Chapter 16:

Alternative Energy and the

Environment
Overview
Introduction to Alternative Energy
Sources
Solar Energy
Converting Electricity from Renewable
Energy into a Fuel for Vehicles
Water Power
Ocean Energy
Wind Power
Biofuels
Geothermal Energy
Introduction to Alternative
Energy Sources
Nonrenewable alternative energy
Nuclear
Requires a mineral fuel mined from Earth
Geothermal
Heat is extracted faster than it is
replenished
Renewable energy sources
Solar, fresh water, wind, ocean, and
biofuels
All derive from the suns energy
Solar Energy
10 weeks of
solar energy
equivalent to all
known fossil
fuel reserves
Two types
Passive
Active
Passive Solar Energy
Promotes cooling in hot weather and
retaining heat in cold weather
Methods include:
Overhangs that block summer sun but
allow winter sun
Walls in buildings that absorbs heat
during the day and releases it at night
Deciduous trees as landscaping
Active Solar
Energy systems that require
mechanical power
Electric pump circulate air, water or
other fluids from solar collectors to a
location where heat is stored
Additional pumps move heat to location
where energy is converted and used
Solar Collectors
Provide space
heating or hot water
Flat Plate Collector
Flat, glass-covered
plates over a black
background where
absorbing fluid is
circulated through
tubes
Evacuated tube
collector
Each tube filled with
absorbing fluid pass
through a larger tube
Photovoltaic
Converts sunlight directly into
electricity
Made from thin layers of
semiconductors and a solid-state
electronic components with few or no
moving parts
Worlds faster growing source of
energy
Photovoltaic
Off the grid
Emerging as a major contributor to
developing countries
Dont have
ability to build a
electrical grid
Systems can
power lights and
televisions in
small villages
 Solar Thermal Generators
Focus sunlight onto
water-holding
containers
Traditionally built using
solar power towers
Water boils and is used
to run conventional
steam-driven electrical
generators
Built with very large
output
Solar Thermal Generators
In newer facility
Mirrors focus solar energy onto pipes
with heat-absorbing fluid
Solar Energy and the
Environment
Generally low impact
One concern
Variety of metals, glass plastics, and
fluids used in the manufacture and use
of solar equipment
Production and accidental spills could
release toxic materials
Converting Electricity from
Renewable Energy to a Fuel that
can be Burned and can Power
Vehicles
Two choices:
Store electricity in batteries and use
electric vehicles
Transfer the energy in the electricity to
a gaseous or liquid fuel
Hydrogen
Hydrogen Fuel
Hydrogen as power for fuel cells
Electric current separates water into
hydrogen and oxygen
When H recombined with O, electrons
flow between positive and negative poles
An electric current
H Can be transported in pipeline
Combustion product is water
Clean fuel
Water Power
A form of stored solar energy
Long history
Waterwheels convert water power to
mechanical energy
Todays hydroelectric power plants
use water stored behind dams
Also produced through the process of
pump storage
Small-Scale Systems
Electrical power produced by large
dams will not increase
Most dam sites already utilized
Small scale systems have potential in
mountainous areas along streams
Water Power and the
Environment
Advantages
Water power is clean and efficient power
No burning of fuel, no radioactive waste
Disadvantages
Flood large tracts of land
Block fish migration
Trap sediment that would replenish
beaches
Evaporative loss of water from reservoirs
Ocean Energy
High energy in
motion of waves,
currents and tides
in the ocean
Difficult to harness
Storms destructive
and water corrosive
Most successful =
tidal power
Very few areas w/
the right topography
Tidal Power
Dam built across the entrance to a
bay or estuary
Water held in or out of bay until
significant difference in level forces
water in or out
This runs the turbines
Environmental impacts
Changes hydrology of bay
Restricts passage of fish
Changes habitat for birds and other
organisms
Wind Power
Wind produced when differential
heating of Earths surface create air
masses with differing heat contents
and densities
Wind energy is the cheapest form of
alternative energy
Less than natural gas and coal
Now used in many place including
offshore
Wind Power
Problems
Wind highly
variable in time,
place, and
intensity
Wind velocity
often increases
over hill tops or
funneled through
a mountain pass
Wind Power and the
Environment
Wind energy
does have a few
disadvantages
Kills birds
Use large areas
of land
May degrade
areas scenic
resources
Future of Wind Power
Growing at approximately 30% per
year
Nearly 10 times the growth rate of oil
use
Created thousands of jobs and
investment opportunities
Technology producing more efficient
wind turbines
Biofuels and Human History
Energy from biomass is the oldest
fuel used by humans.
Until end of 19th century major fuel
source in the US
1 billion people in the world still use
wood as primary source of energy for
heat and cooking
Includes: firewood, cattle dung, peat
Biofuels
Energy recovered from biomass-
organic matter
Three groups
Firewood
Organic wastes
Crops grown to be converted into liquid
fuels
Biofuels and the
Environment
Can pollute the air and degrade the
land
Worlds forests will decrease if our need
for forest products and forest biomass
fuel exceeds the productivity of the
forests
Combustion of biomass-derived fuel
generally release fewer pollutants then
combustion of coal/gasoline
But burning urban waste can release heavy
metals
Geothermal Energy
Deep earth - high density
Energy from interior of earth
Mined and used to heat buildings and generate
electricity
May be considered nonrenewable when rates
of extraction are greater than rates of natural
replenishment
Shallow earth - low density
Solar energy that has traveled to shallow
depths
Geothermal Systems
Areas of high heat flow occur at plate
boundaries
Divergent and convergent plate
boundaries
Hydrothermal convection- transfers
heat from depths to surface
Using steam or hot water
Geothermal
Most groundwater can be considered
a source of geothermal energy
Groundwater at a depth of 100m is 13oC
or 55oF
In summer heat can be transferred to
the cool water
In winter heat can be transferred from
the water to the air
Geothermal Energy and the
Environment
Problems:
Considerable thermal pollution from hot
wastewaters
Water may be saline or highly corrosive
On-site noise
Emissions of gas
Disturbance of land
Future of Geothermal Energy
Geothermal
Could produce 10% of the electricity
needed for the western US
Geohydrothermal
Could potentially provide four times that
(10% of US total)