INTRODUCTION TO RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES Energy sources which are continuously being replenished by nature.

INTRODUCTION TO RENEWABLE ENERGY

SOURCESEnergy sources which are

continuously being replenished by nature

ATOM

PROTON ELECTRONS

NEUTRON

N NE

E

ELECTRICITY

An electric current is created when electrons flow through a wire. Electric current can power things like our computers and TV sets.

ELECTRICITY

ELECTRICITY HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN……….

to your house

…fueled by coal, oil or natural gas,

generated,

G

transformed,

Tand

distributed

Brainstorm sources of electricity.

Which are renewable and which are non-renewable?

SOLAR

…THEY NEED OUR HELP!Keep America

Clean! Recycle Use Natural

Resources

TTransformer

Your Home

NATURAL AND RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY

Distribution Lines

Biogas

Wind

Biomass

Geothermal

Hydroelectric

GGenerator

SOLAR

ENERGY

SOLUTIONS

Solar Energy is light and heat energy that comes from the sun.

PHOTO + VOLT = PHOTOVOLTAIC[LIGHT] [UNIT [ELECTRICITY OF PRODUCED ELECTRICITY] FROM LIGHT]

http://www.aps.com/

Photovoltaics: The direct conversion of sunlight to electricity

SOLAR CELL

INVERTER

TRANSFORMER

POWER LINES

PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANTS

Scottsdale Covered Parking:

Prescott Airport:

Glendale Airport:

SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANTS

10,000,000 Watts Solar II Experimental Power Plant, California

25,000 Watts Dish/Stirling Engine System, Arizona

1,000,000 Watts Parabolic Trough Power Plant, Arizona

HOW DOES GEOTHERMAL HEAT GET UP TO EARTH'S SURFACE?

Heat comes from hot liquid magma.

Magma is Hot liquid rock

Magma or very hot rock

Steamboat Geyser

Old FaithfulGeysers at Yellowstone

National Park

http://en.wikipedia.org

www.nps.gov

An example of how the heat rises from the earth

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN ARIZONA

IDENTIFY THE LOCATIONS WHERE GEOTHERMAL COULD BE.

Picture from www.EnergyAtlas.org

HOW DO YOU CONVERT WIND INTO ELECTRICITY?

The transformer changes the voltage to match the voltage on the power lines before it is sent to your house

Rotor Diameter

GeneratorGearbox

GNacelle

Tower

T

Transformer

The wind hits the rotor, the rotor spins the generators making electrical energy from mechanical energy

WIND FARMS

WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN THESE TYPES OF WINDMILLS?

BIOMASS ENERGY FROM ARIZONA FORESTS

1. Left alone, forests become thick with trees and forest litter.

2. Underburns known as ground fires help clear the forest floors so that grass grows and large trees survive.

3. Underburns also prevent more damaging fires that spread across the top of the trees.

4. The top of tree fires spread quickly and are much more difficult to fight. They leave burnt land that can take years to replenish.

5. Sometimes fire makes seeds grow, but sometimes the forest has to be replanted to speed the return of trees.

THE BEGINNING

What other damage can happen from forest fires?

Wild fires and bark beetles create biomass that can be used to generate electricity.

THE BEGINNINGS OF BIOMASS

Biomass was the first fuel mankind used for energy.

CLEANER

THAN

COAL

AVAILABLE BEFORE

OIL

MORENATUREFRIENDLY THAN NATURAL GAS

Burning wood was used for warmth and cooking, as well as keeping wild animals away

THE BALANCE OF BIOMASS

Biomass generates far less emissions than fossil fuels

CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) is released by burning biomass and is used by other plants to make food.

CO2

CO 2

CO

2CO 2

CO2

Use Biomass,

get less

Greenhouse

Gas

GREENHOUSE GAS

MORE

LESS

FOS

SIL

FU

EL

BIO

MA

SS

BALANCE OF BIOMASS

Plants take in CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) and make oxygen.

When biomass is burned, it uses oxygen to make CO2

This is the balance of biomass

BIOMASS ENERGY COMES FROMplant, human or animal derived organic matter

that is eaten, burnt, or converted into fuel.

Wood from trees, agriculture, wood factory waste, and the construction industry

Burnt wood from forest fires

Animals and animal droppings

BIOGAS

OrganicWaste

Material+ Decomposition = Biogas

VegetationManureSewage

Landfill Garbage

Breaking down, or changing, from a solid into a liquid

or a gas

Methanerich

flammablegas

NATURE CREATES BIOGAS

Nature creates biogas from rotting plants around ponds and

wetlands

As this methane gas is released into the atmosphere it creates an invisible ceiling which traps the heat from the sun.

METHANE

Rotting Vegetation

MAN-MADE BIOGAS (LANDFILLS)

To prevent methane from escaping into the atmosphere, it is collected and burned in a flare stack

Escaping methane can destroy nearby vegetation.

What else will we lose as a result of losing plants and trees?

MAN-MADE BIOGAS (SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT)

Sewage treatment plants clean sewage water

producing large amounts of methane

that can be flared or turned into electricity

Close-up of Flares

Sewage Water

Sewage Digester

HYDROELECTRIC POWER

Hydro means water in Latin. It is the most often used source of renewable energy to make electricity.

Water is constantly moving through a cycle: Water vapor rises into the atmosphere through evaporation from lakes and oceans and transpiration from plants and trees. It condenses to form clouds. Then rain or snow falls back to the earth to the oceans and lakes.

WATER

Evaporation

Condensation

LakeRain

Transpiration is the evaporation of water into the atmosphere from the leaves and stems of plants

Transpiration

The energy of water moving downstream from the rain and snow to a reservoir or lake goes to a large dam which has engines and turbines that make electricity.

Another source of hydroelectricity is tidal electricity which uses the tides from the ocean to make electricity.

HOW HYDROPOWER WORKS

Solar

Wind

Geothermal

Pros and Cons of Renewable Energy

– Continuous– Abundant– Portable– Modular

– Need storage, – Peaks at solar noon, – Most expensive of renewable energy

sources

– Cheapest of the renewable energies today

– Not always near transmission lines

– intermittent power

– Can provide heat and cooling

– Continuous

– Not always near transmission lines– Not portable

PRO CON

Biomass

Biogas

Hydropower

– Can be transported to a generator for a continuous source of energy

– Always accessible, can provide energy 24 hours per day

– Distance to the fuel – Not always accessible

– Sources are limited in size

PRO CON

Pros and Cons of Renewable Energy

–Inexpensive–No Pollution –Lakes and reservoirs

can be used for recreation

–Dam construction is expensive–Damming rivers causes changes in

ecological cycles and surrounding landscapes

–There are a limited number of feasible sites for large dams

solar

Hot

Springs

Geothermal

Wind

YOURHOME

YOURHOME

The final destination

Hydroelectric Power