Renewable Energy - Investing in the Future

in #science8 years ago

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Today’s modern world depends more and more on electricity. We consume much fuel, heating and electricity, but everything has its price. Let’s have a look at what our normal power is composed of, what conventional energy does to our planet and how “green energy” can look like.

Conventional Energy

The term conventional by itself means common or traditional. In regards to energy we address sources that have been in use for a long time. Common sources of energy are fossil fuels like petroleum, natural gas and coal. The problem we face with fossil fuels are on the one hand the limited quantity of available resources and on the other hand the environmental pollution. Oil and natural gas are products of dead organisms like plankton and seaweed. When these organisms die in deep waters, where no oxygen is reaching the ground, they decompose. Over time they mixed with mud and were buried by many layers of sediments. The more layers on top the higher the pressure and heat became. Chemical processes turned what’s left into hydrocarbons, which moved towards the surface. Short hydrocarbon molecules are found as gas, whereby the longer molecules form liquids. This process takes several hundred millions of years and explains why today’s fossil fuels are limited.

The process of winning energy from coal, gas and oil are all very similar. In a simplified schema, coal is put into a boiler and burned. The heat causes water to evaporate which as a results brings the turbine into rotation. The mechanical energy in the turbine is transformed into electrical power with the help of a generator. As you may noticed, almost all power pants are located near water. Now we know why.

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Fig.1 Power plant construction Credits

The products of combustion are eliminated into the air where they are causing the environmental pollution. Let us break down how fossil fuels are burned.
The chemical process is again the same: hydrocarbon reacts with oxygen to carbon dioxide and water.

C7+H16 + 11 O_2 → 7 CO_2 + H_2O

Carbon dioxide and water sound harmless so far, this might be correct in terms of toxicity, but it damages us in the long term (keyword: greenhouse effect). The greenhouse effect is heating our environment slowly but steadily. The reason lies within our atmosphere. While sun rays can pass through clouds and gases, thermal radiation can’t.

Global warming gases like carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, water vapour etc. absorb the thermal radiations and causes the earth to heat.
It goes even further as smog is polluting the air. Small particles are wasting fresh air, there are even cities where people wear masks in order to not inhale the smog.

The following pie chart shows that 85.5% of our energy is from fossil fuels and only 10.1% by renewable energy sources. A common misconception is that most of our electricity is won from nuclear fission. Only a tiny portion of 4.43% makes the amount of nuclear fission.

Nuclear power plants do not emit any green house gasses and therefore don’t play a role in heating our environment. However, gaining energy though nuclear fission requires enriched uranium. While the actual waste of fossil fuel power plants are only carbon dioxide and few other particles, nuclear power plants produce radioactive waste. There is a problem with disposing the waste since it needs a safe storage. Another issue with nuclear plants are incidents where the plant is damaged and radioactive material leaking (Fukushima/Chernobyl).

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Fig.2 World energy consumption 2015 Credits:

Renewable Energy Sources

Now we will investigate different sources of renewable energy as well as their benefits and disadvantages. The main advantage of “green” energy is that it’s practically indefinitely available. Wherever the sun shines, air streams or water flows we can win energy. The following are leading examples of these sustainable sources.

Solar power

solar
Fig.3 Solar panels. Credits:

Solar panels are used to absorb sun rays and convert them into energy. The principle behind this is called photovoltaic. Through the photovoltaic effect photons generate electricity. There is no byproduct or waste and solar panels can be used anywhere where enough sun is shining. Depending on the efficiency of the panels which is up to 21% for commercial use, only 7 square meters of panels are needed to win one kilowatt.

In areas of less sun, solar panels are ineffective and too expensive. A typical solar installation costs around 25.000 Euro.

Wind wheels

wind
Fig.4 Wind turbines. Credits:

One of the most efficient ways to win sustainable energy is the use of wind. The rotor blades are moved by the wind and rotate. This mechanical energy is converted with a generator into electrical energy. The principle is the same as with the power plants, just we have no environmental waste products. The space it takes is less than any other method requires. Though it might not deliver enough energy to supply a whole city, it is very useful. The problem so far is that these wind turbines only can be used where wind is. Often at the coast and mountains.

There are many more ways to win electricity from renewable sources. Besides solar and wind energy, there is geothermal energy, hydroelectric plants and bio plants.

One of the reasons why we still use conventional energy is that renewable energy is too expensive yet. Fossil fuels are cheaper and more commonly used. Conventional energy sources are more reliable at the moment as wind and sun are depending on the weather.
With less sun and wind there will be less power. Nevertheless the benefits are obviously. Clean power and sustainable energy for the next generations. Cities or even country are independent from big companies and the price fluctuation of oil and gas doesn’t have an impact any more.

Germany obtains 29% of its total energy from renewable sources at the moment and its getting more and more.

germany
Fig.5 Energy consumption in Germany. Credits:

What is the best solution?

In fact people can discuss and find pro or contra arguments for both sides. As for me I am of the opinion that we slowly have to replace the conventional with the renewable energy sources. Our planet is suffering from the industrialization and can’t recover. Weather phenomena like storms or tsunamis world wide are getting more intense and worse. One day we will have consumed all fossil fuels and if we don’t have alternatives up to then, humanity will have to face serious issues. Lucky scientists around the globe and working on new technologies. One of the most promising approach is the use of nuclear fusion.

Nuclear fusion is the process where two atoms fuse to one. This is happening for instance in the sun where hydrogen is fused to helium. Sun is basically nothing more then hydrogen and helium.

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Fig.6 Hydrogen fusions to helium. Credits:

What do you think? Do we need more renewable and sustainable energy or should we continue the way we did? While our needs require more electricity our resources become less. How long will this calculation work?

Thank your for reading on my blog. I hope you enjoyed the article and if you have questions feel free to leave a comment.
Written exclusivity on Steemit.

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Great article Timsaid. To answer your question, I am in total support of going clean, but just like you said they are still expensive. So I think efforts should be put into making them cheap most especially for developing countries.
For nuclear energy being renewable energy is debatable. In my opinion, I think it is renewable but not clean energy. Deploying it is another issue. I think any country that has the technology to handle well the resource should be allowed to.

Totally agree with you

Muss ich mir demnächst mal in Ruhe durchlesen. Gerade wenig Zeit. Bin aber sehr an den Energiethemen interessiert. Upvoted!

Dann hoffe ich, dass da nichts falsches dran ist! :) Ist im Grunde genommen nur ein kleiner Anstoß zum denken.

Great article. Upvoted and resteemed and followed

Thank you very much for your support!

Thank you for the informative post. I'm actually studying those things at school.

I'm not sure nuclear power is going to be the right solution now. We're not able to prevent it from being dangerous and it's not easy to determine its risks. A single damage in its core and an entire city can be damaged forever.

I actually believe solar energy and wind energy are easier to achieve.

I totally agree. Yet we are depended on conventional energy sources but the trend goes into the right direction. The amount the renewable sources take is getting bigger. Once humanity solved the energy issue I hope to see less problems.

Watching, reading, and learning!

You said Nuclear power plants do not emit any green house gasses and therefore don’t play a role in heating our environment. However, gaining energy though nuclear fission requires enriched uranium. While the actual waste of fossil fuel power plants are only carbon dioxide and few other particles, nuclear power plants produce radioactive waste. There is a problem with disposing the waste since it needs a safe storage. Another issue with nuclear plants are incidents where the plant is damaged and radioactive material leaking (Fukushima/Chernobyl).

that's called deception by telling the truth it's an old technique used by journalists everywhere. Very effective too.

What I mean is...you told the truth, but not the WHOLE truth.
Youre setting a standard for nukes that is not set for anything else.
In the Case of Chernobly..the Russians intentionaly tested the plant to destruction. The problem was that they got a little bit carried away. As a matter of fact the TYPE of reactor they used didn't have half of the safety features such as...

Fukishima.
...forty year old reactors that got hit by a Tsunami. HOW do you engineer against a Tsunami? Considering everything it did very well. Not ONE person has died from the results of radiation from the disaster.A May 2012 United Nations committee report stated that none of the six Fukushima workers who had died since the tsunami had died from radiation exposure__

HOWEVER

Uranium, heavy water fission reactors is NOT the way to go.

Thorium

This video itself was fascinating to watch and learn more about. Definitely will do some research on it.

I agree that nuclear plants are not the way to go. As about Fukushima: It got hit by a tsunami and no one could have predict that. Nevertheless we have many issues to face with nuclear fission. Hope to see a breakthrough in fusion reactors like the ITER

au contrair...nukes ARE the way to go.
the only way.
(see above...watch the video)

Actually, if I remember well, there were some tsunami protections at Fukushima, but not for such a big tsunami (the walls were a few meters not high enough ).

In many countries in Africa and Asia, billions still need power. They don't have access to power and Govt. can't keep denying them power and let prices of power go unabated. Nuclear though gives some greenhouse gases, it is better than coal. Even solar panels are produced at enormous cost to environment. As long as we aggressively works towards reducing greenhouse gases using renewable sources or nuclear, we have to keep going. There is no ideal, 100% green house gas free source. Most importantly, if this is our goal, developed nations need to share renewable energy and other energy technologies at a lower cost to developing nations.

do you know what the number one "greenhouse gas" is? It's hundreds of times more effective than Co2 or even methane?

Water.

Exactly, water vapor.

Thank you mallorca! I really think we need to work for out future generations

It seems only logical that there needs to be quick movement towards more clean and renewable energies. The only logical disagreement would be from people who have invested stake against that aka petroleum/coal companies.
It WILL happen regardless as the fossil fuels WILL run out. The question is WHEN will it happened how toxic and depleted will the planet be when it happens.
The main point I would like to make about this post is 2 fold.
#1 There has actually been technology used and proven for a very long time that is even more renewable and clean that wind or solar. Yet these technologies have been buried on purpose so as to keep citizens dependent upon the system.
#2 Instead of waiting for the system to change it impossible for individuals to make a major impact just by the way they live.
For example lots of energy is used to heat and cool houses. One could simply heat and cool less. Wear a sweater and hat inside when its cold and wear no clothes when its warm. Also insulation is key. Most modern buildings are built on purpose to be inefficient so as to promote high utilities. Insulation greatly decreases the energy needed to heat and cool.
Water heating is another major use of energy. Just take less showers or much shorter showers.
Driving uses lots of energy, drive less or carpool or try and make all your weekly trips in one go instead of 7. Instead of working a job and commuting every day work from home. The benefits of that are far more than less commuting...
In conclusion my point being is the system is designed to control and keep control. The only way this will change is if we the people or as individuals make choices to change our life style despite the system. Then we can make changes much quicker and for the greater good.
I took this to the extreme when I founded, built and now run The Garden of Eden @gardenofeden of which operates at the lowest carbon footprint of any organization I have yet heard of.
Anything is possible. The time is now. We are the power~*~

I will have a look at gardenofeden later! Thanks. And I agree in some points. It's up to us mostly. We consume way too much. But I see things are changing. People get aware.

Great!
What points would you not agree on may I ask?

Sure, but I might expressed myself badly. While I agree to most of your point, the others are pretty neutral to me. Means I do not disagree with you. I know there have been and even are technologies that would allow us to use water/hydrogen to drive our cars for instance.

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What is a bit pitiful is that not enough money is injected into nuclear fusion research. According to the current needs of the world in energy, I do not see how one can avoid relying on nuclear energy, at least without changing our ways of living.

Money is the answer.

Definitely correct...

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