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Economics of Oil, Gas and Energy
Week 7: Assignment
Hand-in Assignment
Submit an essay of 750–1,000 words on the following topic:
Choose one alternative fuel and describe in detail what will have to happen for it to become a significant energy supply source. Explain whether you believe this will happen. Analyse the promise and challenges associated with this supply source.
Your essay will be judged on the cogency of your argument, not any position you take on the merits or otherwise of the energy alternative you choose.
Economics of Oil, Gas and Energy
Week 7: Assignment
Hand-in Assignment
Submit an essay of 750–1,000 words on the following topic:
Choose one alternative fuel and describe in detail what will have to happen for it to become a significant energy supply source. Explain whether you believe this will happen. Analyse the promise and challenges associated with this supply source.
Your essay will be judged on the cogency of your argument, not any position you take on the merits or otherwise of the energy alternative you choose.
Economics of Oil, Gas and Energy
Week 7: Assignment
Hand-in Assignment
Submit an essay of 750–1,000 words on the following topic:
Choose one alternative fuel and describe in detail what will have to happen for it to become a significant energy supply source. Explain whether you believe this will happen. Analyse the promise and challenges associated with this supply source.
Your essay will be judged on the cogency of your argument, not any position you take on the merits or otherwise of the energy alternative you choose.
Introduction This paper will evaluate the hydroelectric power potential as an alternate fuel and the future of this energy source in the coming years. And we will see in this article the numerous application of this technology in helping to solve the growing problem of fossil fuel exhaustion and global warming because of the high CO2 emissions in the environment due to hydrocarbon combustion . Background The Hydroelectric power was known in the latter part of the 19th century. Once the Hydroelectric power was feasible to be applied the production of the hydropower was developed very fast in the United States until, the beginning of the 20th hydropower supply up to 40% of the total US electricity. Presently hydropower supply around 10% of United States total energy sources (USBR, 2005 p.2) and this percentage continue to go down because of two main factors: first lack of new places are practical to build new huge hydropower and the growing strict regulations of the federal hydropower agencies for building new dams because of the rising issues that building dames are affecting the water environment and the fishery impacts of large dams (Kosnik, 2008 pp.5-6). The Hydropower is produced through the kinetic energy that comes from the falling water. It is either diverted from the river or from the water held by a Dam, steered to a turbine which will make it rotates because of the power of the falling water. (Kosnik, 2008 p.4). Both of the quantity of the water and the volume of the force define the amount of the mechanical energy created. Then turbines are connected to generators which converts the mechanical energy in to power then this power are connected to power cables which transfer this generated electricity to homes and factories.( USGS Water Science School, 2014)
Current status of Hydropower The most famous related issues of the big Hydropower Dams are the effects on waterways ecologically. The construction of the big traditional hydropower plants has been delayed in United States and in most of the developed world countries because of these riverine effects. The renewal of 70 years old Dam operational permit was rejected in 1993by The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of the United States for the first time because of the bad riverine effects (Kosnik, 2008 p.6). The construction of such big dams is having its own effects on the waterways environment which contradict with the choice of having green energy changeovers. Therefore switching to a smaller hydropower plants with capacity of 30MW has proven that it has tremendously less riverine effects. In addition to that smaller hydro plants with capacity of 18 kWh will generate more power than costly photovoltaic systems. A forecast research in 2006 by the United States Department of Energy regarding the growth utilization of small and micro hydropower with the 30MW capacity, found out that these plants could achieve more than 275,000 MW (Kosnik, 2008 p.7).
Hydropower Future Considering that the construction of new big dams are restricted now days in the United States because of its ecological impacts on the waterways, A new development through modernization, relicensing at the existing hydropower plants could lead to achieve more capacity of approximately 4,300 MW. Also it is feasible to have new hydro plants but in the place of the existing big dams not only that also the development of small and low hydropower all of that could lead to growing of hydropower manufacturing by almost 50 %. Moreover the Hydrokinetic Energy which founded in rivers, Marine streams and tidal also has the potential to add approximately of 300MW (Bahleda & Hosko, 2007 pp.37-38). Conclusion In spite of all the restriction for the development of the hydropower appears unpromising for building new facilities but the future holds many promising opportunities for hydropower energy with a number of new technologies that can utilize rivers and ocean to produce gas free environmentally safe electric sources. With increasing demands for a clean energy sources the hydropower energy technologies have to overcome all the related problems associated with it that disturbs the water lives. This energy source has the potential to solve the GHG emissions if it is improved and developed well. Reference Bahleda, M. & Hosko, M.A., (2007) Assessment of Waterpower Potential and Development Needs, Electric Power Research Institute, California. [Online].Available from: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/EPRI- Assessment-of-Waterpower-Potential-and-Development-Needs.pdf (Accessed: 05 May 2014) Kosnik, L. (2008). The potential of water power in the fight against global warming in the US. Energy Policy, 36(9), 3252-3265. [Online].Available from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1108425 (Accessed: 05 May 2014) USGS Water Science School, (2014) Hydroelectric power: How it works [Online].Available from: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks.html (Accessed: 05 May 2014) US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, power resources office, (2005) Reclamation managing water in the west: hydroelectric power. [Online].Available from: http://www.usbr.gov/power/edu/pamphlet.pdf (Accessed: 06 May 2014)
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