Renewable Energy

Our society is currently ran by non-renewable resource, specifically, fossil fuels. This
resource has a lot of problems, mainly:
1. It is finite
2. It is polluting the atmosphere causing global warming
To prevent further pollution we must reduce our energy consumption and move towards
renewable energy sources.

But just because it is renewable doesn’t mean it is sustainable. An example would be

biomass which are commonly in the form of wood. Using too much wood could lead to
deforestation. Hydroelectric is another example where implementing too much
hydroelectric plants could change the natural flow of a river which could in turn change
the ecosystem.
Global energy potential
TW means terawatts
The reason why we use non-renewable energy is because of economics.
EROEI
= Energy returned/Energy invested
Break even = 1:1
Economically viable = 3:1
Coal = 80:1
A very small amount of money for the energy we get back
Ethanol = 1.3:1
So there is no real incentive to use ethanol over coal

Biomass (solid); Fuelwood = 25:1

Wood has the highest EROEI of all the renewable resources but it isn’t used because it
leads to deforestation and pollution.
Wood could also be turned to charcoal which has even more potential energy but is a
lot dirtier because of the soot and could increase the levels of carbon monoxide and
could lead to massive deforestation.
I.E. Haiti – 60% of haiti used to be covered by trees but has dwindled down to 2%
Biomass (liquid); Biodiesel and Corn = 1.3:1, at Brazil using Sugarcane = 8:1

Large scale hydroelectric = 100:1

Small scale hydroelectric; tidal energy and wave = 15:1

Solar could be passive and active

Passive – when we just let light in, especially during winter and we are collecting it.
Passive heating system: windows are on the south-facing side of the house and a huge
amount of insulation to hold the thermal heat inside
Active solar energy; Thermal = 1.9:1, Photovoltaic (solar panels) = 6.8:1, Concentrated
= 9:1
In concentrated energy, solar panels are used to heat up water and generate electricity
through steam.

Geothermal = 9:1
Iceland have gone 100% renewable. They use both hydroelectric and geothermal.

Wind = 18:1
Has the greatest potential at this point, especially the offshore turbines.

Hydrogen = less than the breakeven point

Has potential to become the greatest source of renewable energy as technology
improves
The biggest hurdle currently is storage and flow of the material. A solution to this could
be smart grid – where we figure out where energy is being produced and how we move
it to where it needs to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8WuEyL-YNY