Renewable and Alternative Energy

1
Renewable and Alternative Energy

• By
• Wilson Le
• Matthew Hively
• Cole Millare
• Chris Duchesne

2
What is it?

• Renewable energy can be defined as any natural
  resource that can replenish itself naturally over
  time.
• As of now, the demand for fossil fuels is too
  great to sustain humanity for eternity, therefore
  we must inevitably switch to renewable resources
  in the near future.

3
Current Types of Renewable Energy

• Hydroelectric
• Solar
• Wind
• Geothermal
• Tidal

4
Hydroelectric Power

• About 20 of the world's electricity is generated
  by using hydropower and it is the largest
  currently used renewable resource. (fwee.org)
• Pros
• Heavily used (10 of US Electricity)
• Enormous amounts of electricity
• Controls flooding
• Never run out of fuel
• No pollutants
• Cons
• Destroys ecosystem upriver of dam
• Holds back silt and other deposits
• Small risk of catastrophic dam breach

5
Solar Power

• Photovoltaic Cells
• Pros
• Unlimited resources
• Possibility of 1000W per sq. meter
• Lots of backing
• Cons
• Expensive
• Inefficient
• Still in infancy stages

6
Wind Power

• Been in use for hundreds of years
• Pros
• Clean Cheap
• Reasonably reliable (in certain areas)
• Provides better jobs in rural areas
• Cons
• Areas with sufficient wind are not abundant
• Large Land areas are required to generate useful
  amounts of wind power
• But a lot of wind power land can be used for
  other things simultaneously

7
Geothermal Power

• Types Dry steam, Flash stream, Binary Cycle
• Pros
• Again Clean
• Only water and turbines generate electricity
• Cons
• Locations that support Geothermal are rare
• And most of those are in protected wildlife areas
• Some locations can be dangerous to people
  operating the plant
• Toxic substances can be carried up with the water

8
Tidal Power

• Types Tidal Dams, Wave power, Ocean thermal
  power
• Pros
• Similar to Hydroelectric Dams
• Cons
• Higher initial cost then hydroelectric dam
• Destroys seashore ecosystems
• Very difficult to find suitable locations for
  construction
• Requires at least 21ft difference in tides
• High Maintenance cost

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Hydrogen Fuel Cells

• How they work
• Splits electrons off of hydrogen molecules, using
  them to power electrical devices Oxygen is then
  combined with the expended hydrogen atoms to form
  water as a waste byproduct.
• Pros
• Replacing Chemical Batteries
• Clean, Efficient energy storage
• Longer lifespan
• Cons
• High transition costs
• Entire auto industry
• Replacing current fossil fuel-powered devices
• Still in infancy stages
• Not yet efficient enough for practical use.

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Case Study Hydrogen Fuel Cells

• Hydrogen Fuel cell FedEx Truck in Japan

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Ethical Issues

• Higher Electrical Demand
• Need electricity to produce hydrogen
• Displace all kinds of jobs
• People who work at gas stations
• All of OPEC
• Hydrogen is explosive
• Hazardous storage

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Utilitarianism

• Creates new tech jobs
• Cleaner air
• Slows ozone depletion
• Slows global warming

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• Kantism
• Right to breath clean air
• Right to choose to whether to convert to new
  technology
• Common Good
• Clean Air
• Clean ground

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Stakeholders

• Power Companies
• Motorists
• OPEC nations
• Car manufacturers
• Mechanics

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Three Gorges Dam

• Biggest construction project since the great wall

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The Facts

• 1.5 miles wide across on the Yangzi River in
  china
• 3rd longest river in the world
• 17 years to complete
• 1.2 million people displaced
• 400 mile long inundated lake
• 395 sq. miles inundated

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Ethical Issues

• Total environmental destruction of the inundated
  area
• River wildlife disruption
• Ships can now sail up the river
• Possible catastrophic disaster
• China would be heavily reliant on one single
  power source
• 1/9th of chinas power needs

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Utilitarianism

• Extremely efficient power supply
• Provides 250,000 construction related jobs
• People loose their property and homes in the
  inundated areas
• Any historical cultural sites are lost

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Kantism

• The people kicked out of their homes had their
  rights violated
• Under-compensated
• Extremely High buildup of silt
• Farmers downstream depend on nutrients from the
  silt

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The Common Good

• 1.2 million loose homes but 120 million get power
• Flood Control
• Better shipping power up and down river (better
  for industry)

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Stakeholders

• All persons in china
• Nearby nations because they can buy power from
  china
• Businesses

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Final Decision

• To sustain our demand for energy turning to
  renewable clean energy sources is inevitable

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Resources

• National Renewable Energy Labs http//www.nrel.gov
  
• Alternate Energy Institute http//www.altenergy.or
  g
• How Stuff Workshttp//www.howstuffworks.com
• Foundation for Water and Energy Education
  http//www.fwee.org
• Her Electric Vehicle http//www.herelectricvehicle
  .org
• New York Times http//www.nytimes.com
• Dictionary.com http//www.dictionary.com