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Randall Moses
Dr. Guenzel
ENC-1102
2/24/2020

Research Dossier: Transition to Alternative Energy

Dossier Introduction
Growing up we have seen technology rapidly change in front of us. Years
ago many families did not have a computer in the household. Now it is
almost impossible to get by without immediate access to one. That same
situation could apply to having a batch of solar panels on your house in the
next 10 years. With a future of technology that is always changing and
creating cheaper and easier ways to get energey, we can find ways that will
affect real world factors.

When in school we always learned about different methods of creating

energy such as the teacher describing that wind turbines are used to power
different areas. Though they always described the drawback that came with
them. It has always felt that we will never be able to find a way to perfect
these means and actually fully live off them. This is a misconception that I
wanted to study and see how far we can actually go with alternate energy
forms. My research will help prepare for a future in the mechanical
engineering field in the energy transition.

Another factor that has interested the topic of new energy forms is how
much they are slowly becoming more prominent in society. There are cities
that are beginning to use only wind, hydro, or solar energy. The actual
source of the energy is not the only way that they are found in society more
today. Electric cars were not taken seriously years ago and only few
companies had them available. Now almost all car companies have an
electric car option. The pricing for an electric car has also declined in price

substantially. They now have economic pricing for the vehicles. With the new
implementations the future of these energy sources and components is bright. The
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research I am gathering will show why it is important to begin funding the energy
process.

The research project is based on what would occur if the government funded
alternate forms of energy. Showing the benefits that will come with the
transition away from fossil fuels. The resources I searched for were both
based on actual experiments that contributed to the future technology of the
energy and research done in specific areas of the world.

In the research process this far I have established energy sources as the
territory of research that I wanted to work in. Then moved on to find articles
that will help find details about different energy forms. After finding articles
I narrowed down the energy types that I wanted to work with to water ,
solar, and wind energy. After finding the types I wanted to find other
aspects besides the energy source itself. I began looking into outlets of
alternate energy. Looking for articles that will mention items such as
electric cars or other vehicles. I am now working to find ways that I will
connect the sources to my arguments.

The issue I found when working in the research process was finding
different types of research. All the research found were experiments done in
the lab and how that will help future technology. There were not many
forms that dealt with how the sources of energy were used in actual areas.
There were mainly articles that contributed to the research. Making it
difficult to find different mediums such as books, articles, videos, etc…
My plan for the future is to find more evidence that carries less to
experiments. In order to do this I will work on finding different places to
search for information other than the databases I have been using. Then I
will work to find enough information on each of my topics. This will help
when writing the main argument essay, because one group will not be
favored more than the other.

Research Proposal
Subject: Research Proposal: Transitioning into a future with different forms
of energy
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Topic description: The topic I am focusing on is different sources of

energy that need little to no fossil fuels. The market for energy is becoming
cheaper and easier to work in. People argue that it will take too long to
create products that will last. Though they do not realise that many products
that require less power and cost are already in use and have done as well as
older products. The argument that it will cost too much money is another
used in the public debate. Though technology has grown rapidly that most
new energy sources have dropped drastically in price. For example, five or
more years ago an electric car had an unrealistic price. Today many
companies offer an electric car at a reasonable price. I will focus on three
groups of energy sources wind, water, and solar cells. These sources are the
main sources used by energy transition companies. Along with the energy
sources, I will show the relation to alternatives to energy consumption. For
example, using wind turbines cities have converted energy into charging
stations throughout the city. The charging stations are used in electric cars
instead of using fossil fuels.

Documentation Style: I will use the MLA format because I will use many
other documents in my argument.

Purpose: My major is mechanical engineering and a future in new forms of

energy has always sparked my interest. In my future work field, as time
goes on I will work with new forms of technology and I want to begin
research on something that could have a drastic influence of what I work
with. The focus on the different areas of energy outputs helps show how
easily energy can be found in everyday environments.

Intended audience: The audience I am reaching is the everyday person that

uses technology. To show that what I am researching can affect any person.
In relation to the presentation, the audience will be my ENC 1102 class.

Research Question / Preliminary Thesis / Argument: What could future

subsidization and funding do to the energy market?
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Types of research areas: Scholarly articles written about the advancements

in the technology. Research papers based on experiments that show the
change in the future.
Keywords: Economically-friendly, Energy efficient, Forms of consumption

Annotated Bibliography

Alawaji, Saleh H. “Evaluation of Solar Energy Research and Its Applications in

Saudi Arabia — 20 Years of Experience.” Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews, vol. 5, no. 1, 2001, pp. 59–77., doi:10.1016/s1364-
0321(00)00006-x.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136403210000006X
Content: This research article is going to show the real world applications of the
research done with solar energy. It will provide a basis for how solar energy has
been implemented in everyday life. This will help show benefits and setbacks that
can come from the process. There is a bias towards solar energy over other forms
of energy. Though it does not have an affect on the actual research done.
Author: The author attends an energy research institute that works with forms of
energy energy. Her discipline is mainly in solar energy where she has multiple
articles.
BEAM: The research article indicates the perspective of solar energy in a desert
area. A place that is known for oil reproduction and less solar energy. The source
shows the solar energy benefit viewpoint.

Cheung, Grace, et al. “Financing Alternative Energy Projects: An Examination of

Challenges and Opportunities for Local Government.” Energy Policy, vol.
97, Oct. 2016, pp. 354–364. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2016.07.047.
Content: The research is conducted In Australia and shows how the government is
opposing alternate energy transition. They found that there is support for the
transition, though there is no focus on finding the money set out to help it. They
are working to lower the amount of emissions and do not have enough funding to
help the process.
Author: The author has experience in political science. She has past research
involving different aspects of governments. The issue of emissions has caught her
attention and is finding a way to promote it to the government.
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BEAM: There is a bias towards alternative energy, because it will lower the
amount of emissions and make the environment cleaner. The perspective is from
the government and how they have the most influence over what forms of energy
are used. This can be used to show that government funding is needed the most in
order to have enough to make the transition in all forms.

Kowal, Sławomir1, slawomir.kowal@pw.edu. p., and Justyna2,

justyna.wielgolaska@pw.edu. p. Zdunek-Wielgołaska. “The Information
Environment of the Aesthetic Creation of Environment-Friendly Solutions
and the Application of Alternative Energy Sources in Suburban Zones.” On
the W@terfront, vol. 61, no. 4, June 2019, pp. 17–33. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1344/waterfront2019.61.6.5.
Content:The article is an experiment that uses a computer program to show the
implementation of energy sources in suburban zones. The study is focused on
finding ways to maintain the natural environment and avoid destruction.
Author: Kowal, Sławomir is a doctor at the University of Toronto, where he deals
with climate study. He has focused mainly on northern areas and their effect on
the earth and climate. Here he is in a different field and is working with a
suburban area.
BEAM: There is a bias for environmentally friendly ways of doing tasks. This
will cause a bias in the favor of the alternative energy sources. The perspective
comes from the implementation of energy sources in specific areas. This will be
used in my research to describe how it will have an effect on the suburban areas
and how it has been used and will change in the future.

PENCHEVA, Velizara, et al. “Study of the Use of Alternative Energy Sources in

Inland Waterway Transport.” Transport Problems: An International
Scientific Journal, vol. 14, no. 3, July 2019, pp. 109–120. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.20858/tp.2019.14.3.10.
Content: The article is about a task that is normally done using a boat that is
powered by fossil fuels. They replace the boat with one operated by batteries
transitioning to electric power instead of oil. The research is conducted and they
take down different data showing how efficient the electric boat is compared to the
gas powered boat.
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Author: Velizara Pencheva is an engineering doctor at The Unv of Ruse Angel.

She works with different methods of transportation. Where she analyzes different
vehicles in different situations to improve the task and make it efficient.
BEAM: There is not much bias from this article, because this is a trial for a new
vehicle. The bias could come from making the boat seem more efficient than the
fossil fuel boat. The article comes from the perspective of an alternate energy
outlet instead of the source. This is a comparison directly between fossil fuel
energy and alternative energy. The article contributes to the outlets of energy
aspect of my research essay.

Pham, Thao. “Do German Renewable Energy Resources Affect Prices and
Mitigate Market Power in the French Electricity Market?” Applied
Economics, vol. 51, no. 54, Nov. 2019, pp. 5829–5842. EBSCOhost,
doi:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/raec20.
Content: The article analyzes the effect Germany has on France’s electricity
market. The article shows the areas that have added in new energy sources of
mainly wind and solar have lowered the amount of money that comes from energy.
A lower marginal energy cost can cause other areas to miss out on a large amount
of money.
Author: The author has experience in economics and how different factors can
change the economics. He worked towards finding how energy transition will
have an effect on the economy.
BEAM: The bias comes from the electricity market, because they are losing
money from the implementation. The perspective is from what drawbacks that
come from energy sources. I can use this as an advantage, because though the
main market is losing money the people who transitioned to this energy have
actually saved money. I can use this as a reason the government would not be
willing to fund the project of energy transition.

Rathi, Rajeev, et al. “Measurement and Analysis of Wind Energy Potential Using
Fuzzy Based Hybrid MADM Approach.” Energy Reports, vol. 6, Nov. 2020,
pp. 228–237. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.egyr.2019.12.026.
Content: The article is working with wind turbines and improving how they work.
They implemented wind turbines in India and studied how they were affected
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when adding new approaches to the designs. They found that wind energy is a
significant form of energy in India.
Author:Rathi Rajeev studies at National Institute of Technology and works with
different forms of technology. He has worked to implement the technology into
other forms of research. He has been working with the fuzzy-MADM and
implemented it into the wind turbine.
BEAM: There is no bias towards the windmill, because they are testing how the
output will help in the energy output. The perspective is from improving the forms

Rocha, Gisele O.Da, et al. “Energy Trends and the Water-Energy Binomium for
Brazil.” Anais Da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, vol. 87, no. 2, 2015, pp.
569–594. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1590/0001-3765201520140560.
Content: The article works with changing the fossil fuels of Brazil. They work to
use the water found in the country to their advantage and replacing the forms of
fossil fuels. They found that the main problem that Brazil faces is the cost of the
issue. This can cause them to later on revert back to using fossil fuels.
Author: Rocha, Gisele O.Da is a doctor that works in the chemistry field in Brazil.
Her past research has been adding different components to products and finding if
they help and improve the product.
BEAM: There is a bias towards water energy, because it falls in her field of
research and she wants to see it succeed. The perspective is the different parts of
the world and how energy transition is being implemented. I can use the research

Wang, Juan. “Performance Study of Coal-Fired Power Generation System

Combined with Renewable Solar Energy Source Based on Thermodynamic
Analysis.” International Journal of Low Carbon Technologies, vol. 14, no. 3,
Aug. 2019, pp. 375–380. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1093/ijlct/ctz024.
Content:The article is based on the emissions output by China. The amount of
coal used is creating damage. The experiment uses a device that will use both
forms of energy and will decrease the amount of coal used.
Author: Juan Wang works in the field of thermodynamics. Thermodynamics
describes the movement of heat through objects. He used his background to create
the device in the article and is working to implement it into chinese work.
BEAM: There is not much bias, because there is still coal involved in the process.
The perspective is from the outlet of energy sources. There is a perspective that
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has not been addressed of combining both fossil and alternative energies. This will
be used to discuss how energy forms can influence fossil fuel devices.

Webb, Jeremy, et al. “Will People Accept Shared Autonomous Electric Vehicles?
A Survey before and after Receipt of the Costs and Benefits.” Economic
Analysis and Policy, vol. 61, Mar. 2019, pp. 118–135. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ecn&AN=1758868&site=
eds-live&scope=site
Content: The article works to find the opinion people have on shared electric
vehicles. The focus is on vehicles that will work as transportation for many
people. They compared the different data with the same vehicles using fossil fuels.
It also focused on the fact that the electric vehicles were self driving.
Author: Could not find much information about the other. Though it seems that
he has a large focus on finding new modes of transportation away from fossil fuels.
BEAM: Bias comes after the people experience the electric vehicle. They feel that
they are obligated to say the vehicle has improved the transportation. The
perspective is in the outlets of sustainable energy. The article contributes to
replacing fossil fuels in everyday life applications using a vehicle change. I can
use this to show the support that people have to transition to energy forms.

Vainio, Annukka, et al. “Citizens’ Images of a Sustainable Energy Transition.”

Energy, vol. 183, Sept. 2019, pp. 606–616. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1016/j.energy.2019.06.134.
Content: The article is dealing with the opinion of the people of Finland and how
they feel about the transition to new energy forms. The research was conducted
using a survey that asked about their opinion on the current fossil fuels. Then
asked about specific changes to certain aspects using different energy. They found
that the people were in favor largely. This called for them to bring it to the
attention of the government.
Author:Vainio, Annukka works in the area of Forest Sciences at Helsinki Institute
of Sustainability Science. She works with different aspects that will affect an
environment.
BEAM: There is a bias in the favor of the alternative energy source, because it will
keep the environment in its best condition. The perspective is from the common
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people and their opinion on energy transition. I can use this in my essay by
showing that people have become in favor of the transition.