Wind Energy ‣ Scientists are developing high-altitude wind turbines in order to reach winds blowing at atmosphere layers that are inaccessible by

traditional wind turbines – winds that are stronger and more consistent.‣ An Italian company, Kitenergy, has developed technology that harnesses the power of high-altitude winds and converts it into electricity.‣ Laddermills, giant kites, are composed of a series of kiteplanes on a long string that use wind energy at an altitude of 9,000 meters,

where wind speed can be 20 times higher than at sea level. Some other projects feature helium balloons or flying wing turbines.‣ Offshore wind farms move away from populated areas, and, because wind blows more steadily over the sea, allows the seafaring

turbines to be several times larger than grounded ones. Europe is focusing heavily on offshore development of these turbines.‣ A bladeless wind turbine that looks like a giant cylinder shooting into the sky is being developed. The Vortex has the same goals as

conventional wind turbines: To turn breezes into kinetic energy that can be used as electricity. Instead of capturing energy via thecircular motion of a propeller, the Vortex takes advantage of what’s known as vorticity, an aerodynamic effect that produces a pattern ofspinning vortices.

2016 Topic…Energy of the Future! Global  energy  needs  are  great  and  will  con2nue  to  rise  along  with  technological  advances  

and  popula2on  growth.  Alterna2ve  energies  are  being  developed,  but  o:en  with  unforeseen  nega2ve  impacts  as  a  by-­‐product.

Many questions remain to be answered: ‣ Which technologies will be critical to generate, transmit, and store energy in the future?

‣ Can energy be harvested from the environment and humans wearing devices?

‣ Will falling costs of geothermal, wind, solar, and biomass energy impact the economic balance of the energy industry?

‣ Will scientists be able to improve the capture and storage of the vast amounts of solar energy?

‣ Could innovation convert older energy sources into new “green” technology?

‣ Will the sources of energy become more diverse or will efficiency improve existing sources to the point that fewer typesof energy will be needed?

Biomass Energy • Biomass is a renewable energy source that can be used to

produce both heat and electricity. It can play a key role inreducing CO2 emissions from existing coal power plants andproducing green heat.

• Future increases in biomass trade will most likely mean that fuelis produced far from where it is consumed.

• One example currently under development that would simplifyfuture imports of biomass energy pellets is the thermalprocessing of biofuels to produce a more efficient type of pelletwith a higher energy value.

• Bioenergy (forestry residues, used wood, waste) is the largestenergy source in Sweden, mainly in the forest industry and fordistrict heating, including combined heat and power.

Geothermal Energy ‣ Definition: Energy in the form of heat obtained from hot circulating ground water‣ Hydrothermal (or hot water) resources arise when hot water and/or steam is

formed in fractured or porous rock at shallow-to-moderate depths (100 m to 4.5km) as a result of either the intrusion in the earth’s crust of molten magma fromthe planet’s interior or the deep circulation of water through a fault or fracture.

‣ Many sedimentary formations, including some that contain oil or gas, may be hotenough to serve as commercial geothermal reservoirs.

‣ In the future, repurposing old, depleted gas and oil wells as geothermal plantscould be a relatively easy infrastructure to create clean geothermal operations, asopposed to drilling brand new ones.

‣ Geopressured geothermal resources consist of hot brine saturated with methaneand found in large, deep aquifers under high pressure. The water and methaneare trapped in sedimentary formations at a depth of about 3 km to 6 km, and thetemperature of the water is in the range of 90C to 200C.

‣ Three forms of energy can be obtained from geopressured resources: thermalenergy, hydraulic energy from the high pressure, and chemical energy fromburning the dissolved methane gas.

Green/Renewable Energy ‣ As solar and wind technologies continue to improve, scientists and

engineers are experimenting with ways to make both more efficient. Themost promising idea for renewable energy are solar and wind hybrids.This technology combines wind turbines with solar photovoltaic (PV)panels to produce higher levels of energy – and studies have found thatthey are nearly twice as efficient.

‣ Solar panels that chase the sun overcome one of the biggestchallenges facing solar power – clouds and inclement weather.These solar panels actually reposition themselves to soak in themost possible sunlight, resulting in much higher levels of efficiency.

‣ Algae is the ultimate in renewable energy. Algae are among thefastest growing plants in the world, and about 50 percent of theirweight is oil. That lipid oil can be used to make biodiesel for cars,trucks, and airplanes.

Solar Power • Solar Power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity - either directly

using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power(CSP). Concentrated solar power systems use lenses ormirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area ofsunlight into a small beam.

• Solar power can be used for a variety of things! Forexample, the Beachill waterproof mattress (Powered by a5watt solar panel and a build-in thermal fridge) lets beach-goers keep their drinks cold and their portable devicescharged while making a positive impact on the environment.

• There is a 30-percent federal investment tax credit (ITC) forsolar energy systems in place until December 31, 2016. Bothresidential and commercial customers can take advantageof this tax credit, and it applies to all three major types of solar technology:photovoltaic, solar heating and cooling and concentrating solar technology.

Transmitting, Generating & Storing Energy • Japanese scientists have succeeded in transmitting energy wirelessly, in a key step that could one day make solar power generation in

space a possibility.• High-voltage direct-current transmission (HVDCT) is used to address transmitting electricity over large areas. Compared to alternate

current lines, HVDCT can transmit large amounts of electricity with extremely low losses. In fact, the transmission losses of HVDCT linesare 30 to 50 percent lower than those of overhead lines using three-phase alternating current.

• The current electric system has been designed primarily to provide power in onedirection, from the utility to the consumer, and today’s system requires that utilitiesmatch generation (supply) to load (demand) in real time. In the future, power willdynamically flow in two (or perhaps more) directions, requiring a change in howbalancing is done.

• A smart grid is an electrical grid which includes a variety of operational and energymeasures including smart meters, smart appliances, renewable energy resources, andenergy efficiency resources.

• New energy research from Parks Associates reports that adoption of solar panels hasreached 4 percent of U.S. broadband households -- up from 2 percent in 2013. Further,seven percent of U.S. broadband households plan to purchase a solar panel in thenext 12 months.

• Energy storage needs to be integrated in network-based energy systems, the electrical grid system, heat and cooling network and gasnetworks. It can also provide an important contribution to the development and emergence of the Smart Grid concept at all voltagelevels.

• In a future low-carbon energy system, storage will be needed at all points of the electricity system.• Sodium-ion batteries that use salt have been used in laptops following the creation of a prototype by the French network of researchers

and industrial firms called RS2E. This battery uses a standard that means it can be placed in laptops and even work in electric cars likethe Tesla Model S.

• The future of batteries is 3D. Prieto is the first company to develop this technology with its battery that uses a copper foam substrate.• These batteries will not only be safer, thanks to no flammable electrolytes, but they will also offer longer life, be faster charging, offer

five times higher density, be cheaper to make and be smaller than current offerings.• Scientists at MIT, working with Samsung, have discovered solid-state batteries that are better than current lithium-ion efforts. These

batteries should be safer, last longer and offer more power.

Wearable Energy • A Watch is not a Watch.• An IoT*-enabled razor is not a razor.• An IoT*-enabled hearing aid is not a hearing aid.

Each of these items can do the basic functionality that the name implies, but they do much more. The consumer hires the tool to do much more than what the product was originally intended to do. The more tools that connect to each other, the more each tool becomes a part of an ecosystem that supports other activities. That ecosystem will change one’s business model and the future of energy.

*IoT= Internet of Things