Energy Industry The Ecosystem

Energy Industry

Associate
d
Equipme Utilities/
nt/ Non-Renewable Renewable Energy Consume
Technolo rs
gy
Suppliers

Others
(Fuel
Oil & Bio- Cells,
Coal Solar Wind Hydro
Gas fuels Geothe
rmal
etc.)
Human Population Growth and the
Environment

Human Population - An Explosive

Growth
Human Needs - Limited Resources
Our Natural Environment Under Attack
Roles of Technology and Engineering
An Uncertain Future
Energy Composition
U.S. and European generating capacity is
dominated by fossil fuel combustion though a shift
happening towards non-fossil fuel generation

US & EU Energy Mix (2012)

Renewables
2% Hydro
16%
Gas
40% Nuclear
19% Oil
Coal
7% 16%
Tackling Global Warming

Demand Side
More efficient end- Supply Side
user appliances and Produce energy from Adaptation
lower consumer cleaner sources such
demand as wind, solar, Measures such as
Energy-saving light biofuels, nuclear etc. strengthening flood
Reducing
bulbs, more efficient Produce energy more defenses to adapt to CO2
air conditioners and efficiently the effects of climate
freezers etc. change Emission
Reduce emissions
Nearly 80% of
Reduce deforestation
s
projected CO2
reductions by 2030
to come from
demand-side
efficiencies
Environmental Impacts of Energy
Resources

2 3 4
Environmental Issues: Coal

Mining:
Open cast - landscape, ecology, river pollution from tailings, release of radon
gas
Deep mining: settlement problems, methane, disease amongst miners etc.
Spoil heaps

Use:
SO2 emissions; NOx radioactivity (~30 ManSievert cumulative for UK
population per EJ).
Flyash, solid ash. Large amount of CO2 - significantly worse than gas, oil or
biomass

Resource base: centuries

 Environmental Issues: Coal
continued

Comments:

FGD reduce SO2 by 90% - also reduces

gaseous radioactive emissions, but
increases liquid radioactive waste
NOx can be reduced by 60% using new
burner types
Proposals to freeze CO2 but that would
require and increase in power stations by
~30+%
New technologies include IGCC, (? MHD).
But likely to be 10 - 20 years before they are
 Environmental Issues: Gas

Extraction and transmission:

some loss of methane a potent greenhouse gas (~1%+)
Use:
CO2 but 40-60% that of coal depending on technology
NOx increased over coal unless special burners are fitted
Low radioactive emission (from radon)
Resource base: decades
 Environmental Issues: Oil
Extraction and transmission:
Oil spills causing local ecological disasters

Processing:
Discharge of chemicals to environment

Use:
CO2 (intermediate between gas and coal),
SO2 can be high if orimulsion is used and NOx
Radioactive emission (about same as nuclear but lower than coal)

Use for transport:

NOx, lead, Benzenes, ozone etc. emitted at low level causing respiratory diseases
etc.

Resource base: decades

 Environmental Issues: Nuclear

Fission
Uranium mining:
Require massive amount of earth movement if using older technologies.
Newer methods use pumping of water which causes less problems, but can
leak into water courses.
Spoil for solid mining also presents a problem
Fuel Fabrication:
Requires energy for enrichment (slight radioactive emissions ~1-
1.5 ManSieverts per Exajoule).
Use:
Slight radioactive emission in normal operation (3-10 ManSieverts per EJ)
Possibility of serious accident in reactors with positive void coefficient:
remote possibility of serious accident in reactors with negative void
coefficient, but likelihood is dependent on reactor type
Environmental Issues: Nuclear Fission
continued
Reprocessing
Effluent discharges are radioactive, but generally less than emissions in normal
operation - typically 8 ManSieverts per EJ, [although this was not always so ]
SIXEP reduced effluent discharges at Sellafield by a factor of 500.
Waste Disposal:
Depends on approach adopted:
a) reprocess reduces HLW but increases ILW and LLW
b) higher component of HLW and more difficult to encapsulate
Long term storage may present problems
Decommissioning [controversy over correct approach]
Resource Base: decades

can be extended to centuries using Fast Breeder Reactors, but this

introduces new problems (e.g. pure Plutonium)
Environmental Issues: Nuclear Fusion

Potentially a vast source of energy with no toxic

waste products (apart from reactors themselves):
Commercial plants unlikely to be available before
2040 and probably later

D - T fusion - limited by resource base of Lithium -

needed to produce Tritium
D - D more difficult to achieve but much more
abundant.
 Limits to Exploitation
No stars - No limitation: more stars - greater restriction

Planning/
Resource Technical Economic Environmental
Social
Acceptance
Hydro Large Scale *? **
Small Scale * **
Wave Shore * ** ? ?
based
Off shore **** *** ? ?
Tidal Barrage * *?
Marine *** *** ?
currents
Waste * **
Biomass Direct * ? *
gasification ** ** ? *
Energy ** ** ? *
Crops
RENEWABLES - THERE IS
AN ALTERNATIVE
Why Renewables?

Do not deplete natural resources

Global warming has hit the public (and
political?) conscience
Effective method to reduce CO2 emissions
Guarantee Energy security for countries
deploying it
Legislation being passed making
renewables more attractive
Key Renewable Energy Sources
Solar Power

Solar energy is generally captured in two forms:

via photovoltaic cells for electricity generation or
via thermal panels for heating purposes
Remains an expensive method of generating
electricity compared to conventional sources and
other renewable sources such as wind or hydro
power
Recent advances in technology and support from
certain governments have continued to drive
solar penetration
Solar Power - Photovoltaic

Current is generated
through Photovoltaic
effect -flow of free
electrons in Silicon Panel
due to solar irradiance

Direct current (DC) is

generated which can be
stored in a battery or
converted to Alternating
Current (AC)
Solar Power Solar Thermal
Suns infrared rays are
concentrated through
reflecting mirrors on a heating
fluid (normally liquid salt)
medium, which in turn
generates steam to propel
turbines
Pros - Solar

Most widely available source of energy

Not as limited in location siting as other
renewable sources such as Wind & Hydro
Largest potential for decentralized power
generation
Solar thermal technology characteristics
attractive owing to ability to store energy
Scaling up (& down) very easy for Solar PV
Increased demand driving down costs (grid
parity?)
Cons - Solar

Most expensive form of energy (though not so

much if you consider end-to-end costs of other
energy sources)
Large up-front Capital investment
Cannot contribute to base-load power (until
further improvements in energy storage)
Imposes great stress on the grid owing to
fluctuating nature
Solar PV - Difficult to store energy in electric form
Wind Power
Converts kinetic energy for wind to electrical energy
Broadly serving as the renewable of choice in Europe
and the United States
Increased size and higher productivity have enabled
wind generation to become an increasingly
competitive alternative to more traditional methods
of power generation
Uncertainty is the main problem with wind
production owing to the inherent unpredictability of
weather conditions
Utilization for wind generation is generally rather
low, with most in the 25-35% utilization rate
Wind Power
Pros - Wind

Smaller Land requirement when compared

to Solar, Hydro
Can be built off-shore
Fluctuates less than solar
Cheaper than Solar
Cons - Wind

Premium Onshore sites saturated

Intermittency issue
Offshore towers more expensive
Energy Storage not viable
Cause Noise pollution
Biofuels

Ethanol is an alcohol distilled from plant material (corn in

the U.S., sugar cane in Brazil, wheat in Europe) and used as
gasoline substitute or blend stock
U.S. and Brazil account for 90% of global ethanol production
and consumption
Ethanol can be blended to around 10% of the gasoline pool
without any noticeable impact on vehicle performance, but
higher blend proportions require some engine modifications
Biodiesel is produced by the transformation of animal fat or
vegetable oil into a conventional diesel substitute
Feedstock represents more than 80% of the total costs of
producing biodiesel compared with around 60% for ethanol
Bio-fuels
Pros - Biofuels

Inherently renewable
Emit less particulate pollution than traditional
petroleum based gasoline and diesel fuels
Easier to transition to without special
infrastructure needs
Cons - Biofuels

Not enough land space to grow crops for biofuel

demand
Question over whether producing them actually
requires more energy than they generate
Still polluting when compared to wind or solar
Hydroelectric
Characteristics

Most mature of renewable energies

Largest global contributor amongst all
renewable energies
Largely utilizes established technology
from other sectors
Can be switched on-off at almost
immediately
Arguably the Cheapest where available
Pros - Hydroelectric

Cheap electricity
Capable of providing base load power
Capable of large scale production
Cons - Hydroelectric

Environmental concerns. Ecology in dam

catchment area destroyed
Humanitarian implications. Settlements in
catchment areas have to be relocated
Depends on seasonal nature of water (rain)
availability in catchment area
High upfront capital investment costs
Limited in number of potential sites/locations