energy and energy systems of the future : keynote address at icces14 at m e a college of engg 8th...

Dr. K P Mohandas

Dean Academic & Professor MESCE

(Former Dean, N I T Calicut)

Overview

Introduction

Present methods of power generation

Fossil fuels , for how long

Future in Renewable Energy sources

Solar power

Wind power

Bio-fuels and others

Smart grids

Micro-grids

Other innovations

What is to be done

Conclusions

8/7/2014 2 Energy and Energy Systems of the Future

Problems with the present large

energy generation

Thermal power plants

Over dependence on fossil fuels

Generation of Green gas emission

Air pollution

Nuclear Plants

Danger as in Chernobyl ,Fukushima

Hydroelectric

Clean but vagaries of the weather

And lower storage capacity


Fossil fuels

The fossil fuels mined from mother earth

are :

Coal

Petroleum

Natural Gas

Large scale utilization of these in the last

few decades has resulted in fast

depletion of these


Treasure of millions of years

Fossil fuels are an incredibly dense form of

energy, and they took millions of years to

become so.

The oil deposits are at least 150 million

years old

Coal deposits at least 300 million years old

Fossil fuel reserves are not ‘finite’ not

perennial or ever lasting. And when they’re

gone, they’re gone pretty much forever


How long fossil fuel last , it is a

matter of time!!!

Globally - every year we consume

Over 11 billion tonnes of fossil fuels.

Crude oil reserves are vanishing at

the rate of 4 billion tonnes a year –

If we carry on at this rate , it is estimated

that our known oil deposits will be

finished by 2052.


Coal will last longer, but..

Some say that we have enough coal to last hundreds of years.

But if we step up production to fill the gap left through depleting our oil and gas reserves,

the coal deposits we know about will only give us enough energy to take us as far as 2088.

And let’s not even think of the carbon dioxide emissions from burning all that coal.


Natural gas, clean …still

But if we increase gas production to fill the energy gap left by oil, then those reserves will only give us an additional eight years, taking us to 2060.

But the rate at which the world consumes fossil fuels is not standing still,

it is increasing as the world's population increases and as living standards rise in parts of the world that until recently had consumed very little energy.

Fossil Fuels will therefore run out earlier.


The D-day is near - 2088 ?


The D-day approaching

So does 2088 mark the point that we run out of fossil fuels? The simple answer is no.

Some new reserves will be found which may extend this deadline slightly, but these can’t last forever.

New reserves are becoming harder to find, and those that are being discovered are significantly smaller than the ones that have been found in the past.

Take oil, for example, we’re probably already on a downward slope.

Sixteen of the world’s twenty largest oil fields have already reached their peak level of production, whilst the golden age of oil field discovery was nearly 50 years ago.


Renewable energy is the future

Renewable energy offer us another

way, a way to avoid this (fossil fuelled)

energy time bomb, but we must start

now.

As the Saudi Oil Minister said in the

1970s, “The Stone Age didn’t end for

lack of stone, and the oil age will end

long before the world runs out of oil.”


Renewable Energ y abundant

Hydroelectric

Solar energy

Wind energy

Ocean waves

Geothermal energy

Biomass and bio-fuels


World use of renewable energy


How much energy from the sun

In full sun, about 100 watts of solar

energy per square foot.

If you assume 12 hours of sun per day,

this equates to 438,000 watt-hours per

square foot per year.

Based on 27,878,400 square feet per

square mile, sunlight bestows a

whopping 12.2 trillion watt-hours per

square mile per year.


How much from the Sun?

12.2 trillion watt-hours converts to 12,211 gigawatt-hours, and based on 8,760 hours per year, and 197 million square miles of earth’s surface (including the oceans), the earth receives about 274 million gigawatt-years of solar energy.

Put another way, the solar energy hitting the earth exceeds the total energy consumed by humanity by a factor of over 20,000 times.

Clearly there is enough solar energy available to fulfill all the human race’s energy requirements now, and for all practical purposes, forever.

The key is developing technologies that efficiently convert solar power into usable energy in a cost-effective manner.


Why Solar power

1. Solar energy is free although there is a cost in the building of ‘collectors’ and other equipment required to convert solar energy into electricity or hot water.

2. Solar energy does not cause pollution. However, solar collectors and other associated equipment / machines are manufactured in factories that in turn cause some pollution.

3. Solar energy can be used in remote areas where it is too expensive to extend the electricity power grid.

4. Many everyday items such as calculators and other low power consuming devices can be powered by solar energy effectively.

5. The solar energy is infinite (forever, perennial).


Solar energy using photo voltaic

cells


Solar power by generating steam


Solar power- feeding to grid


Solar at home self contained


Basic two forms of usage

Self contained, decentralized unit

No chance of using excess power used

No battery required and low initial cost.

On grid systems

Feed excess power to grid.

Need batteries for storage

Special meters for two way power flow


Problems at present

The present day solar converters like PV (Photo Voltaic) cells are not efficient enough

The need for batteries for on grid units

Cost of generation per kWh is very high ( Rs 30-60 per watt : 5kW unit Rs. 5-7 lakhs )

Problems of e-waste disposal

Evolving technology and hence fast obsolescence of equipment, economics

Mechanics of solar tracking and non-uniform energy received


Wind power

Availably of wind at an economic

average velocity is required

Clean energy , no pollution.

No green gas emission

Large wind farms occupy significant

land area


Wind power on land


Wind power in lakes / off shore


Feeding wind power to grid

Induction generators, used for wind power, require reactive power for excitation and substantial capacitor banks for power factor correction.

Different types of wind turbine generators behave differently during transmission grid disturbances, dynamic electromechanical characteristics of a new wind farm is required by transmission system operators to ensure predictable stable behaviour during system faults .

Induction generators cannot support the system voltage during faults, unlike steam or hydro turbine-driven synchronous generators.

Doubly fed machines generally have more desirable properties for grid interconnection. Transmission systems operators will supply a wind farm developer with a grid code to specify the requirements for interconnection to the transmission grid.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_power

Conversion schemes


Conversion scheme 2


Scheme 3


Large scale generation in USA

Wind power in the United States expanding quickly over the last several years. At of the end of 2013 the capacity was 61,108 MW.

This capacity is exceeded only by China.

Projects totaling 12,000 MW of capacity were under construction at the end of 2013, including 10,900 MW that began construction in the 4th quarter.

For the 12 months through April 2014, the electricity produced from wind power in the United States amounted to 174.7 terawatt-hours, or 4.25% of all generated electrical energy.


Problems of Wind power

Environmental impact due to large land

usage and affecting natural beauty

Reports of bird and bat mortality at wind

turbines

The scale of the ecological impact may

not be significant, depending on specific

circumstances.

Fluctuations in power output due to

change in wind velocity


Biomass and Biofuels

Biomass is biological material derived

from living, or recently living organisms.

Biomass can either be used directly via

combustion to produce heat, or indirectly

after converting it to a biofuel.

Conversion of biomass to biofuel can be

by different methods which are broadly

classified into: thermal, chemical,

and biochemical methods.


Biomass to biofuel

Biomass can be converted to other forms of energy like methane gas or transportation fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.

Rotting garbage, and agricultural and human waste, all release methane gas—also called "landfill gas" or "biogas." Crops, such as corn and sugar cane, can be fermented to produce the transportation fuel, ethanol.

Also, biomass to liquids and cellulosic ethanol are still under research.[Biodiesel, another transportation fuel, can be produced from left-over food products like vegetable oils and animal fats.

There is a great deal of research involving algae, or algae-derived, biomass due to the fact that it’s a non-food resource and can be produced at rates 5 to 10 times faster than other types of land-based agriculture, such as corn and soy.

Once harvested, it can be fermented to produce biofuels such as ethanol, butanol and methane, as well as biodiesel and hydrogen.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomass

Sources of biomass energy


Biomass conversion


Biomass


Gasification


Problems of biomass

Food crisis:

Increasing demand for biofuels leads to a rise in food import costs.

Deforestation and biodiversity:

Though technically biofuel is environment-friendly but it has indirect impact on deforestation and biodiversity..

Reverse impact:

It seems that biofuel production is eco-friendly and potential to reduce carbon emission but a massive plantation may have opposite impact on micro climate due to poor environmental management in Bangladesh.

Intensity of mono-cropping:

Mono-cropping intensity may increase and deplete the fertility of the land..

Biomass price:

. Due to the increasing demand for biofuel, the biomass resources can be more expensive.


Fuel cells

A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent.

Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used.

Fuel cells are different from batteries in that they require a constant source of fuel and oxygen to run, but they can produce electricity continually for as long as these inputs are supplied.

Fuel cells are a promising technology for use as a source of heat and electricity in buildings, and as an electrical power source for vehicles.


Hydrogen fuel cell


Fuel cells

Cars and trucks that use fuel cells are being built. In a fuel cell vehicle, an electrochemical device converts hydrogen (stored on board) and oxygen from the air into electricity, to drive an electric motor and power the vehicle. They can be e fueled with natural gas, methanol or even gasoline.

Reforming these fuels to create hydrogen will allow the use of much of our current energy infrastructure – gas stations, natural gas pipelines, etc. – while fuel cells are phased in. In the future, hydrogen could also join electricity as an important energy carrier. An energy carrier stores, moves and delivers energy in a usable form to consumers. Renewable energy sources, like the sun, can’t produce energy all the time.

The sun doesn’t always shine. But hydrogen can store this energy until it is needed and can be transported to where it is needed. Some experts think that hydrogen will form the basic energy infrastructure that will power future societies, replacing today’s natural gas, oil, coal, and electricity infrastructures. They see a new “hydrogen economy” to replace our current “fossil fuel-based economy,” although that vision probably won’t happen until far in the future


Smart Grids

A smart grid is a modern electrical grid

that uses analog or digital Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

to gather and act on information, such as those about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers,

in an automated fashion to improve

the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity.


Features of Smart Grid

Reliability

The smart grid will make use of technologies, such as state estimation, that improve fault detection and allow self-healing of the network without the intervention of technicians.

This will ensure more reliable supply of electricity, and reduced vulnerability to natural disasters or attack.


Flexibility in network topology

Next-generation transmission and

distribution infrastructure will be better able to handle possible bidirection energy flows, allowing for distributed generation such as from photovoltaic panels on building roofs, but also the use of fuel cells, charging to/from the batteries of electric cars, wind turbines, pumped hydroelectric power, and other source


Efficiency

Overall improvement of the efficiency of

energy infrastructure are anticipated from

the deployment of smart grid technology, in

particular including demand-side

management, for example turning off air

conditioners during short-term spikes in

electricity price. The overall effect is less

redundancy in transmission and distribution

lines, and greater utilization of

generators, leading to lower power prices.


Essential requirements


Load adjustment/Load balancing

The total load connected to the power grid can vary significantly over time.

Although the total load is the sum of many individual choices of the clients, the overall load is not a stable, slow varying, increment of the load if a popular television program starts and millions of televisions will draw current instantly.

Traditionally, to respond to a rapid increase in power consumption, faster than the start-up time of a large generator, some spare generators are put on a dissipative standby mode.

A smart grid may warn all individual through television sets, or another larger customer, to reduce the load temporarily


Peak curtailment/leveling and

time of use pricing To reduce demand during the high cost peak usage

periods, communications and metering technologies inform smart devices in the home and business when energy demand is high and track how much electricity is used and when it is used.

It also gives utility companies the ability to reduce consumption by communicating to devices directly in order to prevent system overloads.

Examples would be a utility reducing the usage of a group of electric vehicle charging stations or shifting temperature set points of air conditioners in a city.

To motivate them to cut back use and perform what is called peak curtailment or peak leveling, prices of electricity are increased during high demand periods, and decreased during low demand periods.[


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid

Sustainability

The improved flexibility of the smart grid permits greater

penetration of highly variable renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind power, even without the addition of energy storage.

Current network infrastructure is not built to allow for many distributed feed-in points, and typically even if some feed-in is allowed at the local (distribution) level, the transmission-level infrastructure cannot accommodate it.

Rapid fluctuations in distributed generation, such as due to cloudy or gusty weather, present significant challenges to power engineers who need to ensure stable power levels through varying the output of the more controllable generators such as gas turbines and hydroelectric generators.

Smart grid technology is a necessary condition for very large amounts of renewable electricity on the grid for this reason


Market-enabling

The smart grid allows for systematic communication

between suppliers (their energy price) and consumers (their willingness-to-pay), and permits both the suppliers and the consumers to be more flexible and sophisticated in their operational strategies.

Only the critical loads will need to pay the peak energy prices, and consumers will be able to be more strategic in when they use energy.

Generators with greater flexibility will be able to sell energy strategically for maximum profit, whereas inflexible generators such as base-load steam turbines and wind turbines will receive a varying tariff based on the level of demand and the status of the other generators currently operation


Demand response support

Demand response support allows generators and loads to interact in an automated fashion in real time, coordinating demand to flatten spikes.

Eliminating the fraction of demand that occurs in these spikes eliminates the cost of adding reserve generators, cuts wear and tear and extends the life of equipment, and allows users to cut their energy bills by telling low priority devices to use energy only when it is cheapest.


Platform for advanced services

As with other industries, use of robust two-

way communications, advanced sensors,

and distributed computing technology will

improve the efficiency, reliability and

safety of power delivery and use.

It also opens up the potential for

improvements on existing ones, such

as fire monitoring and alarms that can

shut off power, make phone calls to

emergency services, etc.


Technology required for

Integrated communications

Sensing and measurement

Smart meters

A smart grid replaces analog mechanical meters with digital meters that record usage in real time

Phasor measurement units(PMU) High speed sensors called PMUs distributed throughout a transmission network can be used to monitor the state of the electric system.


Advanced components

Innovations in

superconductivity, fault tolerance,

storage, power electronics, and

diagnostics components are changing

fundamental abilities and characteristics

of grids.

Technologies within these broad R&D

categories include: flexible alternating

current transmission system devices


Distributed power flow control

Power flow control devices clamp onto existing transmission lines to control the flow of power within. Transmission lines enabled with such devices support greater use of renewable energy by providing more consistent,

Smart power generation using advanced components

Smart power generation is a concept of matching electricity production with demand using multiple identical generators which can start, stop and operate efficiently at chosen load, independently of the others, making them suitable for base load and peaking power generation.

Matching supply and demand, called load balancing, is essential for a stable and reliable supply of electricity


Advanced control

Power system automation enables rapid

diagnosis of and precise solutions to specific grid disruptions or outages. These technologies rely on and contribute to each of the other four key areas.

Three technology categories for advanced control methods are: distributed intelligent agents (control systems), analytical tools (software algorithms and high-speed computers),

Operational applications (SCADA – Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) substation automation, demand response, etc.


Improved interfaces and decision

support

Information systems that reduce complexity so that operators and managers have tools to effectively and efficiently operate a grid with an increasing number of variables.

Technologies include visualization techniques that reduce large quantities of data into easily understood visual formats, software systems that provide multiple options when systems operator actions are required, and simulators for operational training and “what-if” analysis.


Smart system


Smart Grid Functions


Smart system


Smart Grid


Micro-grids


http://media.energyrealities.org/portal/erpNV3KAS3221F785634/images/content/large/erp1BADFEF1E3A4E2E4D.jpg

1.5 billion houses have no

electricity

Since most of the world has taken

electric lights, air conditioning,

ubiquitous power outlets and so on for

granted for several generations,

Cannot forget that more than 1.5 billion

people on the planet—about one person

in five — still live without electricity.


Can we connect them to grid?

Bringing them into even the twentieth century, has remained a daunting challenge for many reasons, not the least of which involves the expense of connecting the mostly rural areas where most of those without power happen to live to central grids.

Creating a reliable nationwide grid is a formidable engineering challenge even in some of the world's richest countries, and is currently out of reach for too many still-developing nations.


Can we have simpler grids?

But rather than connecting everyone to

a single big grid,

Why not set up a smaller network of

smaller ones, each one served by some

local power source, ideally a renewable

and non-polluting one like solar, whose

costs are rapidly declining?


What is a microgrid?


Micro grid


Components of microgrid


Solar powered Microgrid

This idea is taking root all over the world, and in developing countries, where prototype "solar-powered microgrids" are being developed.

One of these provides enough electricity for the 200 people in the tiny village of Tanjung Batu Laut, located on an isolated island off the coast of Borneo.

This grid, an experiment that is being closely watched by development experts around the world, was developed by Optimal Power Solutions of Australia


Popular in other places also

Microgrids are also gaining in popularity in advanced countries.

They are viewed as a source of standby power in the event of natural disasters, like Japan's 2011 Fukushima earthquake or the U.S. east coast's Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The Sendai microgrid, located on the campus of Tohoku Fukushi University in Japan, had been built as a prototype in 2004, but received global attention when it continued to provide electricity to the campus after the 2011 earthquake, even as much of the surrounding area remained powerless.


Essential services

For institutions like hospitals that must remain open 24/7 no matter what, emergency power has long been available in the form of standby diesel generators that kick on in the event of blackouts.

But now, many of these facilities are designing other kinds of backup systems that have lower carbon footprints.

There are several new emergency-power generator at the regional hospital in Toronto fuelled by natural gas, now in abundant supply.

While these are not full-fledged micro-grids, they nonetheless take advantage of many of the technology breakthroughs that are allowing larger micro-grids in several sites.


Trend to micro-grids

It is estimated that there are currently close to five hundred microgrid projects worldwide.

Revenue from them is expected to reach $8.4 billion this year, and to increase fivefold by 2020.

Also helping microgrid development is the continued improvement of the economics of carbon-based energy sources.

Petroleum companies, for example, are moving to a set of new technologies and practices collectively known as "enhanced oil recovery" that allow them to extract more petroleum from existing wells, thereby reducing extraction costs.

Traditional techniques can tap a reserve for between 20% and 40% of its capacity, while advanced techniques have the potential to move those numbers to between 30% and 60%. When added to a mix that includes microgrids, the outlook for bringing more electricity to the world's population continues to brighten.


Other forms of energy

Hydrogen operated fuel cells,

Micro-generators using kinetic energy,

and other innovative power sources are

options for

allternative future energy generation.

Unlike traditional batteries that run

down, fuel cells can provide

continuous energy through

thermodynamically closed systems


Deserts can be used

Deserts in future could help in meeting

the world's energy needs as they are

good sources of crude oil.

Because deserts tend to be uninhabited,

dangerous waste disposal may not

create problems


Floating Nuclear plants

In the newest energy partnership between Russia and China, the countries may soon join forces to initiate the development of six nuclear power plants before the end of the decade.

But these new facilities won’t just be your run of the mill nuclear power stations — instead, they will be floating versions that are stationed in bodies of water.


Replacing Diesel with Gas

The generally accepted climate benefit of

natural gas is that it emits about half as much CO2 as coal per kilowatt-hour generated.

But this measure of climate impact applies only to combustion, it does not include methane leaks, which can dramatically alter the equation.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that forces about 80 times more global warming than carbon dioxide in its first 20 years in the atmosphere. Methane’s warming power declines to roughly 30 times CO2 after about 100 years.


Better energy storage methods

New batteries developed using

nanotechnology can store more energy

for longer time

Super capacitors for better storage of

power are on the way.


Electric hybrid vehicles

While solar-power electric hybrid vehicles are a proven success story on the roads, the time is ripe for the appearance of solar-electric watercraft.

Already many are available in the market.

Hybrid vehicles solar-electric powered and can seat eight passengers are being made.

Plans for a bigger boat solar-electric type are also on the anvil.


http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/infinyte-i4-electric-catamaran-cruiser/

Flying Wind Farms: Future Power

Harvesters

How would you like swarms of kite-like airborne turbines spinning at high altitudes sending power down via nano-tube cable tethers to generate power for your community?

This could very well be a true picture of future power harvesters according to NASA.

A federal fund of $100,000 is being reserved for exploring these high-altitude, nano-tube cable tethered, above-ground wind farms.


Hydrogen Generation & Storage

Made Easy with Nano-Technology

Fuels like gasoline, based on hydrocarbon, create pollution and carbon footprint.

Hydrogen has been claimed to be a good alternative to replace fossil fuel since the 1970s.

But hydrogen's potential has not been realized even partially mainly because of storage and commercial production difficulties.

Recently, breakthrough research has been successful in creating a new method for storing hydrogen.


Common Algae for Biofuel

Butanol Production

There have been various methods tried for reducing fossil fuel dependency and containing carbon footprints for a healthier and more eco-friendly future.

Corn-produced ethanol has been used for mixing with gasoline but there have been side effects like corrosion from ethanol.

Also huge tracts of precious farmlands need to be diverted for corn production. But now new research has thrown up results that show common algae can be used for biofuel production


MiraQua: A Tiny Miracle

Today there seems to be more and more and yet

more vehicles on the road than ever.

Everybody wants to have their own transport and a smaller car with least carbon emission seems to be an ideal solution for this inexhaustible number of cars that seem to be coming up.

Tiny cars electrically driven but looking unique in design and performance may be the ideal solution, according to Chaoyi Li, designer of the MiraQua car. Though he designed this as a solution for Australia and China's excessive traffic congestion, this car can become popular all over.


http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/Projects/Project.aspx?ID=1418&RegionId=0&Winindex=0



Microbes in Bio-Fuel Production

Currently biofuel is produced from plants as

well as microbes.

The oils, carbohydrates or fats generated by the microbes or plants are refined to produce biofuel.

This is a green and renewable energy that helps in conserving fossil-fuel usage. But a new research has led to a new discovery of getting the microbes to produce fuel from the proteins instead of utilizing the protein for its own growth.

The research is being done at several universities in USA


Laser ‘Scribing’ to Increase Solar

Cell Efficiency

Dedicated research work going on for increasing the efficiency of solar cells, today solar cells are no longer flat shaped or unyielding.

Ultra thin film-type solar cells have now been manufactured which are quite flexible and adaptable for use in corners, curvilinear and other structures.

Today almost 20% of global solar power generation is done by these thin-film solar cells and expected to grow more in near future.


Increasing the Efficiency of Wind

Turbine Blades

To ensure wind turbines that are big in size work in a better manner, a new kind of air-flow technology may soon be introduced.

Apart from other aspects, it will focus on efficiency of blades used in the wind turbines. The technology will help in increasing the efficiency of these turbines under various wind conditions.

This is a significant development in the area of renewable energy after new wind-turbine power generation capacity got added to new coal-fired power generation in 2008


Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells

A team of researchers at the Harvard School of

Engineering and Applied Sciences that is headed by Sriram Ramanathan is working on developing fuel cells.

If Ramanathan is to be believed, the solid-oxide fuel cells the visionary and specialist in the field is making along with other scientists, will become a highly sought after technology in days to come.

How will solid-oxide fuel cells be generated? The solid-oxide fuel cells that are capable of replacing fossil fuel with pollution less fuel are generated with the use of the plentiful fuel resources and low operating temperatures, along with some material that is of low cost, and some other small devices.


What is required in India

A change in the mind set of policy

makers

From large power plants to small &

medium

Smart grid and better management

Integrating micros and macros

Incentives to consumers who lower the

consumption at peak hours.


New avenues to be explored

Better communication methods

Smarter metering and control

Interconnecting systems

The answer is in :

Better energy generation techniques

Information and Communication

Technology

Nanotechnology etc etc


THANK YOU AND

WISH YOU WELL


References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/home

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/future-energy/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/05/determining_0_n_5651556.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_generation

http://der.lbl.gov/microgrid-concept

8/7/2014 Energy and Energy Systems of the Future 92

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy












http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell







energy and energy systems of the future : keynote address at icces14 at m e a college of engg 8th...

Education

energy systems

energy gap

usable energy

total energy

little energy

future renewable energy

solar energy available

watts of solar energy