Energy
Dr Michael McCann
Centre for Sustainable Technologies
(Professor Neil J Hewitt)
“Energy cannot be created
or destroyed, it can only be
changed from one form to
another.”
How is energy transferred?
• Energy transfer through heat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBVbV5dpCCA
• Energy transfer in different forms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe_fFFrVl7U
Energy transfers
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Global state of energy reserves
Consequences of energy use
UK and Ireland Challenges
Renewables
Smart systems
Global status of conventional
energy sources
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Oil
Gas
Coal
Nuclear
Electricity
Overall electricity use
Oil
Oil
Gas
Major gas trade movements
Coal
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy
Nuclear energy means the energy of an atomic nucleus,
which can be released by fusion or fission or radioactive
decay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rn339v_Q-w
Well controlled-electricity
Out of control-disaster
Nuclear energy consumption
by region
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity consumption by region
Three gorges dam in China
What is renewable energy?
It comes from resources which are continually replenished
on a human timescale such as:
sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat
Primary energy
Consequences
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Poverty
Environment
Security
Costs
Poverty
Environment
Global temperature increases
Energy security
Energy investment $22 Trillion!
What is Germany doing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25bmXpEPosc
WHAT MIGHT WE DO IN THE
UK & IRELAND?
Drivers for Energy Changes
 UK has a target to reduce
carbon emissions by 80%
by 2050
1. Maintaining a secure
energy system
2. Providing affordable
energy
3. Enabling economic
growth
4. Limiting impact on the
environment
Challenges for Energy
 The key challenge is to rapidly decarbonise our
energy supply
 Increase the efficiency of buildings, industry and
transport
 Develop/enhance existing networks/infrastructure
to support the changing face of energy
 Accelerate the development and deployment of
affordable green energy technologies
UK Energy consumption by
sector
UK Low Carbon Transition Plan
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34% cut in CO2 emissions by 2020
7M homes insulated
1.5M homes generating electricity
40% electricity is low carbon
Halving gas imports
Reducing car emissions by 40%
etc
Technologies?
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Solar photovoltaics
Wind turbines
Small scale hydro
Solar hot water
Ground source heat pumps
Air source heat pumps
Biomass
Micro-chp
Wave/Tidal
etc
Wind Energy?
On shore wind farm
Off shore wind farm
European offshore wind atlas
Wind Impacts
Forecasting Accuracy
Wind energy can be simulated using CFD technology
System M arginal Price by Trading Period
Electricity
01 Jan Price
2008 to 31st Aug 2008
600
500
€/MWh
400
300
200
100
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Trading Period
Mean + 1σ
Mean - 1σ
Max SMP
Mean SMP
Min SMP
The Elephant in the Room?
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Vehicles…..
 Charge electricity/time:
100 miles distance
 Cost of unit of electricity
10p off-peak
20p peak
 If using off-peak electricity,
electricity costs equivalent
to a tank of petrol: €2 to €5,
Issues to consider…
 What is the % of vehicles that use is under 50km (return)?
 Can battery easily meet most daily needs?
 But occasional needs for longer journey both actual and
psychological?
 Plug-in Hybrids
 Battery Electric Vehicles
 Battery Exchange
 Fast Charging of Battery
Fast Charging
 Issues with heat
management and
electrical safety
 80% charge (125 km)
in 30 minutes
 European Standard
underway
Definitions etc….
SMART GRIDS
A smart grid uses information and communications
technology to gather and act on information of the suppliers
and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the
efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the
production and distribution of electricity
What is a Smart Grid?
The Smart House?
Added green
power sources
High-speed,
networked
connections
Plug-in hybrid
electric cars
Real-time and green
pricing Signals
Customer interaction
with utility
Smart thermostats,
appliances and in-home
control devices
Conclusions
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Network will change
Wind resources
Tidal and Wave to come
Smart metering an invention of bad policy
Can we afford them?
Can we afford not to?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ-J91SwP8w
Thanks for your attention