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Earth's Energy Systems
Dr Liam Herringshaw
lgh865@hotmail.com
Class 7: Solar-Wind
UK Renewables 1990-2012
Hydro, Landfill, Biomass, Solar, Wind
Windy UK
Windiest country
in Europe
World's 6th largest
producer of wind
power
Global stats
China ~91 GW
USA ~61 GW
Germany ~34 GW
Spain ~23 GW
India ~20 GW
UK ~10.5 GW
UK wind stats
Turbines:
~4300 onshore
~7 GW capacity
~1000 offshore
~3.6 GW capacity
Produce ~26 TWh
(~6m homes)
Increasing power
Thursday
March 6th 2014
Your Thoughts...
Wind Power:
Pros & Cons
Solar Power
“The sun’s energy incident upon the earth in
one hour is equivalent to our total annual
energy consumption.”
(Imperial College Solar Network)
Solar Power
22% of global electricity by 2050?
International Energy Agency
1. Solar thermal
Using the sun
Using sunshine for direct heating of buildings or water.
2. Solar photovoltaic:
Generating electricity.
3. Solar biomass:
Using photosynthesizing organisms to make fuels,
chemicals, or building materials.
4. Food:
Solar biomass as fuel for ourselves
Getting solar-powered
Type 1 – Photovoltaics
(PV)
Getting solar-powered
Type 1 – Photovoltaics (PV)
Directly convert solar energy into electricity
using a PV cell made of a semiconductor
material.
Fastest-growing renewable power source:
1.5 GW in 2000; 65 GW in 2011 (IEA)
Solar Power
Type 2 – Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
Focus energy from sun’s rays to heat a receiver to
high temperatures.
Heat transformed into mechanical energy (by
turbines or other engines) then into electricity.
Solar Power
Type 2 – Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
Solucar complex, Seville, Spain
Largest solar complex in Europe
1st solar towers in the world
Solar UK
Solar potential map
Low but similar to
Germany, which
has solar power
capacity of ~36
GW (Jan 2014)
Solar UK
Current UK solar
power capacity:
~2.5 GW
(Massive PV
growth in 2011)
20 GW by 2020?
Your Thoughts...
Solar Power:
Pros & Cons
Raw materials
Vidal et al. Nature
Geoscience
(2013)
Rare earths & renewables
Neodymium
Very powerful
magnet
300kg in one
wind turbine
Chinese mines
Perovskites & Photovoltaics
New semiconductor technology
Perovskite, CaTiO3
85% of PV cells
based on
crystalline silicon
10-20% efficient
Perovskites:
High charge-carrier
mobility
Less energy lost as
heat
Space for wind?
Offshore winds
stronger
Shallow sea bed
viable
Dogger Bank:
~7 GW
Space for solar?
San Bernandino County, California
A windy, sunny future for the UK?
VOTE!
Next week:
Reviewing The Options
New room: Alcuin College