Electricity Production

World Wide Energy Production 15.2% alternative 84.8% fossil fuels

U.S. Energy Consumption The four primary consumers of energy in the U.S. in 2007 were Industrial32% Transportation28% Residential22% Commercial18% 93% of the energy generated and used in the U.S. are from nonrenewable resources

World-wide, with the exception of coal, which has known reserves that will last a couple of centuries, the known reserves of oil are expected to be exhausted in your lifetime... Clearly, alternative energy sources are needed for the future Alternative Energy Sources

Solar Energy The Sun is free (nobody owns or controls it) In principle, the amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth’s surface could provide for all human energy needs forever

Solar Energy Currently, solar energy provide less that 0.5% of the U.S. power needs, but even with existing technology, it could provide up to 15%

Solar Electricity In summation, to make solar energy truly useful for large-scale power generation: We need more efficient solar cells We need a means of better storing electricity

Geothermal Power Magma rising from the mantles brings unusually hot material near the surface Heat from the magma, in turn, heats any groundwater This is the basis for generating geothermal energy

Geothermal Power The steam and/or hot water is used to create electricity or for heating

Three Gorges Dam The dam is 185 meters (600 feet) high and 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) wide It has 26 hydroelectric power generators with a collective generating capacity of about 18,000 megawatts (the average nuclear power plant generates about 1000 megawatts)

Hydropower One-third (33%) of all power plants in the U.S. are hydroelectric, but they only generate 6% of U.S. electricity needs

Hydropower A cross-section of a typical hydroelectric dam Water flows down the penstock, turns the turbine blades which power the generators

Hydropower Water use for generating hydroelectric power is totally dependent on the available water (duh!!) The Glen Canyon Dam in Utah is the classic example of building too big of dam for not enough water

Wind energy has been utilized for thousands of years Wind Energy

The wind is free, commonly available and can provide clean, pollution- free energy Today’s wind-turbines are very high tech Wind Energy

In most places, the cost of commercial wind power on a large scale is not now economically competitive with conventionally generated electricity One important factor is that with a doubling of wind speed, power output increases by a factor of 8 Wind Energy

The numbers indicate the percentage of 1990 regional electricity demand that full utilization of wind energy could meet Clearly, the great plains have significant wind energy potential Wind Energy

U.S. wind power capacity from 1981 to 2002 Wind Energy

U.S. wind power capacity from 1996 to 2008 Wind Energy

The U.S. remains the world leader in wind energy, but Europe has embarked on an very ambitious wind-power development program Wind Energy It is predicted that by 2030, wind energy will supply at least twice the electricity it does now

It would take about 1000 one-million watt windmills to equal the energy output of one sizable fossil fuel power plant Wind Energy Limitations The windmills can be noisy And they are hard on migrating birds