Renewable energy

Online units conversion site.

Overheads, tables, instructor notes:

• Forinash's PowerPoint on Energy.
• Figures from text (Fundamentals of Environmental Physics, Forinash).

Renewable energy:

• Water:
  • Hydrological cycle.
  • Hydro: locations.
  • Potential one, two.
  • EIA on hydropower.
• Wind:
  • Windmill photos, location.
  • What can be captured one, two.
  • Windmill design one, two, features/history.
  • Description of a Wind Rose diagram and links to regional diagrams.
  • American Wind Energy Association.
  • Windmills and birds.
• Waves and tides:
  • Wave capture designs one, two, three, four.
  • Fundy bay pictures.
  • Pelamis wave snake.
  • Rance river tidal plant (wikepedia).
• OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion): engine, potential.
• Geothermal:
  • Tectonics: one, two, three, four, five, east coast.
  • Active locations, geyser in Montana, warm spring in Montana, volcano at Arenal Costa Rica.
  • Heat pumps: one, two, three.
• Bio fuels.
  • Comparisons of lifecycle energy efficiency.
  • NREL analysis of a bio-diesel bus.
  • Analysis of ethanol production.
  • AlgaeFuel.org.
  • NREL summary.
  • Maximum Photosynthesis efficiency: Article by Zhu, Long, Ort.
  • Biomass: feedstock, potential, comparisons.
• Photocells:
  • Description, bandgaps, multilayered, efficiency, cost, production.
  • Germany.
• Solar:
  • Passive thermal: Trombe wall, Mesa Verde 1, 2, Canyon de Chelly.
  • Thermal solar: big, big, big, small, how it works.
  • Photovoltaic: pn junction, PV system, big roof top, small roof top, solar camel, NASA airplane.
  • Solar maps: US, World, Europe project.
• American Solar Energy Society.
• EIA Renewable Energy Trends.
• DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy site.
• APS sponsored conference on renewable energy, 2008.
• Power Point presentations by at Nathan Lewis' group at California Tech: http://nsl.caltech.edu
• National Academies Press report on electricity from renewables.
• Life Cycle Assesment:
  • Wuppertal Institut (Germany-publications in English on sustainable development).
  • LCA Software: SimaPro, GaBi Software, CES sofware from Granta Design, Aggregain (analyze recycling of concrete and asphalt), EIO-LCA from Carnegie Mellon.
• Estimates of available renewable sources: one, two, three, summary, land area needed for wind and solar.
• Electricity cost by source.
• IPCC 2011 report on renewable energy (the summary for policy makers is very good).
• John and Mary Ellen Harte have published a book, Cool the Earth, on the web about how to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.

Articles:

• 'Stabalization Wedges: Solving the climate problem for the next 50 years with current technology', S. Pascala, R. Socolow, Science vol. 305 Aug. 13 (2004) p968.
• 'Environmental, economic and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels' j. Hill, E. Nelson, D. Tilman, S. Polasky, D. Tiffany, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Vol. 103 No. 30 (July 2006) p11206.
• 'Use of US Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change', T. Searchinger et. al. Science vol. 319 Feb. (2008) p 1238.
• 'Taking Measure of Biofuel Limits', American Scientist, vol. 97, no. 5 Sept.-Oct., 2009.
• 'What is the maximum efficiency with which photosynthesis can convert solar energy into biomass?' X. Zhu, S. Long, D. Ort; US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Services.
• 'Electricity From Renewable Resources: Status, prospects, and Impediments', National Academy of Science (2009).
• 'Better Mileage Now', B. Knight, Scientific American vol. 302 No. 2 Feb. (2010) p50.