HSE Group Assignment

7/27/2019 HSE Group Assignment

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Abstract

World energy demand has been increasing rapidly due to the development and

civilization. As predicted by George Kirkland, Chevron Corps upstream vice president for

gas, the global energy demand will increase drastically by 40% by the year of 2030. Hence, itis very important to understand the issues regarding energy generation especially when

certain energy resources will deplete eventually (coal, oil and gas). To satisfy the increasing

demand of global energy, several forms of renewable energies have been introduced and

developed. These include solar energy, hydropower, wind energy and wave energy. However,

these renewable energies also face some challenges in their development process because of

their impacts on the environment. In this thesis, we will explore and expose several aspects

regarding these energies, including their history and development, technologies used, issuesand challenge faced and their economics and future prospects. We will be discussing about

the solar energy, hydropower, wind energy, wave energy and nuclear energy.


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Objectives

To inform public there are how many renewable energies exist in the world

Public is too dependent on the petroleum energy. In fact renewable energy is still consider as

new energy resources, hence even though these renewable energy has been introduced ,there

are people still does not know about these renewable energy. The aim of this assignment is to

let public know what kind of energy that can effective be used

To improve the publics knowledge on how renewable energies are created

Even though public know about these renewable energies, but the knowledge they have and

the information they can get are still limited. Purpose of this assignment is to acknowledge

public how these renewable energies are created.

To show what issues and challenges that these renewable energies faced

Most people do not know what challenges faced to create renewable energy and what issues

that have been raised. This mini thesis is also directed to let know of issues and challenges

that renewable energies come across to become one of important energy resources.

To introduce future development of renewable energies

This is aimed to encourage more investment from the government and private sector to

contribute to the development of renewable energy. Therefore, more research and

development can be done for improvement. By doing so, these renewable energies will

someday can become the main energy to replace the present petroleum energy.


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Introduction

As the global energy demand has increased drastically, the new methods of energy

generation have been continually being explored and developed. These energies include solar,

wave, wind, hydro and nuclear. New resources and methods for electricity generation must be

employed to ensure the continuity of our energy supply.

The first type of renewable energy is solar energy. It can be obtained in two ways,

either as heat or as light energy. The system which uses heat is known as solar thermal

systems; the Sun's heat energy (infrared radiation) can be collected by solar collector and use

it to warm water and heat houses, but the heat can also be used to produce electricity by

raising the temperature of the working fluid in heat engine which will then operate a

generator. For light energy, solar photovoltaic systems obtain the sun's larger frequency

electromagnetic radiation (visible and ultra violet) in a collection of semiconductor,

photovoltaic cell which turns the radiant energy directly into electricity.

Wind energy is a source of clean, renewable and free energy that exist throughout the

world which comes from air current flowing across the earth's surface. The kinetic energy is

harvest by the wind turbines and been convert into usable power such as electricity forhome, farm, school or business applications on small residential or large utility scales. One

of the fastest growing sources of electricity and one of the fastest growing markets in the

world today is wind energy. This energy develops as green power, sustainable, affordable

and economically for development.

Wave power is one of the renewable green energy, which is also a gift from Mother

Nature. This energy sources has been discussed long time ago but somehow, it is still

developing in the early stage. Through researches, there are only certain countries in the

world that can effectively use this wave power resource, as it require strong waves in order to

generate electricity. These countries include Portugal, Scotland and also Australia. As long as

there is wave movement in the ocean, wave power can be supply continuously for mankind

demand. The way to harness wave power is totally different from other renewable energy and

non-renewable energy. Nevertheless, even though wave power is still in the beginning of

development but, someday, it would probability become one of the main energy resources

that is comparable to present existing energy to supply demands.


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The next form of renewable energy is hydropower. It is the one and only renewable

energy that is being utilized in a large scale (Zainal Abidin, 2005). This is due to its unique

characteristics and benefits, including its renewability, producing trace amount of greenhouse

gases, able to store large amount of electricity in a lower cost compared to other forms of

energy generation and adjustable electricity production according to the user demand.

Hydropower is very popular throughout the whole world, ranging from a small scale

production (mini- hydro) to mammoth schemes which provide electricity to several countries

or regions. The hydropower potentials in industrialized countries have been utilized to a

considerable extent. However, hydropower still serves as an option in developing world,

especially in the equatorial and tropical belts to satisfy their energy needs.

What is Nuclear Energy? Nuclear energy is the energy created via nuclear reaction.

Nuclear energy comes from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process called nuclear fission.

At the power plant, the fission process is used to generate heat for heating water and produce

steam, which is then used to turn the turbine to generate electricity. There are two main types

of nuclear energy: fission and fusion. Fission releases nuclear energy when a single heavy

nucleus splits into two smaller ones, while fusion is the more powerful and efficient process,

but its hardly used for peaceful purposes here on the Earth. Although many scientists are

working to create fusion reactors, which can produce more and safer energy, there is still no

safe technology found for this. For the last several years, a decent progress has been achieved

in this field. Hence, we have the hope to get the advantage from nuclear energy in the near

future. Nuclear energy comes from mass-to-energy conversions that occur in the splitting of

atoms or combining of smaller atoms together. The small amount of mass that is lost in either

of these events follows Einsteins famous formula E = MC2, where M is the small amount of

mass and C is the speed of light. This energy supports life on our planet and it was the only

energy our ancestors used, even without knowing this.


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Methodology

In this project, we are required to form a group of 5 students from multi-disciplinary,

multi- racial and consist of both genders. After several discussions and meeting, we have

form a group consisting of 1 Civil Engineering student, 1 Mechanical student and 3

Petroleum Engineering students. Our group also consists of different races and different

genders. After the group is formed, we discussed and selected the topic Harnessing Solar,

Hydro, Wind, Wave and Nuclear- Issues and Challenge and had our first meeting to

distribute the tasks. We selected our topics by having a draw lots session. After dividing the

job, we have regular meetings to check and update the progress of our work. Besides, we also

created a Google group for online discussion and information sharing. To complete our tasks,

we went to IRC UTP to borrow related reference books besides searching for the information

online. In addition, we also ensure that our source of information is reliable. For instance, we

did not include the information from Wikipedia because this source is unreliable since

everyone can edit it online.

After completed our respective tasks, we gathered and compile the whole thesis.

During this compilation process, we checked for error and did improvement to our thesis.


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Solar Energy

History and Development of Solar Energy

1767, First Solar Collector

In the year 1767 a Swiss scientist named Horace-Benedict de Saussure invented the first solar

collectoran insulated container covered with three layers of glass to obtain heat energy.

Saussures container became commonly known as the first solar oven, achieving

temperatures of 230 degrees fahrenheit.

1839, Photovoltaic Effect Defined

In 1839 a major advancement in the development of solar energy occurred with the defining

of the photovoltaic effect. A French scientist by the name Edmond Becquerel realized by

using two electrodes inserted in an electrolyte. After putting it under the light, electricity

raised.

1873, Photo Conductivity of Selenium

In 1873, Willoughby Smith realised photoconductivity of a material known as selenium. The

invention was to be further developed in 1876 when the same man discovered that selenium

radiates solar energy. Actions were taken to construct solar panels using selenium. The cell

did not function well but a lesson was learnedthat solid could turn light into electricity

without heat or mobile parts. Lewis and Nocera (2006) stated that the realisation laid a strong

foundation for future progress in the development of solar energy.

1883-1891 Light Discoveries and Solar Cells

Firstly, in 1893 the first solar cell was produced. The cell was to be surrounded with selenium

wafers. Later in 1887 there was the discovery of the ultraviolet ray capacity to cause a spark

connection between two electrodes. This was completed by Heinrich Hertz. Later, in 1891 the

first solar heater was manufactured.

1916, Photoelectric Effect

Albert Einstein published a journal on photoelectric effect in 1905, still there was no

empirical evidence regarding it. In 1916 a scientist known as Robert Millikan carried out an

experiment to validate the journal, it was valid.


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1947, Solar Popularity in the US

After Second World War, solar power equipment began being well known among the society

in the USA. There was a huge customer base of solar energy equipment.

1958, Solar Energy In Space

Solar power was used to power space exploration equipment such as satellites and space

stations. This was the first commercial use of solar energy.

1977 Governments Embrace Solar Energy

In 1977 the USA government started using solar energy by launching the Solar Energy

Research Institute. Other governments across the world soon began using solar energy too.

1986-1999 Solar Power Plants

Development of large scale solar energy plants with advancement being made in each phase.

By the year 1999 the largest plant was developed producing more than 20 kilowatts.

1999, Breakthroughs in Solar Cell Efficiency

The most efficient solar cell was developed, with a photovoltaic efficiency of 36 percent.

2010, Evergreen Solar and Solyndra Fail

Two leading solar companies declared bankruptcy. This was because of market inactivity for

their advanced technology products.

2012, Record Breaking Solar Plants

For the past several years, there were massive investments in utility-scale solar plants, with

records for the largest frequently being problematic. As of 2012, the historys biggest solar

energy plant is the Golmud Solar Park in China, with an installed capacity of 200 megawatts.

This is arguably overrun by Indias Gujarat Solar Park, an array of solar farms distributed

around the Gujarat region, showcasing an installed capacity of 605 megawatts.


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Applications of Solar Energy

Water Heating

Solar water heating systems utilise sunlight to warm water. In low latitudes (below 40

degrees), 60 to 70% of the domestic hot water use with temperatures up to 60 C can be

obtained from solar heating systems. The most ordinary types of solar water heaters are

vacuum tube collectors and glazed flat plate collectors commonly used for domestic hot

water; and unglazed plastic collectors utilized majorly to warm swimming pools.

Solar Power

Solar power is the change of sunlight into electricity, either directly utilising

photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Lewis and Nocera

(2006) explained that CSP systems make use of lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to

direct a large area of sunlight into a tiny beam. PV turns light into electric current using the

photoelectric effect.

Commercial CSP plants were first planned in the 1980s, and the 354 MW SEGS CSP

built was the largest solar power plant in the world and is positioned in the Mojave Desert of

California. Other large CSP plants include the Solnova Solar Power Station (150 MW) and

the Andasol solar power station (100 MW), both located in Spain. The 214 MW Charanka

Solar Park in India, is the worlds biggest photovoltaic plant.

Photovoltaics

A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a gadget that change light into electric

current based on the photoelectric effect. The first solar cell was manufactured by Charles

Fritts in the 1880s. In 1931 a German engineer, Dr Bruno Lange, planned a photo cell using

silver selenide instead of copper oxide. Although the prototype selenium cells changed less

than 1% of incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James Clerk

Maxwell realised the objective of this discovery. After the work of Russell Ohl in the 1940s,

researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created the silicon solar cell in

1954.

Solar vehicles

Some vehicles use solar panels for side power, namely for temperature conditioning,

to keep the interior of low temperature, thus lowering fuel consumption.


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In 1990 Eric Scott Raymond in 21 hops flew from California to North Carolina using

solar energy. David (2011) stated that the esvolution then changed back to unmanned aerial

vehicles (UAV) with the Pathfinder (1997) and following designs, culminating in the Helios

which set the altitude record for a non-rocket-propelled aircraft at 29,524 metres (96,864 ft)

in 2001. The Zephyr, developed by BAE Systems, is the latest in a line of record-breaking

solar aircraft, making a 54-hour flight in 2007, and month-long flights are envisioned by 2010.

Issues and Challenges of Solar Energy

Issues of Solar Photovoltaic System

Cost

Liliasa (2007) commented that the single biggest issue solar energy faces is that rival

energy sources have always been lower in cost in terms of charge per kilowatt-hour. The

initial cost of purchasing and installing the solar panel used to harness solar energy is

relatively higher than other sources of energy. Given their high cost, modules of todays cells

incorporated in the power grid would produce electricity at a cost roughly 3 to 6 times higher

than current prices. Therefore, solar energy technologies still remain a costly alternative to

the use of readily available fossil fuel technologies, if you don't consider the environmental

costs.

Efficiency

Tran (2004) explained that Solar cell efficiency is the ratio of the amount of electricity

generated, to the amount of light energy radiated onto the solar cell. Averagely, the light

energy on a sunny day is about 1 kW/m. A 1m x 1.5m solar panel made of 20% efficient

solar cells will obtain 1.5kW of energy from the sun and output 300 watts. The efficiency of

the solar cells used in a photovoltaic system forms the starting point for the overall annual

output of the system.

Researchers are continually trying to enhance the efficiency with which solar cells

turns light energy to electricity. Now, standard solar panels have a theoretical highest

efficiency of 31 percent due to the electronic properties of the silicon material. Recently, the

efficiency for multi junction cells (multiple layers of silicon) has managed to reach around

40%, this type of solar cells is composed of many silicon layers tuned to trap different

frequencies (colours) of light. However, this type of cell is high in price to manufacture and

in the past has been commonly used in space where efficiency may be more important.


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Solar cell for general electricity generation is usually single junction type with an

efficiency of somewhere around 15% serious hazards.

Geography

A major issue with photovoltaic solar panel is intermittency due to geographical

context.

Solar energy is merely handy when the sun is radiating. During the night, the solar

panels will not be useful due to the lack of light source. However, the utilization of solar

battery chargers can aid to solve this issue, by keepingthe electricity produced during day

time for consumption at night (Gwen & Pan, 2007).

On the other hand, latitude is among the factors limiting the availability of sunlight.

Although solar power is an option almost anywhere on the planet to at least some extent,

efficacy declines dramatically as length from the equator increases. Residents of Vancouver,

Canada, and St. Petersburg, Russia, for instance, are at a serious solar disadvantage.

Besides, clouds decrease the efficiency of solar panels, especially in domestically

foggy or overcast areas. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the solar

resource during foggy or low-cloud conditions is around 10% of the value under clear sky

conditions. In the United States of America, solar arrays in Denver, Colorado, would rarely

be blocked by clouds, as that city has only 30 to 40 cloudy days per year. Hilo, Hawaii,

despite its proximity to the equator, receives downpour an average of 277 days per year,

which might make it a poor choice for solar-power generation.

Land Space

A solar panel installation needs a large land for the system to be productive in

generating electricity. This may be an issue in areas where land space is limited, or expensive,

such as inner cities. Jtruong (2006) said to provide energy for the whole building, a large

solar panel is required. Its sad that photovoltaic technology is still in its infancy but, for now,

we must make large arrays to make up for the inefficiencies of single panels. A heavy

mechanical orientation system may also be required to turn the panels as they follow the sun

across the sky. Battery which is used to keep the electricity will occupy a fair amount of

space too.


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Challenges of Solar Photovoltaic System

Impractical on Large Scale

Solar photovoltaic cells produce energy for immediate use or for battery usage, which

is currently impractical on a large scale. Currently, batteries are the choice for keeping solar

energy, although these need to be changed regularly. Solid oxide fuel cells based on hydrogen

technology exhibit great promise, but need to be further developed. For hydrogen storage to

achieve its goal, it needs to produce its power from clean sources, such as electrolysis

powered by solar energy.

Net Metering

Illines (2004) explained that buildings connected to the electrical grid may use

ordinary energy when needed, while using solar cells when the sun is available and the

energy is obtainable. In many places, solar energy may actually be returned back into the

electrical grid, making the meter to run in the opposite direction, a phenomenon known as net

metering. But, for many years the utilities did not permit the feeding in of solar electricity

into their electrical grid.

Disposal of Old Solar Panels

One of the challenges of solar energy is the disposal of old solar panels that contain

harmful chemicals such as mercury and chromium, which are poisonous when it seeps into

the underground water system.

In recent years the solar energy industry has gained bad name for generating an

endless stream of disposable products that at life's end is sent to developing countries, where

poor people without safety measures remove and burn out valuable materials, spilling

contaminants into their water, air and lungs.

While most solar panels are constructed to be usable for 25 years and only 1% of the

United States utilises solar energy as electricity, this is one of the challenges with solar

energy that we haven't seen as much as other countries that have been using it for years.


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Challenges of Solar Thermal System

Storage

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are finding outcheap

catalysts that can divide water into hydrogen and oxygen, with electricity generated during

the day so that solar thermal power plants can use the energy kept in the chemical bonds of

the hydrogen to produce power at night by using fuel cells, but the work is not close from

completion. Alternatively, experimental heat transfer materials like molten salt can keep the

heat produced by a solar thermal power plant for using during night time. However, the most

successful plant to do so, as of 2010, the Andasol station in Spain, receive only an extra six

hours of electricity production from the ststem. Its a good beginning, but 24-hour per day

power via some sort of storage technique must turn into a reality so that solar is possible

worldwide.

Efficiency

Using solar thermal plants to produce electricity from heat needs high temperatures to

achieve reasonable efficiencies. Frensy (2003) stated that the output temperatures of non-

concentrating solar collectors are around 200C. So, concentrating systems must be utilized

to generate higher temperatures. Because of their high price, lenses and burning glasses are

not normally used for large-scale power plants, and more cost-effective alternatives are used,

including reflecting concentrators.

Land Space

Solar thermal power plants typically need 1/4 to 1 square mile or more of land. One

silver lining of global warming and human effect on the land is that more and more farmland

is becoming harsh for agricultural activity. This land, presumably originally chosen for its

sun exposure, can be used for solar thermal energy production. Utilization of desertification

can be a boon for solar thermal real estate procurement and growth (Locy, 2009).


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Overcoming the Negative Impact of Solar Energy

Cost

Ahmell (2000) although the solar industry today generates solar panels made from

crystalline silicon, they are relatively expensive to produce.

Lately researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied

Science have produced a cheap solution processing method for CIGS-based solar cells that

could give an answer to the production problem. In a new study to be published in the journal

Thin Solid Films on July 7, Yang Yang, a professor in the school's Department of Materials

Science and Engineering, and his research team show how they have planned a cheap

solution processing procedure for their copper-indium-diselenide solar cells which have the

ability to be manufactured on a large scale.

Battery Storage

Solar power can be kept in batteries for later use or to be returned into the grid,

depending on the incentives. Solar power storage devices are generally composed of a battery

bank (utilising a technology such as standard-issue lead-acid or the increasingly affordable

lithium-ion) and a smart inverter that can manage power in accordance with programming.

One option available is the Netherlands Nedaps PowerRouter, whose modular nature allows

for smart management of a small-scale renewable energy system as well as a battery bank if

necessary.


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Economy and Future Prospect of Solar Energy

Because of studies, innovative works, technological advancement and mass

manufacture on one side, and to the price raise of ordinary energy sources on the other side,

Concentrated Solar Power could become aggressive by 2015. CSP technologies today have a

cost between photovoltaics and wind. Nevertheless, costs are declining as market develops

and Research & Development efforts enhance ability.

Future Solar Technology Cost Rely on Current Research Funding

Dresselhaus & Thomas (2001) indicated that if fixed society preference for solar

energy is available, at least one of the technological choice interpreted will have a great

capability to solve technical issues in the following 20 years and to become cheap with oil,

gas and coal electricity generation. In particular, the best opportunity for survival is linked

with the advancement of a diversified portfolio of society financial aid in solar energy studies.

Funds should be assigned both to photovoltaic and solar thermal techniques, in order to

achieve the success of more high-end technologies (such as Crystalline-silicon and Thin-film

PV), and to evaluate the potential of more innovative ones (such as Organic PV and Third

Generation PV). In contrary, the historical institutional option of the European Union and its

Member States, demonstration activities were identified as a most important element in the

innovation action for solar energy. An adequate preference to demonstration would in fact

ensure that the more developed technologies exit the valley of death and become

commercially possible.

Future Electricity Generation

According to ESTELA, the European Association of the Solar Thermal Electricity

Industry, there will be more than 400 MW connected to the grid by year 2010, and the

capability for European Mediterranean countries is estimated at 30.000 MW that could afford,

provided that the necessary actions are being taken.

Non-technical Issues Affecting Solar Energy Development

Non-technical issues and obstacles could slow down the worldwide diffusion of solar

technologies. The major barriers are the inertia of existing power plants and unfavorable

power pricing rules, which need to be addressed through ad hoc policy interventions, such as

feed-in tariffs. When assessing the likelihood that solar power will represent 5%, 20% and 30%

of electricity production in OECD countries, experts show little consensus. Almost 40%


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indicate penetration in the OECD countries will be high (around 30%). Fast-developing

countries will instead experience an average diffusion scenario, while developing countries

are assigned a high probability of experiencing high penetration rate since lock-in effects will

be milder.

Conclusion

Solar energy history can be traced back to as old as around two centuries. However,

development has not been rapid and progressive until recent 30 years. Therefore, solar energy

is still in its infancy development. So, its reasonable that solar energy is facing various issues

and challenges. As long as there is commitment and dedication of the government in solar

energy, the issues and challenges should be solved in no time. The public should support

solar energy because it is a much cleaner energy, as compared to other types of energy, so

that our future generation will be able to live in a cleaner and more sustainable world.


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Wind Power

History and Development of Wind Power

Historically, wind energy had been harnessed since early recorded

history all across the world. In 5000 B.C., there is certain evidence

that wind energy propelled boats along the river Nile. Wind energy is

converted to provide mechanical energy somewhat later in antiquity

by 200 B.C. In China, simple windmills are used to pump water

while in the Middle East, vertical-axis windmills with woven reed

sails were use in grinding grain. The Roman Empire was introduced

by Persians to use wind power by 250 A.D. However, around 7th

century, Afghanistan had made the first practical windmills. Since

then, technology had been advancing greatly and lately in 11th

century, windmills were used extensively for food production.

By the end of 19th century, American settlers began to use windmills to pump water

for farms and ranches. Later, they used it to generate electricity for homes and industry

especially in rural and desert areas. Prof. James Blyth from Glasgow was the first one who

had built large windmills about 33 feet high in Scotland in 1887 to generate electricity. He

installed a cloth-sailed wind turbine in the garden of his cottage and uses the windmills to

charge accumulators that powered the lighting in the cottage. Thus, from all over the world, it

was the first house to have wind power supplied electricity.

Across the Atlantic, in Cleveland, Ohio, Charles F. Brush had constructed a large and

heavily engineered machine in 1888. The wind turbine had a rotor 17 meters in diameters andwas located on an 18 meter tower. The machine was rated only at 12 kW although it was

respectively large. About 100 incandescent light bulbs, three arc lamps and various motors in

Brush laboratory can be operated by the connected dynamo. After 1900, the machine fell

into disuse. The largest wind turbine of time began operating in 1940s on a Vermont hilltop

known as Granpas Knob. The turbine fed electric power to the local utility network for

several months during World War II and it was rated at 1.25 megawatts in winds of about 30

m/h.

Figure 1: Wind Mill


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In the first quarter of 20th century, wind power had played an important role in

Denmark, partly because of Poul la Cour who constructed wind turbines. At Gedser, during

1956, a 24 m diameter wind turbine had been installed where it ran until 1967. This was

similar to those used nowadays for commercial wind energy development which had a three-

bladed, horizontal-axis, upwind and stall-regulated turbine. The price of fossil fuel was one of

the affecting factors of the popularity of using wind energy. Lately in 1940s, fuel price fell

and interest in wind turbines were also decreases. Oppositely, in 1970s, the price of oil was

skyrocketed, so did the worldwide interest in wind generators. Since then, many wind farms

and wind power plants had been built. Nowadays, wind energy seems to be the worlds

fastest growing energy source that will sustain the power of the industry as well as homes

with clean, renewable electricity and according to scientists expectation.

Figure 2: Brieft history of wind technology


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Wind Power Technology

Nowadays, wind energy is use to provide mechanical power or electricity. The wind

contains kinetic energy which can be converted through various different processes to create

mechanical energy that can be utilized in lieu of fossil fuels. Turbines exist in variety of size

and shape but its performing the same function as illustrated in the diagram.

Figure 3: Wind mill design


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Wind turbines are located in areas of high wind flow. The movement of the turbines

will power an electric generator. Before the power being released into the generator, the

power will through a transmission which keeps the generator operating efficiently during

different ranges of wind speed. Even in slight wind, the transmission allows energy to be

generated all the times. As a result, electrical current is produced and this energy can bestored for later use or used directly.

Wind turbine has two types which are in horizontal axis rotation and vertical axis

rotation. Horizontal axis rotation turbines are more common and older in design compare to

the vertical axis rotation.

Figure 4: Wind mill rotor and generator

Figure 5: Concept of wind technology


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Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT) are built on strong sturdy towers. It can

absorb the huge static loads brought about by the varying wind power. The electricity

generator and the main rotor shaft are located at the top of the tower and been pointed into the

wind. The rotor and its blade will rotate as the wind blows. Thus, the mechanical energy will

be converted by the generator into electricity.

The rotor blade are made of glass-fiber or carbon-fiber reinforced plastics and usually

the blades are stiff and positioned at considerable distance from the tower as the blades would

not be pushed into the tower by strong winds. The design of the blades is also slightly tilted

forward into the wind and it functioning like an aeroplane wing by using the application of

Bernoullis law. The upper sides generate low pressure than the lower sides, causing the rotor

to rotate.

Figure 6: Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT)


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Oppositely, vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT), the main rotor shaft and generator

are positioned vertically near to the ground. This turbine is very useful in places where the

wind direction changes regularly and no need to point it towards into the wind. Besides, such

wind turbines are very useful to locate on the rooftops because the wind over the roof can

help doubling the speed of wind turning the turbines.

However, vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT) are usually lower in wind speeds for

the same turbine size and more severe wind shear. The reasons are the blades are located

neared to the ground which turbulence may also be created by the air flow or other objects.

Thus, it will lead the wind turbines to problem such as increased in wearing a way of bearings

used in the mechanical parts and creating such vibrating noises.

Issues and Challenge Faced by Wind Power

There are some issues on wind power. Nowadays, wind energy had to compete with

conventional generation sources on a cost basis. Wind energy is depending on how energetic

a wind site. Despite the decreasing of the cost of wind energy in the past 10 years, the initial

investment of wind turbine technology is higher compare to the fossil fuelled generators.

The major challenge faced by wind energy as a source of power is that the wind is

intermittent; the wind flow is not constant in any rate and it does not always blow when

Figure 7: Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWT)


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electricity is needed. The wind energy also cannot fully harness to meet the timing of

electricity demanded and it cannot be stored unless batteries are used. Besides, the location of

good wind energy site is often far from cities where electricity is needed.

According to Hudgins, the variation in the wind cause the production of electrical

energy is very hard to be consistent. He added that when summer season, the electrical load is

the biggest as many conditioning load need to be power. Meanwhile the wind resource of

wind in summer is the lowest. So, there is a need to efficient ways of storing large amounts of

energy to use when it is needed.

Wind turbines also produce noises when they operate. The noise crested from the

masking of wind on the wind turbines. Recently, engineers had taken many tries in designing

wind turbine which will reduce the noise. Generally the early model turbines are noisier than

most new and larger models. As wind turbines are getting more advancing, more wind is

converted into rotational torque and less into acoustic noise. Additionally, to minimize noise

impacts proper sitting andinsulating materials can be used.

Wind turbine also contribute in visual impact because wind turbine are generally be

sited in exposed and wide places, they are often highly visible; but being visible is not

necessarily the same as being intrusive and aesthetic issues are by their nature highly

subjective. Any aesthetic impacts to the landscape can be avoided by proper sitting decisions.

One of the ways is to site fewer turbines in any one location by using many locations and by

using larger and more efficient models of wind turbines.

Figure 8: A Red Kite and bats killed at a wind farm in Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hypsugo-savii-Pag.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Verunglueckter_Rotmilan.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hypsugo-savii-Pag.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Verunglueckter_Rotmilan.jpg


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The most controversial biological issues related to wind turbines are bird and bat

deaths. Fish and wildlife agencies and conservation groups had raised concerns because of

the deaths of birds and bats at wind farm sites. In addressing this issue, the wind industry and

government agencies had sponsored research into collisions, mitigation measures, and

appropriate study design protocols and relevant bird and bat behaviour. Furthermore,

monitoring efforts and data collection at existing and proposed wind energy sites are required

by project developers. As to minimize fatalities and in some cases, additional research may

be needed to address bird and bat impact issues by carefully select a site for wind turbine.

Differ from the other generation technologies, wind turbines generate electricity with wind

energy and not by combustion, hence it does not produce air emissions. There are only

relatively small amounts of lubricating oils and hydraulic and insulating fluids which are

potentially toxic or hazardous materials. Therefore, contamination of surface or ground water

or soils is exactly zero. The blade movement and the presence of industrial equipment in

areas potentially accessible to the public are consider by the primary health and safety. In

addition, wind turbines are potentially interfering with radar and telecommunication facilities.

Likely other electrical machines, the wind generators produce electric and magnetic fields.

According to Hudgins, although the sustainable source is available, there is a need to

build better and more efficient machines to capture wind energy and on a large scale with

economically cost. Furthermore, excess energy can be captured when wind blows and can be

Figure 9: Flocks of birds going through the wind turbine


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stored as for backup energy when the wind is not blowing. Similarly, solar energy can be

captured capture during the day and stored to recover the needed energy on needed time.

If the wind resource is reasonable, Hudgins said, and if there is that interplay between

the photovoltaic and wind systems, it can work well. For instance, he said, if the photovoltaic

system is running while the wind turbine is not, or the wind starts blowing but the

photovoltaic system is not working, the energy can still be captured.

Future Prospects of Wind Power

The use of renewable energy will continue to grow, but it still not in the pace to

replace base load sources like coal plants, nuclear plants and natural gas plants because the

electricity these sources provide is 24 hours a day.

For the next half century, the future of wind energy is very good or maybe even three-

quarters of the century, while energy storage problem have already its own solution. By

improving the infrastructure, the storage problem can be solved where across the entire

United States; one can put geographically-dispersed wind energy systems. Enough energy

can be generated if there is a transmission setup to move power around where needed and

when the wind is blowing. Wind can be used as the longer term sustainable energy source

once the energy storage problem is solved.

Figure 10: Wind Power capacity 1997-2011


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From the graph, advancement in wind energy usage opens a new era of clean, renewable and

free energy throughout the world. The increasing usage of wind energy by the world indicates

that more improvement needed in this energy since every year, the energy consumed is

getting increasing. Thus, there are hope for wind power being utilize at maximum rate as for

the betterment of the earth itself.

Conclusion

Wind power is a renewable resource, clean and it is free. There are a lot of advantages

compare to the negative impact when the usage of wind energy are maximize. Although there

are some issues develop because of wind power advancement, research and finding inminimizing the bad impact either to the environment or life being must go on and develop

from time to time.


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Wave energy

Picture of ocean wave (Source: The Future and

problems of Wave Power)

As we all knew that land of planet earth is covered by about seventy percent by the

ocean, so there will be many wave created in the earth from time to time. Movement of

wave can also be observed from time to time on the surface of the ocean. Wave is create by

wind, the stronger the wind, the larger and stronger wave generated because wind create

wave by changing from ripples into waves when it is blowing on the water surface. As longas there is wave movement in the ocean, there is energy created to continuously draw the

movement of these waves, and this kind of energy is known as wave energy

Harnessing Wave energy

To use the power from the sea has been discussed many years ago, while the first project

that is successfully using this energy concept is developed in Scotland. The most famous

wave power device is the Pelamis, which is developed by a Scottish company in the year

1998 and was tested in the year 2004 in North Sea. This Pelamis was the first wave power

converter created aimed for commercial uses. The first Pelamis made has 4 sections, which

is 3.5 meters in diameter and 120 meters in length. It function by creating electrical energy

when the connector section is moved, as these connector can be bend and it is also flexible

as the wave from the sea pass through.


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Purpose of Wave energy used

First, this wave energy is free and renewable, just like other renewable energy. For

example, solar energy winds energy thermal energy and so on. Furthermore, this wave

energy will be produced continuously as long as there is wave movement , in this case, it is

consider to have much more benefits compare to wind and solar energy as solar energy will

only produced in the day time and wind energy can only created during strong wind blows.

In addition, this wave energy is also to be considered as a more stable energy compare to

other renewable energy. If were to compare with wind energy, this wave energy is able to

create about thousands times the kinetic energy produced by winds. Also, the amount of cost

require to built these wave power infrastructure is also cheaper if to compare wind generator

as it require many generators in order to create the same amount of electrical energy.

Besides, the usage of wave energy is more stable as it can easily predicted as wave

movement are continuous throughout the year and it is observable. For example, how much

waves will be created, and also the height of the wave are observed and recorded before the

wave power generator is decided to be built on certain location. Apart from that, this wave

energy is eco friendly and as it does not produce harmful gasses such as carbon monoxide

and green house gasses. In addition, the wave energy does not require initial cost to buy rare

material in order to generate electricity, as it is a gift given by our mother nature. Whereas,other electrical generator such as petroleum based electrical generator require huge amount

of cost to buy rare materials, these include diesel and other petroleum product and hence, it

saves a lot of cost. In the mean time, the usage of wave energy has less negative effect on

the habitat and the environment.

Types of wave energy converter and they function

Various types of methods being used to generate electrical energy from wave energy but

most of the wave power generator converts wave energy to electrical energy by using

turbines to turn the generator in order to for the machine to rotate and electricity is produced

when flow of water pass through the generator. Following are some wave power converter.


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(a) Pelamis Wave Energy Converter by the Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power

(formally Ocean Power Delivery)

Picture of Pelamis (Source: Ocean Energy Review 2008)

To create electrical energy using wave movement from the sea surface. This Pelamis wave

energy converter create electrical energy when there is movement between the connector

section ,as these connector can be bend and it is also flexible as the wave from the sea pass

through . The first one is set in Orkney Scotland in August 2004 and the second one is set in

Portugal in September of 2008. This machine can develop 2.25MW, which is more than

enough of the electrical usage Portugal homes
http://www.pelamiswave.com/http://www.pelamiswave.com/


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(b) Ocean Harvester (by Mikael Sidenmark) founder and invent

Picture of Ocean Havester (Source: Ocean Energy Review 2008)

To generate electricity, the most effective way to achieve greater energy from inconsistent

wave energy is to change from rotation motion in to up and down motion. Hence, the

mooring line around the buoy will turn the drum in the buoy as the buoy float at the surface

of sea along with the movement of the wave to equalise the generator load by using

counterbalance which created by the wave movement. Constant power will be produce by

using wave motion


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(c) Sea Gen

Picture of Sea Gen (Source: Ocean Energy Review 2008)

This power station can develop 1.2 MW which is also the highest power generated by tidal

power station which ever created in present. This machine is created by the Marine Turbines

Company. By using the water current flow developed by the tidal, the rotor of the turbine

rotated in order to create electricity. By doing so, this power generator is able to create the

electricity require by one thousand house. In Northern Irelands Strangford Lough in 2007


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(d) TIDAL and OCEAN CURRENT POWER

Picture of Tidal and Ocean Current Power (Source: Ocean Energy

Review 2008)

This machine (tidal power station) built to convert tidal energy into electrical energy using

turbine. Electrical energy can be generated when water flow through the turbine causing it to

rotate .this device is similar to the concept of the wind turbine which is on land. Tidal power

station is suitable to build in the constant water flow area such as narrow bay.


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Oscillating Water Column (OWC)

Picture of oscillating water column (owc). (Source: How

wave Energy Works)

This device uses the principle of air to turn the turbine. It function by absorbing the air into it

to rotate the turbine via the upper small opening when sea water comes into the device

through the bottom opening and finally, the sea water is forced out when sea wave pulling this

device away to a distance


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Development of wave energy in Malaysia

According to E.P.Chiang, Malaysia has a high probability to develop wave energy

in the coming time as most part of Malaysia is enclosed by the sea. In fact, this wave energy

in Malaysia is also still under the early stage of research although other countries in the

Europe and the united state has already develop the wave power converter.

Map of Malaysia with study locations (source: from Potential of

Renewable Wave and offshore Wind energy sources in Malaysia)

Due to the southwest monsoon wind and northeast monsoon wind especially during the

month of December to January for northeast monsoon while June to September for

southwest monsoon. However, from the month July to October, the wave energy is higher

but is much more less than the peninsular Malaysia in other month. Strong wind will also

develop high amount of wave which can develop a lot of wave energy and later convert to

electrical energy if it is used effectively.


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Monthly mean swell wave power in kW/m. (source: from Potential of

Renewable Wave and offshore Wind energy sources in Malaysia)

Scientists in devon also stated that, wave energy develop using generator can be

increase in two times by predicting wave power which is a new skill and technology which

is still under research and the main purpose of this research is to reduce the probability of

accidents happen to these power station. In addition, Dr Guang Li also said that the

research has the ability to make expand the progress of marine renewable energy.

The benefits of wave energy

The benefits of wave energy are this wave energy is a very clean energy and a green

energy, which will not give out harmful green house gasses, which will pollute the

environment and give negative effect on human health According to Hawaii government;

these wave powers generates little to zero pollution. In addition, wave energy is also a

renewable energy which can be obtain from the ocean easily as long as we have the method

to convert this energy to other forms of energy, in other words it means this energy is a free

gift to human beings by the mother nature. Besides, the power generator can last for a very

long time as long as no accident occurs and it also will not produce waste product to the

environment, as it does not require fuel to start the generator.

Apart from that, wave energy can also create large scale of electricity supply as long as

the wave movement is continuously and stable throughout the year. Furthermore, themaintenance cost for the wave power station is low. In addition, wave can be easily


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predicted and will not run out like petroleum as long as there is seawater in the ocean. Most

importantly, it has less risk compare to other power generator. Electric Power Research

Institute report in the year 2005 had mention that the effect on the ecosystem and mother

natural will be as low as possible if it is compared to other energy resources if the wave

power is used wisely. It s also believes that this wave energy can supply more electrical

energy than necessary as there are abundant of wave produced each year. In addition, this

wave power energy is infallible if to compare to other energy resources present.

Issue and challenges

The electrical energy produced by the wave power plant is actually a small scale if were

to compare with energy produce by nuclear or petroleum based generator. Furthermore,

these energies produced from the wave power plant does not comes cheap if were to

compare with other energy resources. In order to create this kind of machine it requires a lot

of money to do research as not all research were successfully done as many of the research

had been conducted in the past, but not most of the researches were successful and have an

effective result. Hence, high amount of money has been consumed just for the sake for these

researches with no result achieved. Besides, this wave energy produced will only able to

benefit people in certain area, which are staying near to the power generator.

In addition, not every time that these wave movements is strong enough to rotate the

turbine in wave power generator. If the wind is strong enough to create strong wave, the wave

energy produced will be able to be converted into electrical energy source by using wave

power generator, but also, it is not a simple job to build a machine that can convert this wave

energy into electrical energy to supply human needs. Moreover, in order to develop these

wave energy power plants effectively , it must be affordable .it is also certainly not an easy

job to create a power generator which can last for a long time considering the wave impact it

has to face in order to turn the turbine for generate electricity purpose. Furthermore, it is not

an easy task to generate electricity when the movement of wave is in low speed. The high

content of mineral salt in the seawater will also corrode these wave power stations .because

of this, it will cause more cost in the maintenance for the power station.

Furthermore, not most of the places are suitable for the use of wave energy, as it

requires places, which has strong wave and the continuous movement of ocean waves.


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Australia, Scotland, southern Africa , northern Canada and also the northwestern coast of

U.S are consider suitable for the usage of these wave energy, this is because it require to

generate huge amount of electrical energy in order to meet the human needs in daily life and

also for industrial usage. Most of these wave power generators are built in the middle of the

sea, which is the offshore, or near seaside or on shallow water.

Apart from that, it is also requires a lot of money to develop the machine that could

convert wave energy to electrical energy. The infrastructure of wave power station will also

give some ecological impact especially to the marine wildlife. This is because most of the

wave power station is bind into the seafloor in order for these wave power stations to be

located on certain longitude and latitude, so that it would remain on that location in a longer

period. Hence, this would cause negative effect to the wildlife marine habitat and to the

ecosystem in that particular place.

The most serious part is that, these wave power plants will cause electromagnetic

interference and will cause some pollution to seawater. Moreover, it will also cause all the

fish which lives nearby to decrease their ability to keep the dissolved oxygen in their body

due the unwanted heat produce by these power plant. Even though these wave power station

will not lead to permanent damage to the marine flora and fauna, but these wave power plant

will lead to secondary damages to ecosystem in the sea of certain area where these power

plant was placed. Thus, it also place negative effect on those people who depend marine

resources for their living.

Furthermore, Power generated by the wave power station only able to benefits people

in certain area only ,as all the power station were installed on the sea . Hence if it is quite

hard and requires high cost to send this electrical energy generated to other places of the

country which located far away from the ocean, and this will also causes high demand on

cost to build these connector if these electrical energy produced were to be send to a further

places.

Besides that, to build a wave power plant that can last for a long time will become a

huge challenge, as to save cost and to prevent the repetition of rebuilding these power plant.

It is also not a easy task to obtain electric current from wave power with the current

technology, although wave power are free give from the nature , but the device to convert

wave power to electricity is very expensive indeed and also hard to built . Places for thesewave energy plant to be install is not many , mostly the places that these wave power plant


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can be install will be in the medium or shallow sea which is usually offshore, so that the

gadget will not be damaged by obstacles and wave that is too strong ,for example tsunami.

Yet, not every wave power has the strength to generate electrical energy via the power

plant.

Lastly, it will also affect the navigation for the boats in the ocean, which will cause

accidents, as these ships might not saw the power generator especially during bad weather

condition.

Overcoming the Negative Impact of Wave Energy

The development of wave power in certain area will certainly cause a lot of impact to the

environment, especially to the habitat of the marine wildlife, ocean and to the tourism andrecreation. Hence, improvement on these power stations has to be taken in order to reduce

these negative impacts.

First, these wave power converters should not be located in the high fish population

location, as this will affect the marine creature and will affect fishery. Second, avoid placing

these machines on the direction of ships passing through by choosing the location wisely, as

it will cause collision between ships and the device. Besides, radar reflector and navigation

light should also be installed in the wave power converter, so that ships can detect them

easily, especially during nighttime. Water sport such as scuba diving can also be introduced

near the location of this power converted as to attract more people to visits these places.

Lastly, pollution to the ocean can be reduce by avoiding the use of petroleum and chemical

based lubricant and replace it by environment friendly lubricant. Leakage of these lubricants

can also be avoided by placing a protective layer such as rubber to those places which has

higher possibilities for leakage to occur.

The Environmental Concern

Most of the environment concerns about these wave power stations are about the effect

to the environment, flora and fauna and the habitat, when these wave power is installed on

the sea. Some fluid leakage will occur during accident or during the operation, which

contains harmful substances or chemicals from these power stations, is also one of the

environmental concerns. Besides, after these power stations is installed on the sea, they will

affect the navigation as it will use some place on the sea and hence might lead to someproblem the ships navigation


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Industrial Benefits

As long as mankind has the knowledge that can effectively change Wave power into

electrical energy or other kinds of energy, then it is worth to develop these wave power

converters in large scale. Besides, the material required to build these power generators and

infrastructure can be easily obtain as mostly are metal and concrete. Hence, they can build as

long as the place is suitable to harness wave energy. Nevertheless, in order to become one of

the main energy sources, it must have high capability to produce more energy and is able to

transfer this energy over a long distance.

Future development of wave energy power station

There are some countries, which have high possibilities to generate and use waveenergy. These countries include South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Philippines. These

countries were predicted to be able to generate huge amount of electricity if the wave power

plant is developed. That is, 250 Megawatt at Sihwa Lake and 520 Megawatt at Garolim Bay

for South Korea, 200 Megawatt in Kaipara harbor in New Zealand ,1.68 trillion kilowatt

hour per year in Kuroshio for Taiwan and also 2.2 Gigawatt in Dalupiri in Phillipines.

Conclusion

Although wave power is still in the beginning of the stage, but it will certainly

contribute a lot to the energy resources in future. However, there is still a long way to go for

this energy to become the main energy source for human needs. In addition, this wave

energy is a free gift from Mother Nature, hence as long as humankind able to use this source

of energy effectively, the negative impact to the environment and also to human being can

be reduced as much as possible.


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Hydroelectric Power

History and Development

Hydroelectric power is a popular way of electricity generation in Malaysia. There are

several hydroelectric stations in Malaysia such as Chenderoh Power Station, Temenggor

Power station, Sultan Ismail Petra Power station, Sultan Mahmud Power Station and Bakun

Dam. Balmer and Spreng (2008) mentioned that in year 2005, the contribution of hydropower

in global primary energy supply was 2.2%, showing an increase of 0.4% over the previous 30

years. On the other hand, the global primary energy supply from petroleum (35%), coal

(25.3%) and natural gas (20.7%), which account for around 80%of total global energy supply.

At the same time, renewable energy only shared 20% of the global energy supply. In this

20%, most of the energy came from hydropower.

Figure 1: Fuel shares of global energy consumption and electricity generation in 2005

(Source: Balmer and Spreng, 2008)

However, it is observed that the contribution of hydropower in global electricity

generation was more than 20% in year 1970. This indicates that in the past, other energy

technologies had a more rapid growth rate than hydropower. The other energy technologies

having higher growth rate include nuclear power and natural gas, although both of them are

non-renewable energy. Over the past century, most of the exploitable hydropower resources

in Europe, North and Central America have all been harnessed. Furthermore, hydroelectric

has become the first and only resource for electricity generation in countries lacking of other

energy sources. Humans have tried to experiment with hydropower for more than 2000 years

ago.


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Balmer and Spreng also mentioned that the first wheels were probably used in the

hydrological societies of the Far East to raise water to higher irrigation channel. The transfer

of waterwheel technology from the East to the West took place slowly during the course of

the middle Ages. At that period, this technology gained no great interest because it had less

economic advantage due to its heavy, inefficient waterwheels with complicated connecting

gear. However, a textile industry run by hydropower had been developed during the 19 th

century in several European countries. This system exploited the mechanical forces of

flowing water across the main rivers. Waterwheel technology had become highly effective

during the end of 19th century. Hydropower development expanded drastically after the

discovery of the technology of transporting electricity over long distances. At the end of 19 th

century, the first hydropower plants were built and electricity turned out to be a modern and

flexible energy carrier.

Nowadays, it can be observed that Asia, North America and Europe have most of the

hydropower installed capacity. However, Europe has exploited most of its hydropower

potential. Statistics reveal that Asia and North America have the biggest hydropower

production, followed by South America and Europe and finally Africa and Australasia. A

comparison analysis shows that the future hydropower development will most likely to

happen in Asia, South America and Africa. The existing global hydropower production mightbe doubled by these three continents in the future.

Hydropower schemes are very site specific. Hence, the economic and environmental

aspects of hydropower scheme are affected by the factors such as specific investment costs,

total production cost, technical variables, peak load production possibilities and external

effects.

Hydropower Technology

The renewable resource for hydropower is the global water cycle. Using the kinetic

and potential energy from the flowing water, water turbines and electric generators can

produce electricity from these energies. Hydropower has not undergone much change in the

past 100 years because it is a very mature technology. However, technical details, especially

the efficiency of the turbines are continually being improved. Besides, the setting of water

inflow, tunnels and reservoirs are reaching perfection. Balmer and Spreng also emphasized

that hydropower has an overall efficiency of 75-90%, which is the highest efficiencyachieved by any mean of electricity generation system. Besides having a high efficiency,


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hydropower also overtakes other form of electricity generation technology by having a high

energy pay back ratio.

The other technologies have energy pay back ratio of around 9 to 39%. While on the other

hand, hydropower has the extremely high energy pay back ratio of 200%, causing it to

become the most effective technology for electricity production.

Figure 2: Estimation of energy pay back ratio for different type of energy generation

(Source: Balmer and Spreng, 2008)

There are 2 basic schemes of hydropower: run-of-river and storage schemes. The

former has no capacity of storage and operates on the continuous discharge of the incoming

water. The natural course of a river itself concentrates large quantities of water. This type of

power plant can be built anywhere on a river where a sufficient difference in elevation exists

(Quaschning, 2010). Normally the head pond has the same height as sea level all the year

around. On the other hand, storage scheme has the ability to shift the use of water inflow

from times of low electricity demand to times of high electricity demand. These plants can

stop their operation on an hourly or daily profile, with electricity generation timed for peak

demand only. This type of power plant can produce high levels of power output and can be

built in the mountains.


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Figure 3: Concept of Run-of-river Power Plant (Source: Quaschning, 2010)

Figure 4: Example of Run-of-River Power Plant at Laufenburg, Germany (Source:

Quaschning, 2010)


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Figure 5: Example of Storage Power Plant with Reservoirs: Malta (left), Kaprun in Austria

(right)

(Source: Quaschning, 2010)

Quaschning (2010) emphasized the importance of water turbine as the core of water-

powered systems and extract the energy from water (hydropower). Modern water turbines

have very little similarity with the rotating wheels of traditional watermills. Turbines are

optimized for the different operating area, depending on the head of the water and the water

flow. There are 4 main types of turbines used for hydropower generation. The first one,

Kaplan turbine was developed by the Austrian engineer Viktor Kaplan in year 1912. This

type of turbine is normally used in low heads, especially the power plants on rivers. Kaplan

turbines have the efficiency of around 80-95%. The second type, bulb turbine is similar to

Kaplan turbine, except that it has a horizontal axle. Thus, it is more suitable for even smaller

heads. The generator is placed in a bulb- shaped workroom behind the turbine, which gives it

the name of bulb turbine. Francis is the third type of turbine. It was developed by the Briton

James Bicheno Francis in year 1848. This type of turbine is used for larger heads up to 700m

and has the efficiency of over 90%. In principle, the Francis turbine can also be used as a

pump and is therefore suitable as a pump turbine for storage plants. Last but not least, the

forth type of turbine, Pelton turbine, was developed by American Lester Allen Pelton in year

1880. It is mainly designed for large heads and consequently for the use in high mountains.

This turbine can reach a very high efficiency of 90-95%.


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Figure 6: Kaplan Turbine (Source: Voith Hydro)

Figure 7: Bulb Turbine (Source: Voith Hydro)


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Figure 8: Francis Turbine (Source: Voith Hydro)

Figure 9: Pelton Turbine (Source: Voith Hydro)


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Issues and Challenge Faced by Hydropower

From the aspect of effectiveness, it is undoubtedly that hydropower surpasses any

other means of electricity generation. It is considered as the most effective way of electricity

generation as compared to other technologies in electricity production. Furthermore, it is a

type of renewable resource, which means it will not deplete as the time passes. However,

everything has its bad site despite all the advantages it brings to humanity.

Hydropower plants are the most controversial of all renewable power plants. Overall,

hydropower has important advantages over most other electricity generation technologies. It

is renewable, clean, reliable and largely carbon-free. The problem arises from hydropower on

a local level due to its site specificity. Hydropower systems will affect the watercourses,

environment, local communities and resident population. The larger the scheme, the more

serious it impacts the environment. However, the impacts of hydropower plants to the

environment must be accessed in relation to the amount of electricity produced. Hence, it is

wrong to perceive that small-scale hydropower scheme to be less harmful than large-scale

hydro schemes.

Balmer and Spreng mentioned that hydropower plants do not deplete or pollute the

water used to run the turbines, but instead it has an impact to the environment throughdamming or inundation process, diversion and hydro-peaking. The building of dams across

the river will alter the flow of river streams, which in turn responsible for the environmental

problem, especially to the fish living in the river. Dams and weirs represent barriers that

restrict the fish from reaching their spawn areas. The building of dam will include a special

fishway but this does not completely solve the problem. The river current for the run-of-river

hydropower scheme has been drastically reduced. This leads to habitat characteristics that is

similar to stagnant lakes and is far different from being optimal for riverine fish that need

stronger current to orientate, feed and breed. As a result of the changes in their habitat,

several types of fish and plants have become extinct. Besides, the existence of turbine will

endanger the survival of fish itself. Although there maybe barrier to prevent larger fish from

entering the turbine system, those barriers cant prevent smaller forms of life slip through and

become injured or killed by the turbine blades. Last but not least, the barrier system has

become the obstacles for certain type of fish (Queschning, 2010). Besides altering the habitat

of fish species, hydropower plants also affect the boating and shipping. This is because their

way is blocked by the structure of the dam built across the river. In addition, the lifetime of


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hydropower will also be decreased because of the alteration in sediments transportation. This

is due to the filling up of the head pond or reservoir by the inflowing sediments. Too little or

no minimum ecological flow makes existence of fish almost impossible. On the other hand,

hydro-peaking creates habitat characteristics too rough for most of the riverine fauna.

If we inspect this issue from another perspective, the construction of dam and process

of reservoir filling always lead to land loses. This is because much of the land has been

flooded during inundation process (Balmer and Spreng, 2008). The decrement in availability

of land affects the local population, especially when the housing and agricultural area is

involved. Resettlement is one of the major problems in the context of hydropower and the

compensation schemes reveal unsolved difficulties in practice. Queschning (2010) also

emphasized that large reservoirs flood wide areas of land and destroy peoples houses.

Sinking biomass decomposes in water and releases large quantities of climate-changing

methane. Besides affecting the availability of land, hydropower system also other businesses

or industry branches either positively or negatively. The adverse impacts become the core of

many conflicts of use. While the energy- intensive industries especially the hydropower

plants benefit from cheap and reliable electricity supply, the other sectors might be negatively

affected in terms of cost- benefit analysis. For instance, hydropower schemes affect tourism

industry. Building of dams causes alteration to the natural landscape, which in turn lead to theloss of natural river course or even loss of unique historical sites. On the contrast, tourism

industry also can gain benefit from hydropower plants because the reservoirs serve as

recreational area, providing the opportunity for boating and other water sports. Effects on

agriculture may vary from the provision of irrigation to the land loss due to inundation.

The problem here is that the local population usually bears the negative impacts

through land losses, while more distant agricultural businesses benefit from irrigation

(Balmer and Spreng, 2008)

For instance, the newly built Three Gorges dam in China is often cited as a negative

example of the type of environmental damage hydropower plants can cause (Queschning,

2010). To build this plant, 20 cities, more than 10000 villages and the housing of more than 1

million people have been sacrificed. Although the ecological impact from this dam is still not

clear, it is expected to contaminate the underground water, which brings trauma to the people.

In addition, the 600-km long reservoir has the probability to be turned into a dumping area ofsewage and industrial waste.


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Besides affecting the environment, the health issues brought by the hydropower

scheme must not be neglected or underestimated, especially in the case of large hydropower

schemes in tropical regions. Reservoirs deal with the accumulation of large amount of

stagnant water. Hence, it serves as a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread

diseases such as malaria, bilharzias and other mosquito-borne infections. Industrial pollutants

or other waste coming from the upstream civilization, accumulating in the water reservoirs,

can enter the food chain of local population. Organic toxins such as algae or from methyl-

mercury found in many big reservoirs can trigger further problems.

Although hydropower scheme has brought so many problems to the nature and people,

it is undeniable that it still benefits the mankind in the field of energy production. To fairly

judge the hydropower system, the external costs per kilowatt hour of electricity produced

must be estimated. Many international studies have been carried out to determine the external

cost of hydropower. From the results, it can be noticed that hydropower still has the lowest

external cost if compared to other electricity generation technologies, especially the fossil

technology. However, the external cost varies for different hydropower system. Hence, it is

very difficult to provide a firm statement regarding the external cost of hydropower system.

Overcoming the Negative Impacts of Hydropower

As mentioned in the previous section, the negative impacts of hydropower scheme

include endangering the natural habitat of wild life, decreasing usable land area, affecting the

tourism industry and polluting the environment. Despite bringing these adverse impacts,

hydropower still remains as the most effective power generation technology. Thus, suitable

measures must be implemented to decrease these negative effects to its marginal.

The negative impacts can be reduced or mitigated if they are considered early in the

planning and construction process. However, this process of analysis the risk before building

the hydropower system is very complex and time-consuming. It needs the environmental

impact assessment and the involvement of stakeholder to identify potential negative impacts

and ways to mitigate them. The integration of environmental and social considerations from

the start is a crucial prerequisite in order to shorten this process. Environmental impact

assessment for hydropower system is strictly monitored in many countries, including

Malaysia. Normally, a pre-study to assess the potential problems of the project is carried out

to prevent the investment of money into an unrealistic project due to the fundamental


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incompatibility. This pre-study helps to shorten the whole planning process and thus is a vital

element in hydropower scheme planning.

In short, the risk assessment to the nature must be included in the early planning of

building a dam because this can provide a chance for us to identify and solve potential

problem before it is too late. The use of GIS technologies enables us to identify potential

hydropower sites, 3D views and models of the future hydropower scheme and site, watershed

and reservoir modeling, natural hazards such as landslides and flood, and potential conflicts

of use. With the aid of technology, we can minimize the risk of hydropower system to the

nature.

Economics and Future Prospects of Hydropower

Overall, it can be expected that hydropower will have more development potential in

Asia because there are still many potential and undeveloped spot for the building of

hydropower system. On the other hand, the development of hydropower system in other

places such as USA is limited. This is not because of the failings of technology innovation,

but due to the overexploitation of hydropower scheme in these countries in the past. Hence,

they are now facing with limitation of the availability of hydrological resources and the

constraints on developing them. Cassedy (2000) mentioned that the hydro capacity in USAwill probably not increase over 10% in the first few decades of the 21 st century. Referring to

the table below, it can be observe that Asia, Latin America and Africa are presently

producing 10% or less of the exploitable hydro energy resources of their regions, while

Europe and North America have exploited over 45% of theirs.

Table 1: Actual hydropower production, capacity and potential by continent (Source: Balmer

and Spreng, 2008)

Among so many types of renewable energy generation, the use of the hydroelectric

power is the most developed. Classic run-of-river and storage hydropower plants could at


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best double the output of electricity generated worldwide. However, in the long term their

share of energy production worldwide will decrease, due to the increasing electricity demand.

There are other types of hydropower plants, such as wave and ocean current plants which is

still uncommon now, have the potential to be developed in the future, although the

development cost must be somehow decreased. In addition, hydropower has the biggest

advantage- producing relatively constant output if compared to other renewable resource such

as solar energy and wind power.

On the contrary to the other electricity generation method, hydropower schemes are

very site specific and have a very long lifespan of around 80 years. Hence, if the initial

analysis and investment is done precisely, we can actually harvest the electricity for a very

long period with the initial huge investment. To ensure that suitable site and construction

method is selected, long-lasting construction and planning time must be implemented.

Because hydropower plants are very capital intensive, the fixed cost are high while the

variable cost, including the operation and maintenance cost are usually lower. Hence,

accurate investment will bring back long-term profit for hydropower systems.

As in Malaysia, several suitable spot for building hydropower system have been

identified, especially in Peninsular Malaysia. However, these projects are still under study

and they will have to compete with other form of energy generation technologies such as coal

and oil plants in term of economy viability (Zainal Abidin, 2005). As suggested by the 17 th

Congress of the World Energy Council in year 1998, priority should be given to the

development of renewable energy resources such as the hydropower because this will

substantially reduce the amount of emissions as what happen to the use of fossil fuels. Hence,

hydropower should be given more attention in term of development although it requires

initial large financial investment. In the long run, we will be benefited from hydropower.

However, any planning or development project must be assessed carefully to minimize the

impact to our environment.

Conclusion

Hydropower is the premier renewable resources. Together with other resources, such

as the solar and wind energy, they can provide electricity to the mankind without being

depleted. However, the development of hydropower station also brings a lot of issues,

especially to the mother earth. Hence, proper planning and assessment must be carried out tominimize the risk of destroying the nature.


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History & Development of Nuclear Energy

According to the principle ofmassenergy equivalence, radium, the radioactive

elements which release huge amounts of energy excite the pursuit of nuclear energy

forgeneration of electricity in the early 20th. The challenge of harnessing "atomic energy"

was strong enough, even though it was dismissed by fathers ofnuclear physics like Ernest

Rutherford as "moonshine." However, in the late 1930s, the situation has changed due to the

discovery ofnuclear fission.

Throughout the history, two of world-changing events that involve the field of nuclear

technology have dramatically altered the course of human civilization. However, these eventshappened less than 3 years apart. On December 2, 1942, the Italian American physicist

Enrico Fermi (1905-1954) led a small team of scientists in operating the worlds first nuclear

reactor at the University of Chicago. In addition to power generation, the reactors core

contained a large quantity of neutrons that could create many interesting new isotopes for

applications in medicine, industry, research and development, environmental science and

even the space exploration.

The first human-initiated, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction took place in wartime

secrecy in very unassuming surroundings which is the unused squash court beneath the west

stands of Stagg Field, the athletic stadium of the University of Chicago. Besides, Fermis first

reactor also provided the key technology needed for the production of large quantities of

plutonium. Therefore, this human-made transuranic element was greatly prized by physicists

as the more efficient candidate nuclear fuel for the first American atomic bomb.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_physicshttp://en

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