CHAPTER 12 Energy Considerations

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

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

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 VA’s economy  Create 200 permanent jobs, 2,000 temporary jobs

Case Study: Surry Power Plant  What’s 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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

Energy Trends

 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

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

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

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

Energy Sources

 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

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

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

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

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.

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)

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

Environmental Impacts

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

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

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

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

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