1

Renewable Energy Systems

I.

Introduction
Energy has always been the key to mans greatest goals and to his dreams of a better

world. It is sometimes said that the caveman started along the path to civilization after he had
utilized the energy in fire for heat and light, and the energy in his body, through the club and the
bow, for food and survival. In the centuries since then, mans quest for material well-being has
been tied largely to the harnessing of various forms of energy in coal, in petroleum, in
electricity. In modern times, man has developed increasingly complex and effective means of
tapping energy for more difficult goals. Today, the quest for the moon is made possible by
harnessing of chemical energy for the rockets at Cape Kennedy; tomorrow the exploration of the
planets will depend on harnessing the energy in the nucleus of the atom.
But what, precisely, is renewable energy? It is not something you can always detect with
the senses .If a physicist wanted to describe an apple to someone who had never seen one, he
might simply put a piece of the fruit on a table and let it be felt, smelled, tasted. But energy
cannot simply be put on a table, for energy can appear in many forms. It can appear as the energy
of motion, or kinetic energy. It can appear in the form of heat and light. It can appear on an
atomic or molecular scale as chemical energy. On a nuclear scale it can appear in one of the most
fearsome forms as nuclear energy. It can even appear in the form of an apple, as it did to Sir
Isaac Newton, who was led to the discovery of gravitation when he was struck by an apple that
had fallen from a tree. The apple in falling released potential energy. If the mastery of energy
accounts for the rise of civilization, it may also lead to mankinds downfall. With ever-increasing
energy at our command, we are able not only to better our daily lives but, unfortunately, to wage
war on a more efficient and grander scale as well.

Background
Back in the 1920s, while watching the formidable rush of the tidesin Passamaquoddy Bay
between Maine and Canada, Franklin Roosevelt became intrigued with the possibilities of
harnessing tidal energy to make electric powser. The tide wells in from the sea and ebbs away
again in a 12-hour cycle, moving two billion tons of wateritrisesandfalls an average of 18 feet.
Roosevelts scheme to put this force to work got afalse start in the 1930s, but ultimately revived
as the Passmaquoddy Tidal Power Project yearslater. The cost of construction is about $600
million, and it has attained at daily output of 500,000 kilowatts. This power is delivered to users
as far away as Boston, Massachusetts, and is easily takes care of an expected 40-million-kilowatt
increase in New Englands annual electric power consumption. But long before
Passamaquoooddys pride and joy is built, the French will have become old hands at using the
tides. The dam spanning the tidal Rance River on the Brittany coast, began producing electrical
power in 1966. Whklelessambitious than Passamaquoddy its peak daily outputis 240,000 watts
it bears the distinction of being theworlds first successful tidal-powered electric plant.
From Deep in the Earths Crust, a Plume of Energy
As long ago as 1904, Italian engineers near Lardarello in Tuscany happened on a means of
manufacturing cheap electric power which remains as promising reserve of energy for the future.
The source of this energy is steam created deep underground by earth heat which gushes
from specially drilled wellsandis diverted to drive turbine generators. Today Lardarellos steam
plants produce two billion kilowatt hoursof power a year,enoughto operate most of Italys
railway system. Earth steam is put to other uses in other areas, too. In Iceland 45,000 people use
it to heat their homes. In Kenya ithatches chickens. In New Zealand and thestate ofCaliforniaitisa

source ofelectric power.Installation costs for asteam plant are high, but savings in fuel make such
power substantially bheaper to produce than electricity from conventional plants.
Sunlight: A Vast but Fickle Power Source
As fossil-fuel supplies go on dwindling, scientists show increasing interest in one of the most
readily available fuel sources of all: sunlight. Delivered in payloads of fantastic magnitude,
sunlight provides the U.S. every two days with energy equal to all our remaining fossil-fuel
reserves. But how to use this energy is something else again. Since itcomes to us in such diffuse
form, about the only direct use of it that can be made is for evaporation. O turnit into an effective
power source it must be gathered and concentrated,as in the solar furnace, an expensive process.
Also,darkness andbad weather cause constant inteerruptions in thereception of the suns regular
energy broadcast. Major industrial applications ofsolar power are therefoe a long way off, butit is
in successful use on a smaller scale. Compact solar batteries work wellin space atelilites, and a
maultitude of consumer gadgets powered solely the sun is now on themarket. Solar energy has
had considerable publicity as a fuel of the future because of its application at thecosnumer level.
Feew of the exotic fuels that may one day run ouwer power plants will ever be useful on as
personalized sa scale as the solar cigar lighter, for example. After all, sunlight is free a fact that
has inspired a host of consumer gimmicks all over the world. These include solar-powered
radios, fans, automobiles, boats, refrigerators, fresh-waer sills, heaters forwater andeven whole
houses. Though the faddist element is unkistakable, many of these inventions adapt good
scientific principles to highly practical uses. One radio, for instance, operates with a power
system like thatin the Telstar satellite. Sunglight activates the passage of electrons between two
special alloys, generating electricity. A refrigerator usesthe suns heat to liquefy ammonia, which
then revaporizes into a gas, drawing heat fronm the refrigerator interior. The solar house makes

useof the fact that glass admits surface, produces heat, asin a greenhouse. When properly
engineered this system cnan heat a home in mildwinter to temperatures of 70 deg. F. and higher.
Earnerness to capitalize on thefree fuel ofsolarenergy has also ledto some foo-hardy ventures. In
1946the Indiangovernment franchised twofactoriestomake a solarcookerforuse by Indias
millions of peasant-farmers. After one yearofproduction, total sales amounted to only 50
cookers. Apparentlynoonerealizedthatthefarmer normally eats hismainmealat night and
thathiswife hasnowishto standover astovein thesun since mid-day temperatures inIndiacan be 100
deg. F.
Continuously Looking for Ultimate Fuel in Fusion
C-Stellarator, then known as thestargenerator, is an old conceptwhichispart of anall-out .S. effort
to control the power of thermonuclear fusion, the process which occurs in hydrogen bomband
inthesn and stars. Simp;ly, fusionis what happens when two atomicnuclei join to formone. As
happens with deuterium (heavy hydrogen) atoms, usedinmany fusion experiments, the fusing
nuclei release enormous amounts of energy.To achieve fusion, however, the deuteriummust be
heated up to 180 milliondegress forafull second. This posesa tough question:how to contain
asubstance so hot it wouldinstanly disintegrate any oftheknown substances? The approach
scientists are working on now isto weave aninvisible magneticcocoon to contain the fusing
deuterium atoms. Ifand whenthe formidable problemis solved, thedeuterium in sea waer
couldprovide us with a billion times the energy now left in all our coal and oil reserves.

Renewable Energy Defined

Renewable energy is that energy which is put to good use emanating from natural
processes and it is continuously replenished by nature. Examples of renewable energy include

water, heat, sunlight, wind, geothermal heat, and all kinds of biomass. Since they cannot be
exhausted, they are considered renewed constantly. Renewable energy may either harm the
environment or not and therefore have significant impact on the environment. In contrast,
alternative energy doesnt make use of fossil fuels and relies on the use of non-traditional energy
instead. The PennState College of Agricultural Sciences defines renewable energy as energy
generated from natural resourcessuch as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat
which are renewable (naturally replenished). Renewable energy technologies range from solar
power, wind power, hydroelectricity/micro hydro, biomass and biofuels for transportation.
Man lives in an ocean of energy. Around him at all times nature is doing work, expending
energy in such endless quantities that man can tap only a fraction of it. The falling water of rivers
could yield enough hydroelectric power to meet 80 per cent of mans total energy consumption,
tough he uses it for only 1 to 2 per cent. If the winds were tethered, they could turn out twice as
much as electricity as water power now does. The tides surge could provide half of our energy
needs. The most colossal dynamo of all is the sun, an unimaginably vast powerhouse which
directly or indirectly affects everything on earth. If all the worlds fuels were fathered in one
place and burned at a rate to match the suns fierce output, they would be consumed in four days.
Nuclear energy, whose promise is so bright for the fearful future, could well be the source of the
worlds destruction. If we and our children, and our childrens children, are to avoid this, it is
imperative that we understand ourselves and our surroundings. There is no beer starting place
than to investigate the nature of renewable energy.
With the worlds consumption of fuel energy increasing at an astronomical rate, man is
overtaxing the organic fuel sources hedepends upon so heavilynow- coal, petroleum, wood,
agricultural wastes. The use of these fuels in the last century alone amounted to almost half of

the total usedin all the preceding 19 centures; consumption is now expected to double and then
double again before the year 2020.A worldwide hunt goes on for new fuel reserve, and scientists
are looking for new ways to get more use from the fuels we have. An even greater challenge is
theserach for entirely differnet sourcesof energy which will be needed to sustain the expanding
populations and complex technology of tomorrow. Among the exciting developments are efforts
to harness the untiring push fof the tides, extend the use of sunlight and earth heat, and control
the elusive but dramatic energy of lasers and nuclear fusion.
Currently, the world is experiencing a decline in oil prices because of lower-that-expected
demand resulting from the massive tight oil or shale oil boom in the United States. Other
reasons for the decline include: a slowdown in the manufacturing business particularly in China,
continuing effects of the economic recession experienced byheavily-indebted countries, and the
emergence of alternative energy schemes which are designed to lower the dependence on oil in
the future. The following graph shows the increasing pattern of tight oil since 2000:

The effects of lower oil prices spell trouble for most, if not all, oil producers in the world. The
U.S. producers need to maintain the price at $80 to be profitable, otherwise they will continue
losing money. OPEC, on the other hand, is seizing this chance to kick out competitors in the
industry by lowering the prices below $80 through measures that keep the supply at current level
even with the decreasing demand. Most OPEC members, however, are not comfortable with the
idea on a long-term basis although a majority dont want to cut production for fear or losing
substantial revenue to support their infrastructure projects.
The oversupply could mean a drastic change in energy use and the revision of energy policies of
governments. Renewable energy in UK contributed 11.3% of the electricity requirements adding
to the generating capacity of hydroelectric plants, another renewable energy option. With the EU
targets on carbon emission reduction now given more focus, UK is forced to promote the use of
renewable energy fort the purpose of generating electricity. This will undoubtedly further reduce
dependence on oil which the country produces through its North Sea rigs. This also results to
oversupply in production which puts pressure on idle stock and to the price as well. The next
graph shows the existing installed capacity of renewable energy sources in UK for 2006-2012
(MW):

The reduction in carbon emission is intended to comply with the Climate Change Protocol to
prevent further depletion of the ozone layer, the primary source of global warming. Governments
need to balance between meeting energy demand and limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Some
areas in UK are already implementing the construction of gas-fired and coal-fired stations to
produce electricity and meet the current demands. The generating capacity is faced with issues
pertaining to eliminating residues and contamination and minimizing carbon emissions. Due to
the foregoing reasons, the following measures must be adopted:
1. Increase energy efficiency through the adoption of programs that saves energy from time
to time;
2. Promotion of fusion power, now being undertaken by the leaders of the European Union;
3. Invest more on renewable energy projects such as hydroelectric plants, solar plants,
geothermal plants, and windmill plants;

4. Continue to find ways to change the chemical composition of fuels (gasoline, diesels,
etc.) to minimize carbon gas residues;
5. Divert investments to infrastructures that support the use of electric cars or hybrid
cars;
6. Rationalize the operations of drilling rigs to avoid over-production as the world starts to
focus on alternative or renewable energy sources for power generation;
7. Governments to provide incentives to projects and infrastructures that promote the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
8. Conduct a massive information campaign on how to lessen greenhouse gas emission;
9. Require governments to replace its existing transportation equipment with renewable
energy-compliant vehicles; and
10. Call on the private sector to start shifting to alternative energy use by adopting
appropriate programs, policies, and infrastructures.
D10081.Christian-Okonkwo.Other
NAME: CHRISTIAN OKONKWO
TOPIC: Logistics and Operations Management in oil & gas
SUBJECT: Other
NO. OF SOURCES: 6
TYPE OF ENGLISH: English - US
CITATION: Harvard
ACADEMIC LEVEL: University
DEadline: dec 3 11am
rate per page: 90php
NO. OF PAGES: 8
INSTRUCTIONS: Assessment Task Scenario Renewable energy and climate change
consultant to the UK Government
--As a consultant in renewable energy and climate change for the UK
government, your role is to provide a guideline and information on
issues related to global warming and climate change, while at the same
time, presenting details to the new employees appointed by the
government concerning the ROC document (including financial support
and penalties) as well as with a brief outlook to related energy
white papers. Your role is also to inform the UK government on the
increasing energy demand imposed by both China and India and possible
future impact on the West, particularly in relation to crude oil.

10
The government also require from you to submit a report related to
renewable energy systems with emphasis on the positive and negative
aspects for each system. You are also required to recommend the most
appropriate renewable energy system (or systems) for the UK, for
additional
support from the government.
-----Provide a critical analysis and details for all the issues raised
above;
Your recommendations to the UK government (stating your reasons) at
the end of your report, should be sourced from actual data and
reliable references.
This module is called Environmental Management for Sustainable Development not Logistics and Operations
Management in oil & gas sorry

and the type of english that should be used is ENGLISH not ENG/US