Renewable Energy Technologies

• Introduction to renewable energy

• Geothermal
• Solar
• Wind
• Hydroelectric
 Updates
• I speculated that the number of deaths from all nuclear
accidents is equaled in a period of weeks by premature
deaths from pollution from fossil fuels… it is less than a
day.
• Greenhouse gas emissions from China
– Some speculation that they may peak as early as this year
 On to Renewable Energy
• Renewable energy technologies
– Geothermal
– Solar
– Wind
– Hydropower
– Biomass
– Tidal
– Wave*
– Ocean currents*

*Minor technology,
pilot projects only

Turning Waves into Electricity

 Renewable Energy Resources
• Reminder of use in U.S. today
– 9% of primary energy
– 21% of electricity: wind>hydro>solar
• Wind and solar growing most rapidly
 Renewable Energy Resources
• International electricity = 28%: hydro>wind>solar
 Renewable Energy Resources
• Wind and Solar have greatest growth, cheapest for new
electricity in most of world
• Levelized cost of energy = cost (per MWh) over lifetime of
facility

Averaged 2020 LCOE estimates from Lazard

*Combined cycle natural gas: burning gas turns turbine, exhaust used to heat
water to produce steam to drive another turbine
 Renewable Energy Resources
• LCOE for new wind and solar competitive with marginal
cost of running existing conventional technologies (esp.
coal)

Lazard
 Renewable Energy
• Our brief coverage of renewable energy in this course will
focus on geothermal (earth resource) and hydroelectric
(water resource), with brief coverage of solar and wind

The Geysers, CA Glen Canyon Dam, AZ

 Renewable Energy
• Geothermal
– No sun! Using Earth’s internal heat (mostly from radioactive
decay)
– Potential debate about “renewable”
– Avoid confusing language about ground-source heat pumps (often
called “geothermal”, but misleading)
 Renewable Energy
• Geothermal
– Heat reaching surface is diffuse and modest
• 1/3000 the amount reaching surface from Sun
• Capture all from a 1 m2 would take 4 days to boil 1 cup of water
• All energy from a football field could run 4 100W light bulbs
– Geothermal gradient = ave. 25 ∘C/km, but locally >100 ∘C/km
– Heat flow related to plate tectonics, places with volcanic activity
have higher GT gradients (MOR, rifts, subd. zones)
 Renewable Energy
• Geothermal
– Areas of high geothermal gradient can be tapped for hot water or
steam at shallow depth
• High temperature: >85 ∘C (typically hotter), can be used to generate electricity
• Low temperature: <85 ∘C, utilize hot water for “district heating”
 Renewable Energy
• Geothermal: electricity
– Systems
• Direct steam: use natural expansion of steam to drive turbines
• Flash steam: use hot steam under pressure to heat water or other fluids (binary)
to expand to gas to turn turbines (can have multiple cycles)
• Hot-dry rock: requires “fracking” to create permeability, then injection of water
 Renewable Energy
• Geothermal: electricity
– Some energy lost as “conversion losses”
– BUT that energy can be used for cogeneration (CHP) in useful
“district heating” systems e.g., Iceland
-Hot tap-water
-Space heating (radiators)
-Roads/sidewalks
-Greenhouses
 Renewable Energy
• Geothermal: Downsides?
– Development of undeveloped areas
– Can be run non-renewably
• Geysers (CA) steam pressure depleted ~11%/yr for a period
– Hot dry rock uses water resources

Krýsuvík, Iceland Hellisheiði, Iceland

 Renewable Energy
• Geothermal
– Modest steady global growth
– U.S. #1 producer of electricity by geothermal
– Current world installed capacity = 16,335 MW
(note: Three Gorges Dam in China has higher capacity of 22,500 MW)

Three Gorges Dam, China

 Renewable Energy
• Solar energy: the energy source
– Source of energy: “the fusion nuclear reactor 93 M miles away”
– Insolation = solar energy received per unit area
– Total energy reaching Earth system = 173 PW
– Solar constant (top of atmosphere) = 1360 W/m2
 Renewable Energy
• Solar energy: the energy source
– Insolation varies by season and geography
• Higher latitudes have less annual insolation
• Day-length also a factor
• Cloudiness varies with latitude due to global convection patterns

Theoretical

Actual cities

Trend including clouds

 Renewable Energy
• Solar energy: the energy source
– Global average insolation = 6 kWh/m2/day
 Renewable Energy
• Solar energy: two approaches
– Photovoltaic cells
– Concentrated solar power (CSP)
• Drive heat engine (e.g., steam) with solar energy (subject to
conversion losses)
• Requires concentration of diffuse solar energy
• Two approaches
– Parabolic trough or dish
– Solar power tower
 Renewable Energy
• Solar: photovoltaic cells (PV)
– Direct conversion of solar energy to electrical energy
– Doped* semiconductor (typically silicon) with suitable band gap
to absorb solar radiation in desired wavelengths freeing
electrons to flow as electrical current
• Doping: replace some Si4+
with other ions (B3+ & P5+)
to create electric field in
which current can flow
 Solar Energy
• Current solar electric power capacity (2019)
– ~1600 GW PV (China>USA, Germany led the way
Energiewende)
– At 6.0 GW CSP is minor player (Spain>U.S. )

!China installed more solar capacity in 2023 than total U.S. capacity
installed up that that point!
 Solar Energy
• Trends
– Many of the largest projects planned or under construction are
in China (adding most) and India
– Long-range plans for large farms in Middle East & USA

Ren21

Midong Solar Park, China

3500 MW, worlds largest*
 Solar Energy
• Limitations
– Weather and nighttime reduce availability. Dealt with by:
• Auxiliary power generation method (natural gas peaking)
• Storage, battery, efficient heat storage (inherent to CSP), other
– Ideal electricity generation sites may be distant from demand
– Price was an issue, but now solar is often cheapest technology
 Solar Energy
• Environmental issues
– Large solar farms compromise fragile desert ecosystems
– Large solar farms displace other land uses
– Heat island
– CSP can fry birds (low#)
– Aesthetics
Ivanpah, CA
 Renewable Energy
• Wind Energy
– Harnessing sun’s energy through differential heating of the planet
producing pressure differences producing wind
– Combines with Coriolis effect global pattern (e.g., westerlies)
– At mid-latitudes surface wind dir. more affected by frontal weather
 Renewable Energy
• Wind Energy
– Differential heating of land and water important
– Local geography/topography plays major role in controlling winds
– Strong winds offshore

Note: different scales for land and water; and 1 m/s = 2.2 mph
 Renewable Energy
• Wind Energy
– Modern wind turbines
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNXTm7aHvWc
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lWTQdHEazg
 Renewable Energy
• Wind Energy
– Modern wind turbines
• Largest now >250 m high with rotors >100 m length, 16 MW (China, larger
prototypes)
 Renewable Energy
• Wind Energy
– Limited by ability to convert wind energy to turbine kinetic energy
without deflecting the wind around the windmill (Betz limit), 59%
– Actual windmills, modern wind turbines max at 50-70% of Betz limit

(Details vary from one version of this to another)