A presentation to the class about the importance of renewable energy.

1. Renewable Energy
Valentina Cantillana, Pedram Keyvani, Daniela Zaragoza
SUEN 7230
November 2021

2. What is Renewable
Energy?
“Renewable energy is energy that is
generated from natural processes
that are continuously replenished.
This energy cannot be exhausted
and is constantly renewed.” PSU

3. Why do we need Renewable Energy
???

5. ● Despite the global pandemic, global average amount of carbon
dioxide hit a new record high in 2020: 412.5 parts per million.
● The annual rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide over the
past 60 years is about 100 times faster than previous natural
increases, such as those that occurred at the end of the last ice
age 11,000-17,000 years ago.
● Decreased biodiversity
● The ocean has absorbed enough carbon dioxide to lower its pH by
0.1 units, a 30% increase in acidity.

8. Resources
● Wind
● Solar
● Hydroelectric
● Geothermal
● Biofuels (mass/diesel)
● Sound?!

9. Leading nations

10. China
USA
UAE
KSA

11. Positive initiatives - Mass/Boston
Net zero target 2050

12. Boston’s Energy
According to eia.gov, Natural gas fueled about two-thirds of
Massachusetts' total in-state electricity net generation in 2020
By the end of 2020, Massachusetts ranked eighth in the nation in
combined utility-scale and small-scale solar PV generating capacity with
about 2,710 megawatts installed.
Massachusetts plans to have 3,200 megawatts of offshore wind power
generating capacity by 2035.

13. Temperature Variance

14. Maximum Heat

15. Elevation

16. Wind Power
Major Highways
Wind Power Class

17. Maximize Wind Power

18. Green building standards
American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and
Air-Conditioning Engineers' ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES
Standard 189.1-2011, Standard for the Design of U.S.
Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED®)High-Performance Green
Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (ASHRAE
189.1)
National Association of Home Builders' ICC 700 National
Green Building Standard (NGBS)
U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED®)
LBC (Living Building Challenge)
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)
1. Location and Transport
2. Sustainable Space
3. Efficiency of water use
4. Energy and Atmosphere
5. Materials and Resources ]
6. Internal Environmental Quality
7. Innovation and Processes
8. Regional Priority Credits
40-49
Certified.
50-59
Silver
60-79
Gold.
80-100 is
Platinum

19. Roxbury LEED Certified
Buildings
One of Boston's oldest communities.
Incorporated nearly 400 years ago, in 1630.

20. Historical Patterns
- Natural gas produced
13% of our electricity; now
it’s 40%.
-Renewable energy
accounted for 6% in 2000;
today it’s 9%.
-Hydro has been steady,
around 6% to 7%.

21. We have mandatory requirements to cut carbon emissions
economy-wide 80% by the year 2050.
- Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act
According to Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators
Association, how we do that is still very much an open question.

22. Current Practices
● In 2020, renewable-sourced electricity accounted
for three-tenths of total in-state net generation.
● By 2020, almost one-fifth of the state's total net
generation, including small-scale generation, was
produced by solar power
● the state ranked ninth in the nation in the
amount of electricity generated from solar
photovoltaic (PV) panels.
● By the end of 2020, Massachusetts ranked eighth
in the nation in combined utility-scale and
small-scale solar PV generating capacity with
about 2,710 megawatts installed.

23. Current Practices -> Gas Usage
Facility Groups
● Boston Centers for Youth & Families
● Boston Fire Department
● Boston Parks Department
● Boston Police Department
● Boston Public Health Commission
● Boston Public Library
● Boston Public Schools
● Boston Public Works Department
● Boston Transportation Department
● Department of Neighborhood
Development
● Property & Construction Management
https://www.aeintelligence.com/city-of-boston

24. Current Practices -> Electricity Usage
Facility Groups
● Boston Centers for Youth & Families
● Boston Fire Department
● Boston Parks Department
● Boston Police Department
● Boston Public Health Commission
● Boston Public Library
● Boston Public Schools
● Boston Public Works Department
● Boston Transportation Department
● Department of Neighborhood
Development
● Property & Construction Management
https://www.aeintelligence.com/city-of-boston

25. Current Practices-> Oil usage
Facility Groups
● Boston Centers for Youth & Families
● Boston Fire Department
● Boston Parks Department
● Boston Police Department
● Boston Public Health Commission
● Boston Public Library
● Boston Public Schools
● Boston Public Works Department
● Boston Transportation Department
● Department of Neighborhood
Development
● Property & Construction Management
https://www.aeintelligence.com/city-of-boston

26. Issues and Threats
● Greenhouse gas emissions
○ Most common are methane and carbon dioxide
○ In the US, CO2 emissions from the electric power sector calculated in 2015 indicate that 71 percent were
attributable to coal
● Air pollution
○ coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of mercury emissions that pollute the atmosphere
● Acid rain and water pollution
○ forms when sulphur and other chemicals are introduced into the atmosphere from industrial processes.
○ chemicals suspended in the air then turn the rain mildly acidic.
● Land pollution and waste generation
○ Huge volumes of excess rock or soil are dumped in other locations such as nearby valleys affecting those
ecosystems.
● Oil spills
○ “accidents which came about due to negligence, technology failure, lack of preparedness or a combination of all
those.”

27. Issues and Threats
● Greenhouse gas emissions
○ Their increase in the atmosphere will cause an increase in the global mean temperature
overtime
● Air pollution
○ Pollutants emitted into the air then deposit on the ground or in water.
○ Accumulate in organisms of species that inhabit the area, passing through the food chain, and
eventually reach people
● Acid rain and water pollution
○ Changes the acidity of lakes and streams which is harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms
○ Damaging to trees thus weakening forest ecosystems
● Land pollution and waste generation
○ Sites are left with poor soil quality and pollution
● Oil spills and other accidents
○ Species of algae vital to the lives of many animals could be wiped off
○ Extremely damaging to nearby shores and ecosystems.

28. Renewable Energy & Climate Change
“In any discussion about climate change, renewable energy usually
tops the list of changes the world can implement to stave off the
worst effects of rising temperatures. That's because renewable
energy sources such as solar and wind don't emit carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.”
Nunez, Christina. “Renewable Energy, Facts and Information.” Environment, National Geographic, 3 May 2021,
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/renewable-energy.

29. Renewable Energy & Climate Change

30. Renewable Energy & Climate Change

31. CASE STUDY 1: Kearsarge's Energy
● Kearsarge Solar
○ Focuses on meeting the demand for reliable & cost-effective
renewable energy.
○ Offers a “full service turnkey solar solution, from feasibility through
financing, construction, and ongoing maintenance and monitoring.”
● Kearsarge Wind & Hydro
○ Acquires existing hydroelectric projects throughout New England and
the Mid-Atlantic region.
○ Works with select development partners on the permitting,
development, and financing wind farms across New England
○ Is currently working on several projects in New Hampshire and Maine.
“A full-service renewable energy project development, finance and holding company, with a
mission to build a more sustainable world and to provide superior returns to all project
stakeholders”

32. CASE STUDY 1: Kearsarge's Energy

33. CASE STUDY 1: Kearsarge's Energy

34. CASE STUDY 1: Kearsarge's Energy

35. CASE STUDY 1: Kearsarge's Energy
Canton Public School
Canton, MA
True North
Salisbury, MA
Grafton Water District
Grafton, MA
Mount Saint Mary’s Solar
Franklin, MA

36. CASE STUDY 2: EVERSOURCE Sustainability Report
● Eversource Energy (Eversource) is a Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor’s 500
company operating New England’s largest energy delivery system serving
more than 560 communities
● One of the nation’s leading developers of offshore wind, serving as a catalyst
for clean energy throughout the Northeast
https://www.eversource.com/content/docs/default-source/community/2020-sustainability-report.pdf#page=15

37. Carbon Neutral Facilities
Leading with the example…
● Their target is to reduce their greenhouse
gas footprint and reach carbon neutrality
in our operations by 2030.
What is Carbon Neutrality?
By definition, carbon neutrality is the balance
between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon
emissions from carbon sinks. Or simply, elimination
all carbon emissions altogether.
https://www.eversource.com/content/docs/default-source/community/2020-sustainability-re
port.pdf#page=15

38. Clean energy future
○ Deliver reliable energy to customers and
integrating clean energy resources and
electric vehicle adoption
○ Accelerate the transition to a low-carbon
economy
○ Developing adaptation and resiliency strategies to
address climate change by fully supporting the
decarbonization of our natural gas system to meet
state climate goals and exploring alternative
technologies like renewable natural gas,
geothermal and hydrogen for heating.
https://www.eversource.com/content/docs/default-source/community/2020-sustainability-report.pdf#page=15

39. Reaching the Goals-> Steps to take
1. Leading Offshore Wind
Partnering with the world’s leading offshore wind
energy developer, Ørsted, to develop more than 4,000
megawatts (MW) of offshore wind projects
approximately 15 miles south of Rhode Island.
- Competitive advantages of the location: proximity
to shore, shallow water, and interconnection
points in New England and New York.
2. Creating New Solutions and Innovating for the
future
- The electric industry’s biggest challenge for
emissions reduction is when power is transmitted
and distributed across the electric system
- Making upgrades to increase the capacity of the
electric system to meet increasing energy
demands
- Introduced a project to install a distribution
management system, optimize electric
distribution operations, and lay the foundation
for more distributed generation on the system
https://www.eversource.com/content/docs/default-source/community/2020-sustainability-report.pdf#page=15

40. Reaching the Goals-> Steps to take
4. Accelerating electric vehicle charging
infrastructure
- The transportation sector represents an
estimated 40% of New England’s emissions
- They are implementing the second largest
public-facing EV infrastructure program in the
nation after California.
- 180 electric charging sites were installed in 2020
and are on track to meet their goal of 400 sites
that will enable 3,500 charging ports by the end
of 2021
3. Harnessing the Power of the Sun
- They own 22 solar facilities, four of which
beneficially repurpose landfill or other brownfield
sites.
- Collectively, these facilities produce 70 MW of
generation, enough to power more than 11,000
homes. (Renewable Energy Credits passed along
as a savings on electric rates)
https://www.eversource.com/content/docs/default-source/community/2020-sustainability-report.pdf#page=15

41. Projections -> Enphase App
solar+batteries+software
=
make, use, save, and sell your
own power through an app
https://enphase.com/homeowners

42. Discussion questions
1. Do you think renewable energy will be able to keep up with
the demand for energy, given the limitless increases in
“living standards” that society is accustomed to today?
2. What do you think is the best way to speed the process to
renewable?
3. In your opinion, do you think renewable energy will be able
replace fossil fuels completely?

43. Sources
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/renewable-energy
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zbsdmp3/revision/4
https://greentumble.com/harmful-effects-of-non-renewable-resources-on-the-environment/
https://www.iea.org/reports/renewable-energy-market-update/challenges-and-opportunities-beyond-2021
http://www.kearsargeenergy.com/true-north-solar
https://www.eversource.com/content/docs/default-source/community/2020-sustainability-report.pdf#page=15
https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=MA#tabs-4
https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2020/08/CFB_Energy_Technical_Report_190514_0.pdf
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/global-warming-solutions-act-background