fsem 180 the numbers

Stephen Bradforth

*It’s all about the numbers

Can we do it, can we afford it, and what compromises do each of us, and our society have to make in each scenario?

200 billion kWh/yr for entire US population:

= 1.8 kWh/d per person

MacKay“Without the hot air”conclusion of Ch. 3

*SCE, along with other west coast utilities, was one of the earliest to use Hydroelectric Power for the rapidly growing population in the 1920s onward

*Big Creek Project (SCE)1 GW peak total power to SCE

14 million homes

¼ kW each home = 1.5 kWh/d

SEGS project in Mojave Desert (350 MW) – 0.5 kWh/d peak

Solar Millenium AG received contract for new 1GW solar farm at Blythe in Sonoran Desert in 2010 but filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2011.

195 180 kWh/d

Cos

t of p

rodu

cing

ele

ctric

ity (

cent

s / k

Wh) 12

10

8

6

4

2

0

*How many people are regularly on the USC campus?

Numbers from USC web site:

Students: 37,000Faculty 3,300Staff 11,500Outpatients/in patients at USC hospitals?

The art of estimation

Solar

*Goal - to increase the electricity generated from solar power to 100%. Is it possible (enough land)? Can the campus (i.e. the student tuition) afford it?