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Hydro & Solar

Energy Technology & Policy
Fred C. Beach, Ph.D.
CHE 359/384 & EER 396, Fall 2014

U.S. Energy Use

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Hydroelectric Power

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Hydroelectric Power Is Robust and Efficient

Source: Army Corps of Engineers

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Hydroelectric Power Is a Function of Height

and Volume
Power production requires
height differences
large volumes of water

P 10 H Q [kW]
H = head (m) (height of water)
Q = flow rate (m3/s)

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Source: Army Corps of Engineers

Dams Can Be Massive Powerplants

Hoover Dam
(2.1 GW, Colorado River)
Grand Coulee Dam (6.5 GW, Columbia River)
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Austins Dam Used To Be The Worlds Largest

Scientific American
September 1892

The Great Dam Across the Colorado River,

At Austin Texas

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Austins Dam Used To Be The Worlds Largest

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Dams Can Also Be Very Small

500 sites in WA
alone
14 GW of apps
pending with FERC
Easier siting than
large dams

Source: WSJ

Hydroelectric Power Has Many Benefits

Reliable
Very efficient
Quick start-up/turn-off times
Low emissions during generation

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Dams Serve Several Purposes

Flood control
Water storage
Irrigation
Recreation
Navigation

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Hydroelectric Power Has Many Drawbacks

Disturbs ecosystems (fish migration, etc.)
salmon ladders to go upstream
fish-friendly turbines to go downstream
Creates evaporation from lakes
About half of national capacity is already built
Silting might limit lifetimes to ~100 years
maybe not renewable?
Source of GHGs (CO2 and CH4 from decaying vegetation)
hard to quantify
End-of-life planning not built into project development
how do you decommission a dam?

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Dams Disturb Vast Expanses of Land and

Sometimes Collapse

Johnstown, PA 1869

2,209 people killed

Santa Clarita, CA 1928

600 people killed

Austins has failed twice

formed Red Bud Isle

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Austins Dam Has Collapsed Multiple Times

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The Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of

Reclamation Are Responsible for Most US Dams

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Much of the Hydroelectric Buildout Occurred

in From the 1930s to the 1970s

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Large Dams in the 1930s & 1940s Were Built

For Economic Development and for WWII

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Dams Can Also be Weapons

ISIS Seizes Mosul Dam

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Solar Power

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There Are 3 (or more) Technologies in Solar

Solar Photovoltaic (PV): Direct electrical
production

Radiant to electrical energy conversion (r

e)
Works with reflected/scattered light
Very sensitive to cloud cover

Solar thermal:

Radiant to thermal (r
t)
Passive heating of water, homes, greenhouses,

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): to create steam

Radiant to thermal to mechanical to electrical energy
conversion (r
t
m
e)
Requires direct normal radiation (often in arid areas)
Usually has thermal storage built in

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And 3 (or more) Applications in Scale

Utility Scale

100s of KWs to MWs

Can be Simple Tracking or Fixed PV
Can Be Concentrated PV or Solar Thermal

Commercial/Industrial Scale:

10s of KWs to a Few MW

Generally Simple PV, Some Concentrated Solar

Residential Scale:

A few KW to ~10KW
Almost Solely PV but some Solar Thermal
Mostly Fixed but some tracking

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Solar Has Many Benefits

Fuel is free
Renewable
Inexhaustible
Matches well with peak demand

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Solar Has Drawbacks

Expensive capacity
Variable (but somewhat predictable) ~14-33% capacity
factor
Seattle, WA with fixed-tilt panels: 14% capacity factor
Phoenix, AZ with 2-axis tracking: 33% capacity factor
Lower efficiency than power plants (10-20%)
Benchtop efficiency >40%
Much of the sun is where people arent
But that is changing as people move to the sun-belt
Land intensive
But, dual-use with urban rooftops

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Source: DoE, Solar technologies Market Report, 2008

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Solar Basics Some Trigonometry Required

Solar Flux is Roughly Fixed

Only ~1000W/m2 Reaches Us

Our Latitude Only Makes it Worse

So We Angle the Panels

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Solar Basics The Earth Rotates!

And the Axis Isnt Vertical With Respect to the Axis of Orbit!

The Practicality/Utility of Solar Depends

Geographic Location: Lower latitudes receive more sunlight
Climate: Can affect generation as well as demand
Electricity Cost: Some regions have very low cost alternatives

Norway
High Latitude, very low annual insolation
Cold Climate so Heating & Cooling demands are out of phase with generation
Very abundant and cheap Hydro-Power resources

Caribbean Islands
Low Latitude, very high annual insolation
Warm Climate so Heating & Cooling demands are in phase with generation
Very expensive electricity (imported Oil, Coal, & Gas for power plants)

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America is a Large Country with 8 Climate Zones

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Concentrated Solar Power

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Concentrated Solar
Primarily Utility Scale
Requires at Least
Single Axis Tracking
Can be PV or Thermal

Concentrated Solar Thermal Mechanical

Capital Intensive
Requires at Least Single Axis
Tracking
Can Provide Power at Night

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Concentrated Solar Thermal Electric

Primarily Utility Scale
Requires Dual Axis Tracking
Limited to Solar Hours
Best in High Solar Potential Areas

Concentrated Solar PV
Trough Concentrator

Parabolic Concentrator

Spherical Concentrator

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Concentrated Solar PV & Thermal

11 m2 Parabolic Dish
2 KW Electric Generation
5 KW of Hot Water
7 KW Total Energy Capture (64% Efficiency)

Solar Thermal Chemical?

Concentrated Solar
Using Thermal Energy
To convert Natural Gas
To Syngas
Perhaps an Oil Field
Application?
Combine Free Solar Energy
with Free NatGas (otherwise
flared) to produce SynGas (a
diesel substitute) to fuel
vehicles and/or generators in
the oil fields.
Anyone care to start a
company with me?
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Solar Photovoltaic

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To Track or Not to Track, That is the Question

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Daily Versus Annual Average

Two Axis Tracking, Annual Min & Max

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Fixed South Facing, Annual Min & Max

Actual Results May Vary

Added Complexity
Added Cost
Added Maintenance
With Panel Prices Dropping, is it
Cheaper to just install More
Panels?

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Solar Resources Vary Geographically

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Solar PV Module Prices Drop Over Time

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Source: NREL

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Solar PV Panel Prices Drop Over Time

Source: NREL

>6 fold reduction in Silicon Cost ($0.53 to $0.08)

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Solar PV System Prices Drop Over Time

Source: SEIA

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~4kW Residential Solar US vs FRG (2012)

Source: NREL
$5/W

$3/W
$2/W
$0.5/W

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Solar PV Continues to Improve

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Solar PV in the Future Will Have Better

Performance Characteristics
Flexible panels (for backpacks, clothes, etc.)
Thinner layers (paints, asphalts, etc.)
Carbon based (instead of silicon based)
Based on infrared (IR) so they work at night

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1000

Maybe Infrared Solar Panels That Work At

Night Will Be The Wave Of The Future

800

Global Horizontal
Diffuse Horizontal
Direct
Ultraviolet
Infrared

600

800

400

600
400

200

Radiation
Intensity (W/m2)
solar_data$gh_rad_avg

1000

200

0:00
0

6:00 500 12:00

1000
18:00

0:00
1500

6:00 200012:00

2500
18:00

0:00

Index

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Source: Rhodes & Webber, 2013

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Utility Scale PV Versus Private PV

Buy/Lease the Land

Build the Support Structure

Build Transmission to Grid

Buy & Install the System

Utility Scale PV Versus Private PV

Buy & Install the System

With Existing Residential,

the Land, Structure, &
Transmission are Already in
Place.

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So Why is Utility Scale PV Cheaper?

Where are the costs for:

Land
Structure
Transmission
????

Texas Solar Insolation

[NREL]

Source: NREL

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Concentrated Solar Power

And we now have the Infrastructure to tap it

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Austin Energy Bets Big On Solar

Austin Energy is positioned to exceed its overall 200 MW
solar goal with a new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for
up to 150 megawatts (MW) of solar energy to be built in
West Texas by Sun Edison.
The 25-year contract is for the output of two solar farms and will
cost $21 million annually for 25 years for a total estimated
amount of $525 million. Long-term fixed pricing will be in the
range of $45 to $55 per MWh and are among the lowest solar
prices available in the solar industry today.

Texas Could Bet Big On Solar

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North Africa Has Fantastic Solar Potential

North Africa Could Bet Big On Solar

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