English for Business II. Resources overview

1. English for BusinessII. Resources overview Karl Seeley, PhD Hartwick College

2. Long history Energy use in the US, quadrillion btus http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/eh/intro.html

18. Qualities of energy sources • Coal, Oil, Natural gas • Nuclear • Hydro • Wind, solar • Geothermal • Biomass • (Electricity)

19. Desirable traits • Concentrated • The more you can find in one place, the better • Dense • A high energy-to-weight ratio is good • Flexible • Can it be used for various things? • Smaller environmental impact • Low cost

20. Coal • Concentrated • Large deposits in one place • Dense • 17 – 30 GJ / tonne • Good for combustion • With expense, turned into liquid fuel

21. Oil • Burns cleaner than coal • Less particulate pollution, less CO2 per Btu • Denser • 53 GJ / tonne • Liquid • Easier to extract • Suited to internal combustion engine with little processing

22. Natural gas • By weight, energy dense • But takes up a lot of space • Unless you liquify it  that takes energy • Fairly easy to transport by pipeline • Also as LNG, at more expense • Relatively clean-burning • Even less CO2 per unit energy, no particulates • Good for electricity • Low capital cost, ease of start-up  peaking power • Currently cheap  attractive as “base” power

23. Nuclear • Expensive to build • But how much of that is unnecessary safety? • Can standardization improve safety and reduce costs • Cheap to operate once built • Provides relatively cheap base-load power

24. Nuclear safety • “I’d rather live next to a nuclear reactor than a coal-fired power plant.” (Hartwick colleague) • Concerns: • Mishaps are low probability, but very bad • Separating electricity generation, military use • Waste disposal • Reduced but not eliminated by breeder reactor, which may also increase chance of weaponization • Decommissioning • What do you do with the plant when it’s retired?

25. Hydroelectric power • Big capital cost, then almost free • Some maintenance cost • Need to trade off water management for power production vs. what the fish need • Destruction of good agricultural land

26. Wind, solar • High up-front costs (especially solar) • Though both are coming down • Cost is rooted in low density • Sun is very diffuse • Wind in good locations is partially concentrated • Then the fuel is free • There’s still maintenance • Big problem is intermittency, storage cost • Wind and sun are unpredictable

27. Geothermal • Viability varies by location • Not everywhere is Iceland • Can drive electricity-generating turbines where it’s hot enough • Can provide space heat at reasonable cost in many other places

28. Biomass • Wood, grass, plants, dung burned at home • Wood-fired electricity • Paper plants and lumber mills use their scrap • Biofuels • Ethanol (sugar cane, sugar beet, corn, cellulose) • Biodiesel (palm oil, canola oil, soy)

29. Electricity • Not a source, but a carrier • Must be derived from something else • Nuclear fission, falling water, blowing wind, burning coal, intercepted photons, … • But a particularly valuable carrier • Can drive motors with great control and efficiency • Can be turned ~95% into heat • Uniquely, can run electronics, telecom

30. Costs • Improving for wind, solar, biofuels • These are all based on current solar input • The best cost is wind, already concentrated • Nature has created a big gradient, and we tap it • Solar is cheap for horticulture and space heat • Expensive to concentrate for electricity, industry • Fossil fuels represent a huge gradient • Geothermal works where gradient is large • Big temperature difference