Renewable and Alternative Energy Sources

US Energy Consumption
o The four primary consumers of energy in the U.S. in
2007 were
o Industrial - 32%
o Transportation - 28%
o Residential - 22%
o Commercial - 18%
o 93% of the energy generated and used in the U.S. are
from nonrenewable resources
Alternative Energy Sources
o World-wide, with the exception of coal, which has
known reserves that will last a couple of centuries, the
known reserves of oil are expected to be exhausted in
your lifetime.
Solar Energy
o The Sun is free
o In principle, the amount of solar energy that reaches
the Earths surface could provide for all human energy
needs forever
o The distribution of solar energy over the continental
U.S. in watts per square meter
o The desert regions of the southwest U.S. receive the
most sunlight
o Solar energy is clean energy
o It produces no hazardous solid, liquid or gas wastes
o It does not create water or air pollution
o The two areas in which solar energy can make the
greatest contribution are in space heating and in the
generation of electricity
o These are uses that account for two-thirds of U.S.
energy consumption
o Currently, solar energy provide less that 0.5% of the
U.S. power needs, but even with existing technology, it
could provide up to 15%
Geothermal Energy

o Magma rising from the mantles brings unusually hot

material near the surface
o Heat from the magma, in turn, heats any groundwater
o This is the basis for generating geothermal energy
o The steam and/or hot water is used to create electricity
or for heating
o Three types of power plants are used to generate power
from geothermal energy:
o Dry steam
o Flash
o Binary
Hydropower
o One-third (33%) of all power plants in the U.S. are
hydroelectric, but they only generate 6% of U.S.
electricity needs
o A cross-section of a typical hydroelectric dam
o Water flows down the penstock, turns the turbine
blades which power the generators
o Hydropower is a very clean, pollution-free, renewable
energy source
o The water is not consumed, but rather simply passes
thru the generating equipment, and since several dams
may occur along the same river, the water can be
reused and reused
Tidal Power
o All large bodies of water, including the oceans and large
lakes, have tides
o Tidal power captures the energy contained in moving
water mass due to tides
o Two types of tidal energy can be extracted:
o Kinetic energy of currents between ebbing and surging
tides
o Potential energy from the difference in height (or head)
between high and low tides
OTEC
o Ocean energy thermal conversion (OTEC) is a new,
clean technology that is still in the developmental stage

o It exploits the temperature difference between warm

surface water and the cold water at depth to run a
heat engine
o A heat engine is a device placed between a high
temperature reservoir and a low temperature reservoir
that produces energy
Wind Energy
o The wind is free, commonly available and can provide
clean, pollution-free energy
o Todays wind-turbines are very high tech
Biomass Energy
o Biomass energy is derived from organic matter
o Stoves that burn wood are the classic example
o In fact, there had been a 20-25% increase in the use of
wood stoves over the past several decades
o Ethanol fuel is a biofuel alternative to gasoline, which is
gaining popularity world-wide
o Car engines can be designed to run on 10%, 50% even
100% pure ethanol
o Gasohol - gasoline (90%) and ethanol (10%)