ADVANCE ENERGY

TECHNOLOGY

TEAM 4U - 4
Correos, Stephene R.
Espina, Glide M.
Porio, Jodie M.
 Republic of the Philippines
Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
College of Engineering
Tibanag, 9200 Iligan City, P.O. Box Nos. (063) 221-4050 Loc. 130

ADVANCE ENERGY
TECHNOLOGY

TEAM 4U - 4
Correos, Stephene R.
Espina, Glide M.
Porio, Jodie M.
 ADVANCE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

I. ENERGY
A. Energy Discovery
B. Different Forms of Energy
a.) Thermal/ heat energy
b.) Chemical energy
c.) Electrical energy
d.) Electrochemical energy
e.) Electromagnetic energy
f.) Sound energy
g.) Nuclear energy

II. ADVANCE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

A. History of Energy Technology
B. Sources of Energy
a.) Non-Renewable Energy
i. Fossil Fuels
ii. Nuclear Energy
b.) Renewable Energy
i. Solar Power
ii. Hydropower
iii. Wind Power
iv. Geothermal Energy
v. Biomass
vi. Tidal Power

III. ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS AND INNOVATIONS

A. Solar Power
B. Hydropower
C. Wind Power

IV. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

A. Fossil Fuels
B. Nuclear Energy
C. Solar Energy
D. Hydropower
E. Wind Energy
F. Geothermal Energy
G. Biomass
H. Tidal Power
ENERGY
I. ENERGY
What is energy?
Energy is in everything – it is often described as ‘the ability to do work’.

Almost all food energy comes originally from sunlight. The chemical elements that make
up the molecules of living things pass through food webs and are combined and re-
combined. At each link, some energy is stored, but much is lost along the way in the form
of heat into the environment.

ENERGY DISCOVERY

The word “energy” has the Greek origin “Enérgeia”. Developed by Aristotle, Enérgeia has
no direct translation to English, although it is frequently described as “being at work”.

Energy was first used in the English language in the 1660s, referring to power.

Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)

Although the term “energy” first emerged in its current capacity

in the 19th century, the ideas behind the concept started forming
at the end of the 17th century.

By 1686, Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, had already developed

concepts that correspond to our current understanding of kinetic
and potential mechanical energy.

However, he didn’t use the term “energy”.

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646 – 1716)

The word “energy” was first introduced to physics in 1800 by

Thomas Young, but the term did not gain popularity.

Thomas Young later established the wave nature of light

through interference experiments.

Thomas Young (1773 – 1829) Gustave Gaspard de Coriolis (1792 − 1843)

Jean-Victor Poncelet (1788 − 1867)

The term “work” was defined in 1828/29 by Gustave Gaspard

de Coriolis and Jean Victor Poncelet.

In the years 1842-1847, Julius Robert von Mayer, James

Prescott Joule, and Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz
discovered and formulated the following statement that we
refer to today as the law of conservation of energy:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transformed from one form to
another.

Instead of the word “energy”, they used the terms “living force” and “tensional force” or
“fall-force”.

Julius Robert von Mayer (1814 − 1878) James Prescott Joule(1818 −

1889)

Hermann von Helmholtz (1821 − 1894)

In 1851-1852, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and William J. M. Rankine introduced the
term “energy” to replace related terms using the word “force” in all branches of science.

Finally, in 1905 Albert Einstein established the general equivalence between energy and
mass with the theory of relativity. From there, the concept of “energy” was generalized
into the form used today.
William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)(1824 − 1907) William J. M. Rankine (1820
− 1872)

Albert Einstein (1879 − 1955)

Everyday expressions such as “energy production” or

“renewable energy” contradict the energy conservation
law, which says that energy cannot be created or
destroyed. The scientific definition of energy by the law of
energy conservation also doesn’t help us understand
expressions like “an energetic person”.

However, this phrase provides some direction for an

everyday definition of energy, which harkens back to that
of Aristotle:

“Energy is a condition that describes the capacity to do work.”

FORMS OF ENERGY

There are two basic forms of energy:

KINETIC ENERGY AND POTENTIAL ENERGY

Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses by virtue of its motion. It is given in a
formula which is E (kinetic) = ½mv2 while potential energy is a measure of work an object
or system can exert on another object or system. E = mgh

a. Chemical energy

Chemical energy is the energy that is stored in bonds of compounds. The energy is
released by chemical reaction. Example of this is fruits, fruit is a source of glucose which
breakdown inside the body giving energy that we use to move or work.

b. Electrical Energy

From the word electric this means movement of electric charges. Example of this is the
electricity.

c. Electrochemical Energy
It is an energy which converts electrical energy to chemical energy and vice versa. So
example of this is the battery in which electrochemical reactions occur. When using it in
a flashlight, from chemical energy it transforms to electrical and the opposite one
happens when recharging the battery.

d. Electromagnetic energy

A form of energy that is reflected or emitted from objects in the form of electrical and
magnetic waves that can travel through space.

Examples are gamma rays ultraviolet rays, infrared rays.

e. Radiant Energy

The energy that travels by waves or particles in a form of light. This energy is applied in
radio therapy.

f. Sound energy

These are from sound waves. Sound waves that are

compression waves associated with the potential and
kinetic energy of air molecules. Example is when you
strum the strings of the guitar, the vibration and shaking
of the string compresses the air nearby, giving air
potential energy. That air then expands transforming the potential energy to kinetic
energy which is a moving air producing sound.
g. Nuclear Energy

This energy is formed through nuclear reaction such as nuclear fission and fusion.
Uranium is the common fuel for nuclear energy.
ADVANCE ENERGY
TECHNOLOGY
II. ADVANCE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

Energy technology is an interdisciplinary engineering science having to do with the

efficient, safe, environmentally friendly and economical extraction, conversion,
transportation, storage and use of energy.

HISTORY OF ENERGY TECHNOLOGY

In the pre industrialization, our energy needs were modest. For heat, we relied on the
sun—and burned wood, straw, and dried dung when the sun failed us. For transportation,
the muscle of horses and the power of the wind in our sails took us to every corner of the
world. Water and wind drove the simple machines that ground our grain and pumped our
water.

2000 BC - Chinese First to Use Coal as an Energy Source

"According to the report of an early missionary to China, coal was already being burned
there for heating and cooking, and had been so employed for up to 4000 years. Likewise,
in early medieval Europe, the existence of coal was no secret, but the 'black stone' was
regarded as an inferior fuel because it produced so much soot and smoke... Thus, until
the 13th century, it was largely ignored in favor of wood.

As wood shortages began to appear, poor people began heating their homes by burning
coal."

200 BC - Chinese Develop Natural Gas as an Energy Source

"The first practical use of natural gas dates to 200 BCE and is attributed, like so many
technical developments, to the Chinese. They used it to make salt from brine in gas-fired
evaporators, boring shallow wells and conveying the gas to the evaporators via bamboo
pipes."

200 BC - Europeans Harness Water Energy to Power Mills

"The vertical waterwheel, invented perhaps two centuries before the time of Christ,
spread across Europe within a few hundred years. By the end of the Roman era,
waterwheels powered mills to crush grain, full cloth, tan leather, smelt and shape iron,
saw wood, and carry out a variety of other early industrial processes. Productivity
increased, dependence on human and animal muscle power gradually declined, and
locations with good water-power resources became centers of economic and industrial
activity."

1st Century - Chinese First to Refine Petroleum (Oil) for Use as an Energy Source

"More than 2,000 years ago, our ancestors discovered oil seepages in many places in
northwest China. A book titled Han Book Geography Annals written by a historian of the
Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Gu (32-92 AD), wrote of flammables in the Weishui River.
Located at the east of the Yanan city, the river now is called the Jian.

There was also a detailed description about petroleum in the famous Sketch Book at
Meng Xi written by the distinguished scientist Sheng Kuo (1031-1095). He reported that
there was a lot of oil in the subsurface, 'and it is inexhaustible.'

Long ago, our ancestors already applied petroleum for lamps, as lubricants, in medicine
and for military actions. Similarly, the technology of heating and evaporating brine from
flowing brine wells for producing edible salt was also developed more than a thousand
years ago (East Jin Dynasty, 347 AD) in China."

10th Century - Windmills Built in Persia to Grind Grain and Pump Water

"For the tenth century, we have material proof that windmills were turning in the blustery
Seistan region of Persia. These primitive, vertical carousel-type mills utilized the wind to
grind corn, and to raise water from streams to irrigate gardens... [T]heir use soon spread
to India, other parts of the Muslim world, and China, where farmers employed them to
pump water, grind grain, and crush sugarcane."

1590s - Dutch Build Windmills for Multiple Uses

"The mill reached its greatest size and its most efficient form in the hands of the Dutch
engineers toward the end of the sixteenth century... The Dutch provinces... developed
the windmill to the fullest possible degree: it ground the grain produced on the rich
meadows, it sawed the wood... and it ground the spices...

Above all, the windmill was the chief agent in land reclamation. The threat of inundation
by the sea led these North Sea fishermen and farmers to attempt not only to control the
water itself, but by keeping it back, to add to the land...

Once the dykes were built, however, the problem was how to keep the area under the
level of the sea clear of water: the windmill... was the means of raising the water of the
rising streams and canals: it maintained the balance between the water and the land that
made life possible in this precarious situation."
1712 - First Steam Engine Developed in England to Pump Water Out of Coal Mines

"By 1700 [coal] mine shafts were as deep as 200 feet. There were problems down there
with gases and especially with flooding... Muscle, animal and human, and sometimes
watermills and windmills were put to work lifting the water out of the mines, but it was
an endless battle that technology circa 1700 could not win...

Coal, the Carboniferous legacy of stored sunlight, would solve that problem. Coal would
be burned to power the heat engine...

[Thomas] Newcomen... built a steam machine close by a coal shaft... in 1712...

Newcomen's first machine made twelve strokes a minute, raising 10 gallons of water with
each stroke. Its strength is estimated at 5.5 horsepower, not impressive to us, but the 'fire
engine,' as it was sometimes called, was a sensation in power-starved Britain and Europe.
Soon there were scores of Newcomen engines, most nodding at the pitheads of Britain's
mines, which now could be dug twice as deep as before. In 1700, Britain produced 2.7
million metric tons of coal; in 1815, 23 million tons. That sum was twenty times in energy
equivalent what the existing woodlands of Britain could produce in a year...

Thomas Newcomen's invention was the first machine to provide significantly large
amounts of power not derived from muscle, water, or wind... If I were to attempt anything
so simple-minded as to pick a birthday for the industrial revolution, it would be the first
day that Newcomen's machine began operating in 1712."

1748 - First Commercial Coal Production in US Begins in Richmond, Virginia

"In 1701, coal was found by Huguenot settlers on the James River in what is now
Richmond, Virginia. By 1736, several 'coal mines' were shown on a map of the upper
Potomac River near what is now the border of Maryland and West Virginia.
The first coal 'miners' in the American colonies were likely farmers who dug coal from
beds exposed on the surface and sold it by the bushel. In 1748, the first commercial coal
production began from mines around Richmond, Virginia. Coal was used to manufacture
shot, shell, and other war material during the Revolutionary War.

By the late 1700s, coal was being mined on 'Coal Hill,' now Mount Washington in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dug from the steep hillsides, the coal was used by early settlers
to heat their homes and sent across the Monongahela River in canoes to provide fuel for
the military garrison at Fort Pitt."

1800 - Process of Electrolysis Discovered

"English scientists William Nicholson and Sir Anthony Carlisle discovered that applying
electric current to water produced hydrogen and oxygen gases. This process was later
termed ‘electrolysis’.”

The discovery of electrolysis was an important historical step in the development of

hydrogen energy and the hydrogen fuel cell.

1821 - First Natural Gas Well in US Is Drilled

"In 1821, the first well specifically intended to obtain natural gas was dug in Fredonia,
New York, by William Hart. After noticing gas bubbles rising to the surface of a creek, Hart
dug a 27 foot well to try and obtain a larger flow of gas to the surface. Hart is regarded by
many as the 'father of natural gas' in America...

During most of the 19th century, natural gas was used almost exclusively as a source of
light. Without a pipeline infrastructure, it was difficult to transport the gas very far, or
into homes to be used for heating or cooking. Most of the natural gas produced in this
era was manufactured from coal, as opposed to transported from a well. Near the end of
the 19th century, with the rise of electricity, natural gas lights were converted to electric
lights."

1838 - First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Developed to Generate Electricity

"William Robert Grove (1811 -1896), a Welsh lawyer turned scientist, won renown for his
development of an improved wet-cell battery in 1838. The 'Grove cell,' as it came to be
called, used a platinum electrode immersed in nitric acid and a zinc electrode in zinc
sulfate to generate about 12 amps of current at about 1.8 volts...

In 1800, British scientists William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle had described the
process of using electricity to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen. But combining
the gases to produce electricity and water was, according to Grove, 'a step further that
any hitherto recorded.' Grove realized that by combining several sets of these electrodes
in a series circuit he might 'effect the decomposition of water by means of its
composition.' He soon accomplished this feat with the device he named a 'gas battery'–
the first fuel cell."

1860 - First Solar Power System Developed in France to Produce Steam to Drive
Machinery

"Worried by the possibility of fossil fuels, such as coal, running out, Augustine Mouchot
develops a solar powered steam generation system to drive industrial machinery.
Mouchot felt it was possible that the sun's heat could replace the burning of coal to run
Europe’s industries.

Mouchot's research into mirror technology led him to develop the first sun motor. The
sun motor used the heat from concentrated sunlight to produce steam which was used
to drive machinery.”

Sep. 4, 1882 - First Electric Plant Built by Thomas Edison in New York

"In New York he [Thomas Edison] built the first commercial electric utility near Wall
Street...

At 3pm on September 4, 1882, Edison threw the switch that would start up America's first
power plant, serving a square-mile area that included some very wealthy and influential
customers: J.P. Morgan, the Stock Exchange, and the nation's largest newspapers."

1888 - First Windmill to Generate Electricity Developed in Cleveland, Ohio

Charles F. Brush develops the world's first windmill that can generate electricity as
described in an 1890 issue of Scientific American:

"With the exception of the gigantic windmill and electric plant shown... we do not know
of a successful system of electric lighting operated by means of wind power.

The mill here shown, as well as all of the electrical apparatus used in connection with it...
have been designed and carried out according to the plans of Mr. Charles F. Brush, of
Cleveland Ohio...
The speed of the dynamo at full load is 500 revolutions per minute, and its normal
capacity at full load is 12,000 watts...

In the basement of Mr. Brush's house there are 408 secondary battery cells arranged in
12 batteries of 34 cells each...
The house is furnished with 350 incandescent lights... two arch lights and three electric
motors. It is found after continued use of this electric plant that the amount of attention
required to keep it in working condition is practically nothing. It has been in constant
operation more than two years, and has proved in every respect a complete success."

1905 - Albert Einstein Publishes First Theoretical Paper Describing the Photoelectric
Effect

In 1905 Albert Einstein publishes the first theoretical work describing the photovoltaic
effect titled "Concerning an Heuristic Point of View Toward the Emission and
Transformation of Light." In the paper "he showed that light possesses an attribute that
earlier scientists had not recognized. Light, Einstein discovered, contains packets of
energy, which he called light quanta...

1908 - Worlds First Flex Fuel Vehicle, the Ford Model-T, Goes into Mass Production

"Ethanol-fueled vehicles date back to the 1880s when Henry Ford designed a car that ran
solely on ethanol. He later built the first flex fuel vehicle: a 1908 Model T designed to
operate on either ethanol or gasoline."

1921 - World's First Geothermal Power Plant Is Built in California

"The Geysers [72 miles north of San Francisco] were discovered in the early 1800's but
were an untapped energy source for many years... [In 1921] John D. Grant drilled a
geothermal well and ran a small direct-current generator which was used to provide
electricity for lighting The Geysers resort. However, because the materials used at that
time could not withstand the geothermal steam environment and because of the
difficulties of drilling for geothermal steam, this resource could not compete at that time
with other low-cost, easier-to-develop energy resources."

1935 - Hoover Dam, the World's Largest Hydroelectric Power Plant, Is Built

Hoover Dam is completed on the Colorado River in Arizona in 1935, four years after
construction began in 1931. At the time of its completion, the Hoover Dam was the largest
hydroelectric producer in the world. The dam remains the largest producer of
hydroelectricity in the world until 1948.

Dec. 1942 - First Controlled Nuclear Chain Reaction

"As the world went to war in the 1940s, [Physicist Enrico] Fermi and other physicists in
Europe and America came to understand that a uranium atom split by a neutron would
cause a self-perpetuating chain reaction of atom splitting that would release enormous
energy. This process, called nuclear fission, suggested possible military applications, and
Fermi and his colleagues at Columbia University joined with Albert Einstein to persuade
the U.S. Government to study the idea. Meanwhile, at Columbia, Fermi sought to develop
a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction. In 1942, when President Franklin Roosevelt
authorized the 'Manhattan Project,' Fermi's work was relocated to the University of
Chicago, where in December of that year, he and his team achieved the first controlled
nuclear chain reaction."
Mar. 28, 1979 - Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident in Pennsylvania Creates Widespread
Public Opposition to Nuclear Power

"On March 28, 1979, an accident at one of the reactors at Three Mile Island near
Middletown, in Pennsylvania, closed the era of rosy optimism about nuclear power. The
accident began when the coolant flow stopped, various mechanisms malfunctioned, and
the operators lost control of what was happening. There was enough uncontrolled
radioactivity to make heat for explosions and a meltdown. The interaction of melting
metals (including 50 percent of the core) and the coolant steam produced something
unforeseen: a large hydrogen bubble. It could have exploded, conceivably splitting the
containment dome and spreading radioactive dust over considerable areas of the thickly
populated East Coast of the United States; but it didn't. Some radioactive materials
escaped into the atmosphere, but most stayed put. There were no immediate casualties
or, according to careful investigations years later, any in the long run. Thousands of
people in the vicinity of the reactor were evacuated. The cleanup took years and cost
millions of dollars.

Opposition to nuclear power soon became nearly as widespread as opposition to nuclear

bombs."

Also in 1960, First commercial scale geothermal electric plants in the US was built in
California

In the 1950s – 1970s, Gasoline was in demand since cars had also grew larger and heavier.

And up to the present, many developments are studied to increase efficiency and
especially the use of renewable energy to decrease usage of the non-renewable ones.
ENERGY RESOURCES

NONRENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

Energy sources are classified as nonrenewable because they do not form or replenish in
a short period of time. Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind replenish
naturally in a short period of time.

The four major nonrenewable energy sources are:

I. Fossil fuels: Crude oil, Natural gas and Coal

II. Uranium (nuclear energy)

Nonrenewable energy sources come out of the ground as liquids, gases, and solids. We
use crude oil to make liquid petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating
oil. Propane and other hydrocarbon gas liquids, such as butane and ethane, are found in
natural gas and crude oil.

Coal, crude oil, and natural gas are all considered fossil fuels because they were formed
from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

Uranium ore, a solid, is mined and converted to a fuel used at nuclear power plants.
Uranium is not a fossil fuel, but it is classified as a nonrenewable fuel.

I. FOSSIL FUELS
Coal – is made up from ferns, plants, trees, which hardened due to pressure and heat

Oil – is made up from small organisms where pressure cause the complex organic matter
to decompose

Natural Gas – is just the same as oil but more heat and pressure was applied causing it
decompose more into gas form.

Coal takes millions of years to form.

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock with a high amount of

carbon and hydrocarbons. Coal is classified as a nonrenewable energy source because it
takes millions of years to form. Coal contains the energy stored by plants that lived
hundreds of millions of years ago in swampy forests.

The plants were covered by layers of dirt and rock over millions of years. The resulting
pressure and heat turned the plants into the substance we call coal.

Types of coal

Coal is classified into four main types, or ranks: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous,
and lignite. The ranking depends on the types and amounts of carbon the coal contains
and on the amount of heat energy the coal can produce. The rank of a coal deposit is
determined by the amount of pressure and heat that acted on the plants over time.

Anthracite contains 86%–97% carbon, and generally has the highest heating value of all
ranks of coal. Anthracite accounted for less than 1% of the coal mined in the United States
in 2015. All of the anthracite mines in the United States are in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Anthracite is mainly used by the metals industry.
Bituminous coal contains 45%–86% carbon. Bituminous coal in the United States is
between 100 and 300 million years old. Bituminous coal is the most abundant rank of coal
found in the United States, and it accounted for 45% of total U.S. coal production in 2015.
Bituminous coal is used to generate electricity and is an important fuel and raw material
for making iron and steel. West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Indiana were
the five main bituminous coal-producing states in 2015, accounting for 73% of total
bituminous production.

Subbituminous coal typically contains 35%–45% carbon, and it has a lower heating value
than bituminous coal. Most subbituminous coal in the United States is at least 100 million
years old. About 47% of total U.S. coal production in 2015 was subbituminous and nearly
90% was produced in Wyoming.

Lignite contains 25%–35% carbon and has the lowest energy content of all coal ranks.
Lignite coal deposits tend to be relatively young and were not subjected to extreme heat
or pressure. Lignite is crumbly and has high moisture content, which contributes to its low
heating value. Lignite accounted for 8% of total U.S. coal production in 2015. About 90%
of total lignite production is mined in Texas and North Dakota in 2015, where it is mostly
used to generate electricity. A facility in North Dakota also converts lignite to synthetic
natural gas and pipes it to natural gas consumers in the eastern United States.

What is natural gas?

Natural gas occurs deep beneath the earth's surface. Natural gas consists mainly of
methane, a compound with one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. Natural gas also
contains small amounts of hydrocarbon gas liquids and nonhydrocarbon gases. We use
natural gas as a fuel and to make materials and chemicals.
How did natural gas form?

Millions of years ago, the remains of plants and animals (diatoms) decayed and built up
in thick layers, sometimes mixed with sand and silt. Over time, these layers were buried
under sand, silt, and rock. Pressure and heat changed some of this organic material into
coal, some into oil (petroleum), and some into natural gas. In some places, the natural gas
moved into large cracks and spaces between layers of overlying rock. In other places,
natural gas occurs in the tiny pores (spaces) within some formations of shale, sandstone,
and other types of sedimentary rock, where it is referred to as shale gas or tight gas.
Natural gas also occurs in coal deposits, which is called coalbed methane.

How do we get natural gas?

Did you know?

Because natural gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, distributors add mercaptan (a
chemical that smells like sulfur) to give natural gas a distinct unpleasant odor (it smells
like rotten eggs). This added odor serves as a safety measure to help detect leaks in
natural gas pipelines.

Operators preparing a hole for the explosive charges used in seismic exploration

The search for natural gas begins with geologists who study the structure and processes
of the earth. They locate the types of rock that are likely to contain natural gas deposits.
Some of these areas are on land and some are offshore and deep under the ocean floor.

Geologists often use seismic surveys on land and in the ocean to find the right places to
drill wells. Seismic surveys on land use echoes from a vibration source at the surface of
the earth, usually a vibrating pad under a special type of truck.
Geologists can also use small amounts of explosives as a vibration source. Seismic surveys
conducted in the ocean rely on blasts of sound that create sonic waves to explore the
geology beneath the ocean floor.

If a site seems promising, an exploratory well is drilled and tested. Once a formation is
proven to be economic for production, one or more production (or development) wells
are drilled down into the formation, and natural gas flows up through the wells to the
surface. In the United States and a few other countries, natural gas is produced directly
from shale and other types of rock formations that contain natural gas in pores within the
rock. The rock formation is fractured by forcing water, chemicals, and sand down a well.
This releases the natural gas from the rock, and the natural gas flows up the well to the
surface. Wells drilled to produce oil may also produce associated natural gas.

The natural gas withdrawn from a well is called wet natural gasbecause it usually contains
liquid hydrocarbons and nonhydrocarbon gases. Methane and other useful gases are
separated from the wet natural gas near the site of the well or at a natural gas processing
plant. The processed natural gas is called dry or consumer-gradenatural gas. This natural
gas is sent through pipelines to underground storage fields or to distribution companies
and then to consumers.

Coal may contain coalbed methane, which can be captured when coal is mined. Coalbed
methane can be added to natural gas pipelines without any special treatment. Another
source of methane is biogas, which forms in landfills and in vessels called digesters.

What is crude oil and what are petroleum products?

Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons that formed from plants and animals that lived
millions of years ago. Crude oil is a fossil fuel, and it exists in liquid form in underground
pools or reservoirs, in tiny spaces within sedimentary rocks, and near the surface in tar
(or oil) sands. Petroleum products are fuels made from crude oil and other hydrocarbons
contained in natural gas. Petroleum products can also be made from coal, natural gas,
and biomass.

Products made from crude oil

After crude oil is removed from the ground, it is sent to a refinery where different parts
of the crude oil are separated into useable petroleum products. These petroleum
products include gasoline, distillates such as diesel fuel and heating oil, jet fuel,
petrochemical feedstocks, waxes, lubricating oils, and asphalt.

A U.S 42-gallon barrel of crude oil yields about 45 gallons of petroleum products in U.S.
refineries because of refinery processing gain. This increase in volume is similar to what
happens to popcorn when it is popped.

Process of coal

First it is mined from the location called coal seam layer, then the coal is sent to the coal
power plant in which it is burned to produce heat and steam. This heat and steam then
passes to a turbine generating mechanical energy which is then passed through a
generator for it to be converted into electrical energy and is then used by the consumers.
Fossil Fuel Plants (International)

Coal: Taichung Power Plant located in Taiwan

Located in the Longjing district of Taichung, Taiwan, the Taichung Power Plant is a coal-
fired power plant with an installed coal-fired generation capacity of 5,500 MW. Not only
is it the largest coal-fired power station in the world, it’s also the world’s largest emitter
of carbon dioxide (approximately 40 million tons annually).

Taichung Power Plant has a total installed capacity is 5,824 MW:

 4 gas-fired turbines (280 MW)

 10 coal-fired steam turbines (5,500 MW)
 22 wind turbines (44 MW)

The plant uses 12 million tons of bituminous and 2.5 million tons of sub-bituminous coal
a year. Under a 25-year power purchase agreement, Taipower buys 70% of the plant coal
supply through long-term contracts from Australia, United States, South Africa, Indonesia
and other sources. Indonesia is the prime source for the sub-bituminous coal. The
remaining 30% is purchased on the spot market.

Taipower plans to build two new 800 MW natural gas generation units. Over time, the
coal-fired units will be gradually retired.
 Oil: Jamnagar Refinery in India

The Jamnagar Refinery is a private sector crude oil refinery owned by Reliance
Industries in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. The refinery was commissioned on 14 July 1999
with an installed capacity of 668,000 barrels per day (106,200 m3/d) later Increased to
1,240,000 barrels per day (197,000 m3/d). It is currently the largest refinery in the world.

Natural Gas: Surgut-2 Power Station in Russia

The Surgutskaya GRES-2 (Surgut-2) combined cycle gas-fired power station is located in
the Russian city of Surgut in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra. With an
installed capacity of 5,597 MW, Surgut-2 is the biggest gas-fired power station in the
world.

Construction of Surgut-2 began in 1979. The necessity to construct the power plant was
caused by the rapid growth of the oil and gas production in the north Thymen region in
the early 1980s, which required a drastic increase in electric power generation.

The Surgut-2 power station consists of six 800 MW power units and two advanced gas-
fired combined cycle units. The first two power units of the plant were commissioned in
1985, and the last power unit of the plant was put into operation in 1988, resulting in an
installed capacity of 4,800 MW. In 2011, the power station was extended with two
combined cycle units, which were commissioned with a combined capacity of 797.1 MW.

Surgut-2 consumes approximately 10 billion m3 of natural gas annually, which mostly

comes from the oilfields in the Thymen region.

In 2014, the power station generated 37,886 kWh of electricity – supplying energy to
nearly 40% of the population in Russia.

The facility is owned and operated by E.ON Russia.

Fossil Fuel Plants in the Philippines

Coal: STEAG Coal Power plant located at Villanueva, Misamis Oriental

Oil: Pilipina Shell Refinery plant located at Batangas

Natural Gas: The National Power Corporation (NPC) owns the Natural Gas Combined
Cycle Power Station at Ilijan, Batangas
II. NUCLEAR ENERGY

Nuclear energy is energy in the core of an atom

Atoms are the tiny particles in the molecules that make up gases, liquids, and solids.
Atoms themselves are made up of three particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons.
An atom has a nucleus (or core) containing protons and neutrons, which is surrounded by
electrons. Protons carry a positive electrical charge and electrons carry a negative
electrical charge. Neutrons do not have an electrical charge. Enormous energy is present
in the bonds that hold the nucleus together. This nuclear energy can be released when
those bonds are broken. The bonds can be broken through nuclear fission, and this energy
can be used to produce electricity.

In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart, which releases energy. All nuclear power plants
use nuclear fission, and most nuclear power plants use uranium atoms. During nuclear
fission, a neutron collides with a uranium atom and splits it, releasing a large amount of
energy in the form of heat and radiation. More neutrons are also released when a
uranium atom splits. These neutrons continue to collide other uranium atoms, and the
process repeats itself over and over again. This process is called a nuclear chain reaction.
This reaction is controlled in nuclear power plant reactors to produce a desired amount
of heat.

Nuclear energy can also be released in nuclear fusion, where atoms are combined or
fused together to form a larger atom. Fusion is the source of energy in the sun and stars.
Nuclear fusion is the subject of ongoing research as a source of energy for heat and
electricity generation, but whether or not it will be a commercially viable technology is
not yet clear because of the difficulty in controlling a fusion reaction.

Nuclear fuel—uranium
Uranium is the fuel most widely used by nuclear plants for nuclear fission. Uranium is
considered a nonrenewable energy source, even though it is a common metal found in
rocks worldwide. Nuclear power plants use a certain kind of uranium, referred to as U-
235, for fuel because its atoms are easily split apart. Although uranium is about 100 times
more common than silver, U-235 is relatively rare.

Most U.S. uranium ore is mined in the western United States. Once uranium is mined, the
U-235 must be extracted and processed before it can be used as a fuel.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Japan

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant (柏崎刈羽原子力発電所 Kashiwazaki-

Kariwa genshiryoku-hatsudensho, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP) is a large, modern (housing
the world's first ABWR) nuclear power plant on a 4.2-square-kilometer (1,038 acres)
site including land in the towns of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa in Niigata Prefecture, Japan on
the coast of the Sea of Japan, from where it gets cooling water. The plant is owned and
operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

It is the largest nuclear generating station in the world by net electrical power rating.

It was approximately 19 km (12 mi) from the epicenter of the second strongest
earthquake to ever occur at a nuclear plant, the Mw 6.6 July 2007 Chūetsu offshore
earthquake. This shook the plant beyond design basis and initiated an extended
shutdown for inspection, which indicated that greater earthquake-proofing was needed
before operation could be resumed. The plant was completely shut down for 21 months
following the earthquake. Unit 7 was restarted after seismic upgrades on May 9, 2009,
followed later by units 1, 5, and 6. (Units 2, 3, 4 were not restarted).

After the March 11, 2011 earthquake, all restarted units were shut down and safety
improvements are being carried out. As of October 2017, no units have been restarted,
and the earliest proposed restart date is in April 2019 (for reactors 6 and 7).

Nuclear power plant in the Philippines

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant, completed but never fueled,
on Bataan Peninsula, 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Manila in the Philippines. It is located
on a 3.57 square kilometre government reservation at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan. It
was the Philippines' only attempt at building a nuclear power plant. It was mothballed
due to safety concerns in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Russia.

Controversy
Before, during, and after the construction of the BNPP, this power plant was surrounded
by controversy. From President Marcos's connection to Westinghouse, to the dispute of
General Electric and Westinghouse, to issues of following protocol during and after
construction, the BNPP faced many issues that led to criminal charges being brought
against Westinghouse. The whole controversy was described in detail by Dumaine two
years after the plant's completion.

One of the biggest controversies was the Marcos connection with Westinghouse. First,
Marcos requested that National Power Co. (the government owned electric utility)
negotiate a deal to buy two nuclear reactors. Westinghouse used connections to Marcos
to strike the deal. Already known to be more expensive than other options, the
Westinghouse contract jumped from $650 million for only one reactor to $2.2 billion.
Later, evidence of large sums of money going to President Marcos himself was found.
Westinghouse denied corruption accusations.

Another controversy was how Westinghouse was able to gain the contract over General
Electric. It is documented that National Power was negotiating with General Electric
before Westinghouse came into the picture. However, once the connections between
Westinghouse and the Marcos regime were established by Hermino Disini, a friend of the
president himself, General Electric appeared to be strung along, as thought they were still
in contention even though they actually were not. There is documentation that contract
negotiations began before General Electric could pitch its proposal to the government.

Additionally, there were issues during and after the construction of how Ebasco Services
(hired for safety testing) were observing protocol. Librado Ibe, Marcos' top nuclear expert
questioned Ebasco's work of checking the siting. He is documented as saying that he was
offered bribes to approve the site for construction and reluctantly did end up issuing the
construction permit in 1979. [3] After the construction was completed in 1984, William
Albert, an advisor from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was brought in by
new Aquino government to do inspections. Albert brought up issues of welding, working
hours, base plates, pipe hangers, water values, and transmission cables. He attibuted all
these shortcomings to quality control. Even though these issues were brought up to
National Power, who had the final say whether the plant was to be operable or not, there
is no evidence that the structural issues were dealt with appropriately.

Current News

Currently, there are talks about the Philippines reviving the BNPP. This is mainly because
of Philippine energy needs. [4] The talks about reopening the BNPP are being debated in
the Senate, and there are voices on both sides of the issue. Proponents for reinstating the
plant say that the energy source is cheap and that after the initial investment to upgraded
the plant and it can help with the issue of the supply of electricity. However, opponents
staunchly disagree saying that the revival of the plant is too expensive even to consider
and that the money would be better spent on other electricity generation projects.

Nevertheless, scientists are also still considering the plant's siting issues. There is still
uncertainty about the eruption history of Mt. Natib, a volcano only a few miles away.
Because of this problem and the proximity to active faults, seismologist are proposing to
set up more sensors to do testing before reconsidering opening the BNPP to electric
generation. [5] However, proponents of reinstating the plant as soon as possible point
out the the BNPP was allegedly built to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis. [1] It is clear
that the issue of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant will be talked about in the Philippines
for months and years to come as the country tries to deal with supplying electricity to a
continually growing population.
 RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable energy is energy produced from sources that do not deplete or can be
replenished within a human’s life time. The most common examples
include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower. This is in contrast to non-
renewable sources such as fossil fuels.

Most renewable energy is derived directly or indirectly from the sun. Sunlight can be
captured directly using solar technologies. The sun's heat drives winds, whose energy is
captured with turbines. Plants also rely on the sun to grow and their stored energy can
be utilized for bioenergy.

Not all renewable energy sources rely on the sun. For example, geothermal energy
utilizes the Earth’s internal heat, tidal energy relies on the gravitational pull of the moon,
and hydropower relies on the flow of water.

Renewable energy accounts for 13.5% of the world’s total energy supply, and 22% of the
world's electricity.

Renewable energy systems are a major topic when discussing the globe's energy future
for two main reasons:

1. Renewable energy systems provide energy from sources that will never deplete.
2. Renewable energy systems produce less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuel
energy systems.
While renewable energy systems are better for the environment and produce less
emissions than conventional energy sources, many of these sources still face difficulties
in being deployed at a large scale including, but not limited to, technological barriers, high
start-up capital costs, and intermittency challenges.

It is important to note that the terms ‘renewable energy’, ‘green energy’ and ‘clean
energy’ are not interchangeable in all cases; for example, a ‘clean’ coal plant is simply
a coal plant with emissions reduction technology. The coal plant itself is still not a
‘renewable energy’ source. ‘Green energy’ is a subset of renewable energy, which boasts
low or zero emissions and low environmental impacts to systems such as land and water.

I. SOLAR ENERGY

Solar energy is the most abundant, renewable energy source in the world. Solar energy
refers to technologies that convert the sun's heat or light to another form of energy for
use.

Solar power is energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy.

Our sun is a natural nuclear reactor. It releases tiny packets of energy called photons,
which travel the 93 million miles from the sun to Earth in about 8.5 minutes. Every hour,
enough photons impact our planet to generate enough solar energy to
theoretically satisfy global energy needs for an entire year.

There are two categories of technologies that harness solar energy, Solar
Photovoltaics and Solar Thermal.

Solar Photovoltaic (or PV) is a technology that converts sunlight into direct
current electricity by using semiconductors. In contrast, Solar Thermal is a technology
that utilizes the heat energy from the sun for heating or electricity production.

How Do Solar Panels Work?

When photons hit a solar cell, they knock electrons loose from their atoms. If conductors
are attached to the positive and negative sides of a cell, it forms an electrical circuit. When
electrons flow through such a circuit, they generate electricity. Multiple cells make up a
solar panel, and multiple panels (modules) can be wired together to form a solar array.
The more panels you can deploy, the more energy you can expect to generate.

What are Solar Panels Made of?

Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are made up of many solar cells. Solar cells are made of
silicon, like semiconductors. They are constructed with a positive layer and a negative
layer, which together create an electric field, just like in a battery.

How Do Solar Panels Generate Electricity?

PV solar panels generate direct current (DC) electricity. With DC electricity, electrons flow
in one direction around a circuit. This example shows a battery powering a light bulb. The
electrons move from the negative side of the battery, through the lamp, and return to the
positive side of the battery.
With AC (alternating current) electricity, electrons are pushed and pulled, periodically
reversing direction, much like the cylinder of a car’s engine. Generators create AC
electricity when a coil of wire is spun next to a magnet. Many different energy sources
can “turn the handle” of this generator, such as gas or diesel fuel, hydroelectricity,
nuclear, coal, wind, or solar.
AC electricity was chosen for the U.S. electrical power grid, primarily because it is less
expensive to transmit over long distances. However, solar panels create DC electricity.
How do we get DC electricity into the AC grid? We use an inverter.
The 1547 MW Tengger Desert Solar Park which was installed in Zhongwei, Ningxia is the
world’s largest solar array by far. Know as the “Great Wall of Solar” in China. The Tengger
Desert is an arid natural region that covers about 36,700 km and is mostly in the Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region in China. The solar field itself covers 1,200 Km (3.2%) of
land.

Calatagan Solar Farm is constructed in a160-hectare farm traversing a rolling terrain near
the foot of Mount San Piro in Batangas province.

Instead of growing crops like rice or corn, this vast farm harvests heat from the sun and
generates enough energy to power the whole of western Batangas.
This is the 63.3-megawatt Calatagan Solar Farm at the convergence of Calatagan, Lian and
Balayan towns, the largest solar facility completed in the Philippines to date. Solar
Philippines—a renewable energy firm led by 22-year-old entrepreneur Leandro Leviste—
developed, financed and constructed this solar farm at a cost of $120 million (P5.7 billion).

Comprising more than 200,000 panels built by 2,500 people, this solar farm was
completed ahead of other projects backed by conglomerates and foreign investors racing
to secure feed-in-tariff allowance.

The farm started generating power weeks before the March 15 government deadline to
build capacity to obtain fiscal incentives under the country’s feed-in-tariff regime.

Solar power system provider Solar Philippines is “energizing” SM North Edsa with a 1.5-
megawatt (MW) solar facility, making it the world’s biggest solar-powered mall.

In 2015, three solar farms were constructed in the Philippines. The Philippines receives
over 7kWh per square meter per day during its peak month of April and lowest at 3kWH
per square meter per day during its off-peak month of December as observed
by Schadow1 Expeditions in 33 cities of the country.

Major solar power sites in the Philippines

Facility Installed Year

Type Location Owner
Name[18][19][20] Capacity (MW) Commissioned

[29] Toledo, [30]

Photovoltaic 5 2016
Cebu

[31] Morong, [32]

Photovoltaic 5.02 2016
Bataan
 Majestic Power
Majestic Photovoltaic 41.3 Cavite 2015
Corp.

Pampanga Solar Photovoltaic 10.0 Pampanga Raslag Corp. 2015

Solar
Burgos Solar Photovoltaic 4.0 Ilocos Norte 2015
Philippines

CEPALCO Solar Cagayan de

Photovoltaic 1.0 CEPALCO 2004
PV Oro

Solar, wind, and biomass energy output

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Solar,
wind,
and
19 55 59 63 79 90 205 259 279 364 1,254
biomass
output
(GWh)

Percenta
189.47 7.27 6.78 25.40 13.92 127.78 26.34 7.72 30.66 244.50
ge
% % % % % % % % % %
change

II. HYDROPOWER

About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water. The energy harnessed from
moving water can be used to create electricity. The two most common
water energy technologies can be classified into two groups: Hydropower and Tidal
Power.
Hydropower is electrical energy derived from falling (potential energy) or running water
(kinetic energy). The movement of the water turns the blades of a turbine, which is
connected to a generator. This converts the mechanical energy into electricity.

Historically, one of the first uses of hydro power was for mechanical milling, such as
grinding grains. Today, modern hydro plants produce electricity using turbines and
generators, where mechanical energy is created when moving water spins rotors on a
turbine. This turbine is connected to an electromagnetic generator, which
produce electricity when the turbine spins.

Hydro plant facilities can be categorized into three sizes: large (>30 MW), small (100 kW
- 30 MW), or micro (<100 kW).

There are three main types of hydro plants.

1. Impoundment facilities are the most common technology which uses a dam to
create a large reservoir of water. Electricity is made when water passes through
turbines in the dam.
2. Pumped storage facilities are similar but have a second reservoir below the dam.
Water can be pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper
reservoir, storing energy for use at a later time.
3. Run-of-river facilities rely more on natural water flow rates, diverting just a portion
of river water through turbines, sometimes without the use of a dam or reservoirs.
Since run-of-river hydro is subject to natural water variability, it is more
intermittent than dammed hydro.

Hydropower is the largest contributor of all renewable energy sources and accounts for
6.7% of worldwide electricity production. Further growth of this mature technology may
be possible, though many countries have already developed cost-effective sites.
Hydropower is an abundant, low cost source of power (where applicable), despite high
upfront building costs. It is also a flexible and reliable source of electricity compared to
other renewable options, as it may be stored for use at a later time. Dammed reservoirs
can also help with flood control, be a reliable water supply, and may be used for
recreational purposes.

However, there are many concerns with hydropower, particularly large dam facilities.
Damming a river has a significant impact on the regional ecosystem, by flooding upstream
landscapes, disrupting habitats for wildlife, blocking fish passages, and often
displacing local communities. In addition, dam failures can be catastrophic, further
disrupting landscapes and claiming the lives of those living downstream.

Finally, hydroplants are not completely free of greenhouse gas emissions. As with most
forms of energy, carbon dioxide emissions occur during construction, particularly as a
result of the large quantities of cement used, and loss of vegetation in flooded areas
creates methane, another greenhouse gas, as it matter decays underwater.

Energy from water is considered a renewable energy because it uses the Earth's water
cycle and gravitational pull to generate electricity. It also does not emit greenhouse gas
emissions or air pollutants. However, depending on the water energy technology,
negative environmental land use impacts can be an issue.

Water is also heavily used in the energy production process. The vast majority of water
used in the energy sector is for cooling thermal power plants, as water is the most
effective medium for controlling waste heat. Water is also used to generate steam
for fossil fuel extraction and processing and for biofuel crops irrigation. About 15 percent
of the world’s water withdrawal is for energy production, second only to
agriculture. Given its scarcity and tremendously important role in energy production,
water use and conservation is a challenge that many stakeholders in the energy industry
face.
HOW IT WORKS
A typical hydro plant is a system with three parts: an electric plant where the electricity
is produced, a dam that can be opened or closed to control water flow, and a reservoir
where water can be stored. The water behind the dam flows through an intake and
pushes against blades in a turbine, causing them to turn. The turbine spins a generator
to produce electricity. The amount of electricity that can be generated depends on how
far the water drops and how much water moves through the system. The electricity can
be transported through long-distance electric lines to homes, factories, and businesses.

The 22,500MW Three Gorges hydroelectric power plant in Yichang, Hubei province,
China, is the largest hydropower station in the world. It is a conventional impoundment
hydropower facility exploiting the water resource of the Yangtze River. The project is
owned and operated by China Three Gorges Corporation through its subsidiary China
Yangtze Power.

Construction of the CNY203bn ($29bn) power project was started in 1993 and completed
in 2012. A 181m tall and 2,335m long gravity dam was built as part of the Three Gorges
project. The power plant consists of 32 turbine / generator units rated 700MW each, and
two 50MW power generators. Six foreign groups were involved in the supply of
equipment for the project, including Alstom, which supplied 14 Francis turbine units.
The generating units of the Three Gorges power station were commissioned between
2003 and 2012. Annual power output of the plant is estimated at 85TWh. The generated
power is supplied to nine provinces and two cities, including Shanghai.

Kalayaan Pumped Storage Plant

The Plant has a capacity of 2x185 MW reversible pumping/generating units.

The Kalayaan pumped storage plant is the first of this type in the Philippines, built to
provide much needed peak power capacity to the Luzon electric grid. The Project makes
use of the head available between the upper Caliraya reservoir, of 83 million m3 capacity,
built in the 40's to feed a traditional hydropower plant, and Laguna de Bay, a huge natural
lagoon of brackish water.

In the Philippines, there are hydroelectric plants of both the conventional dam and run-
of-the-river types. Of twenty-nine hydroelectric plants, fourteen are conventional
dam and fifteen are run-of-the-river systems.

Many areas of the Philippines are suitable for hydroelectricity production. However,
hydroelectricity production in the Philippines can cause upstream and downstream
flooding during monsoonal weather and when excess water is released from dams.
 Hydropower output of the Philippines

200
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
4

Hydropo
wer 8,5 8,38 9,93 9,83 9,78 9,69 10,2 10,0 9,13 8,66
8,563 7,803
Output 93 7 9 4 8 8 52 19 7 5
(GWh)

Percenta
(2.40 18.5 (13.84 14.8 (0.47 (20.28 24.2 5.71 (2,27 (8.80 (5.45
ge
%) 0% %) 4% %) %) 9% % %) %) %)
Change

Major hydropower sites

Installed
Facility Year
Type Capacity Location Owner
Name[18][19][20] Commissioned
(MW)

San Roque Power

San Roque Dam 411.0 Pangasinan 2003
Corporation

Run-of-
HEDCOR 33.8 Benguet HEDCOR 1993
River

CBK Power
Kalayaan PSPP Dam 739.2 Laguna 1998/2004
Company Ltd.

Run-of-
Magat 360.0 Isabela Aboitiz Power 1983
River

CBK Power
Caliraya Dam 35.0 Laguna 1942/1947/1950
Company Ltd.
 Run-of- CBK Power
Botocan 22.8 Laguna 1967/1986
River Company Ltd.

Angat Dam 246.0 Bulacan PSALM 1967/1986

Pantabangan- First Gen Hydro

Dam 132.0 Nueva Ecija 1977/1981
Masiway Power Corp.

Ambuklao Dam 105.0 Benguet Aboitiz Power 1957

Binga Dam 132.0 Benguet Aboitiz Power 1960

Run-of-
Bakun 70.0 Ilocos Sur Luzon Hydro Corp. 2000/2001
River

CE Casecnan Water
Casecnan Dam 165.0 Nueva Ecija 2002
& Energy Co.

Run-of-
Sabangan 13.2 Mt. Province HEDCOR 2015
River

Run-of-
NIA-Baligtan 6.0 Isabela NIA 1987
River

Run-of-
JANOPOL 5.2 Bohol BOHECO I 1992
River

AGUS 1 Dam 80.0 Lanao del Sur PSALM 1992

AGUS 2 Dam 180.0 Lanao del Sur PSALM 1992

Lanao del
AGUS 4 Dam 55.0 PSALM 1985
Norte
 Lanao del
AGUS 5 Dam 200.0 PSALM 1985
Norte

Lanao del
AGUS 6 Dam 54.0 PSALM 1953/1971
Norte

Lanao del
AGUS 7 Dam 255.0 PSALM 1983
Norte

Run-of-
Pulangi IV 232.0 Bukidnon PSALM 1985/1986
River

Run-of- Davao del

Sibulan HEP 42.6 HEDCOR 2010
River Sur

Run-of- FG Bukidnon Power

Agusan 1.6 Bukidnon 1957
River Corp.

Run-of-
Bubunawan 7.0 Bukidnon BPC Inc. 2001
River

Run-of- Misamis Mindanao Energy

Cabulig HEP 9.2 2012
River Oriental Systems

Run-of- Davao del

Talomo HEP 4.5 HEDCOR 1998
River Sur

Run-of- Davao del

Tudaya 1 6.6 HEDCOR 2014
River Sur

Run-of- Davao del

Tudaya 2 7.0 HEDCOR 2014
River Sur
 III. WIND ENERGY

Wind Energy captures the natural wind in our environment and converts the air’s motion
into mechanical energy. Wind is caused by differences in atmospheric pressure. Wind
speeds vary based on geography, topography and season. As a result, there are some
locations better suited for wind energy generation than others. In general, wind speeds
are higher near the coast and offshore since there are fewer objects like vegetation,
mountains and buildings to slow them down.

The mechanism used to convert air motion into electricity is referred to as a turbine. A
turbine is a large structure with several spinning blades. These blades are connected to
an electro-magnetic generator that generates electricity when the wind causes the blades
to spin.

Traditionally, this energy was used for milling grain and pumping water, but today it is
most commonly used to create electricity. Wind energy is becoming an increasingly
important part of the global electricity supply mix.

A major advantage of wind is that it is a clean and renewable form of energy. Its
production of electricity has no direct carbon emissions or air pollutants and does not
consume water. Wind also has relatively low operations and maintenance costs after
initial construction.

However, wind energy also faces several challenges. Wind speeds can vary throughout
the day and year, causing intermittency issues for power grids.

The price tag of wind power has traditionally been higher than conventional electricity
generation sources, though the wind cost curve has declined significantly in recent years.
NIMBY concerns such as land use, noise, and bird disruption have also been raised in
certain areas.
Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low
pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unevenly heats the surface of the
Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the void. As long as the sun shines,
the wind will blow. And wind has long served as a power source to humans. Ancient
mariners used sails to capture the wind. Farmers once used windmills to grind their
grains and pump water. Today, more and more wind turbines wring electricity from
the breeze. Over the past decade, wind turbine use has increased more than 25
percent per year. Still, it only provides a small fraction of the world's energy.

HOW IT WORKS

Most wind energy comes from turbines that can be as tall as a 20-story building and
have three 200-foot (60-meter)-long blades. The wind spins the blades, which turn
a shaft connected to a generator that produces electricity.

The biggest wind turbines generate enough electricity in a year (about 12 megawatt-
hours) to supply about 600 U.S. homes. Wind farms have tens and sometimes
hundreds of these turbines lined up together in particularly windy spots. Smaller
turbines erected in a backyard can produce enough electricity for a single home or
small business.
THE BOOMING WIND ENERGY INDUSTRY

Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution.
And since the wind is free, operational costs are nearly zero once a turbine is
erected. Mass production and technology advances are making turbines cheaper,
and many governments offer tax incentives to spur wind-energy development.
Drawbacks include complaints from locals that wind turbines are ugly and noisy. The
slowly rotating blades can also kill birds and bats, but not nearly as many as cars,
power lines, and high-rise buildings do. The wind is also variable: If it's not blowing,
there's no electricity generated. Nevertheless, the wind energy industry is booming.
Thanks to global efforts to combat climate change, such as the Paris Agreement,
renewable energy is seeing a boom in growth, with wind energy leading the
way. From 2000 to 2015, cumulative wind capacity around the world increased from
17,000 megawatts to more than 430,000 megawatts. In 2015, China also surpassed
the EU in the number of installed wind turbines and continues to lead installation
efforts. Industry experts predict that if this pace of growth continues, by 2050 one
third of the world's electricity needs will be fulfilled by wind power.

The Gansu Wind Farm Project (also called Jiuquan Wind Power Base) is a group of
large wind farms under the construction in western Gansu province in China. The
Gansu Wind Farm is located in desert areas near the city of Jiuquan in two localities
of Guazhou County and also near Yumen City, in the north-west province of Gansu.
The project is one of six national wind power megaprojects approved by the Chinese
government and it is expected to grow to 20,000-megawatt by 2020.

The 150MW Burgos wind farm in Ilocos Norte is the biggest wind farm in the
Philippines and the first wind project nominated for the Philippine Government’s
feed-in-tariff (FIT) incentive scheme.

The wind farm is expected to generate approximately 370GWh of electricity a year,

which will be used to power more than two million households, while offsetting
approximately 200,000t of CO 2 emissions annually.

Burgos consists of 50 Vestas V90 wind turbines with a rated capacity of 3MW each.

All wind power sites in the Philippines are on-shore facilities. Some, such as Ilocos Norte,
Pililia wind farm in Rizal and Bangui Wind Farm are tourist destinations.
 Major wind power sites in the Philippines

Installed
Year
Facility Name[18][19][20] Type Capacity Location Owner
Commissioned
(MW)

Bangui Wind
On- Ilocos North Wind Power
Farm Power Phase 1 33.0 2005
Shore Norte Development Corp.
and 2

Bangui Wind Farm On- Ilocos North Wind Power

18.9 2014
Power Phase 3 Shore Norte Development Corp.

On- Ilocos
Burgos Wind Farm 150.0 EDC 2014
Shore Norte

On- Ilocos
Carispisan Wind 81.0 North UPC 2014
Shore Norte

On- Alternegy Philippine

Pililla Wind Farm 54.0 Rizal 2015
Shore Holdings Corp.

On-
TAREC 54.0 Guimaras TAREC 2014
Shore

On-
NABAS Wind Phase 1 36.0 Aklan PWEI 2015
Shore
 IV. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Geothermal energy refers to the production of energy using the internal heat of the
Earth’s crust. This heat comes from the radioactive decay of minerals and continual
heat loss from the earth’s original formation.
The production of geothermal energy involves drilling wells into the Earth’s crust at
approximately a depth of 3-10 km. The heat is extracted with a variety of methods but in
most cases is drawn from the Earth using water and steam. Hot water from the earth may
be extracted to heat homes and buildings. This is done either by directly circulating the
hot water through buildings or by pumping it through a heat exchanger that transfers the
heat to the building. Geothermal heat can also be used to produce electricity in a
geothermal power plant. Electricity is generated when geothermal heat produces steam
that spins turbines on a generator.

Geothermal technology can only be used in locations with specific geologic conditions.
For this reason, the major regions of geothermal development are in the most volcanically
and tectonically active regions of the world. For example, heat and power plants can be
found in Iceland, Indonesia, New Zealand, Hawaii, California, and Ecuador. In these
regions, it can make up a significant portion of the power and heating sectors - for
example, over 90% of space heating and over 27% of electricity in Iceland is sourced from
geothermal energy.

If managed appropriately, geothermal is a renewable and sustainable form of energy

because it produces electricity using the natural heat from the Earth. When developed
irresponsibly, ground temperatures below the surface may lower. Geothermal is an
environmentally friendly technology because it produces little to no greenhouse gas
emissions.

Although geothermal energy is currently a small portion of the world’s energy supply mix,
it holds great potential for future development because it is a reliable source of power
generation that can serve base-load electricity needs.
One concern with geothermal power is its use of groundwater. The process of extracting
this water may unintentionally release carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide to the
atmosphere. Mitigating the release of these emissions is a key challenge with developing
this technology.

Finally, the costs of geothermal energy are largely incurred up-front. Simply put, it is
expensive to carry out the seismic sensing, test well drilling, confirmation testing, and
other necessary preliminary investigations to ensure that a geothermal plant will be
capable of meeting desired production specifications.

PRODUCTION OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

To produce geothermal-generated electricity, wells, sometimes a mile (1.6

kilometers) deep or more, are drilled into underground reservoirs to tap steam and
very hot water that drive turbines linked to electricity generators. The first
geothermally generated electricity was produced in Larderello, Italy, in 1904. There
are three types of geothermal power plants: dry steam, flash, and binary. Dry steam,
the oldest geothermal technology, takes steam out of fractures in the ground and
uses it to directly drive a turbine. Flash plants pull deep, high-pressure hot water
into cooler, low-pressure water. The steam that results from this process is used to
drive the turbine. In binary plants, the hot water is passed by a secondary fluid with
a much lower boiling point than water. This causes the secondary fluid to turn to
vapor, which then drives a turbine. Most geothermal power plants in the future will
be binary plants.
 The Geysers Complex, CA, USA (1,520 MW capacity)

The Geysers Complex, located in the Mayacamas Mountains, 72 miles north of San
Francisco, California, USA, is the largest geothermal field in the world. The complex,
and its 22 geothermal power plants therein, has a combined installed capacity of
1,520 MW. The power generated from the Geysers helps meet the electricity needs
for California's Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake counties. A part of the power needs
of Napa and Marin counties are also met by the Geysers Complex. This is especially
important, as this area of California has large numbers of people and important
industries, many of whom are very ecologically conscious.

Makban Geothermal Power Complex, also known as Makiling-Banahaw Power

Plants, is located in the municipalities of Bay and Calauan in the Laguna province
and Santo Tomas, in the Batangas province. It is the fourth biggest geothermal
power facility in the world, with an output capacity of 458MW.

The geothermal power complex is owned by AP Renewables, a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Aboitiz Power. The complex consists of six power plants comprising of
10 units, including a binary plant with five 3MW units and one 0.73MW unit.

The complex, covering an area of 700ha, commenced operations in 1979. Mitsubishi

Heavy Industries was one of the turbine suppliers for the plants at the complex.

Geothermal energy is derived from the heat found beneath the earth’s surface. In nations
with temperate climates, geothermal energy is used directly, to provide heating for
homes. In the Philippines, geothermal energy is used to generate electricity. Two types of
technologies are used in the Philippines. These are firstly, the higher temperature flash
steam method and secondly, the lower temperature binary cycle method. In the
Philippines, the first is the more common. The second is used only at the MAKBAN plant.
Geothermal plants are suitable for areas with low winds, such as Mindanao, and areas
that have rainy weather, such as Batanes. Geothermal energy production can result in the
release of toxic substances such as mercury, hydrogen sulfide, arsenic and selenium. In
2014, at a geothermal plant in Biliran, eight plant workers were hospitalized
with hydrogen sulphide poisoning.
 Geothermal energy output in the Philippines

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Geother
mal
10,2 10,4 10,2 10,7 10,32 10,2 10,3 11,0
Power 9,902 9,929 9,942 9,605
82 65 15 23 4 50 08 44
Output
(GWh)

Percenta
(3.70 5.69 2.39 4.97 (3.72 (3.83 (0.13 3.10 (6.29 7.32 7.14
ge
%) % % % %) %) %) % %) % %
Change

Major geothermal sites

Installed
Facility Year
Type Capacity Location Owner
Name[18][19][20] Commissioned
(MW)

AP Renewable
MAKBAN Flash/Binary 442.8 Laguna 1979
Inc.

Bac-Man
BACMAN Flash 130.0 Sorsogon 1993
Geothermal Inc.

AP Renewable
Tiwi Flash 234.0 Albay No date
Inc.

MANITO- Bac-Man
Flash 1.5 Albay No date
Lowland Geothermal Inc.

Maibarara
MAIBARARA Flash 20.0 Batangas 2014
Geothermal Inc.
 Negros Green Core
Palinpinon GPP Flash 192.5 1983
Oriental Energy

Green Core
Leyte Flash 112.5 Leyte 1983
Energy

Energy
Unified Leyte Flash 610.2 Leyte Development 1996/1997
Corp.

Energy
Negros
Nasulo GPP Flash 50.0 Development 2014
Occidental
Corp.

Energy
North
Mt. Apo Flash 103.0 Development 1996
Cotabato
Corp.

V. BIOMASS

Biomass refers to the organic material that is used for production of energy.
This energy production process is referred to as Bioenergy. Biomass is primarily found in
the form of living or recently living plants and biological wastes from industrial and home
use. Due to the breadth of the term, the physical composition of biomass is inconsistent,
but generally includes carbon, water and organic volatiles.

For the production of energy from biomass, the term feedstock is used to refer to
whatever type of organic material will be used to produce a form of energy. The
feedstock must then be converted to a usable energy form through one of many
processes.

Feedstock + Process -> Usable Energy Form

Some common biomass conversion processes include:

 Combustion: the process by which flammable materials are burned in the presence
of air or oxygen to release heat. It is the simplest method by which biomass can be
used for energy. In its rudimentary form, combustion is used for space heating (i.e.
a fire for warmth) but can also be used to heat steam for electricity generation.
 Gasification: is the conversion of biomass into a combustible gas mixture referred
to as Producer Gas (CO+H2+CH4) or Syngas. The gasification process uses heat,
pressure and partial combustion to create syngas, which can then be used in place
of natural gas.
 Pyrolysis: Consists of thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen. It is the
precursor to gasification, and takes place as part of both gasification and
combustion. The products of pyrolysis include gas, liquid and a sold char, with the
proportions of each depending upon the parameters of the process.
 Anaerobic digestion (or biodigestion): is the process whereby bacteria break down
organic material in the absence of air, yielding a biogas containing methane and a
solid residue. The methane can then be captured to produce energy. Similarly, the
solid residue can also be burned to produce energy.
 Fermentation: involves the conversion of a plant’s glucose (or carbohydrate) into
an alcohol or acid. Yeast or bacteria are added to the biomass material, which feed
on the sugars to produce ethanol (an alcohol) and carbon dioxide. The ethanol is
distilled and dehydrated to obtain a higher concentration of alcohol to achieve the
required purity for the use as automotive fuel. The solid residue from the
fermentation process can be used as cattle-feed and in the case of sugar cane can
be used as a fuel for boilers or for subsequent gasification.
Some feedstocks are more conducive for certain biomass conversion processes than
others. The determination of which feedstocks and processes will be used is determined
largely by the availability of resources and the desired end form of energy.
Prior to the industrial revolution, biomass was the primary source of energy. Biomass now
makes up only a small percentage of total world energy use. However, for approximately
2.5 billion people, it remains the primary source of energy for cooking and heating. The
use of biomass is highly contextual to the region in which it is used – availability of
resources, availability of technology and economic viability are all drivers of biomass use.

Some jurisdictions - especially those with sustainable forestry initiatives - have declared
biomass a "carbon neutral" energy source. This is based upon the logic that carbon
emissions from burning biomass will be recaptured by the plants grown to feed biomass
reactors in the future, thus forming a carbon cycle for the plant.

The environmental benefits and costs are highly contextual depending on the technology
and feedstocks used. While some biomass processes such as waste-to-energy are touted
for their lower CO2 emissions, some processes, such as combustion, release carbon
dioxide and particulate matter that is a significant concern for human health.

The world's most energy-poor peoples and regions still rely on biomass for the majority
of their energy needs. The lack of appropriate ventilation mechanisms for burning
biomass is a major health concern and contributes to short life expectancies in much of
the developing world.

Concerns associated with biomass go beyond human health. Depending upon the source
of biomass used, deforestation, cropland degradation (due to diverting agricultural
residues), and land use alteration can all be relevant issues associated with biomass.
San Carlos BioPower is a biomass-fired power station under construction in San
Carlos, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. It was commissioned on December
2016 and it is among the biggest biomass power stations in the Philippines and will
have a generating capacity of 19.99 megawatts, enough electricity to provide
212,000 people in the region’s urban centres and rural areas on the island of Negros.

The power plant is a cooperation between ThomasLloyd CTI Asia Holdings Pte
and BronzeoakPhilippines. General Contractor is Wuxi Huaguang Electric Power
Engineering.

The plant will be primary feed with cane trash with some grassy and woody energy
crop plants. The feedstock utilisation [2] will bei 170,000 tonnes per year with a local
feedstock availability of 1.1 to 1.7 million tonnes per year within a 40 km-radius
catchment area. It will operate with a fuel mix of 100,000 tonnes sugarcane trash,
43,000 tonnes grassy biomass, 18,000 tonnes woody biomass and 8,000 tonnes of
other biomass.[3] The plant will be connected to an existing 69 kV substation, 1.5 km
away when operational. The power plant is expected to create 600 new jobs in the
plant and 2,000 jobs in feedstock production and collection.
Biomass power

Bagasse, a kind of biomass fuel

Rice husks

Biomass energy refers to energy derived from plant and animal sources. Biomass
resources are abundant in the Philippines due to its large agricultural
industry. Bagasse, rice husks, and coconut husks are used to generate power.[36] The
Philippines also uses Biogas from landfill as a biomass energy source. The availability of
biomass can be affected by events such as drought.

Major biomass power sites in the Philippines

Facility Installed Year

Type Location Owner
Name[18][19][20] Capacity (MW) Commissioned

Green Future
Green Future Bagasse 19.8 Isabela 2014
Innovation Inc.
 Rice Nueva
5JC Power 12.0 I Power Corp. 2015
Husk Ecija

Landfill Montalban Methane

Montalban LFG 9.3 Rizal 2009
Gas Power Corp.

Landfill Bacavalley Energy

Laguna LFG 4.2 Laguna 2011
Gas Inc.

Lucky PPH
Lucky PPH Bagasse 4.0 Isabela 2008
International Inc.

Landfill Metro Pangea Green Energy

Pangea 1.2 2013
Gas Manila Phil Inc.

VI. TIDAL POWER

Tidal energy is one of the oldest forms of energy generation. It is a renewable form
of energy that converts the natural rise and fall of the tides into electricity. Tides are
caused by the combined effects of gravitational forces exerted by the Moon, the Sun, and
the rotation of the Earth.

Tidal energy presents an evolving technology with tremendous potential. However, it can
only be installed along coastlines. Coastlines often experience two high tides and two low
tides on a daily basis. The difference in water levels must be at least 5 meters high to
produce electricity.

Tidal electricity can be created from several technologies, the main ones being tidal
barrages, tidal fences and tidal turbines.
 Tidal barrages are the most efficient tidal energy sources. A tidal barrage is a dam that
utilizes the potential energy generated by the change in height between high and low
tides. This energy turns a turbine or compresses air, which generates electricity.
 Tidal fences are turbines that operate like giant turnstiles, while tidal turbines are similar
to wind turbines only under water. In both cases, electricity is generated when the
mechanical energy of tidal currents turns turbines connected to a generator. Ocean
currents generate relatively more energy than air currents because ocean water is 832
times more dense than air and therefore applies greater force on the turbines.

Tidal power is an easy to install, renewable source of energy with no direct greenhouse
gas emissions and a low environmental impact[4]. Because the ocean’s tidal patterns are
well understood, tidal energy is a very predictable energy source making it a highly
attractive for electrical grid management. This sets it apart from other renewables that
can be more variable.

Adoption of tidal technologies has been slow and the amount of power generated from
tidal power plants is very small. This is largely due to the very specific site requirements
necessary to produce tidal electricity.

Additionally, tide cycles do not always match the daily consumption patterns of electricity
and therefore do not provide sufficient capacity to satisfy demand.

Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station, South Korea – 254MW

With an output capacity of 254MW, the Sihwa Lake tidal power station located on
Lake Sihwa, approximately 4km from the city of Siheung in Gyeonggi Province of
South Korea, is the world’s biggest tidal power plant.

The project, owned by Korea Water Resources Corporation, was opened in August
2011 and utilises a 12.5km long seawall constructed in 1994 for flood mitigation and
agricultural purposes. Power is generated on tidal inflows into the 30km 2 basin with
the help of ten 25.4MW submerged bulb turbines. Eight culvert type sluice gates are
used for the water outflow from the barrage.

The $355.1m tidal power project was built between 2003 and 2010. Daewoo
Engineering & Construction was the engineering, procurement and construction
(EPC) contractor for the project. The annual generation capacity of the facility is
552.7GWh.
 ENERGY
DEVELOPMENTS
AND INNOVATIONS
Our energy systems are in need of a serious tuneup, for a number of reasons. Using
predominantly petroleum (and other fossil fuel) products for energy production has
a couple of major drawbacks, including limited supplies, the release of greenhouse
gases and other pollutants during use, and for most countries, the dependence
on foreign oil and coal supplies (and the inevitable price increases that go along with
that).

I. Solar Energy
Solar Thin Film Technology

Harvesting solar energy doesn’t have to mean using huge solar panels anymore,
thanks to innovations in solar thin film technology. These solar films can be ‘printed’
in rolls, which greatly reduces both the cost and the installation, as well as opening
up more opportunities for placement of these solar power producers (such as being
integrated into the roofing materials of buildings).
 Moth Eyes Biomimicry for Solar Panels

As a rule, most solar cells need to catch direct sunlight. Even those that work
indoors can only do so much to generate power from artificial light sources.
However, British researchers have found a clever (and decidedly) unusual way to
harvest energy while inside: by imitating moths. They've created a graphene-based
material that traps electromagnetic waves much like a moth's eye, making it one of
the most energy-absorbent substances to date. With the right antennas, it could
produce energy from not just sunlight, but any device that emits microwave or radio
waves -- your smartphone could help power your smartwatch.

The challenge is getting all the pieces to fall into place. The necessary antennas
(which convert electromagnetism into usable electricity) aren't nearly as well-
developed as they should be. Still, it's a start toward a future of widespread green
power. Besides, it shows that even seeming pests have a few tricks up their sleeves.
 Mirrored Dishes- Ripasso Energy

These mirrored dishes, located in the Kalahari desert, could be the most efficient
solar system in the world. Photo Credit: Ripasso Energy

Most solar generators can convert up to 23 percent of sunlight into electricity.

However, Swedish company Ripasso Energy claims they can covert 34 percent of the
sun's energy into power with their contraption (see photo above), making it the
world's most efficient solar electricity system. According to The Guardian,
independent tests found that a single Ripasso dish can generate 75 to 85 zero-
emission megawatt hours of electricity a year, or enough to power 24 typical homes
in the UK. To compare, to create the same amount of electricity by burning coal
would release roughly 81 metric tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, the newspaper
reported.
 SINAG- Solar powered car

A solar car is a vehicle which runs on solar energy converted into electricity by PV
cells. While solar cars are not currently a practical form of transportation they are
raced in competitions such as the World Solar Challenge. These meets promote the
development of alternative energy technology such as solar cells.

The SINAG (Tagalog for sun ray), based in De La Salle University in the Philippines,
is the first Philippine solar-powered race car and the first entry of the Philippines to
the World Solar Challenge. 2007 World Solar Challenge.

The Philippine team finished 12th place from 40 participants.

 II. Hydropower
PIPE POWER

Sewer lines, freshwater lines, wastewater pipes and conduits -- almost every town has
some sort of water pipe snaking through it. What if there were a way to harness the power
of rushing water passing through municipal. When water rushes pass the turbine, it
generates electricity. The device, called the Benkatina Turbine, works off the water
flowing through enclosed water pipes, sewer pipes, canals and pipes that remove
wastewater from factories Pipes. This one, one of the world's largest underwater
turbines, is pictured on Oct. 19, 2011, in Brehec Bay in Plouezec, western France. This
turbine can be enclosed in a pipe

Sewer lines, freshwater lines, wastewater pipes and conduits - almost every town has
some sort of water pipe snaking through it. What if there were a way to harness the power
of rushing water passing through municipal pipes? A new invention has done just that.

An Israeli company called Leviathan has created a water turbine that can be enclosed in
a pipe. When water rushes pass the turbine, it generates electricity. The device, called the
Benkatina Turbine, works off the water flowing through enclosed water pipes, sewer
pipes, canals and pipes that remove wastewater from factories.
 RIVER POWER

The company's RiverStar system harvests kinetic energy all along a river rather than in
one spot, as dams do, they utilize the path and the architectural form of the river. Here's
how it works: Engineers place a number of "modules" across a river. Each module is made
up of a turbine, a stabilizer, a mooring system and an energy conversion system. High-
tension steel cables hold each unit in place and connect one to another in an array.
Flowing water passes through the turbines, and as they spin, they collect the river's
energy, which drives a generator. Bourne officials say RiverStar can generate 50 kilowatts
in a river with a water speed of 4 knots. The company adds that RiverStar does not affect
the migration patterns of fish or impede river traffic.

A RiverStar system would involve placing modules throughout a waterway (like the stately
Colorado River pictured here) rather than damming it in one specific location. Each
module is made up of a turbine, a stabilizer, a mooring system and an energy conversion
system. High-tension steel cables hold each unit in place and connect one to another in
an array. Flowing water passes through the turbines, and as they spin, they collect the
river's energy, which drives a generator

Damming a river to generate electricity is so 20th century. Dams not only alter the
landscape, but they can also affect wildlife (remember those fish ladders we mentioned?).
What if we could harness the power of the river without building dams and reservoirs? A
California-based company called Bourne Energy believes it has found the answer.

HELIOID PENSTOCKS

Nature knows a thing or two. All you have to do is look. When a hydropower engineer
and a medical scientist put their noggins together at the end of the 20th century, they
came up with a new way to boost the power of existing hydroelectric stations by nearly
10 percent [source: Piesold and Caro]. All they did was apply the spiral-shaped design
of human blood vessels to create a similarly shaped penstock pipe.

The helicoid penstock is similar to a rifle barrel, which has spiral grooves etched inside.
Rushing water flows through the helicoid penstock, and like a bullet through a rifled
barrel, begins to spin. The pipes focus the flow of the water directly on the electric
turbine, improving the turbine's performance

III. Wind Energy

TYPHOON TURBINE

The Typhoon Turbine: Tokyo-based engineer, Atsushi Shimizu, has invented the world’s
first typhoon-powered wind turbine to tap into the huge amounts of energy generated
by tropical typhoons. Based on the Magnus effect, which is what makes spherical objects
such as balls curve when thrown, the design features a central rod and three cylinders
and doesn’t rely on a propeller to spin—meaning it can generate power from wind
blowing in all directions.
 VORTEX BLADELESS WIND TURBINE

Vortex Bladeless Wind Turbine: from its name bladeless, this turbine works like our typical
wind turbine system, but its save 53% of manufacturing cost and 51% in operating cost,
it captures the wind’s kinetic energy through silent turbines that don’t upset wildlife. This
is machine is still on its prototype.

This new style turbine essentially looks like the traditional ones without the rotating
blades but it has advanced a long way from its predecessors. Developed by a Spanish
company, the Vortex Bladeless Wind Turbine saves 53 percent in manufacturing costs and
51 percent in operating costs compared to conventional wind turbines. It captures the
wind’s kinetic energy through silent turbines that don’t upset wildlife and a prototype is
now being scaled up to a version that will be capable of powering a typical European
household. Investments into the innovation have come through both private investors
and crowdfunding campaigns.
 AT-BUOYANT AIRBORNE TURBINE

AT-Buoyant Airborne Turbine: This one, harness energy in high altitudes, meaning the
system is installed mid-air.

Altaeros Energies, which was founded in 2010 at the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, has developed an autonomous, tethered, helium-filled turbine that floats
1,000 feet in the air and captures wind currents five to eight times more powerful than
the breezes at ground level. Because it can be easily deployed and doesn’t require a crew
to manage it continuously, it can be used to generate electricity in difficult to power areas.
It is expected to be particularly useful for remote communities in developing countries
and also in cases of natural disasters.
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES OF
DIFFERENT ENERGY
TECHNOLOGY
 FOSSIL FUELS
Advantages
 Fossil fuels have several advantages over other sources of energy. This is the main
reason why they are still the major energy supplier of the world. The advantages
of fossil fuels are as follows:

 Fossil fuels have a very high calorific value. Thus, burning 1 gm of fossil fuel
releases tremendous amount of energy. Thus, the energy produced by fossil fuels
is greater than that produced by an equivalent amount of other energy resource.
 The reservoirs of fossil fuels are pretty easy to locate with the help of advanced
equipment and technology.
 Coal is a fossil fuel that is found in abundance. It is used in most power plants
because it reduces the production cost to a great extent.
 Transportation of fossil fuels that are in liquid or gaseous forms is very easy. They
are simply transported through pipes.
 Construction of power plants that work on fossil fuels is also easy.
 Petroleum is the most predominantly used form of fossil fuels for all types of
vehicles.
 Fossil fuels are easier to extract and process, hence are cheaper than the non-
conventional forms of energy.

Disadvantages
 Although, fossil fuels were a preferred source of energy until recently, their over
consumption and some undesirable properties have led to several issues of grave
importance. The disadvantages of fossil fuels are as follows:

 Although, oil, natural gas and coal are found in abundance in nature, the alarming
rate at which they are being consumed has resulted in substantial depletion of
 their reservoirs. Besides, it is impossible to replenish the resources as it takes
millions of years for the hydrocarbon chains to form from organic remains.
 The hydrocarbons present in the fossil fuels, release greenhouse gases, such as
methane, carbon dioxide etc., which are capable of damaging the ozone layer.
 Besides, other harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide are
responsible for acid rain, which has spelled disaster for the ecology.
 Extraction of fossil fuels has endangered the environmental balance in some
areas. Moreover, coal mining has jeopardized the lives of several mine workers.
 The depletion of reservoirs has made the extraction of fossil fuels an expensive
affair. This is likely to affect the fuel prices in near future.
 Leakage of some fossil fuels, such as natural gas, crude oil can lead to severe
hazards. Hence, transportation of these fuels is very risky.
 Fossil fuels have contributed in more than one way for global warming, the issue
that is being combated all over the world.

Though, fossil fuels have efficiently met our growing energy demands all these years, it's
high time we start looking for alternative sources of energy. The rising fuel demands and
the ever rising fuel prices have made the use of substitute energy forms inevitable.

NUCLEAR ENERGY

Advantages:

 Expense
Less uranium is needed to produce the same amount of energy as coal or oil,
which lowers the cost of producing the same amount of energy. Uranium is also
less expensive to procure and transport, which further lowers the cost.

 Reliability
 When a nuclear power plant is functioning properly, it can run uninterrupted for
up to 540 days. This results in fewer brownouts or other power interruptions. The
running of the plant is also not contingent of weather or foreign suppliers, which
makes it more stable than other forms of energy.

 No Greenhouse Gases
While nuclear energy does have some emissions, the plant itself does not give
off greenhouse gasses. Studies have shown that what life-cycle emissions that the
plants do give off are on par with renewable energy sources such as wind power.
This lack of greenhouse gases can be very attractive to some consumers.

Disadvantages:

 Raw Material
Uranium is used in the process of fission because it's a naturally unstable element.
This means that special precautions must be taken during the mining, transporting
and storing of the uranium, as well as the storing of any waste product to prevent
it from giving off harmful levels of radiation.

 Water Pollutant
Nuclear fission chambers are cooled by water, in both the boiling water
reactors (BWRs) and pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In PWRs, cold water
enters through primary pipes and the secondary pipes remove the heated water
away, so the coolant is not in contact with the reactor. In BWRs, water runs
through the reactor core, so if there is any leakage of fuel, the water can get
contaminated and is transported to the rest of system.

Used nuclear rods are immersed in water in the spent fuel pool, to cool them
before they can be transported for disposal. Radio-active water can leak out of
doors in the pool when the seals that keep the doors airtight malfunction.
 Other pollutants released by nuclear plants are heavy metals and toxic pollutants
that harm plant and animal life in aquatic bodies. Water is released into the
atmosphere after being cooled but is still warm and damages the ecosystem of
the sinks it flows into.

 Waste
When the uranium has finished splitting, the resulting radioactive byproducts
need to be removed. While recycling efforts of this waste product have been
undertaken in recent years, the storage of the by-product could lead to
contamination through leaks or containment failures.

 Leaks
Nuclear reactors are built with several safety systems designed to contain the
radiation given off in the fission process. When these safety systems are properly
installed and maintained, they function adequately. When they are not
maintained, have structural flaws or were improperly installed, a nuclear reactor
could release harmful amounts of radiation into the environment during the
process of regular use. If a containment field were to rupture suddenly, the
resulting leak of radiation could be catastrophic.

 Shutdown Reactors
There have been several nuclear reactors that have failed and been shutdown that
are still in existence. These abandoned reactors are taking up valuable land space,
could be contaminating the areas surrounding them, and yet are often too
unstable to be removed.
 SOLAR POWER

Advantages:

 Abundant

The potential of solar energy is beyond imagination. The surface of the earth
receives 120,000 terawatts of solar radiation (sunlight) – 20,000 times more
power than what is needed to supply the entire world.[2]

 Sustainable

An abundant and renewable energy source is also sustainable. Sustainable

energy sources meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their needs. In other words, solar energy is
sustainable because there is no way we can over-consume.

 Environmentally Friendly

Harnessing solar energy does generally not cause pollution. However, there are
emissions associated with the manufacturing, transportation and installation of
solar power systems – almost nothing compared to most conventional energy
sources. It is clear that solar energy reduces our dependence on non-renewable
energy sources. This is an important step in fighting the climate crisis.
 Good Availability

Solar energy is available all over the world. Not only the countries that are closest
to the Equator can put solar energy to use – Germany, for example, has by far the
highest capacity of solar power in the world.

 Reduces Electricity Costs

With the introduction of net metering and feed-in tariff (FIT) schemes,
homeowners can now “sell” excess electricity, or receive bill credits, during times
when they produce more electricity than what they actually consume.

This means that homeowners can reduce their overall electricity expenses by
going solar.Data from One Block Off the Grid reveals that adding solar panels to
your home can bring in monthly savings of well above $100 in many states. In
Hawaii, residents save on average $64,000 after 20 years!

Nowadays, most homeowners choose leasing or power purchase agreements to

finance their solar panels. This drastically reduces, or in some cases completely
eliminates, the upfront costs of a solar panel system, and allows homeowners to
start saving money from the first day.
 Many Applications

Solar energy can be used for many different purposes. It can be used to generate
electricity in places that lack a grid connection, for distilling water in Africa, or even
to power satellites in space.

Solar power is also known as “The People`s Power”, which refers to how easily
deployable solar panels are at the consumer level (both photovoltaic and solar
thermal).

With the introduction of flexible thin-film solar cells, solar power can even be
seemingly integrated into the material of buildings (building integrated
photovoltaics) – Sharp, a solar panel manufacturer with headquarters in Japan,
recently introduced transparent solar power windows.

 Shared Solar

Because of shading, insufficient space and ownership issues, 1/5 American homes
are simply unfit for solar panels.[3] With the introduction of shared solar,
homeowners can subscribe to “community solar gardens”, and generate solar
electricity without actually having solar panels on their own rooftops.

 Silent

There are no moving parts involved in most applications of solar power. There is
no noise associated with photovoltaics. This compares favorable to certain other
green-techs such as wind turbines.
  Financial Support from Government/State

Government and state rebates have become available both on utility-scale and
for the majority of homeowners. This means that the effective costs of solar
panels are much less than what they used to be. In some cases, the price of a
residential photovoltaic system can be cut more than 50%.

As of 12/31/2008, the U.S. government offers a 30% tax credit with no upper limit.
Chances are your home is also eligible for other grants and rebates.

 Low Maintenance

The majority of today`s solar power systems do not required a lot of

maintenance. Residential solar panels usually only require cleaning a couple of
times a year. Serious solar manufacturers ship 20- or 25-year warranties with their
solar panels.

 Technology is Improving
 Technological advancements are constantly being made in the solar power
industry. Innovation in nanotechnology and quantum physics has the potential to
triple the electrical output of solar panels.

Disadvantages:

 Expensive

Is solar power really expensive? This is probably the most debatable aspect on the
entire solar energy pros and cons list. The driving forces behind the development
 of solar energy are rooted in politics. Solar power is incentivized to compete
against other energy sources on the market. On the other hand, the U.S.
government, similarly to the rest of the world, provides incentives to every major
energy production market – not just solar.

In 2010, coal received $1,189 billion in federal subsidies and support for electricity
production while solar is not far behind at $968 billion.[4]

Nowadays, the best solar panels can in many situations be cheaper than buying
electricity from the utility. This wouldn`t have been possible without incentives.

 Intermittent

Solar energy is an intermittent energy source. Access to sunlight is limited at

certain times (e.g. morning and night). Predicting overcast days can be difficult.
This is why solar power is not our first choice when it comes to meeting the base
load energy demand. However, solar power has fewer problems than wind power
when it comes to intermittence.

 Energy Storage is Expensive

Energy storage systems such as batteries will help smoothen out demand and
load, making solar power more stable, but these technologies are also expensive.

Luckily, there`s a good correspondence between our access to solar energy and
human energy demand. Our electricity demand peaks in the middle of the day,
which also happens to be the same time there`s a lot of sunlight!
 Associated with Pollution

While solar power certainly is less polluting than fossil fuels, some problems do
exist. Some manufacturing processes are associated with greenhouse gas
emissions. Nitrogen trifluroide and sulfur hexafluoride has been traced back to the
production of solar panels. These are some of the most potent greenhouse gases
and have many thousand times the impact on global warming compared to carbon
dioxide. Transportation and installation of solar power systems can also indirectly
cause pollution.

The bottom line is this: There’s nothing that’s completely risk-free in the energy
world, but solar power compares very favorably with all other technologies.

 Exotic Materials

Certain solar cells require materials that are expensive and rare in nature. This is
especially true for thin-film solar cells that are based on either cadmium telluride
(CdTe) or copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS).

 Requires Space

Power density, or watt per square meter (W/m²), is essential when looking at how
much power can be derived from a certain area of real estate of an energy source.
Low power density indicates that too much real estate is required to provide the
power we demand at reasonably prices.

The global mean power density for solar radiation is 170 W/m².[5] This is more than
any other renewable energy source, but not comparable to oil, gas and nuclear
power.
 HYDROPOWER

Advantages:

 Once a dam is constructed, electricity can be produced at a constant

rate.

 If electricity is not needed, the sluice gates can be shut, stopping

electricity generation. The water can be saved for use another time
when electricity demand is high.

 Dams are designed to last many decades and so can contribute to

the generation of electricity for many years / decades.

 The lake that forms behind the dam can be used for water sports
and leisure / pleasure activities. Often large dams become tourist
attractions in their own right.

 The lake's water can be used for irrigation purposes.

 The build-up of water in the lake means that energy can be stored
until needed, when the water is released to produce electricity.

 When in use, electricity produced by dam systems do not produce

greenhouse gases. They do not pollute the atmosphere.
Disadvantages:
 Dams are extremely expensive to build and must be built to a very high standard.

 The high cost of dam construction means that they must operate for many decades
to become profitable.

 The flooding of large areas of land means that the natural environment is destroyed.

 People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move
out. This means that they lose their farms and businesses. In some countries, people
are forcibly removed so that hydro-power schemes can go ahead.

 The building of large dams can cause serious geological damage. For example, the
building of the Hoover Dam in the USA triggered a number of earth quakes and has
depressed the earth’s surface at its location.

 Although modern planning and design of dams is good, in the past old dams have
been known to be breached (the dam gives under the weight of water in the lake).
This has led to deaths and flooding.

 Dams built blocking the progress of a river in one country usually means that the
water supply from the same river in the following country is out of their control. This
can lead to serious problems between neighboring countries.

 Building a large dam alters the natural water table level. For example, the building
of the Aswan Dam in Egypt has altered the level of the water table. This is slowly
leading to damage of many of its ancient monuments as salts and destructive
minerals are deposited in the stone work from ‘rising damp’ caused by the changing
water table level.
 WIND ENERGY

Advantages:

 Renewable & Sustainable

Wind energy itself is both renewable and sustainable. The wind will never run out,
unlike the earth’s fossil fuel reserves (such as coal, oil and gas), making it the ideal
energy source for a sustainable power supply.

 Environmentally Friendly

Wind energy is one of the most environmentally friendly energy sources available
today. After the manufacture and installation of wind turbines, there will be little
to no pollution generated as a result of the wind turbines themselves.

Wind turbines produce no greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or

methane (CH4) which are both known to contribute towards global warming.

It should be noted that noise and visual pollution are both environmental factors,
but they don’t have a negative effect on the earth, water table or the quality of
the air we breathe.

 Reduces Fossil Fuel Consumption

Generating electricity from wind energy reduces the need to burn fossil fuel
alternatives such as coal, oil and gas. This can help to conserve dwindling supplies
of the earth’s natural resources, allowing them to last longer and help to support
future generations.
 Wind Energy is Free

Unlike some other energy sources, wind energy is completely free. There’s no
market for the supply and demand of wind energy, it’s there to be used by anyone
and will never run out. This makes wind energy a viable option for generating
cheap electricity.

 Small Footprint

Wind turbines have a relatively small land footprint. Although they can tower high
above the ground, the impact on the land at the base is minimal. The area around
the base of a wind turbine can often be used for other purposes such as
agriculture.

 Industrial & Domestic Installations

Wind turbines aren’t just limited to industrial-scale installations such as wind

farms. They can also be installed on a domestic scale, with many landowners
opting to install smaller, less powerful wind turbines in order to provide part of a
domestic electricity supply. Domestic wind turbines are often coupled with other
renewable energy technologies such as solar panels or geothermal heating
systems.

 Remote Power Solution

Wind turbines can play a key role in helping to bring power to remote locations.
This can help to benefit everything from a small off-grid village to a remote
research station.
 Wind Technology Becoming Cheaper

The first ever electricity-generating wind turbine was invented in 1888. Since then,
wind turbines have improved significantly and nowadays the technology is
beginning to come down in price, making it much more accessible.

Government subsidies are also helping to reduce the cost of a wind turbine
installation, with many governments across the world providing incentives for not
only the installation of such technologies, but also for the ongoing supply of
environmentally friendly electricity.

 Low Maintenance

Wind turbines are considered relatively low maintenance. A new wind turbine can
be expected to last some time prior to any maintenance work needing to be
carried out. Although older wind turbines can come up against reliability issues,
each new generation of wind turbine is helping to improve reliability.

 Low Running Costs

As wind energy is free, running costs are considered to be low. The only ongoing
cost associated with wind energy is for the maintenance of wind turbines, which
are considered low maintenance in nature anyway.

 Huge Potential

Wind energy has huge potential. It’s both renewable and sustainable and is
present in a wide variety of places. Although a significant level of wind energy is
required to make a wind turbine installation cost effective, the technology isn’t
 limited to just a handful of locations such as is the case for geothermal power
stations.

 Increases Energy Security

By using wind energy to generate electricity, we are helping to reduce our

dependency on fossil fuel alternatives such as coal, oil and gas. In many cases,
these natural resources are often sourced from other countries.

War, politics and overall demand often dictate the price for natural resources,
which can fluctuate and cause serious economic problems or supply shortages for
some countries. By using renewable energy sources a country can help to reduce
its dependency on global markets and thus increase its energy security.

 Job Creation

The wind energy industry has boomed since wind turbines first became available
on the market. This has helped to create jobs all over the world. Jobs have been
created for the manufacture of wind turbines, the installation and maintenance
of wind turbines and also in wind energy consulting, where specialist consultants
will determine whether or not a wind turbine installation will provide a return on
investment.

Disadvantages:

 The Wind Fluctuates

Wind energy has a similar drawback to solar energy in that it is not a constant
energy source. Although wind energy is sustainable and will never run out, the
 wind isn’t always blowing. This can cause serious problems for wind turbine
developers who will often spend significant time and money investigating whether
or not a particular site is suitable for the generation of wind power.

For a wind turbine to be efficient, the location where it is built needs to have an
adequate supply of wind energy. This is why we often see wind turbines built on
top of hills or out at sea, where there are less land obstacles to reduce the intensity
of wind energy.

 Installation is Expensive

Although costs are reducing over time, the installation of a wind turbine is
considered expensive. First, a site survey will need to be carried out which may
involve having to erect a sample turbine to measure wind speeds over a significant
period of time. If deemed adequate, the wind turbine will need to be
manufactured, transported and erected on top of a pre-built foundation. All of
these processes contribute to the overall cost of installing a wind turbine.

When the above is taken into account for offshore wind farms, costs become
much greater. It’s much harder to install wind turbines out at sea than it is on land,
and some companies have even commissioned bespoke ships capable of
transporting and installing wind turbines at sea.

 Threat to Wildlife

It’s widely reported that wind turbines pose a threat to wildlife, primarily birds
and bats. It is however believed that wind turbines pose less of a threat to wildlife
than other manmade structures such as cell phone masts and radio towers.
Nevertheless, wind turbines are contributing to mortality rates among bird and
bat populations.
  Noise Pollution

One of the most popular disadvantages of wind turbines is the noise pollution that
they generate. A single wind turbine can be heard from hundreds of meters away.
Combine multiple wind turbines and the audible effects can be much greater.

Noise pollution from wind turbines has ruined the lives of some homeowners.
Although steps are often taken to site wind turbines away from dwellings, they do
sometimes get built too close to where people live and this is why new wind farms
often come up against strong public objection.

 Visual Pollution

Another widely reported disadvantage of wind turbines is visual pollution.

Although many people actually like the look of wind turbines, others do not and
see them as a blot on the landscape. This tends to come down to personal opinion,
and as more wind farms are built, public acceptance is becoming commonplace.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Advantages:
 Geothermal Energy Sourcing Is Good for the Environment
First and foremost, geothermal energy is extracted from the earth without
burning fossil fuels, and geothermal fields produce practically no emissions.
What’s more, geothermal energy can be very beneficial, as you can
achieve savings of up to 80% over conventional energy usage.

 Geothermal Is a Reliable Source of Renewable Energy

Geothermal energy also has many advantages when compared to other
renewable sources like solar, wind or biomass. It is an exceptionally constant
 source of energy, meaning that it is not dependent on neither wind nor sun,
and available all year long.

 When looking at the availability factor, which shows how reliable and constant
specific energy sources are, geothermal is ranking on the top (see the figure
below), way above the other groups, which supports the argument of
its independence on inconstant external circumstances when delivering energy.

 High Efficiency of Geothermal Systems

Geothermal heat pump systems use 25% to 50% less electricity than conventional
systems for heating or cooling, and with their flexible design they can be adjusted
to different situations, requiring less space for hardware as opposed to
conventional systems.

 Little to No Geothermal System Maintenance

Due to the fact that geothermal systems only have few movable parts which are
sheltered inside a building,the life span of geothermal heat pump systems is
relatively high. Heat pump pipes even have warranties of between 25 and 50
years, while the pump can usually last for at least 20 years.

Disadvantages
 Environmental Concerns about Greenhouse Emissions
Unfortunately, no matter its reputation of being an environmentally friendly
alternative energy source, geothermal energy also causes some minor concerns in
regards to the environment.

The extraction of geothermal energy from the grounds leads to a release of

greenhouse gases like hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia.
 However, the amount of gas released is significantly lower than in the case
of fossil fuels.

 Possibility of Depletion of Geothermal Sources

Furthermore, despite being considered a sustainable and renewable energy, the
chances are that specific locations might cool down after time, making it
impossible to harvest more geothermal energy in future.

The only non-depletable option is sourcing geothermal energy right from

magma but the technology for doing so is still in the process of development. This
option is worth the investment mainly thanks to the fact that magma will be
around for billions of years.

 High Investment Costs for Geothermal System

Another disadvantage is the high initial cost for individual households. The need
for drilling and installing quite a complex system into one’s home makes the price
climb quite high. Nevertheless, the return on such investment is very promising,
being able to earn the investment back within 2 to 10 years.

 Land Requirements for Geothermal System to Be Installed

In case of geothermal systems, having a piece of land next to the house is required
in order to be able to install one. That makes geothermal systems hard to be
implemented for homeowners in big cities, unless a vertical ground source heat
pump is used.
 BIOMASS

Advantages:

 It’s a renewable form of energy

Biomass energy is considered a renewable form of energy because the organic

materials used to produce it are never-ending. The organic materials including
wood, crop waste, garbage, sewage sludge, and manure are continually produced
by society. In a nutshell, regrowth of these organic materials supports the fact that
biomass is renewable.

 It’s carbon neutral

We all know that release of vast amounts of carbon contributes greatly to climate
change. Biomass energy takes care of this since it is a natural part of the carbon
cycle as opposed to fossil-based sources of fuel such as oil, natural gas, and coal.
Researchers say that the only carbon emitted to the environment from biomass
fuels is the amount that was absorbed by plants in the course of their life cycle. In
the process of replenishing the used plant materials, the new ones that spring up
absorb equal quantity of carbon, hence, developing neutrality that witnesses no
new carbon generated. This aspect renders biomass uniquely clean.

 Widely available

Just like sun and wind energy, biomass energy sources are bountiful in supply. You
can find them virtually in every nook and cranny of the world. The fact that it’s
bountiful in supply means that we may never encounter problems that we are
presently experiencing with fossil-based sources of fuel. Nonetheless, it’s vital that
we maintain the abundance of this natural resource by being responsible in its
use.
  It’s cheaper compared to fossil fuels

Producing biomass energy does not involve heavy capital outlay. Fossil fuels
production, on the other hand, involves high upfront capital costs such as drilling
to reach oil wells, constructing gas pipelines and collection of biomass fuel. The
low cost resulting from the production of biomass fuel is passed on to customers.
This means that customer’s energy bills will not depend on aspects such as
availability and knee jack decisions of energy production and supply firms. Low
biomass cost makes this form of energy attractive to manufacturers and producers
since they are able to generate higher profits from extremely low output.

Disadvantages:

 Not entirely clean

Using animal and human waste to power engines may save on carbon dioxide
emissions, but it increases methane gases, which are also harmful to the
Earth’s ozone layer. So really, we are no better off environmentally for using one
or the other. And speaking of using waste products, there is the smell to consider.
While it is not physically harmful, it is definitely unpleasant, and it can attract
unwanted pests (rats, flies) and spread bacteria and infection.

 Risk of deforestation

Biomass energy sources are renewable, but they have to be utilized sustainably.
Uncontrolled biomass production can result in deforestation. If deforestation is
allowed to happen, scores of animal and bird species would be rendered
homeless, not to mention the drought as a result. In fact, this is the main reason
for slowing down the large scale use of biomass fuel. Governments feel replanting
efforts may not match the rate of cutting down of trees.
  Requires a great deal of water

This is the most invisible disadvantage of biomass fuel. All plant matter need
sufficient amount of water to get by, meaning water sources must be abundant.
If enough water is not available, irrigation systems would have to be developed,
which could prove to be costly. Irrigation may also limit the availability of water to
humans and wildlife.

 Inefficient as Compared to Fossil Fuels

Despite the fact that biomass energy is natural in many ways, it doesn’t get close
to fossil fuels in regards to efficiency. In fact, some renewable sources of
energy like biofuels are fortified with fossil fuels to increase their efficiency.

Although opinion is divided about the overall sustainability of biomass energy, the
fact is that it is a cheaper alternative and a good subsidy to the traditional
electricity and other forms of energy gives it an edge.

TIDAL POWER

Advantages:
 Renewable and fossil fuel free
Unlike fossil fuels, tides are a nearly unlimited resource that we aren’t running out
of. This type of energy does not generate greenhouse gases or cause pollution
through oil spills or burning like fossil fuels do.

 Predictable and consistent power

 The tides occur every day at predicted times, and how much power the tides
contain is relatively consistent. This consistent energy in tides allows for the
construction of appropriate equipment that effectively collects the energy.

 Efficient at low speeds

Since water is 1,000 times more dense than air, electricity can be generated from
tides much more efficiently at slower speeds than wind turbines can.

 Long lifespan of plants

The estimated lifespan of tidal energy plants is about 75-100 years, which is much
longer than nuclear power plants. The world’s oldest tidal energy plant, La Rance,
in France has continued to efficiently produce large amounts of electricity since
1966. This lower cost of equipment and facility replacement can translate to lower
energy costs for consumers who use the plant’s energy.

 Low cost to run

Although tidal energy plants are very expensive to construct, they are relatively
inexpensive to run, and require few staff to run them.

Disadvantages:
 Environmental effects and disruptions to the tidal flow
The primary form of tidal power plant that exists today is the barrage, a dam built
across estuaries. These barrages block the flow of the tides in estuaries in order
to capture tidal energy.

Because estuaries act as nurseries and provide habitat for many species of marine
 life, building barrages in this habitat can have many negative impacts, including
the disruption of fish migrations and the movement of large marine animals.

Estuaries also help to filter out the sediments and pollutants from rivers and other
water bodies prior to the water reaching the ocean. If barrages are built in
estuaries, these ecosystems can no longer efficiently provide such
important ecosystem services.

Until further research is done, we don’t yet know all of the long-term
environmental impacts of underwater tidal power turbines and barrages.

 Expensive to Construct
The construction of tidal energy plants requires very large initial capital
investments.

 Limited locations
Tidal energy plants require specific site characteristics. Thus far, only 40 of such
appropriate sites have been identified globally, limiting the potential for
development.

 Distance from the grid

In many cases, the energy generated by the tides is a long distance from where
the electricity will be consumed inland. This makes it difficult for tidal energy to
provide electricity for any communities but those that are in close proximity to
coastlines. Currently, there are no collection or storage systems that exist to
transport tidal energy to inland areas.

 Limited useful period

 Surging tides only occur during 10 hours out of every 24 hour period. This
translates to limited energy collection that occurs during only about 40% of the
year. To solve this issue, tidal energy storage capacity will need to be developed
for transmission during the remaining 60% of the time.

 New technology, few implementations

To date, there are only a few tidal energy plants that have been constructed
worldwide, and we don’t yet know all of the environmental impacts, nor
ultimately whether the benefits of this technology will outweigh the costs.
Continued research is needed to determine the appropriateness of this
technology compared with other sustainable energy sources.

 Aesthetics
The construction of a tidal energy plant alters the view along coastlines that are
sought after for other uses such as economic activities, recreation, and tourism.

 Long gestation time

It takes a long time for planned tidal energy plants to be constructed and to get
them running. Such a long gestation period, along with the high costs of
construction, may not be considered worth the investment compared with other
renewable energy projects such as wind and solar energy.

 Weather effects
Bad weather and storm events such as hurricanes that occur along coastlines can
damage tidal power equipment.
 Equipment maintenance can be challenging
Rugged coastal environments in many areas may make it difficult for engineers to
maintain and repair tidal energy equipment.

While tidal power may become a part of our energy toolkit in a carbon-constrained
future, we must thoroughly study and consider the negative impacts of tidal
power technology and strive to reduce them as much as possible.
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