Sustainable Electric Power

Scott Norr, PE

EE 1001

September 25, 2012

General Electric Commercial for 2009 Superbowl:

• “Ecomagination” introducing “Smart Grid” technology

• http://fliiby.com/file/251500/afecutko02.html

Courtesy of General Electric

GE EcomaginationWebsite – Today

www.ecomagination.com

Electric Power Delivery and Consumption Getting More

Complex• More Environmental Issues - SUSTAINABILITY• Greater Population Density• Larger Variety of Sources, Delivery Methods and

Loads• Aging Infrastructure Undergoing Life Extension• New Technology Blended with Old – Grid is Already

Pretty Smart

ELECTRIC DEMAND

Source: Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2012

Demand growing 1% per year in U.S.

World Energy Consumption

505 QuadIn 2008

Source: Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2012

US – 5% using 20% of resourses

Electric Generation Changing to Meet Demand

• Large, Centralized Plants

• Small, Modular, Distributed Plants

• Also, Siting Renewable Generation where it makes Sense (and Profit)

Large Plants• Environmental Issues

• Fossil Fuels

• Location/Siting

• Outlet Transmission

HydroElectric No Longer “Clean Energy”3 Gorges Dam –

China – 20,000 MegaWatts

Hoover Dam – US – 2,000 MegaWatts

Eoearth.org

Large Plants (Cont.)

• We’ll See New Ideas for Big Plants:– “Clean Coal”– Wind,– Solar,– Geothermal,– Biomass– Gen IV Nuclear

Clean Coal 7.5% Growth in all Coal Gen, 2010 : Total Installed: 340 GW• Coal Gasification (Combined Cycle) - Low Emmissions

• Not Dead Yet on Iron Range (Excelsior Energy - Mesaba)

WIND 25% growth in 2010, 20 GW

• Wind Generators currently very popular (Several Thousand MWs in Upper Midwest

• More and more Cost Effective

(4 - 5 Cents/KWH)

• Not a Cure-All - never

windy when you need it most

• Difficult to Dispatch

Source: Town of Hendricks, MN

Solar Electricity 73% growth in 2010, 10 GW

• Photvoltaics– Electricity Directly from Sunlight– Low Conversion efficiency– Fairly High Cost

• Solar Potential:– US uses 100 Quad of Energy

each year– 38,200 Quad of Solar Energy

hits the lower 48 each year

• ONLY WHEN THE SUN SHINES …

New Solar Ideas:

• 3-D PhotoVoltaic Cells– New Breakthroughs in Nano-Materials greatly

increase the surface area of a Solar Cell and its ability to catch reflected light

– Theoretically 50%-70% efficient– Very High Cost

• Solar Concentrators– Simple Idea used in Space

– Collect More Sunlight for your Existing Cells

- Solar Electric AND Solar Thermal

Geothermal 2% Growth in 2010, 10.9GW

• Extract Hot Water from the Earth

• Use the Hot Water or Flash to Steam

• Currently 2700 MW capacity in US

• Capacity growing at 5% worldwide (5yr Avg)

• Excellent Idea for Home Use – Ground Source Heat Pumps

Binary-Cycle Plant (Geothermal)

Nuclear ….IT’S BACK…Or Is It?• Updated LWR Designs are being permitted

• March 11, 2011 – Earthquake in Japan, leading to nuclear reactor meltdown

• Next Generation Nuclear Reactors (Gen IV)– Modular (example: 25 MW Modules), add more

modules to make a bigger plant– Fuel Flexible – Uranium, Thorium (More abundant

resource)– A Promising Design: Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor

• Temperature moderated with Helium or Nitrogen

• Fuel encased in pebbles – ‘safe’, easy to handle

Pebble-Bed Reactor

Source:

Black and Veatch

Source: EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2007 19

Incremental Transmission CostsVariable Costs,Including FuelFixedCosts

CapitalCosts

2015 2030

Levelized Electricity Costs for New Plants,2015 and 2030

Houston, We Have a Storage Problem:

Courtesy of Tom Ferguson

Renewables are not “Dispatchable”

If we couldStore energywhen availablefor use when it’s not….

Energy Storage Technology:We’re not ready yet

Source: Haresh Kamath, EPRI PEAC

DEMAND SIDE

• Conservation Through:

Market Pricing

Efficient Products

Market Pricing

• Energy Prices becoming De-Regulated

• New Equipment to Automate Pricing:

• Smart Meters

• Smart Appliances

Smart Meters

• Talks to Electric Company • Talks to Consumer About

Hourly Prices and Consumption

• Tells Appliances what current Price is

• Shops Around for a Better Rate?

Source: Electric Power Research Institute and Freefoto.com

Efficient Products

• Smart Appliances run only when energy is cheapest, talk to each other and to the Electric Utility

• Passive Solar Thermal Designs and Devices

• Energy Efficient Home Designs

Sustainability

• More than Conservation

• More than Smart Energy Use

• Being Responsible with ALL resources and Preserving Them for the Future

• “7th Generation”

Sustainability at UMD

www.d.umn.edu/sustain/

CONCLUSIONSNew Social Pressures and New Technologies are

both changing and complicating the way we convert and use energy

In a World with 7 Billion People (9 Billion by 2030), We have to become more mindful of How and Why We Use Energy.

(http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/longrange2/WorldPop2300final.pdf)

WEB References• National Renewable Energy Labs

– http://www.nrel.gov/

• Electric Power Research Institute– http://www.epri.com/

• US Dept. of Energy– http://www.energy.gov/

• Energy Information Association– http://www.eia.doe.gov/