Chapter (1) The old days of energy Before the industrial revolution, our energy needs were modest. For heat, we relied on the sun—and burned wood, straw, and dried dung when the sun failed us. For transportation, the muscle of horses and the power of the wind in our sails took us to every corner of the world. For work, we used animals to do jobs that we couldn't do with our own labor. Water and wind drove the simple machines that ground our grain and pumped our water. Simple machines based on the ability to harness the power of steam have been dated by some sources as far back as ancient Alexandria. The evolution of the steam engine continued over time and significantly ramped up in the 17th and 18th centuries. But it was the significant adaptations of Thomas Newcomen and James Watt in the mid-1700s that gave birth to the modern steam engine, opening up a world of possibility. A single steam engine, powered by coal dug from the mines of England and Appalachia, could do the work of dozens of horses. More convenient than wind and water, and less expensive than a stable full of horses, steam engines were soon powering locomotives, factories, and farm implements. Coal was also used for heating buildings and smelting iron into steel. In 1880, coal powered a steam engine attached to the world's first electric generator. Thomas Edison's plant in New York City provided the first electric light to Wall Street financiers and the New York Times. Only a year later, the world's first hydroelectric plant went on- line in Appleton, Wisconsin. Fast-flowing rivers that had turned wheels to grind corn were now grinding out electricity instead. Within a few years, Henry Ford hired his friend Edison to help build a small hydro plant to power his home in Michigan. By the late 1800s, a new form of fuel was catching on: petroleum. For years it had been a nuisance, contaminating wells for drinking water. Initially sold by hucksters as medicine, oil became a valuable commodity for lighting as the whale oil
Transcript
Chapter (1)The old days of energy Before the industrial revolution, our energy needs were modest. For heat, we relied on the sun—and burned wood, straw, and dried dung when the sun failed us. For transportation, the muscle of horses and the power of the wind in our sails took us to every corner of the world. For work, we used animals to do jobs that we couldn't do with our own labor. Water and wind drove the simple machines that ground our grain and pumped our water.
Simple machines based on the ability to harness the power of steam have been dated by some sources as far back as ancient Alexandria. The evolution of the steam engine continued over time and significantly ramped up in the 17th and 18th centuries. But it was the significant adaptations of Thomas Newcomen and James Watt in the mid-1700s that gave birth to the modern steam engine, opening up a world of possibility. A single steam engine, powered by coal dug from the mines of England and Appalachia, could do the work of dozens of horses.
More convenient than wind and water, and less expensive than a stable full of horses, steam engines were soon powering locomotives, factories, and farm implements. Coal was also used for heating buildings and smelting iron into steel. In 1880, coal powered a steam engine attached to the world's first electric generator. Thomas Edison's plant in New York City provided the first electric light to Wall Street financiers and the New York Times.
Only a year later, the world's first hydroelectric plant went on-line in Appleton, Wisconsin. Fast-flowing rivers that had turned wheels to grind corn were now grinding out electricity instead. Within a few years, Henry Ford hired his friend Edison to help build a small hydro plant to power his home in Michigan.
By the late 1800s, a new form of fuel was catching on: petroleum. For years it had been a nuisance, contaminating wells for drinking water. Initially sold by hucksters as medicine, oil became a valuable commodity for lighting as the whale oil industry declined. By the turn of the century, oil, processed into gasoline, was firing internal combustion engines.
With the low-cost automobile and the spread of electricity, our society's energy use changed forever. Power plants became larger and larger, until we had massive coal plants and hydroelectric dams. Power lines extended hundreds of miles between cities, bringing electricity to rural areas during the Great Depression. The cheap car made suburbs possible, which in turn made cheap cars necessary, feeding the cycle of suburban sprawl.
Energy use grew quickly, doubling every 10 years. The cost of energy production was declining steadily, and the efficient use of energy was simply not a concern.
After World War II unleashed nuclear power, the government looked for a home for "the peaceful atom." They found it in electricity production. Over 200 nuclear power plants
were planned across the country, and homes were built with all-electric heating systems to take advantage of this power that would be "too cheap to meter.
In 1973, American support for Israel in the Arab-Israeli War led the Arab oil-producing nations to stop supplying oil to the United States and other western nations. Overnight, oil prices tripled. In 1979, when the Shah of Iran was forced out by the Ayatollah Khomeini, oil prices leaped again, rising 150 percent in a matter of weeks. Motorists lined up at gas stations to buy gasoline, and President Carter went on television to declare that energy conservation was "the moral equivalent of war." By 1980, the average price of a barrel of oil was almost $45.
Only three months after the fall of the Shah, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant suffered a partial meltdown after a series of mechanical failures and operator mistakes. After years of hearing that a nuclear accident could never happen, the American public was shocked. The accident added to the sense of crisis.
This statistical review show the energy consumption rate from 1850 to 2010 and this explain the depending firstly at wood and coal and the rising of using oil at 1930s and also the nuclear energy rising at 1970s
The energy shortage The energy crisis is the concern that the world’s demands on the limited natural resources that are used to power industrial society are diminishing as the demand rises. These natural resources are in limited supply. While they do occur naturally, it can take hundreds of thousands of years to replenish the stores. Governments and concerned individuals are working to make the use of renewable resources a priority, and to lessen the irresponsible use of natural supplies through increased conservation.
The energy crisis is a broad and complex topic. Most people don’t feel connected to its reality unless the price of gas at the pump goes up or there are lines at the gas station. The energy crisis is something that is ongoing and getting worse, despite many efforts. The reason for this is that there is not a broad understanding of the complex causes and solutions for the energy crisis that will allow for an effort to happen that will resolve it.
It would be easy to point a finger at one practice or industry and lay the blame for the entire energy crisis at their door, but that would be a very naive and unrealistic interpretation of the cause of the crisis:
1- Overconsumption: The energy crisis is a result of many different strains on our natural resources, not just one. There is a strain on fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal due to overconsumption – which then in turn can put a strain on our water and oxygen resources by causing pollution.
2- Overpopulation: Another cause of the crisis has been the steady increase in the world’s population and its demands for fuel and products. No matter what type of food or products you choose to use – from fair trade and organic to those made from petroleum products in a sweatshop – not one of them is made or transported without a significant drain on our energy resources.
3- Poor Infrastructure: Aging infrastructure of power generating equipment is yet another reason for energy shortage. Most of the energy producing firms keep on using outdated equipment that restricts the production of energy. It is the responsibility of utilities to keep on upgrading the infrastructure and set a high standard of performance.
4- Unexplored Renewable Energy Options: Renewable energy still remains unused is most of the countries. Most of the energy comes from non-renewable sources like coal. It still remains the top choice to produce energy. Unless we give renewable energy a serious thought, the problem of energy crisis cannot be solved. Renewable energy sources can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
5- Delay in Commissioning of Power Plants: In few countries, there is a significant delay in commissioning of new power plants that can fill the gap
between demand and supply of energy. The result is that old plants come under huge stress to meet the daily demand for power. When supply doesn’t matches demand, it results in load shedding and breakdown.
6- Wastage of Energy: In most parts of the world, people do not realize the importance of conserving energy. It is only limited to books, internet, newspaper ads, lip service and seminars. Unless we give it a serious thought, things are not going to change anytime sooner. Simple things like switching off fans and lights when not in use, using maximum daylight, walking instead of driving for short distances, using CFL instead of traditional bulbs, proper insulation for leakage of energy can go a long way in saving energy. Read here about 151 ways of saving energy.
7- Poor Distribution System: Frequent tripping and breakdown are result of a poor distribution system.
8- Major Accidents and Natural Calamities: Major accidents like pipeline burst and natural calamities like eruption of volcanoes, floods, earthquakes can also cause interruptions to energy supplies. The huge gap between supply and demand of energy can raise the price of essential items which can give rise to inflation.
9- Wars and Attacks: Wars between countries can also hamper supply of energy especially if it happens in Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, UAE or Qatar. That’s what happened during 1990 Gulf war when price of oil reached its peak causing global shortages and created major problem for energy consumers.
10- . Miscellaneous Factors: Tax hikes, strikes, military coup, political events, severe hot summers or cold winters can cause sudden increase in demand of energy and can choke supply. A strike by unions in an oil producing firm can definitely cause an energy crisis.
There are many solutions for the energy shortage such as:
1- Move towards Renewable Resources: The best possible solution is to reduce the world’s dependence on non-renewable resources and to improve overall conservation efforts. Much of the industrial age was created using fossil fuels, but there is also known technology that uses other types of renewable energies – such as steam, solar and wind. The major concern isn’t so much that we will run out of gas or oil, but that the use of coal is going to continue to pollute the atmosphere and destroy other natural resources in the process of mining the coal that it has to be replaced as an energy source. This isn’t easy as many of the leading industries use coal, not gas or oil, as their primary source of power for manufacturing.
2- Buy Energy Efficient products: Replace traditional bulbs with CFL’s and LED’s. They use less watts of electricity and last longer. If millions of people across the globe use LED’s and CFL’s for residential and commercial purposes, the demand for energy can go down and an energy crisis can be averted.
3- Lighting Controls: There are a number of new technologies out there that make lighting controls that much more interesting and they help to save a lot of energy and cash in the long run. Preset lighting controls, slide lighting, touch dimmers, integrated lighting controls are few of the lighting controls that can help to conserve energy and reduce overall lighting costs.
4- Easier Grid Access: People who use different options to generate power must be given permission to plug into the grid and getting credit for power you feed into it. The hassles of getting credit of supplying surplus power back into the grid should be removed. Apart from that, subsidy on solar panels should be given to encourage more people to explore renewable options.
5- Energy Simulation: Energy simulation software can be used by big corporates and corporations to redesign building unit and reduce running business energy cost. Engineers, architects and designers could use this design to come with most energy efficient building and reduce carbon footprint.
6- Perform Energy Audit: Energy audit is a process that helps you to identify the areas where your home or office is losing energy and what steps you can take to improve energy efficiency. Energy audit when done by a professional can help you to reduce your carbon footprint, save energy and money and avoid energy crisis.
7- Common Stand on Climate Change: Both developed and developing countries should adopt a common stand on climate change. They should focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through an effective cross border mechanism. With current population growth and over consumption of resources, the consequences of global warming and climate change cannot be ruled out. Both developed and developing countries must focus on emissions cuts to cut their emission levels to half from current levels by 2050.
Electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from other sources of primary energy. The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday. His basic method is still used today.
Every form of electricity generation has its strengths and weakness. The global demand for electricity is rising, and future electricity generation will need a range of options, although they must be low carbon if greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced.Nuclear generation provides reliable supplies of electricity, with very low carbon emissions and relatively small amounts of waste that can be safely stored and eventually disposed of.
Electricity is vital to modern life. It powers our lights and appliances at home. It powers many industry processes. It is used to power trains and to charge electric vehicles.
Globally, electricity use is rising rapidly as new major economies develop in places such as China and India.
This need for electricity drives a growing demand for electricity generation, with thousands of new power plants needed across the world over the coming decades.
For many decades almost all the electricity consumed in the world has been generated from three different forms of power plant - fossil, hydro and nuclear. Renewables currently generate a relatively small share of the world's electricity, although that share is growing fast.
Fossil
Fossil fuel power plants burn carbon fuels such coal, oil or gas to generate steam that drives large turbines that produce electricity. These plants can generate electricity reliably over long periods of time. However, by burning carbon fuels they produce large amounts carbon dioxide, which causes climate change. They can also produce other pollutants, such as sulphurous oxides, which cause acid rain.
Fossil fuel plants require huge quantities of coal, oil or gas. These fuels may need to be transported over long distances. The price of fuels can rise sharply at times of shortage, leading to unstable generation costs.
Large hydro
Large hydro power plants generate electricity by storing water in vast reservoirs behind massive dams. Water from the dams flows through turbines to generate electricity, and then goes on to flow through rivers below the dam.
Hydro dams can generate large amounts of electricity. However, dry periods can drain the reservoirs. The flooding of reservoirs behind dams and slowing of the flow of the river below the dam can have a serious impact on the ecology around the dam. The number of sites suitable for new dams is limited.
Nuclear
Nuclear power plants use the heat produced by nuclear fission to generate steam that drives turbines, like in fossil fuel plants. However, no greenhouse gases are produced in this fission process, and only small amounts are produced across the whole fuel cycle.
Nuclear fuel can be used in a reactor for several years. The used fuel that remains after this time must be stored and then either recycled to make new fuel or carefully disposed of. However, because the amount of fuel used to generate electricity is so much less than that used in fossil fuel plants it is much more practical to do this with used nuclear fuel than with the wastes and emissions from fossil fuels.
Nuclear power plants can run for many months without interruption, providing reliable and predictable supplies of electricity.
Geothermal
Heat contained within the earth can be recovered and put to work. This heat is called geothermal energy. Geothermal power is originated beneath the surface of the earth. It comes from buried heat energy.
Solar
Solar power is obtained from the energy of the sun. Solar technologies use the sun's energy and light to provide heat, light, hot water, electricity, and even cooling. The energy from the sun is not always available and it is widely scattered, however, solar power is renewable and environmentally friendly.
Biomass
Bioenergy technologies use renewable biomass resources -wood, municipal solid waste (garbage), and agricultural waste (like corn cobs and wheat straw) - to produce different types of energy, like electricity, liquid, solid and gaseous fuels, chemicals, heat, and other materials. Bio-energy has the second place after hydropower, in renewable U.S. primary energy production. It is also a renewable resource and environmentally friendly.
Wind
Wind power uses the energy contained in the wind for practical purposes like generating electricity, charging batteries, grinding grain or pumping water. A wind turbine is very similar to a windmill; they operate together in wind farms to produce electricity for utilities. Homeowners or remote villages can use smaller turbines to produce energy. Wind power is also a renewable resource and environmentally friendly.
Green
As we know, conventional electricity generation is based on the combustion of fossil fuels, which is the number one industrial source of air pollution. Green power is electricity that is generated from resources such as geothermal, biomass, solar, wind, and low-impact hydro facilities. It uses renewable energy technologies and its purpose is to reduce the environmental impacts associated with electricity generation. It is an alternative solution to the supply of energy.
The next chart explain the world electricity production from all energy in 2014
Nuclear energy and electricity All elements in the universe are made of atoms. An atom is composed of a nucleus and
electrons. A nucleus is composed of neutrons and protons. Some nuclei are stable, and some undergo spontaneous radioactive decay. Radioactive decay can also be induced by interaction with neutrons or other particles.
In nuclear reactors, heat is produced by fission of fissile nuclear materials like uranium-235. In this case, fission is induced when the nucleus absorbs a neutron, causing it to split apart. This produces fission products, including free neutrons, which can then split other uranium-235 nuclei. This chain reaction produces heat, via radiation, and the slowing down of fission products as they impact the fuel around them. Nuclear reactors are designed to convert this heat into electricity, like in any other thermal power plant. To avoid overheating, the plants incorporate cooling systems.
Nuclear fusion is another type of nuclear reaction in which extra energy is released when light nuclei are fused together. This type of reaction produces heat in the sun and other stars. Unlike the nuclear fission process, extreme temperatures and pressure are needed to initiate and sustain the fusion reaction, making it challenging, though research and development aimed at achieving controlled fusion has resulted in significant advances in recent decades.
Nuclear power is the largest source of low-carbon electricity in OECD countries, with an 18% overall share of electricity production in 2013. Globally, it is the second-largest such source, with an 11% share.
The generation of electricity using nuclear energy was first demonstrated in the 1950s, and the first commercial nuclear power plants entered operation in the early 1960s. Nuclear capacity grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s as countries sought to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, especially after the oil crises of the 1970s. However, with the exception of Japan and Korea, growth stagnated in the 1990s. Reasons for this included increased concerns about safety following accidents at the nuclear power plants at Three Mile Island (1979) and Chernobyl (1986), delays and higher-than-expected construction costs at some nuclear plants, and a return to lower fossil fuel prices.
However, from 2000, there was a renewed interest in nuclear power, and the pace of construction accelerated after 2005. At the end of 2010, there were 65 reactors under construction, and 60 new countries had expressed interest in launching a nuclear programme
Nuclear power emits no greenhouse gases, sulphur dioxide or ozone during electricity generation. Entire life cycle analyses show that nuclear and renewables produce negligible emissions of CO2 in comparison with the fossil fuel chains. At the same time, nuclear power plants have demonstrated to be a reliable source of base load electricity and as the past decade of performance has shown, the costs of nuclear electricity generation are competitive with those of coal and gas. Recent analysis has shown that lifetime generation costs of new nuclear plants are also competitive with other generating options. Increasing carbon pricing would make
nuclear generation even more competitive than is the case today. However, the high up-front capital costs of new nuclear build may deter investment, especially in liberalized electricity markets, and governments aiming to increase nuclear capacity may need to provide support for financing new nuclear construction
According to NEA (nuclear energy agency) report the development of nuclear energy in its member countries:
In Belgium: Concerns about security of electricity supply were heightened in late 2014 as a transformer fire forced an unplanned shutdown of the Tihange 3 reactor, at a time when the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 reactors were offline for further investigation by the regulator due to pressure vessel fault indications, and Doel 4 remained shut down after a lubricant leak. The Tihange 3 reactor was returned to service within two weeks after repair. Late in 2014, the Belgian government agreed to a ten-year extension of the operation of Doel 1 and 2 amid concerns about the security of energy supply.
In Canada: Moving ahead with plans to refurbish up to an additional 10 reactors in Ontario over the next 15 years starting in 2016. These refurbishments represent a total investment of about CAD 25 billion and will add about 25-30 years to the operational life of each unit.
In Hungary :an agreement was signed with Rosatom to supply two new units (approximately 1 200 MWe each) for the Paks nuclear power plant (NPP) and the parliament ratified a EUR 10 billion credit agreement with the Russian Federation to finance the project. Unit 2 of the existing four reactors supplied by the Russian Federation received a 20-year lifetime extension, the second at the site to be granted such an extension
In United States: Construction of two AP1000 units each at the Vogtle and VC Summer sites continued, with completion expected between 2017 and 2020. Construction of the Watts Bar 2 reactor resumed in 2007 and is expected to be completed in 2015
The producers of nuclear electricity according to NEA report
This curve shows the world daily power consumption and the sources of these power, this load curve explained that how nuclear power contributes in the base load of daily consumption power
