Renewables
Energy that is renewable is sustainable because our supply of it is infinite and using it doesn’t pollute the earth. The main renewables are wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric.
WIND ENERGY
Wind is the result of the earth’s variations in surface temperatures, caused by heat from the sun. Harnessing the abundant winds has proven to be the most economical source of renewable energy, and in some cases it is less expensive now than generating power via fossil fuels.
As a case in point, people in Colorado who signed up for green energy six years ago initially paid more for power, but with the increasing cost of gas and coal they now pay less than conventionally derived power.
The opportunity is at hand for the world to lower the price of electricity in the long term. Wind will play a key role in that equation because this energy will always be free.
Since wind blows intermittently, a wind farm is far more productive if power can be stored during wind peaks and then delivered when demand is highest.
Wind power is most efficiently generated where wind blows hard and blows fairly consistently — the kind of places most of us would not want to live. The future of wind power lies in larger turbines, offshore wind farms, improved electric grids and better energy storage.
SOLAR ENERGY
Investment in wind energy exceeds $12 billion per year. Wind will supply 20% of the energy needed for the US electric grid by 2030 and will be key for the economic sustainability of many farms and rural towns.
The largest nuclear reactor in our solar system is the sun, from which we can gather abundant energy. This energy can be converted directly into electricity via photovoltaic panels. Alternatively, solar heat can heat water for showers and create steam for the generation of electricity.
Solar electricity is clean and free after covering the initial cost of the conversion equipment. The reason solar collectors are not on every rooftop already is that their photovoltaic panels are expensive and it takes 7 to 15 years to earn back their cost. Most people have found it easier to plug into the existing electric grid, which is primarily powered by coal, a major pollutant.
Fortunately, the market is on a path to lower the cost of solar electricity by 70%. This is comparable to the exponential improvement of computers over the past 15 years, a trend which is happening now to solar power equipment. Just as there are currently 1.6 billion personal computers in the world, solar energy will power over 1 billion homes and businesses within the next 15 years. The solar business will generate $10 trillion in sales over that period.
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
The entire US is connected together via the electricity grid. The grid is made up of power stations, substations and wires. All the electricity is directed from its source to where it is needed by human operators backed up by a small amount of computing power.
This grid is woefully out of date, with average equipment seeing over 40 years in service.
We are becoming more distributed in electricity production because our power is now coming from roof top solar panels and wind turbines. We need a logical network similar to the Internet to utilize that energy efficiently.
The opportunities ahead lie in building new electricity infrastructure and the computer intelligence to optimally direct the electrical traffic.
POWER STORAGE
Power storage is currently the Achilles’ heel of the renewable energy sector. With the exception of hydropower and geothermal, clean power production is intermittent, hence supply does not always correspond to when there is demand.
Power storage solutions include chemical batteries, capacitor batteries, hydrogen, and flywheels. Nothing cost effective has come onto the market yet that stores large quantities of electricity, let alone the smaller quantities needed by electric vehicles.
Research and development for batteries is fast and furious these days, because whoever wins the race has a $500 billion dollar opportunity ahead. The objective is to make a battery that is inexpensive, recyclable, and lightweight, which also has a long life, a fast charge, and a fast discharge.
