In one year, the University of Washington consumes about295 million kilowatt hours of electricity at a cost of $15 milliondollars. The diagram above shows how it is distributed.

* Building heat is provided by a steamplant powered with natural gas.

15 hydroelectric dams1 wind farm1 nuclear plant1 natural-gas plant1 coal-burning plant (not shown on map)

These 5 sources of electricity all use the samebasic process for converting movement intoelectrical current:

Wind, water, steam or hot air spins a turbine

The turbine spins a shaft

The shaft spins a loop of wires between magnets generating electrical current

1

2

3

How much do we use?

The Source of Our Power Electricity at the University of Washington

How Electricity is Generated?UW and green power...

Seattle City LightStandard Mix

UW fuel mix

+ =94% Standard SCLElectricity Mix

6%Green Power

100% UW electricity Mix

What is Green Power?“Green Power” is electricity from renewable or sustainable sources. Electric utilities across the country are offering the option of purchasing “green power” to replace electricity from non-renewable sources such as coal or natural gas. When Seattle City Light customers buy“green power”, the funds go to purchase additional electricity from the Stateline WindFarm and other renewable energy projects.

6% of the power supplied by Seattle City Light (SCL) comes from non-renewable sources. To counter this, the University of Washingtonpurchases this amount of additional wind power:

1 UW electricity

WASHINGTON

Where is it From?The map above shows where the electricity used at the University of Washington comes from:

2%

12%

16%

35%

35% Ventilation Fans

Lights

Laboratory/Process Equipment

Air Chilling

Computers/Office Equipment

Newhalem Dam

Diablo DamGorge Dam

Main Canal Dam

Ross Dam

South Fork Tolt DamCedar Falls Dam

Boundary Dam

Box Canyon Dam

Summer Falls Dam

RD Smith EtopiaBranch Canal Dam

Priest Rapids Dam

Potholes East Canal 66 Dam

Stateline Wind Project

Klamath Falls Combustion Turbine(Natural Gas)

Columbia Generating Station (Nuclear)

Lucky Peak Dam (Idaho)

84.4%

9.3%4.3%.85%

1.0%

where is it from 2

Greenhouse gas emissions

Coal

Natural Gas

1850 2006

Mining & Milling Uranium

NATURAL GASA Cleaner Fossil Fuel

Last coal-fired Power PlantCentralia, WA(currently operating)

Last coal mine closedCentralia, WA

Last underground coal mineclosed, Ravensdale, WA

Cogeneration for Efficiency

Conventional: Power Plant + Heat Plant

Cogeneration (Heat & Electricity)

electricity

electricity

useful heat

useful heat

waste (mostly heat)

waste

waste

Power Plant

Heat Plant

The University of Washington’s natural gas-generated electricity comes from a cogeneration facility in Oregon. The plant produces both electricity and heat for nearby buildings resulting in greater efficiency:

Per kilowatt produced, natural gas releases about halfthe amount of greenhouse gases as coal

fuel

+

Spent nuclear fuel is hazardous for tens of thousands ofyears - an enormous length of time in human history:

8,000 BCE today

Storing Waste - 10,000 years

Dawn of Agriculturepopulation:5 million

1974

NUCLEAR POWERTroubling Legacy

fuelFirst Coal Discovered in Washington StateBellingham, WA

Information Agepopulation: 6.6 billion

12000

?

enough natural gas to fill

51 Blimps

fuel

enough natural gas to fill

927 Blimps

Mining and milling uranium have significant environmental impacts and the sandy material left behind after millingcontains hazardous radioactive material.

Reactors partially built, then demolished

Completed, operational reactor

2,250-2,500 poundsof typical uranium ore

Nuclear Power in WashingtonIn the 1950s-1970s there were plans to build 5 nuclear reactors in Washington. After extreme costs overruns and public response, construction ceased on all but one.

1.2 pounds of nuclear fuel

must be milled to produce

6.3%non-renewable

91.2%non-renewable

University of Washington

United States Average

Burning coal releases CO2, NOx, SO2, mercury, nickel, arsenic, and small particulates. Seattle City Light, the UW’s electric utility does not own or operate coal-fired power plants, but they do purchase a small amount of power from other sources which do.

COAL: The Dirtiest Fuel

93.7% renewable

8.8% renewable

enough coal to fill

586 Coal Cars

49.7 % coal

9.3% nuclear

18.7% natural gas

enough coal to fill

10 Coal Cars

.5 cubic foot nuclear fuel

3 %petroleum

1.1 cubic feet nuclear fuel

=

Limited Supply: Non-Renewable Fuels at theUniversity of Washington

2x

Nuclear power is plagued by concerns about the challenges of safely managing radioactive wastes.

Actual Fuel Consumption (per year)

Comparison (if the UW fuel mix matched the national average)

Coal in WashingtonCoal was mined in western Washington for 156 years. Due to abundant hydropower resources, it has never been a major source of electricity.

3 UW electricity non-renewables 4

size of Stateline’s turbines

Unlimited Supply Wind Power produces no emissions, consumes no non-renewable fuels, and has minimal impacts on the surrounding ecology. New wind turbines are beinginstalled across the country - unlike hydropower, there is significant potential for new wind power generation.

*wind farm

All of the wind power supplied to the University of Washington comes from the Stateline Wind Farm - the largest wind farm in the United States.

When a photon hits the surface where these plates meet, it knocks an electron free. The electron moves toward the attractive side

A panel has 2 plates of silicon: 1 modified to be receptive to electrons, 1 modified to easily release electrons

This sets off a chain reaction of electron movements through metal plates and attached wires - an electrical current

1

2

3

-

There are two solar panel installations at the University of Washington:

To generate all of the University’s electricity using the type of solar panels installed on Merrill Hall would require covering an area the size of campus (yellow box on map). While this is unrealistic, adding solar power generation features to buildings is not. The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program predicts that in the future, all buildings will include energy-generating technologies.

The University’s power comes from 15 dams, but if weimagined that all of the power came from one dam, Diablo Dam on the Skagit River, we can get a sense of how much hydropower the UW consumes:

Water Power

Hydropower and Washington State

The Power of a Dam

Hydroelectric power consumes no fuel and produces no emissions (once the dam is built). However, large dams profoundly alter the ecology of the river and surrounding area.

Harvesting Wind

Stateline Wind Farm

Sun in Seattle Solar Panels at the UW

...how many panels?

Diablo is 389 feet tall and produces

245 feet tall

8x the heightof a goal post

The UW consumes257 million kWh ofhydropower per year -60% of Diablo’s output

Characteristics of Diablo Dam

Solar electricity produces no emissions, consumesno nonrenewable fuels and has minimal impactson the local ecology. 2

1Merrill Hall, the Urban Horticulture Center (one of many “green” features of this building)

Mechanical engineering building(the first UW installation, intendedas an educational showpiece)

...land useInstalling wind turbines does conflict with otheruses of the land. The Stateline land is privately owned farmland used for growing wheat and grazingbeef cattle. The farmer is paid approximately$2,000/year for each turbine.

Washington’s unique geologic and topographic characteristics createideal conditions for hydroelectric dams. In 2007, the state produced 32% of all hydropower in the US.

1

2

435 million kWh per year

It takes 18 turbines to produce the wind power the UW consumes.

Two of these turbines could fit within the Husky Stadium.

nonrenewables

84.4%Hydroelectric249 million kWh per year

National Average: 6.5% hydroelectric

9.3%Wind

27 million kWh per year

(.004% Solar)

National Average: 0.8% wind

1902 1941 1967

1940s 1900s 2000s Much of the hydropower potential of the country has been exploited.The percentage of electricity from hydropower has decreased as electricity consumption has increased.

40% 33% 10%

= hydroelectric dam

Grand Coulee Dam (1941)Not only the largestdam, but the largestpower plant in the country

Boundary Dam (1967)Supplies almost half of Seattle’s electricity

Snoqualmie Falls Dam (1902)Washington’s first large hydroelectric dam.

Portion of UW electricity from renewable sources(and contrast with US equivalents)

What it takes to produce 276 million kilowatt hours of renewable electricity renewables 6 5 UW electricity

dimensions of a Stateline wind turbine

photo used with permission from Seattle City Light