Renewable Energy Resources
Lecture 1: Need, Sustainability
and Economics
Dr Ayesha Mohy-ud-din
Reading/Reference List
Recommended Readings
Side Reading
• Renewable Energy Resources by
John Twidell & Tont Weir
• Fundamentals of Renewable
Energy Processes by Aldo Da
Rosa, 2nd ed Elsevier Academic
Press ISBN 0120885107
• Renewable Energy by Godfrey
Boyle, 2nd ed Oxford University
Press 2004, ISBN 0-19-926178-4
• Renewable energy
engineering and technology:
principles and practice edited
by Kishore
• Solar energy and its uses by
Naggi
• Wind energy: theory and
practice by Siraj Ahmad
Course Objectives
• Key concepts in renewable energy
technologies
• Ability to model and cost renewable
energy projects.
• Awareness of political and business issues
relating to renewable energy
The Big Picture
• This generation is using the earth’s finite
resources much faster than they can be
regenerated
• It’s estimated that we burn in 1 year what it took
nature 15,000 years to make
• We are endangering the standard of living of
future generations
– Energy / Resources Poor
– Pollution (incl. climate change)
– Biodiversity (largest mass extinction of species in the
past 65 million years)
Motivations that drive today’s
energy discussions
• Fossil fuels are a finite resource
– Cheap oil and gas will probably run out in our lifetime
– Needed for plastics and other essential materials
• We’re interested in security of energy supply
– Each nation / economic block needs security to
protect industry and essential services
– Have our fossil fuels peaked?
• It’s very likely that fossil fuels change the climate
Peak Oil
•
•
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•
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Peak oil is the point in time when the
maximum rate of global petroleum extraction
is reached, after which the rate of production
enters terminal decline.
Hubbert proposed that fossil fuel production
in a given region over time would follow a
roughly bell-shaped curve
"Hubbert's peak" can refer to the peaking of
production of a particular area, which has
now been observed for many fields and
regions.
Hubbert's Peak was achieved in the
continental US in the early 1970s. Oil
production peaked at 10.2 million barrels a
day. Since then, it has been in a gradual
decline.
Hubbert assumed that after fossil fuel
reserves (oil reserves, coal reserves, and
natural gas reserves) are discovered,
production at first increases approximately
exponentially, as more extraction
commences and more efficient facilities are
installed. At some point, a peak output is
reached, and production begins declining
until it approximates an exponential decline.
Production Lags Discovery
Who uses the world’s oil?
USA & Canada,
27%
Former USSR,
5%
Latin America
Japan
Africa
India, 3%
Europe, 19%
Rest of World
India
Rest of World,
19%
AfricaJapan,
, 3% 5%
USA & Canada
China, 10%
Latin America,
9%
Former USSR
Europe
China
Source: sustainability institute
Projected Price of Oil
Projected Price of Oil
Price per Barrel
250
200
150
Price
100
50
0
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
Year
2018
2020
2022
Conclusions of the Hirsch Report
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World oil peaking is going to happen - some forecasters predict within a decade,
others later.
Oil peaking could cost economies dearly - particularly that of the U.S.
Oil peaking presents a unique challenge - previous transitions were gradual and
evolutionary; oil peaking will be abrupt and revolutionary.
The real problem is liquid fuels for transportation - motor vehicles, aircraft, trains, and
ships have no ready alternative.
Efforts will require substantial time - an intense effort over decades.
Both supply and demand will require attention - higher efficiency can reduce demand,
but large amounts of substitute fuels must be produced.
It is a matter of risk management - early solution will be less damaging than delayed
solution.
Government intervention will be required - otherwise the economic and social
implications would be chaotic.
Economic upheaval is not inevitable - without damage, peaking will cause major
upheaval, but given enough lead-time, the problems are soluble.
More information is needed - effective action requires better understanding of a
number of issues.
Security of Supply
• Mostly over 90% of total primary energy requirements
are met by imported oil, coal, and gas.
• Slow rate of development of indigenous renewable
energy sources
• Does the ‘Balance Sheet’ add up?
– Are there enough renewables to cover our requirements
• What are the social and economic consequences of
– Substantially increased energy costs?
– Intermittent and Uncertain Supply?
Renewables Change the Game
distributed sources
local supply and demand
monopolies difficult to establish
no intermediaries
local economic ecosystems
new technologies needed
Renewable
• Renewable energy is energy generated from
natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain,
tides, and Biomass—which are renewable
(naturally replenished).
• Although by definition non-finite, renewables are
constrained by technology and infrastructure
capable of harvest
• While most renewable energy projects and
production is large-scale, renewable
technologies are also suited to small off-grid
applications in rural and remote areas, where
energy is often crucial in human development
Survey of Renewable Energy Technologies
Energy sources and uses
Biomass
Chemical processing
Biological processing
Wind energy
Energy storage and sequestration
Efficiency
Renewable chemicals
Engines and combustion
Fuel cells
Environment
Economics
The Subject of this Course
source 
biomass
wind
sun
water
process 
chemical
thermal
biological
mechanical
product
heat
chemicals
electricity
fuel
Renewable versus Nonrenewable
Coal, oil, gas, and biomass
CHx + O2  CO2 + H2O + heat
These all came from photosynthesis
CO2 + H2O + sunlight  carbohydrates +O2
plants
animals
energy
CO2
No net CO2 produced in cycle
The cycle takes 1 year for crops
200 million years from coal and oil!
Economically Attractive
• Finding new energy sources is not difficult
– What is difficult is finding new sources of
economically attractive energy
• It is essential to be able to estimate the
cost of energy produced by different
methods
Problems with Renewables
•
Intermittency / Fluctuations
– (the wind doesn't always blow nor
the sun always shine) and that
this has not been adequately
factored into discussions of their
potential
– Requirement for significant
storage
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Social and Environmental Impact
– Food Capacity
– Land Usage
– Aesthetic
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Accessibility
Technology Maturity
Cost
Availability of transmission net
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Greater use of renewable energy
is seen as a key component of
any move to combat climate
change, and is being aggressively
promoted as such by the new U.S.
administration and by other
Without new storage technologies
that can overcome intermittency,
much of the decarbonization of the
economy will have to come from
nuclear, carbon capture and
storage (CCS) and energy
efficiency
New energy storage technologies
could greatly increase the role of
renewables, but none are
currently in sight
Little rigorous economic analysis
of renewable technologies
Baseload
Generation
Mid-merit
generation
Peaking
Generation
System demand
Electricity Demand Profile
6am
midday
6pm
Time of Day
midnight
Carbon & Climate Change
• Human fossil- fuel burning causes carbon
dioxide concentrations to rise
• Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas;
• Increasing the greenhouse effect increases average global temperatures (and
has many other effects).
Carbon & Climate Change
Source: http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/withouthotair/c1/page_6.shtml
Carbon & Climate Change
• The burning of fossil fuels sends about 7
gigatons of CO2 per year into the
atmosphere
• The biosphere and the oceans send about
440 gigatons and 330 gigatons of CO2 per
year into the atmosphere
The Balance Sheet
• Consumption
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Transport
Heating and Cooling
Lighting
Information Systems
and Gadgets
– Food
– Manufacturing
• Renewables
Production Capability
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Wind
Solar
Hydroelectric
Wave
Geothermal
Nuclear??
Without hot air pg 22
The Energy Gap
• What is energy gap
• Can we live on renewables?
• Options for reducing consumption?
Ideas?
• Solar Power Satellites
• utility-scale solar thermal power utilityscale solar thermal power
• Hydro Storage facilities
• Cold Fusion
RENEWABLE ENERGY IN PAKISTAN
• Activities of Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy
Technologies (PCRET)
– Photovoltaic (PV) Technology
• Solar-Wind-Diesel High hybrid system installed to
provide electricity to two villages in Balochistan through
M/s Empower International, New Zealand.
• Two other villages in Balochistan were electrified using
PV system.
• 3000 Laser Detectors were designed and fabricated for
incorporating in the laser land leveling system of
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).
• 4000 Solar Cells and 300 Solar Modules of different
sizes were fabricated indigenously
RENEWABLE ENERGY IN PAKISTAN
– Solar Thermal Appliances
• A number of appliances including solar water heaters,
solar fruit and vegetable dryers, solar distillation stills for
producing clean water, solar room heating systems and
solar cookers have been developed and disseminated
for domestic and commercial applications. Fuel Saving /
Efficient Cooking Stoves
• PCRET has developed five different models of efficient
cooking stoves for use in different parts of the country.
Their efficiency varies from 20% to 25% vis-à-vis 10%
efficiency of conventional cooking stoves. So far, 70,000
such cooking stoves have been disseminated, 400
training programs conducted and 20 cooking stoves
manufacturing units/shops established and 200 sale
points have been opened by the private sector.
RENEWABLE ENERGY IN PAKISTAN
• Biogas Technology
• 1500 family size biogas plants have been installed, which are
meeting the domestic needs of 1500 households in the rural area of
the country.
• 3 community size biogas plants have been installed in rural areas of
Islamabad, which are meeting domestic fuel needs of 20 houses.
• A 1000 m3 biogas plant is being designed for installation near Cattle
Colony, Karachi. This plant will work under thermophillic conditions.
• Micro Hydro Power (MHP) Plants
• 300 MHP plants (5-50 kW each) installed on cost sharing basis in
the hilly terrain of NWFP.
• Under Malakand Rural Development Project, 5 MHP plants have
been installed and civil works of another 20 MHP plants have been
completed. The Government of NWFP has funded this project.
RENEWABLE ENERGY IN PAKISTAN
• Electrification through Micro Wind Turbines
• 600 houses have been electrified in the remote coastal
areas of Sindh and Balochistan through installation of
small wind turbines (stand alone) systems.
• 4 Coast Guard Check Posts at Lasbela have been
electrified.
• 5 villages have been provided with battery charging
facilities through a wind-powered battery-charging
center.
• 500-Watts Wind Turbine has been manufactured locally.
The second (improved) model is under field test.
• A reverse osmosis unit is being installed near village
Mubarak, Kemari Town, Karachi for desalination of
brackish water.