Power Economics and Emissions

Sean Lee and Madelyn Fahhoum

What is Power Economics? -The study of the costs and efficiencies of transporting electricity from conductors to consumers

What Do Power Economists Do? - Specialize in making sure that the energy

sources are not overloaded- Work to maximize output of energy without

increasing emissions- Try to use combinations of energy sources

to lower costs- Work to prevent outages http://tcipg.org/applet-eco

Power Economics and Power in the Home: What’s Different? •Macro vs Micro •Balance between power

sources•Number of power sources•Cost

Solar•2005- .02% of total power•2013- .54% of total power•Last 25-40 years•Home use efficiency: 11-15%•One time installment fee•Output 100-320 watts •Cost about $10,000 per kilowatt

capacity in a solar power system

Wind• Wind energy can be sold at 5-6 cents per kilowatt

hour (just around the national grid average of 5 cents per kilowatt hour)

• New onshore wind turbine plants placed in 2018 with a life expectancy of 30 years will initially cost around $90 per megawatt hour (9 cents per kilowatt hour)

Hydroelectric• By far the cheapest of the renewable energy sources

in the United States▫In the Pacific Northwest, cost is about 4 cents per

kilowatt hour (three times cheaper than national average)

• Most of the cost involved comes from building the dams

Nuclear•Average cost is about 1.65 cents per

kilowatt hour•Main disadvantages are high initial costs

(construction of plant) and safety concerns

What can we do? •Invest in new, efficient appliances•Be conscious of energy

consumption•Turn your electronics off when

they are not being used•Spread the word about the

advantages of green power

Works Cited • http://

www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/November-December%202010/not-co2-emission-full.html

• http://claimsmate.com/blog/insurance-claims-getting-money/• http://www.gobankingrates.com/savings-account/how-to-save-electricity-even-get-paid/• http://www.clker.com/clipart-cartoon-sun.html• http://garciamedialife.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/beard-uncle-sam.jpeg• http://www.agricorner.com/german-firm-to-set-up-first-solar-panel-plant-in-pakista• http://tcipg.org/applet-eco• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power• http://www.ibuzzle.com/articles/average-solar-panel-efficiency.html• http

://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/November-December%202010/not-co2-emission-full.html

• solarenergy-usa.com• ndrc.org• awea.org• theenergycollective.com• hydro.org• zebu.uoregon.edu• world-nuclear.org• nei.org• wikipedia.org

Thank you!

Questions?