traffic and the resulting effect on the community. -Access to transportation for potential installations is important. Logistical considerations must be considered. Supplies and personal will have to be transported to the plant site as well as construction materials during the building process. All these will require the ability to carry large amounts of people and materials to and from the site. -A power plant is useless if it is not connected to the grid itself. Although a site may be suitable for building and acceptable to the local population, it can be rendered moot if building a connection to the grid is more expensive than it’s worth. -Many power plants have specialized resources that are necessary for operation. A source of water or special fuel considerations can limit the potential geographical locations for plants.
- #13 Narration: -Permitting for the new technologies is often a challenge. With older technologies the process is established, as the information required by issuing authorities is well documented due to years of use. However with the newer methods coming online, this process can take longer as new research may be required for permitting purposes. -As research is completed, new standards for permitting can be written. Streamlining the process for future certification. This will require effort by both the industry and the government to pursue development of these energy sources and continue joint research.
- #14 Narration: -No new source of energy has ever been successful without financial backing. In order to secure funding and interest in new renewable energy sources, a campaign to market the new energy source may be required. A current example is Flibe Energy of Huntsville Alabama, a strong advocate of Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors for future clean energy. Flibe continues to present their case for the new technology, and has done presentation for major tech giants like Google and Tesla to generate interest in the reactor. -Public education is essential to gaining the public trust when bringing a new system online or bringing one back from the dead (in the case of nuclear). Ignorance is the enemy of progress, and this applies to adoption of new energy. Positive public opinion can make the difference between a successful adoption and a good idea relegated to abandonment by the misguided and misinformed.
- #15 Narration: -Training and sourcing of staff for construction and energy production is essential when planning a new energy venture. How large of a support staff will be needed? What kind of training will be required? Can we provide this staff from existing personal or will there need to be new hires? These are the kinds of staffing questions that must be asked when planning a new energy venture. -Some renewables require a degree of experience for successful utilization and staffing. Often hiring new talent off the street is not a viable option for a new project. -Training, hiring, and salary costs must be factored in when budgeting a new plant, especially if the budget will be a deciding factor in the project’s success. -A plant that costs too much to maintain or construct can kill a project before it even breaks ground. Energy is at the end of the day a business, and a business needs to turn a profit in order to function. With the demand for energy, this is generally not a concern for larger ventures. But smaller efforts like local wind farms, and small solar installations should consider the costs of the operation before dedicating to construction.
- #16 Narration: -Building on our last point, the profitability of an alternative energy plant will have to be looked at from every angle. Not only does the cost of production and maintenance need to be considered, but the actual costs of the energy you will be selling to the consumers. If the costs to the consumers will be too high, often communities will look elsewhere for their power needs. -Also a consideration, it often takes time before a project is profitable. As you can see in this slide, the costs of solar power have began to improve since the technology became more common and refined. New technologies coming onto the market may be exciting from an engineering or scientific stance, but from a business stance might not be a good financial venture until profit margins can be improved.