The document discusses various aspects of future energy systems and the transition away from fossil fuels. It begins by outlining problems with current large-scale energy generation methods and their dependence on fossil fuels. It then discusses how fossil fuel reserves will be depleted by 2088 if usage continues at present rates. The bulk of the document explores renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass, and the potential for a future based around technologies like smart grids, fuel cells, and hydrogen. It provides details on how each renewable source can be harnessed and integrated into energy systems.
Measures of Central Tendency: Mean, Median and Mode
ENERGY AND ENERGY SYSTEMS OF THE FUTURE : Keynote address at ICCES14 at M E A College of Engg 8th Aug
1. Dr. K P Mohandas
Dean Academic & Professor MESCE
(Former Dean, N I T Calicut)
2. 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 2Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
3. 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
8/7/2014 3Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
4. 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
8/7/2014 4Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
5. 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
8/7/2014 5Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
6. 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.
8/7/2014 6Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
7. 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.
8/7/2014 7Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
8. 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.
8/7/2014 8Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
9. The D-day is near - 2088 ?
8/7/2014 9Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
10. 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.
8/7/2014 10Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
11. 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.”
8/7/2014 11Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
12. Renewable Energ y abundant
Hydroelectric
Solar energy
Wind energy
Ocean waves
Geothermal energy
Biomass and bio-fuels
8/7/2014 12Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
13. World use of renewable energy
8/7/2014 13Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
14. 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.
8/7/2014 14Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
15. 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.
8/7/2014 15Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
16. 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).
8/7/2014 16Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
17. Solar energy using photo voltaic
cells
8/7/2014 17Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
18. Solar power by generating steam
8/7/2014 18Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
20. Solar at home self contained
8/7/2014 20Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
21. 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
8/7/2014 21Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
22. 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
8/7/2014 22Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
23. 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
8/7/2014 23Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
24. Wind power on land
8/7/2014 24Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
25. Wind power in lakes / off shore
8/7/2014 25Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
26. 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.
8/7/2014 26Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
30. 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.
8/7/2014 30Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
31. 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
8/7/2014 31Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
32. 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.
8/7/2014 32Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
33. 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.
8/7/2014 33Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
34. Sources of biomass energy
8/7/2014 34Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
38. 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.
8/7/2014 38Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
39. 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.
8/7/2014 39Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
41. 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
8/7/2014 41Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
43. 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.
8/7/2014 43Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
44. 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.
8/7/2014 44Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
45. 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
8/7/2014 45Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
46. 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.
8/7/2014 46Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
48. 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
8/7/2014 48Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
49. 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.[
8/7/2014 49Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
50. 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
8/7/2014 50Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
51. 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
8/7/2014 51Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
52. 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.
8/7/2014 52Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
53. 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.
8/7/2014 53Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
54. 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.
8/7/2014 54Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
55. 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
8/7/2014 55Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
56. 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
8/7/2014 56Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
57. 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.
8/7/2014 57Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
58. 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.
8/7/2014 58Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
64. 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.
8/7/2014 64Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
65. 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.
8/7/2014 65Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
66. 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?
8/7/2014 66Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
67. What is a microgrid?
8/7/2014 67Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
70. 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
8/7/2014 70Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
71. 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.
8/7/2014 71Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
72. 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.
8/7/2014 72Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
73. 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.
8/7/2014 73Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
74. 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
8/7/2014 74Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
75. 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
8/7/2014 75Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
76. 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.
8/7/2014 76Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
77. 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.
8/7/2014 77Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
78. 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.
8/7/2014 78Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
79. 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.
8/7/2014 79Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
80. 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.
8/7/2014 80Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
81. 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.
8/7/2014 81Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
82. 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
8/7/2014 82Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
83. 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.
8/7/2014 83Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
84. 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
8/7/2014 84Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
85. 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.
8/7/2014 85Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
86. 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
8/7/2014 86Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
87. 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.
8/7/2014 87Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
88. 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.
8/7/2014 88Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
89. 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
8/7/2014 89Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
91. THANK YOU AND
WISH YOU WELL
8/7/2014 91Energy and Energy Systems of the Future
92. References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tec
h/home
http://www.alternative-energy-
news.info/technology/future-energy/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/05/det
ermining_0_n_5651556.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_generat
ion
http://der.lbl.gov/microgrid-concept
8/7/2014 Energy and Energy Systems of the Future 92