Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
% worldwide.
Of these,
wind is the largest, supplying about
Unites States, but less than
% of US electricity
in
, but has problems because it is intermittent and
the best sites are often not where the largest demand is.
Solar energy
is problem is that the Sun does not shine all
the time and no good method of storing electricity exists.
A new source of geothermal energy from deep, hot, dry
rock is being developed which, if successful, will allow a
big expansion of geothermal power, but it was tried in the
'
the jury is still out on this one. The
oceans are a harsh environment and ocean systems have
not worked so far. New technology is being tried. Biofuels
get a chapter of their own following this one. As of today
they probably do more harm than good, except perhaps
in Brazil. The potential of the next generation of
biofuels is uncertain because none of them are ready for
commercial-scale deployment and until they are no one
can evaluate their total impact.
Here, I will review each including what I see as the
associated issues that have to be addressed if the renew-
ables are to reach their potential. There is much that can
be done with present technology to increase their role,
but there are serious problems with costs. A phrase that is
used in the business of electricity generation is
s and failed
-
“
grid
parity
; how the renewables compete in cost with electri-
city from the power distribution grid that is generated
from the major sources; coal, gas, nuclear, and large-scale
”
Three good sources for more in-depth information about renewable
energy are the report of the REN
],
and the US Energy Information Administration website
http://www.eia.
doe.gov/fuelrenewable.html
. There are some differences in de
group [
], the OECD Factbook [
nition
relating to primary energy, so read the
fine print.
