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CHAPTER 12 Energy Considerations

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Overview Case Study: Power Plant for Surry, Virginia Background Energy Trends Energy Sources Environmental Impacts Infrastructure and Energy

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Case Study: Surry Power Plant Surry County is located near Richmond, VA Proposed $4 billion, 1,500 megawatt, coal power plant

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Case Study: Surry Power Plant Benefits Site has easy rail and highway access Coal is the most affordable means of production Coal is an important part of VAs economy Create 200 permanent jobs, 2,000 temporary jobs

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Case Study: Surry Power Plant Whats not to like? Chesapeake Bay Foundation concerned about: air and water pollution, increased CO, global warming, and failure to support clean energy Because of these roadblocks, the energy supply has trouble meeting the energy demands

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Background: Energy Concerns Demand for energy in the US is constantly increasing New power producing facilities are needed to meet demand Non-sustainable energy plants are the easiest and least expensive to build and maintain Even when benefits greatly outweigh negatives, approval is still hard to achieve because of environmental impacts

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Background: Mathematics Energy = Force x Distance Measured in Joules (J) or British Thermal Units (BTU) Power: The rate of energy use Measured in Watts (W) = J/sec

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Background: Mathematics Example 1: Estimate the number of households that can be supported by a 100 MW electrical power generating facility. Assume each household uses 1,000 kWh per month

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Background: Mathematics Solution 1: Use dimensional analysis to find the Watts per household Divide the total power plant output by the power per household to find the supported homes.

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Background: Mathematics Example 2: Household power usage is considered residential energy use, which is only 33% of the power a community needs. Power plants usually operate below full capacity in order to improve the lifespan of the plant. This plant only operates at 80%. Determine the actual number of households powered by the facility.

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Background: Mathematics Solution 2: Multiply the full capacity household by the plant output percentage, and the percentage delegated to residential use. Plant capacity percentageResidential use percetage

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Energy Trends

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Energy is used for transportation, industrial production, residential and commercial use, etc Total energy use includes both electricity and fuel Industrial demand decreased since 1990, why? Shift from industry to service economy Total energy consumption tripled since 1950 Need for more power plants evident

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Energy Trends: Predictions Use projections to estimate future demand Demand depends on population as well as total energy use Useful to look at energy us per capita

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Energy Trends: Predictions Two projections for total US energy use per capita If population increases but demand per individual decreases, total demand may remain constant

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Energy Sources Either Renewable or Non-renewable Non-renewable: Coal, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear Renewable: Wind, solar, biomass, hydropower

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Energy Sources

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Renewable Sources Accounts for approx. 10% of electrical generation 8% hydropower Expected to increase Societal shift to clean energy Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards Renewables aside from hydro expected to increase from 2% to 7% of total electricity production by 2030

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Energy Sources Non-Renewable Sources Coal is the most widely used Natural gas increase due to low price in the 1990s Nuclear power growth impeded by policy Disasters impact public eye Japan March 2011

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Energy Sources: Nuclear 20% of electricity in the US produced through nuclear power Minimal direct emissions 19 states have no nuclear power plants Large coal economy 6 states have over 50% of energy generated through nuclear power No new plants constructed since 1977

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Energy Sources: Nuclear Yucca Mountain Nuclear waste repository Cancelled in 2009 Under the Obama Administration funding for development of Yucca Mountain waste site was terminated The US GAO stated that the closure was for political, not technical or safety reasons. This leaves United States civilians without any long term storage site for high level radioactive waste

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Energy Sources: MSW MSW Municipal Solid Waste Source of energy through direct combustion WTEF Waste to Energy Facilities Facilities to combust the MSW to generate electricity More common in densely populated regions Can take the place of a 100 acre landfill in only a few acres Primary disadvantage is air pollution.

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Environmental Impacts Air Pollution Primary Contaminants CO 2 Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse gas NO x and SO x - Nitrogen and Sulfur oxides Acid rain and respiratory problems NO 2 - Nitrogen Dioxide ground level ozone formation (i.e. smog)

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Environmental Impacts Air Pollution Primary Contaminants (cont.) CO Health problems Hg Mercury Small amounts in coal yield high amounts in atmosphere Deposits in land and water, accumulates in fish VOCs volatile organic compounds Benzene Touline Vinyl Chlorides

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Environmental Impacts

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Energy and Infrastructure (E&I) Cost Capital costs O&M (operation and maintenace) Cost projections necessary to evaluate power plant feasibility Conservative projection: high cost of energy Risky projection: low cost of energy Must provide a range of projections due to changing prices of resources

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E&I: Transportation Population increased 70% since 1960 Fuel consumption more than tripled in same period Fuel consumption depends on miles traveled and fuel efficiency

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E&I: Buildings Buildings account for: 40% of total energy use 14% total water consumption 72% total electricity consumption 39% CO 2 emissions Green Buildings More energy efficient Some buildings being retrofitted for energy savings Payback Period: amount of time it takes for energy savings to surpass higher capital cost of green buildings

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E&I: Wastewater Treatment facilities very energy intensive due to pumping, aeration, etc Optimizing energy use: Proper equipment specification Installing more efficient pumps Potential to generate energy Organic solids removed from wastewater can be digested and produce methane Methane (CH 4 ) = natural gas

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E&I: Landfills Methane is produced in landfills Landfill: Ann Arbor, Michigan 7.5 year period 43,600 MWh produced Valued at $2.5 million Could power ~ 1000 homes End product is CO 2, however it emits no more than a coal plant of the same caliber