RES - Task1 - Erasmus 2012 2013 PDF

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
Task 1: Overview and Targets

AUTHORS:
COURSE LEADERS:
PROF. SAO MEDVED ASSIST. PROF. CIRIL ARKAR
JORGE CUBELOS ORDS JAVIER ESTEFANELL ALS JORGE SANZ MUSTIELES JAVIER GAVILN MORENO MACARENA RAMREZ PRADOS FRANCISCO CORREIA DA FONSECA JORGE RODRGUEZ LARRAD ADRIN FERNNDEZ GARCA
Univerza v Ljubljani Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Erasmus Students 2012-2013
About The Authors

Jorge Cubelos Ords Birth: 17/07/1990, Madrid (Spain) Hobbies: My professional interests are related with energies and petroleum in general. My personal interests are sports (basketball, football), going out with my friends and girlfriend and going to the movies.
Javier Estefanell Als Birth: 29/10/1990, Barcelona (Spain) Hobbies: In my free time I practice sports like ski and tennis, I go out with my friends and I like visiting other countries. I also work as a ski coach with kids in a competition ski club. Jorge Sanz Mustieles Birth: 02/10/1990, Madrid (Spain) Hobbies: In my free time I like to practice sports, listen to music, go to the cinema and spend time with my friends and family. I also enjoy travelling and reading. Javier Gaviln Moreno Birth: 14/04/1987, Madrid (Spain) Hobbies: I like sports, specially football, horse riding and fitness. I usually go to play football with my friends and I go to the gym almost every day. I have a horse and I usually go twice a week to ride it. I also like to spend my weekends with my friends and go to the cinema or shopping. Macarena Ramrez Prados Birth: 18/12/1989, Madrid (Spain) Hobbies: I like to go out with my friends and listen to music; and I also like to read, chiefly Ken Follett and Agatha Christies books. I love to visit new cities and learn about other cultures. I like to walk and skate around my town. Francisco Correia da Fonseca Birth: 20/05/1989, Lisbon (Portugal) Hobbies: My professional interests are aerodynamics and thermodynamics in general. In my free time I practice Surf but Im always up for any team sports. I like to spend time with friends, to travel and meet new people and cultures. Jorge Rodrguez Larrad Birth: 25/02/1989, Oviedo (Spain) Hobbies: My professional interests are Energy and Power Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Fluids and installations. My private interests are sports, movies, TV series and reading. Adrin Fernndez Garca Birth: 12/02/1987, Gijn (Spain) Hobbies: I love surfing, ride a motorbike in my village, make fitness, play some football and climb. On the other hand, I'm interesting in all kind of sciences or engineering jobs and in engineering documentaries and magazines.
Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
Renewable Energy Sources

Index
Task 1: Overview and Targets

I II 1 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 6 8 9 10 10 10 14 19 19 22 23 23 25 26 26 27 27 28 29 30 30 31 31 31 32 33 34
ABOUT THE AUTHORS INDEX INTRODUCTION SOLAR ENERGY INTRODUCTION SOLAR PASSIVE TECHNOLOGIES SOLAR ARCHITECTURE AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE SOLAR LIGHTNING SOLAR ACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY SOLAR POWER SOLAR CHEMICAL SOLAR VEHICLES POTENTIAL IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND IN SPAIN SOLAR POWER IN SPAIN CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER PLANTS (CSP) LOW TEMPERATURE SOLAR THERMAL SYSTEMS THE 2020 TARGET, A MATTER OF CHOICE PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) THE PV INDUSTRY IN SPAIN SPAINS LARGEST PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) POWER PLANTS THE PV INDUSTRY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION INDEX OF FIGURES SOLAR ENERGY GEOTHERMAL ENERGY INTRODUCTION POWER PLANTS DRY STEAM POWER PLANT FLASH STEAM POWER PLANT BYNARY CYCLE POWER PLANT ADVANTAGES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY DISADVANTAGES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY GEOTHERMAL HEATING AND COOLING GEOTHERMAL HEATING GEOTHERMAL COOLING HOW DOES THE PROCESS OF COOLING AND HEATING TAKES PLACE ? COSTS OF GEOTHERMAL POWER INDEX OF FIGURES GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
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WIND ENERGY DEFINITION OF W IND ENERGY MAIN TARGETS WHERE DOES WIND ENERGY COME FROM? HOW DOES A WIND TURBINE WORK? WIND FARMS WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF WIND TURBINES? WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF A WIND TURBINE? ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OFFSHORE W IND ENERGY RESOURCES OFFSHORE COMMERCIAL W IND ENERGY GENERATION TRANSPORT OF W IND-GENERATED ENERGY ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS WORLD AND CONTINENTS CAPACITY GLOBAL CAPACITY EUROPE CAPACITY SPAIN INDEX OF FIGURES W IND ENERGY OCEAN ENERGY INTRODUCTION SWELL TIDES AND CURRENTS THERMAL GRADIENT SALINITY GRADIENT OCEAN ENERGY IN UE OCEAN ENERGY IN SPAIN INDEX OF FIGURES OCEAN ENERGY BIOMASS INTRODUCTION BIOMASS SOURCES ENERGY CROPS GRASSES MANURE WOODY BIOMASS CONVERSION PROCESS THERMAL CONVERSION COMBUSTION PYROLYSIS GASIFICATION CHEMICAL CONVERSION BIOCHEMICAL CONVERSION ANAEROBIC DIGESTION FERMENTATION COMPOSTING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT POTENTIAL AND TARGETS HEAT CONSUMPTION RISES SHARPLY
35 35 36 36 37 37 38 38 38 38 39 40 40 41 41 42 43 45 46 46 46 47 47 48 49 53 58 59 59 59 60 61 61 61 63 64 64 64 64 65 66 66 67 67 68 69 70
TRENDS SHAPING THE SOLID BIOMASS SECTOR BIOMASS CO-FIRIG: AN ALTERNATIVE TO ALL COAL IS SOLID BIOMASS EQUAL TO THE EUS AMBITION? INDEX OF FIGURES BIOMASS ENERGY BIOFUELS BIOALCOHOL ETHANOL USING PURE ETHANOL BIODIESEL BIOFUELS IN EUROPEAN UNION BIOFUELS POTENTIAL IN EUROPE BIOFUELS IN PORTUGAL POLICIES INDEX OF FIGURES BIOFUEL ENERGY HYDRO POWER ENERGY INTRODUCTION GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF A HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER PLANT HYDRO POWER CURRENTLY IN SPAIN IN THE EUROPEAN UNION THE FUTURE OF HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER INDEX OF FIGURES HYDRO ENERGY PRINCIPAL SOURCES
71 72 74 77 80 81 82 82 83 84 86 86 86 88 89 89 92 94 95 100 103 105 106
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Introduction
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewable, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from hydroelectricity. New renewable (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) accounted for another 3% and are growing very rapidly.[1] The share of renewable in electricity generation is around 19%, with 16% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity and 3% from new renewable. The use of wind power is increasing at an annual rate of 20%, with a worldwide installed capacity of 238,000 megawatts (MW) at the end of 2011, and is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Since 2004, photovoltaics passed wind as the fastest growing energy source, and since 2007 have more than doubled every two years. At the end of 2011 the photovoltaic (PV) capacity worldwide was 67,000 MW, and PV power stations are popular in Germany and Italy. Solar thermal power stations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 MW SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert. The world's largest geothermal power installation is the Geysers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugarcane, and ethanol now provides 18% of the country's automotive fuel. Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA. While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. As of 2011, small solar PV systems provide electricity to a few million households, and micro-hydro configured into minigrids serves many more. Over 44 million households use biogas made in household-scale digesters for lighting and/or cooking, and more than 166 million households rely on a new generation of moreefficient biomass cook stoves. United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity. Carbon neutral and negative fuels can store and transport renewable energy through existing natural gas pipelines and be used with existing transportation infrastructure, displacing fossil fuels, and reducing greenhouse gases. Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing government support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization. New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global financial crisis better than many other sectors. According to a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency, solar power generators may produce most of the worlds electricity within 50 years, dramatically reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment. 2010 was momentous for the evolution of the renewable energy market in Europe; were adopted by Member States to implement the Renewable Energy Directive and the first results can now be seen, despite the difficult economic climate. Renewable energy production in the EU grew by +11,3% between 2009 and 2010. The year 2010 also marks the first anniversary of the adoption of the use of energy produced from renewable sources that sets the mandatory target of a 20% share of energy from renewable sources in the EU gross final energy consumption by 2020.
Solar Energy
Introduction
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar energy technologies include solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity and solar architecture, which can make considerable contributions to solving some of the most urgent problems the world now faces. Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air. In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries energy security through reliance on an inexhaustible and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating climate change, and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise. These advantages are global. Hence the additional costs of the incentives for early deployment should be considered learning investments; they must be wisely spent and need to be widely shared". It would be irrational not attempt to exploit, by all means technically possible, this free energy source clean and renewable, which can give us the freedom from dependence on oil or other unsafe alternatives contaminants or simply exhaustible.
Solar passive technologies

Solar Architecture Solar architecture is the integration of solar panel technology with modern building techniques. The use of flexible thin film photovoltaic modules provides fluid integration with steel roofing profiles that enhances the building's design. Orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air also constitute as solar architecture. Initial development of solar architecture has been limited by the rigidity and weight of standard solar power panels. The continued development of photovoltaic (PV) thin film solar has provided a lightweight yet robust vehicle to harness solar energy to reduce a building's impact on the environment. Agriculture and Horticulture Agriculture and horticulture seek to optimize the capture of solar energy in order to optimize the productivity of plants. Techniques such as timed planting cycles, tailored row orientation, staggered heights between rows and the mixing of plant varieties can improve crop yields. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
Applications of solar energy in agriculture aside from growing crops include pumping water, drying crops, brooding chicks and drying chicken manure. More recently the technology has been embraced by vinters, who use the energy generated by solar panels to power grape presses. A greenhouse is a structural building with different types of covering materials, such as a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming visible solar radiation (for which the glass is transparent) from the sun is absorbed by plants, soil, and other things inside the building. Air warmed by the heat from hot interior surfaces is retained in the building by the roof and wall. The primary heating mechanism of a greenhouse is convection. Thus, the glass used for a greenhouse works as a barrier to air flow, and its effect is to trap energy within the greenhouse.Greenhouses convert solar light to heat, enabling year-round production and the growth (in enclosed environments) of specialty crops and other plants not naturally suited to the local climate. Solar Lightning Day lighting systems collect and distribute sunlight to provide interior illumination. This passive technology directly offsets energy use by replacing artificial lighting, and indirectly offsets non-solar energy use by reducing the need for air-conditioning. Day lighting design implies careful selection of window types, sizes and orientation; exterior shading devices may be considered as well. Individual features include saw tooth roofs, clerestory windows, light shelves, skylights and light tubes. They may be incorporated into existing structures, but are most effective when integrated into a solar design package that accounts for factors such as glare, heat flux and time-of-use. When day lighting features are properly implemented they can reduce lighting-related energy requirements by 25%. Hybrid solar lighting is an active solar method of providing interior illumination. HSL systems collect sunlight using focusing mirrors that attacks the sun and use optical fibers to transmit it inside the building to supplement conventional lighting. In single-story applications these systems are able to transmit 50% of the direct sunlight received. Solar lights that charge during the day and light up at dusk are a common sight along walkways. Solar-charged lanterns have become popular in developing countries where they provide a safer and cheaper alternative to kerosene lamps.
Solar active technologies

Solar thermal energy Solar thermal energy (STE) is an innovative technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy (heat). Solar thermal collectors are classified as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors. Low-temperature collectors are flat plates generally used to heat swimming pools. Medium-temperature collectors are also usually flat plates but are used for heating water or air for residential and commercial use. High-temperature collectors concentrate sunlight using mirrors or lenses and are generally used for electric power production. STE is different from and much more efficient than photovoltaic, which converts solar energy directly into electricity. Water heating: solar hot water systems use sunlight to heat water. In low geographical latitudes (below 40 degrees) from 60 to 70% of the domestic hot water use with temperatures up to 60 C can be provided by solar heating systems. The most common types of solar water heaters are evacuated tube collectors (44%) and glazed flat plate collectors (34%) generally used for domestic hot water; and unglazed plastic collectors (21%) used mainly to heat swimming pools. Heating, cooling and ventilation: Thermal mass is any material that can be used to store heat from the Sun in the case of solar energy. Common thermal mass materials include stone, cement and water. Historically they have been used in arid climates or warm temperate regions to keep buildings cool by absorbing solar energy during the day and radiating stored heat to the cooler atmosphere at night. However they can be used in cold temperate areas to maintain warmth as well. The size and placement of thermal mass depend on several factors such as climate, day lighting and shading conditions. When properly incorporated, thermal mass maintains space temperatures in a comfortable range and reduces the need for auxiliary heating and cooling equipment. A solar chimney (or thermal chimney) is a passive solar ventilation system composed of a vertical shaft connecting the interior and exterior of a building. As the chimney warms, the air inside is heated causing an updraft that pulls air through the building. Performance can be improved by using glazing and thermal mass materials. Process heat: solar concentrating technologies such as parabolic dish, trough and Scheffler reflectors can provide process heat for commercial and industrial applications. The first commercial system was the Solar Total Energy Project (STEP) in Shenandoah, Georgia, USA where a field of 114 parabolic dishes
provided 50% of the process heating, air conditioning and electrical requirements for a clothing factory. This grid-connected cogeneration system provided 400 kW of electricity plus thermal energy in the form of 401 kW steam and 468 kW chilled water, and had a one hour peak load thermal storage.
Parabolic through
Scheffler reflectors
Solar Power Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. Commercial CSP plants were first developed in the 1980s. Since 1985 the eventually 354 MW SEGS CSP installations, in the Mojave Desert of California, is the largest solar power plant in the world. Other large CSP plants include the 150 MW Solnova Solar Power Station and the 100 MW Andasol solar power station, both in Spain. The 247 MW Agua Caliente Solar Project, in the United States, and the 214 MW Charanka Solar Park in India, are the worlds largest photovoltaic plants. Solar projects exceeding 1 GW are being developed, but most of the deployed photovoltaics are in small rooftop arrays of less than 5kW, which are grid, connected using either net metering or feed-in tariff (or both). Concentrated solar power: concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. The concentrated heat is then used as a heat source for a conventional power plant. A wide range of concentrating technologies exists; the most developed are the parabolic trough, the concentrating linear Fresnel reflector, the Stirling dish and the solar power tower. Various techniques are used to track the Sun and focus light. In all of these systems a working fluid is heated by the concentrated sunlight, and is then used for power generation or energy storage. New different types of CSP technology:
Fernel linear collector technology: Europe is also working with Fresnel linear collector technology, which is a variant on parabolic trough technology, in that instead of using parabolic trough mirrors; deploy sets of small flat mirrors arranged in parallel, longitudinally. It also differs in that the absorber tube that concentrates the rays is stationary while the mirrors incline to follow the suns course. In Europe, the first commercial power plant to use this technology, Puerto Errado II, was commissioned in January 2012 and has a 30 MW capacity. Dish Stirling technology: Doesnt produce steam to turn a turbine but uses a trough-shaped mirror concentrator to deflect the suns light on a receptor at a focal point of the dish. The device, which follows the suns light, can heat gas (helium or hydrogen) to temperatures in excess of 600C that drive a Stirling motor to produce electricity.
Photovoltaics: A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. The first solar cell was constructed by Charles Fritts in the 1880s. In 1931 a German engineer, Dr Bruno Lange, developed a photo cell using silver selenide in place of copper oxide. Although the prototype selenium cells converted less than 1% of incident light into electricity, both Ernst Werner von Siemens and James Clerk Maxwell recognized the importance of this discovery. Following the work of Russell Ohl in the 1940s, researchers Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin created the silicon solar cell in 1954.These early solar cells cost 286 USD/watt and reached efficiencies of 4.56%. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into a flow of electrons. The photovoltaic effect refers to photons of light exciting electrons into a higher state of energy, allowing them to act as charge carriers for an electric current. The term photovoltaic denotes the unbiased operating mode of a photodiode in which current through the device is entirely due to the transduced light energy. Virtually all photovoltaic devices are some type of photodiode. Solar cells produce direct current electricity from sun light, which can be used to power equipment or to recharge a battery. The first practical application of photovoltaics was to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft, but today the majority of photovoltaic modules are used for grid connected power generation. In this case an inverter is required to convert the DC to AC.
There is a smaller market for off-grid power for remote dwellings, boats, recreational vehicles, electric cars, roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing, and cathodic protection of pipelines. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material. Materials presently used for photovoltaics include monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide. Due to the growing demand for renewable energy sources, the manufacturing of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has advanced considerably in recent years. Cells require protection from the environment and are usually packaged tightly behind a glass sheet. When more power is required than a single cell can deliver, cells are electrically connected together to form photovoltaic modules, or solar panels. A single module is enough to power an emergency telephone, but for a house or a power plant the modules must be arranged in multiples as arrays. Photovoltaic power capacity is measured as maximum power output under standardized test conditions (STC) in "Wp" (Watts peak). The actual power output at a particular point in time may be less than or greater than this standardized, or "rated," value, depending on geographical location, time of day, weather conditions, and other factors. Solar photovoltaic array capacity factors are typically under 25%, which is lower than many other industrial sources of electricity. A significant market has emerged in off-grid locations for solar-power-charged storage-battery based solutions. These often provide the only electricity available. The first commercial installation of this kind was in 1966 on Ogami Island in Japan to transition Ogami Lighthouse from gas torch to fully self-sufficient electrical power. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
Solar Chemical Solar chemical processes use solar energy to drive chemical reactions. These processes offset energy that would otherwise come from a fossil fuel source and can also convert solar energy into storable and transportable fuels. Solar induced chemical reactions can be divided into thermochemical or photochemical. A variety of fuels can be produced by artificial photosynthesis. The multielectron catalytic chemistry involved in making carbon-based fuels (such as methanol) from reduction of carbon dioxide is challenging; a feasible alternative is hydrogen production from protons, though use of water as the source of electrons (as plants do) requires mastering the multielectron oxidation of two water molecules to molecular oxygen. Some have envisaged working solar fuel plants in coastal metropolitan areas by 2050- the splitting of sea water providing hydrogen to be run through adjacent fuel-cell electric power plants and the pure water by-product going directly into the municipal water system. Hydrogen production technologies have been a significant area of solar chemical research since the 1970s. Aside from electrolysis driven by photovoltaic or photochemical cells, several thermochemical processes have also been explored. One such route uses concentrators to split water into oxygen and
hydrogen at high temperatures (2300-2600 C). Another approach uses the heat from solar concentrators to drive the steam reformation of natural gas thereby increasing the overall hydrogen yield compared to conventional reforming methods.
Solar Vehicles Development of a solar powered car has been an engineering goal since the 1980s. The World Solar Challenge is a biannual solar-powered car race, where teams from universities and enterprises compete over 3,021 kilometers (1,877 mi) across central Australia from Darwin to Adelaide. In 1987, when it was founded, the winner's average speed was 67 kilometers per hour (42 mph) and by 2007 the winner's average speed had improved to 90.87 kilometers per hour (56.46 mph). Some vehicles use solar panels for auxiliary power, such as for air conditioning, to keep the interior cool, thus reducing fuel consumption. In 1975, the first practical solar boat was constructed in England. By 1995, passenger boats incorporating PV panels began appearing and are now used extensively. In 1996, Kenichi Horie made the first solar powered crossing of the Pacific Ocean, and the sun21 catamaran made the first solar powered crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the winter of 20062007. There are plans to circumnavigate the globe in 2010. In 1974, the unmanned AstroFlight Sunrise plane made the first solar flight. On 29 April 1979, the Solar Riser made the first flight in a solar powered, fully controlled, man carrying flying machine, reaching an altitude of 40 feet (12 m). In 1980, the Gossamer Penguin made the first piloted flights powered solely by photovoltaics. This was quickly followed by the Solar Challenger which crossed the English Channel in July 1981. Developments then turned back to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).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.
A solar balloon is a black balloon that is filled with ordinary air. As sunlight shines on the balloon, the air inside is heated and expands causing an upward buoyancy force, much like an artificially heated hot air balloon. Some solar balloons are large enough for human flight, but usage is generally limited to the toy market as the surface-area to payload-weight ratio is relatively high.
Potential in the European Union and in Spain

Solar power in Spain Spain is one of the most advanced countries in the development of solar energy, and it is one of the European countries with the most hours of sunshine. In 2008 the Spanish government committed to achieving a target of 12 percent of primary energy from renewable energy by 2010 and by 2020 expects the installed solar generating capacity of 10,000 megawatts (MW). Spain is the fourth largest manufacturer in the world of power technology and exports 80 percent of this output to Germany. Spain added a record 2.6 GW of solar power in 2008, increasing capacity to 3.5 GW. Total solar power in Spain was 3.859 GW by the end of 2010 and solar energy produced 6.9 terawatthours (TWh), covering 2.7% of the electricity demand in 2010. By the end of 2011, 4.214 GW had been installed, and that year 7.912 TWh of electricity was produced. Through a ministerial ruling in March 2004, the Spanish government removed economic barriers to the connection of renewable energy technologies to the electricity grid. The Royal Decree 436/2004 equalized conditions for large-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic plants and guaranteed feed-in tariffs. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Spanish government drastically cut its subsidies for solar power and capped future increases in capacity at 500 MW per year, with effects upon the industry worldwide.
Concentrated Solar Power Plants (CSP) Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets Evolution of CSP plants in Spain and Europe There are four types of concentrated solar power plants. Parabolic trough technology is the most widespread accounting for 22 out of the 25 commercial CSP operations in the European Union at the end of 2011. The remaining three commercial plants are tower plants. They use heliostats huge, almost flat mirrors with a surface area of over 100m2 arranged in their hundreds to concentrate the suns rays on a point at the top of the tower. All of them are in Spain: PS10 (2006), PS20 (2008) and Gemasolar (2011).
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In Spain a small demonstration plant based on Dish Stirling was commissioned in Casa de los Pinos. Spain still the only European Union country to have developed a large-scale sector and at the end of 2011 concentrated all of Europes commercial CSP operations within its borders with 1151,4 MW of installed capacity. If we had the capacity of the four prototypes commissioned in the European Union: Archimede, Puerto Errado I, La Seyne-sur-Mer and Augustin Fresnel I, total European Union capacity was 1157,2 MW at the end of 2011.
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Nine commercial CSP operations went on stream in 2011 (a combined capacity of 420 MW), all of them in Spain. Eight of them are of the parabolic trough type each with a unit capacity of 50 MW, while the ninth is a 20 MW capacity tower plant called Gemasolar. The electricity output of all of Spains CSP plants has been metered, according to REE (Red Elctrica Espaola) at 2029 GWh in 2011 (692 GWh in 2010), which represents a 194,3% gain on 2010. The installation pace should be steady in the forthcoming months. In the first quarter of the year, four new power plants (Helioenergy 2, Solacor 1, Solacor 2 and Puerto Errado II) were commissioned adding 180 MW of capacity to the Spanish grid, with another 18 under construction (for 872,5 MW). The construction of 13 other power plants is confirmed (for 271,4 MW) as they are in the pre-allocation register and have escaped the moratorium, which since January 1st 2012, has cut off all financial aid to renewable energy-sourced power plants.
Data published by Protermo Solar (the Spanish CSP association), puts the theoretical output of these 61 power plants (with a combined capacity of 2475,3 MW) at 6649 GWh, namely 2-3% of the countrys electricity output. The main industrialists involved in constructing these power plants are the Spanish groups Abengoa Solar, Acciona Solar Power and Cobra Group, while the main parabolic trough mirror suppliers are Rioglass of Spain and Flabeg of Germany.
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Prospects for Europes CSP plants in 2020 The fallout from the economic crisis that has besieged Europe for the past three years is affecting CSP plant project developments. Most countries that have set CSP plant targets in their National Renewable Energies Action Plans are drifting off course. The Spanish government, which had the highest ambitions, has asked CSP sector operators to slow down their plant installation pace. Achieving the 2015 target (3048 MW) no longer appears to be a priority and the government will have to lift its moratorium if it is to achieve its 2020 target of 5079 MW. The Portuguese program has not even kicked off and is unlikely to meet its 180 MW target in 2015 (500 MW in 2020). While over the long term the prospect for growth are still good, except for Spain, the other European Union countries have yet to pass the demonstrator stage if they are to envisage installing commercially-viable CSP plants. Competition from ground-based PV farms, whose production costs have been slashed by its very broad industrialization and the billions of euros the PV sector has spent, is another factor that could stunt sector growth. A Swiss Bank Sarasin survey: Solar industry: survival of the fittest in a fiercely competitive market place reckons that in 2011 photovoltaic plants (polycrystalline or CdTe) will cost 0,13 /kWh compare to 0,16 /kWh for parabolic trough plants. These cost differences should be put into perspective as the CSP industrys adventure is only just beginning, with only one GW installed in Europe, compare to 51 GW by photovoltaic. It still needs support to continue expanding, and so far, the politicians have not let it down.
The technology has advantages for grid integration because it offers hybridization opportunities with thermal fuels (fossil or biomass) and energy storage possibilities, which are two major assets. They are capped by the fact that most CSP plant components are made in Europe and that the sunshinerich countries, which are bound to host the future CSP plants, have good worth prospects worldwide.
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Low-temperature solar thermal systems The European solar thermal markets bad patch is not over, but tangible improvements are already being felt. The hot-water and heating-dedicated solar thermal market only contracted by 1,9% in 2011.
In the European Union, 3,7 million m2 of solar thermal collectors were installed in 2011, compared to just under 3,8 million2 m in 2010. Nonetheless, the market is a long way off its 2008 level when 4,6 million m2 of collectors were installed. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
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The performance of the main European Union markets varies considerably. On the positive side, the German market is returning to growth, the Polish market is building up and the Greek market is holding up well. On the downside, the Spanish, Italian, French, Austrian and Czech markets are shrinking. The same factors are to blame for the current solar thermal market difficulties as in the past two years. The financial crash of 2008 and subsequent recession continue to hurt the construction sector, particularly in Southern Europe, so the tightening of its technical standards has yet to make a decisive impact on the Spanish, Italian and even French markets. Another reason mentioned is the end of gas/oil price linkage, which makes gas very competitive with solar energy. Competition is even stiffer between solar thermal and conventional heating systems other than oil-fired, as most European countries, being cash-strapped have slashed their solar thermal incentive subsidies. Lastly, solar thermal technology has had to contend with another photovoltaic market boom. Consumers perceive PV as much more profitable than solar thermal. If we look at the technology spread, the market is dominated by glazed flat place collectors with an 84,3% share in 2011, even though the vacuum tube collectors market share has picked up slightly (11,7%). Unglazed collectors, generally used for heating pools, have struggled to make 4% of the newly installed surface area.
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A collector base of 39,4 millions m2 in 2011 Estimating the total solar collector installation surface area in the European Union is difficult because every year part of the base either not in service or is replaced by new systems. The surface area of the solar of the solar thermal collectors in service in the European Union is approximately 39,4 million m2, which means a capacity of 27545 MWth. Germany, Austria and Greece have had the biggest collector bases for many years. However, if we consider per capita surface, Cyprus sets the European benchmarkwith 0,869 m2/inhab, ahead of Austria (0,567 m2/inhab) and Greece (0,362 m2/inhab).
Ways out of the crisis The solutions that can solve this crisis have already been identified, but implementing them is quite another matter. ESTIF (the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation) says that the industry can no longer afford to wait for significant gas or heating oil prices hikes. It will have to increase its costs reducing efforts throughout the value chain if its to rebuild its competitive edge over conventional heating solutions. The systems must be simpler to install to bring down overpriced installation costs, while more development work must be devoting to concentrating on less expensive yet innovative materials. At the same time, the industry needs to
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forge closer links with its construction counterparts, promote integrated system solutions and become pro-active in developing low-energy housing. The sector also proposes a change to the current incentive system, which tends to offer installation subsidies, by redirecting it to installation performance rating and creating a production subsidy along the lines of the feed-in tariff. Depending on the application and solar fraction, the rate could vary between 0,05 and 0,15/kWhth, which would compensate for the advantage enjoyed by the market price of gas and ensure that investors make earnings of 6%. Werner Weiss, the director of the Austrian research institute AEE Intec, has presented a model enabling the cost of 1 kWh of solar thermal heat to be calculated in line with the systems design solar fraction. If a solar fraction of 15% is considered, the Weiss model determines a 0,06-0,08/kWhth difference compared to the price of gas. The difference rises to 0,15-0,20/kWhth when the solar fraction is 60%. News from the solar thermal sector There are two classes of operators in the European solar thermal industry the independent specialist companies and the major generalist heating and heat marketing groups. The former includes the two major players, which happen to be the two leading collector and solar thermal system manufacturers Bosch Termotechnik and Viessmann; they are followed by BDR Thermea Group, Vaillant Group and Ariston Thermo Group. Companies specialised in solat thermal are much more numerous: GreenOneTec, Solvis, Thermosolar, or Ritter gives a non-exhaustive list of European manufacturers whose collector or solar thermal system output it upwards of 100000 m2. In 2011 GreenOneTec, the Austrian company, held onto its position as the leading solar thermal collector manufacturer despite significantly cutting back production. It claims to have a 25% share of the European market and exports 85% of its output. It announced a collector output figure of 700000 m2 for 2011 (800000 m2 in 2010), which is far below its capacity estimated at 1,6 million m2. The company has recently commissioned its new automated FK 9000 production line capable of producing 60 collectors per hour to reduce its costs, which will produce its new generation of aluminium collectors, FK 9250, to be marketed from the second half of 2012. The FK 9250 is designed to reduce installation time by integrating a higher number of pre-installed components and tool-free connection with the hydraulic circuit. Since April 2011 the production line has also been given a new bending machine that can produce 80 copper serpentine coils per hour. Tisun, another Austrian company, has pushed back the automation boundaries further still. In October 2011, it installed a new fully-automated machine, called the Pulsspeed Bender that manufactures an absorber in a single step, bending the pipe into the serpentine coils, cutting the absorber plates and laser welding them together. The machine was developed in conjunction with mechanical engineering firm DTEC. It is recalled that Tisun was the first company to use laser welding on copper-aluminium to manufacture absorbers. Some manufacturers have pushed technology in new directions using bonding instead of welding techniques. One example is the German manufacturer Schco International, which has developed a process to encapsulate the copper pipe in an aluminium clip that is bonded to the absorber. The advantage of the bonded link is that it avoids thermal stress that could deform the absorber plate, resulting from a rigid link between an aluminium absorber and the copper pipe (due to the different dilatation coefficients presented by these materials). The other advantage is that there is much more
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contact surface between the copper pipe and the absorber than would be provided by a laser weld, which according to the manufactures enhances panel efficiency by 2-3%. The 2020 target, a matter of choice We have to accept the idea that the recession is far from over and that it is an obstacle to the solar thermal markets development. The sector has and is still making major efforts to pare down costs but the key lies in developing large-scale manufacturing. Cost reduction by economies of scale is the magic formula adopted by the Chinese to achieve grid parity for PV plants. But todays economic conditions are not ripe for large-scale solar thermal system development. The price of gas is still too low while solar thermal technology is not competitive enough with the alternative hot water and heat production methods. This said, the markets current impetus indicates that a return to moderate market growth in 2012 is possible. The governments have to qualms about informing the population that energy prices are bound to rise in coming years, so consumers are increasingly factoring in this parameter when making their investments. The impending adoption of the new Eco-Design directive (probably at the end of 2012) and rules for hot-water production systems and storage tank energy labeling are encouraging, for only solar systems can achieve the A+++ standard, which will hand the sector a competitive advantage. The extended crisis and the solar thermal markets recovery pains have let us to lower our projections, which are now based on a forecast mean annual growth rate of 10% until 2020. It suggests that by that deadline, the local collector surface will be about 85,6 million m2 (equating to 59,9 GWth of capacity), or an output of 3481 ktoe. The figure will thus be much lower than the current NREAP targets of the 27 member countries. The governments have a decisive role to play in supporting the solar thermal sector in the current context. The gradual introduction of the new thermal regulations that either oblige or strongly promote the installation of eco-friendly heating methods is a step in the right direction, but its impact is still very weak. In the first place, the construction sector has slumped and secondly, the regulations only affect 1% of the housing base. The key to large-scale development will be for these new regulations to apply to the entire housing base. The idea is beginning to take root in Germany as part of the new renewable energies heat act, but the economic situation is hampering decisionmaking. Photovoltaic (PV) The global photovoltaic market has continued to expand despite the economic and financial crisis. Capacity in excess of 29000 MWp more than in 2011, which is roughly 12200 MWp more than in 2010. The European Union is still the main hive of installation activity. It added more than 21500 additional MWp of capacity to the grid last year, while outside the European Union, the surging
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Chinese, American and Japanese markets vouch for the enormous growth potential offered by solar power worldwide. The sector leads on electricity capacity Yet again the PV power sector was the leading electricity generating capacity installer in the European Union, as 21528,9 MWp went on grid from photovoltaic power plants during 2011, bringing the EUs capacity to date to 51357,4 MWp. The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) indicated that is also double the additional capacity installed via new gas-fired power plants (9718 MW), while it dwarfs the capacity of new coal-fired (2200 MW), oil-fired (700 MW) and nuclear power plants (331 MW). All renewable energies taken together account for more than 70% of the newly-connected capacity in the EU, and thus consolidate the trend started in 2008.
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Growth comes at a high price Despite of implementation of increasingly complex incentive systems that are intended to take market dynamics into account, the soaring growth of the PV market again caught the public authorities off guard. Not a single government has counted on the continuing and accelerating downward slide in the price of PV modules. The drop completely outpaced the feed-in tariffs and led a new rush on installations as investors tried to make the most of the differential between feed-in tariffs and the real cost of the PV kWh. In the second quarter of 2011 a root-and-branch review of the incentive systems was initiated to regain very firm control of the European market. It is particularly aimed at large PV systems.
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The PV industry in Spain Solar photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity and many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built in Spain. As of November 2010, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in Spain are the Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (60 MW), Puertollano Photovoltaic Park (47.6 MW), Planta Solar La Magascona & La Magasquila (34.5 MW), Arnedo Solar Plant (34 MW) and Planta Solar Dulcinea (31.8 MW). BP Solar begun constructing a new solar photovoltaic cell manufacturing plant at its European headquarters in Tres Cantos, Madrid. For phase one of the Madrid expansion, BP Solar aimed to expand its annual cell capacity from 55 MW to around 300 MW. Construction of this facility was underway, with the first manufacturing line expected to be fully operational in 2009.[] The new cell lines would use innovative screen-printing technology. By fully automating wafer handling, the manufacturing lines would be able to handle the very thinnest of wafers available and ensure the highest quality. Thin wafers are of particular importance since there has been a silicon shortage in recent years. However, after the new national law limiting installed power by year, in April 2009 BP Solar is closing its factories. Since the beginning of 2007, Aleo Solar AG has also been manufacturing high-quality solar modules for the Spanish market at its own factory in Santa Maria de Palautordera near Barcelona. Spain's largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants
Name of Plant Peak Power (MW) GWh/year Capacity
Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park Puertollano Photovoltaic Park Planta Solar La Magascona Planta Solar Dulcinea[12] Merida/Don Alvaro Solar Park Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets Planta Solar Ose de la Vega Arnedo Solar Plant Merida/Don Alvaro Solar Park
60 47 34.5 31.8 30 30 30 30
85
0.16
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The PV industry in the European Union In 2011, more than 69 GW were installed at the global level, producing 85 TWh of electricity every year. This energy volume is sufficient to power annually the supply needs of over 20 million households. In terms of global cumulative installed capacity, according to the latest report of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, Europe still leads the way with more than 51 GW (i.e. about 75% of the worlds total solar photovoltaic cumulative capacity). In 2011, solar photovoltaic continued its growth trend and Italy was the top market for the year, with 9.3 GW connected, followed by Germany (7.5 GW). These two markets were followed by France (1.7 GW) and the United Kingdom (784 MW). In terms of cumulative capacity, Germany with more than 24 GW, is the leading country in Europe. PV is now a significant part of Europe's electricity mix, producing 2% of the demand in the EU and roughly 4% of peak demand.
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Index of Figures Solar Energy

FIGURE 1 (PP. 4) GOOGLE IMAGES FIGURE 2 (PP. 4) HTTP://INHABITAT.COM/SOLAR-TUBE/ FIGURE 3 (PP. 5) HTTP://WWW.EMERALDENERGYNC.COM/SOLAR-WATER-HEATING.PHP FIGURE 4 (PP. 5) HTTP://WWW.RADIOLOCMAN.COM/REVIEW /ARTICLE.HTML?DI=68277 FIGURE 5 (PP. 6) HTTP://WWW.NREL.GOV/CSP/TROUGHNET/SOLAR_FIELD.HTML FIGURE 6 (PP. 6) HTTP://WWW.TERRA.ORG/ARTICULOS/ART00582.HTML FIGURE 7 (PP. 6) HTTP://WWW.ATISSUN.COM/BLOG/15114/CONCENTRATED-SOLAR-POWER-WITH-THERMALENERGY-STORAGE-CAN-HELP-UTILITIES/ FIGURE 8 (PP. 7) GOOGLE IMAGES FIGURE 9 (PP. 7) GOOGLE IMAGES FIGURE 10 (PP. 9) HTTP://INHABITAT.COM/TRANSPORTATION-TUESDAY-THE-SOLAR-POWERED-BLUE-CAR/ FIGURE 11 (PP. 9) HTTP://WWW.ENERGEX.COM.AU/SWITCHED_ ON/POWER_UP/POWER_UP_SOLAR.HTML FIGURE 12 (PP. 9) HTTP://WWW.YOURSUNYOURENERGY.COM/SOLAR-PLANES.HTM# FIGURES 13- 35 (PP. 10-24) EUROBSERV BILANS: HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/ Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
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Geothermal Energy
Introduction
Geothermal energy is the heat energy that occurs naturally in the earth. This thermal energy is contained in the rock and fluids beneath Earth's crust. It can be found from shallow ground to several miles below the surface, and even farther down to the extremely hot molten rock called magma. In nature, geothermal heat shows up in the form of volcanoes, hot springs and geysers. The heat itself is derived from radioactive decay beneath the earth's surface. When it is above 150 degree Celsius, it is considered hot enough to be used to generate electricity and heat. Geothermal energy has been used for thousands of years in some countries for cooking and heating. The production of electricity from geothermal energy sources can be a highly efficient means of delivering clean and renewable electricity to many people. Location is of key importance for the development of an efficient geothermal power station and therefore, economically viable levels of electricity can only be generated in certain areas of the world. Regions that have well-developed geothermal systems are located in geologically active areas. These regions have continuous, concentrated heat flow to the surface. The western United States has the best geothermal regions in the country, whiles Iceland, New Zealand, the Philippines, and South America, are some of the more prominent global "hot spots." In Iceland, geothermal energy, caused by the constant movement of geologic plates coupled with the volcanic nature of the island, is used to heat 90% of all homes.
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These underground reservoirs of steam and hot water can be tapped to generate electricity or to heat and cool buildings directly. A geothermal heat pump system can take advantage of the constant temperature of the upper ten feet (three meters) of the Earth's surface to heat a home in the winter, while extracting heat from the building and transferring it back to the relatively cooler ground in the summer.
Power Plants
Power plants use steam produced from geothermal reservoirs to generate electricity. There are three geothermal power plant technologies being used to convert hydrothermal fluids to electricity: dry steam, flash steam and binary cycle. The type of conversion used (selected in development) depends on the state of the fluid (steam or water) and its temperature. Dry Steam Power Plant Dry steam plants use hydrothermal fluids that are primarily steam. The steam travels directly to a turbine, which drives a generator that produces electricity. The steam eliminates the need to burn fossil fuels to run the turbine (also eliminating the need to transport and store fuels). These plants emit only excess steam and very minor amounts of gases. Dry steam power plants systems were the first type of geothermal power generation plants built (they were first used at Lardarello in Italy in 1904). Steam technology is still effective today at currently in use at The Geysers in northern California, the world's largest single source of geothermal power.
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Flash Steam Power Plant

Flash steam plants are the most common type of geothermal power generation plants in operation today. Fluid at temperatures greater than 360F (182C) is pumped under high pressure into a tank at the surface held at a much lower pressure, causing some of the fluid to rapidly vaporize, or "flash." The vapor then drives a turbine, which drives a generator. If any liquid remains in the tank, it can be flashed again in a second tank to extract even more energy. Flash power plants can be distinguished in single flash and multiple flash plants. The presence of non-condensable gases in the geothermal steam, which accumulate in the condenser, requires the installation of a gas extraction system, which will in smaller quantities emit GHG such as NO2 and CO2 (but in very small quantities only compared to a fossil fired power plant).
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Binary Cycle Power Plant Binary cycle geothermal power generation plants differ from Dry Steam and Flash Steam systems in that the water or steam from the geothermal reservoir never comes in contact with the turbine/generator units. Low to moderately heated (below 400F) geothermal fluid and a secondary (hence, "binary") fluid with a much lower boiling point that water pass through a heat exchanger. Heat from the geothermal fluid causes the secondary fluid to flash to vapor, which then drives the turbines and subsequently, the generators. Binary cycle power plants are closed-loop systems and virtually nothing (except water vapor) is emitted to the atmosphere. Resources below 400F are the most common geothermal resource.
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Advantages of geothermal energy

Significant Cost Saving : Geothermal energy generally involves low running costs since it saves 80% costs over fossil fuels and no fuel is used to generate the power. Since, no fuel is require so costs for purchasing, transporting and cleaning up plants is quite low. Reduce Reliance on Fossil Fuels: Dependence on fossil fuels decreases with the increase in the use of geothermal energy. With the sky-rocketing prices of oil, many countries are pushing companies to adopt these clean sources of energy. Burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases which are responsible for global warming. No Pollution: This is one of the main advantages of using geothermal energy since it does not create any pollution and help in creating clean environment. Being the renewable source of energy, geothermal energy has helped in reducing global warming and pollution. Moreover, Geothermal systems does not create any pollution as it releases some gases from deep within the earth which are not very harmful to the environment. Job Creation and Economic Benefits: Government of various countries are investing hugely in creation of geothermal energy which on other hand has created more jobs for the local people. Direct Use: Since ancient times, people having been using this source of energy for taking bath, heating homes, preparing food and today this is also used for direct heating of homes and offices. This makes geothermal energy cheaper and affordable. Although the initial investment is quite steep but in the long run with huge cost saving it proves quite useful.
Disadvantages of geothermal energy

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets Not Widespread Source of Energy: Since this type of energy is not widely used therefore the unavailability of equipment, staff, infrastructure and training pose hindrance to the installation of geothermal plants across the globe. Not enough skilled manpower and availability of suitable build location pose serious problem in adopting geothermal energy globally. Can Run Out Of Steam : Geothermal sites can run out of steam over a period of time due to drop in temperature or if too much water is injected to cool the rocks and this may result huge loss for the companies which have invested heavily in these plants. Due to this factor, companies have to do extensive initial research before setting up the plant. Suited To Particular Region: It is only suitable for regions which have hot rocks below the earth and can produce steam over a long period of time. For this great research is required which is done by the companies before setting up the plant and this initial cost runs up the bill in setting up the geothermal power plant. Some of these regions are near hilly areas or high up in mountains.
Transportation: Geothermal Energy cannot be easily transported. Once the tapped energy is extracted, it can be only used in the surrounding areas. Other sources of energy like wood, coal
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or oil can be transported to residential areas but this is not a case with geothermal energy. Also, there is a fear of toxic substances getting released into the atmosphere. High Installation Costs: To get geothermal energy, requires installation of power plants, to get steam from deep within the earth and this require huge one time investment and require hiring a certified installer and skilled staff needs to be recruited and relocated to plant location. Moreover, electricity towers, stations need to set up to move the power from geothermal plant to consumer.
Geothermal heating and cooling

The benefits of geothermal energy in the form of heating and cooling has been discovered by thousands of people worldwide who swear by the comfort it provides and the simplicity of its operation. Geothermal energy has proven themselves over the decades and several manufacturers and many contractors provide the competition you need to ensure quality installation and service at a fair price. Geothermal heating A geothermal heat pump is used to harness geothermal energy from inside the earth to heap our homes or to use that heat for industrial purposes. Geothermal heat pumps are built on the same basic premise as regular heat pumps. The difference is that the geothermal type draws heat from the earth instead of from outdoor air. The heat from the earth is considered to be stable and even. In addition to providing heating for your home, this type of energy can also provide air conditioning and in most cases, hot water. In the winter, this process is reversed. The heat pump extracts heat from the relatively warm ground, usually warmer than the outdoor cold air, and pumps this heat into the conditioned space. This natural form of heating can also help improve humidity control by maintaining about 50% relative indoor humidity, making geothermal heat pumps very helpful in humid climates. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
Geothermal cooling Geothermal cooling is a process by which shallow ground is utilized within a system to regulate temperature. By creating an earth loop of piping through the area outside your home, under the
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frost line, you can use this for cooling your home. During the summer you will remove the heat from your home and distribute it back into the earth loop outside your home. In the summer, the heat pump extracts heat from the conditioned space and sends it out to the earth loop to warm the relatively cool ground, or pond. This stable temperature is harnessed, using a geothermal device, to draw heat energy out of a system and thus transfer the cool temperatures into a warmer area. The main advantage of geothermal heating and cooling is that it does not use fuel or chemicals to regulate the temperature. Central air conditioning devices use materials that can be harmful to the environment. They also create carbon emissions that pollute the atmosphere.
How does the process of cooling and heating takes place? The temperature of the earth remains constant around 58 to 60 degrees. Tunnels dug five to six feet deep or up to four hundred feet long can help us in driving the energy and a noticeable decrease of 70% in electric bills occurs. The setup of these tunnels is quite expensive but if the process starts then the effective cost becomes very less in a short period of time. Actually no matter how much is the temperature outside, the temperature deep down would always be in 50 degrees; which is very near to the ideal. It is possible to maintain your home temperature without spending much money. The thermostat needs not to be turned up very high or very low in summers and winters respectively. This geothermal source saves almost 40% of what is spent on other cooling and heating systems.
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Costs of geothermal power

Wells can be drilled a mile or more deep into underground reservoirs to tap steam and very hot water that drive turbines and electric generators. Because of economies of scale in resource development and power generation, geothermal power plants supply electricity directly to the grid, typically operating as base load plants with capacity factors above 90%.
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Index of Figures Geothermal Energy

FIGURE 1 (PP. 26) HTTP://SMU.EDU/GEOTHERMAL/GEORESOU/GEORESOURCESMAP.HTM FIGURES 2,3,4,6,7,10,11 (PP. 27-33) HTTP://WWW.EERE.ENERGY.GOV/TOPICS/GEOTHERMAL.HTML FIGURE 5 (PP. 29) HTTP://WWW.MINING.UBC.CA/CERM3/GEOTHERMAL.HTML FIGURE 8 (PP. 31) HTTP://WWW.WATERFURNACE.COM/HOW -IT-WORKS.ASPX FIGURE 9 (PP. 32) HTTP://WWW.GEOTHERMALADVANTAGES.NET
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Wind Energy
Definition of Wind Energy
Wind Energy - Energy received from the movement of the wind across the earth. This energy is a result of the heating of our oceans, earth, and atmosphere by the sun. The wind is caused by the uneven heating of the surface of our earth by the sun. The reason for the uneven heating is due to the different surfaces of our earth (land and water).
Air above land mass heats up more rapidly during the day time, while the air above water will heat up at a slower rate. As the air above the land rises and expands (due to heating), the cooler air above the water will rush in to fill its place. It is this process which causes the wind the blow, as the wind is the force of air rushing to fill a gap.
During the night, the process is slightly different, and instead of the air heating, the air cools. The air above land mass will lose heat more rapidly than the air above the water, resulting in air from the land rushing to fill air over the water.
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Main Targets
Wind energy is one of the cleanest sources of energy, and because it is a naturally generated resource, it is also the most abundant energy source on the planet today. Wind power is energy that is created through the conversion of wind into forms are more practically useful, such us electricity. Wind energy is currently supplying as much as 2% of the worlds electricity use; however the power of wind energy could potentially supply as much as 20% of global electricity. The biggest wind energy producer in the world is United States, with Germany, China, Spain and India. In South America the main producer is Brasil.
Where does wind energy come from?

All renewable energy sources (except Tidal and Geothermal) come from the Sun. It irradiates 174.423.000.000.000 [kWh] of energy per hour to the Earth. It is 1, 74 x 10 [W] of power. This is around 50 to 100 times more than is converted into biomass by all the plants of the Earth. Equator regions (0 latitude), are heated more by sun than the other. These areas are indicated in red, yellow, orange color, in this picture taken by satellite in July of 1984
The heat air is lighter than cold air, that is why, it will go up to get 10 km high approximately and it will extend to the North and South. If the Earth would not rotate, air just would go to the North Pole and South Pole, and then would go down and return back to equator.
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How does a wind turbine work?

A wind turbine is a machine made up of two or three propeller-like blades called the rotor. The rotor is attached to the top of a tall tower. As the wind blows it spins the rotor. As the rotor spins the energy of the movement of the propellers gives power to a generator. There are some magnets and a lot of copper wire inside the generator that make electricity. Because winds are stronger higher up off the ground, wind turbine towers are about 30 meters tall to allow the rotor to catch more wind energy. The turbines are built with a device that turns the rotor so that it always faces into the wind. Just one wind turbine can generate enough electricity for a single house or the electrical energy to pump water or to power a mill which grinds grain. The electrical energy can also be stored in batteries.
Wind farms
Wind farms are places where many wind turbines are clustered together. They are built in places where it is nearly always windy. The electricity that is generated at a wind farm is sold to electricity companies that provide the electricity to people living in cities and towns.
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What are the advantages of wind turbines? They are pollution free. The energy they generate is renewable. This means that as long as the winds blow there is power to turn the blades of the rotor. (Another form of renewable energy comes from the Sun. Energy from the Sun is called solar energy) Using wind energy means that less fossil fuel (coal and oil) needs to be burned to make electricity. Burning fossil fuel pollutes the atmosphere and adds greenhouse gases to it. This pollution is a cause of global warming.
What are the disadvantages of wind turbines?

Some people don't like the look of the turbines. They say that they spoil the look of the natural environment. Wind turbines make noise. Turbines kill birds that fly into them. However collisions are rare and there are reports from Denmark saying that some falcons had built nests on the top of turbine towers. To protect birds however, it is important that wind farms be built away from bird sanctuaries and from the pathways of migratory birds. (Migratory birds are those that fly from cold places in winter to warmer parts of the world).
Alternative Energy
Offshore Wind Energy Resources Offshore wind turbines are being used in a number of countries to harness the energy of the moving air over the oceans and convert it to electricity. Offshore winds tend to flow at higher speeds than onshore winds, thus allowing turbines to produce more electricity. Much of this potential energy is near major population (and energy load) centers where energy costs are high and landbased wind development opportunities are limited. Because the potential energy produced from the wind is directly proportional to the cube of the wind speed, increased wind speeds of only a few miles per hour can produce a significantly larger amount of electricity. For instance, a turbine at a site with an average wind speed of 16 mph would produce 50% more electricity than at a site with the same turbine and average wind speeds of 14 mph.
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Offshore Commercial Wind Energy Generation Many offshore areas have ideal wind conditions for wind facilities. Denmark and the United Kingdom have installed large offshore wind facilities to take advantage of consistent winds. Today, just more than 600 MW of offshore wind energy is installed worldwide, all in shallow waters (<30 meters) off the coasts of Europe. Proposed offshore wind projects through 2010 amount to more than 11,000 MW, with about 500 MW each in the United States and Canada, and the remainder in Europe and Asia. Commercial-scale offshore wind facilities currently are similar to the onshore wind facilities, but with modifications to prevent corrosion and protect against wave and wind interactions. Because roughly 90% of the U.S. OCS resources are over waters that are much deeper than European waters where commercial wind facilities are currently sited, new technologies are being developed (e.g., for strengthened tower foundations) to harness the wind in the harsher conditions associated with deeper waters.
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Transport of Wind-Generated Energy

Undersea collection cables connect multiple turbines in the wind facility and transport the electricity from them to a transformer where the combined electricity is converted to a high voltage for transmission via undersea cables to a substation. There the electricity is connected to the onshore electricity grid. Alternative approaches, such as using the wind to produce hydrogen (through the hydrolysis of desalinated seawater), which would be shipped to shore for later use, are also being investigated.
Environmental Considerations
Potential impacts on the environment that may occur during construction, operations, and decommissioning of offshore wind facilities are highlighted below. Marine life. Foundations can act as artificial reefs with a resultant increase in fish populations from the new food supply. These increases in fish population may also have stimulating effects on bird populations in the area, which could cause collisions between birds and towers or rotors. Migrating birds. Besides potential collisions (bird strikes), it is possible that the birds would need to consume more energy to avoid collisions and maintain their orientation when navigating around the turbines. Tower illumination may also cause navigational disorientation for birds. Interference with navigation for endangered and threatened species. Electromagnetic fields created by the electric cables running from the turbines and underwater noises and vibrations could affect orientation and navigational ability. Potential alteration of natural environments and diminution of habitats. Underwater support pilings, anchoring devices, scour-protection materials, and electromagnetic fields could cause a decrease in benthic communities, alter natural environments, and possibly affect migration patterns. Emissions. Each unit of electricity generated from the wind that saves a unit generated from fossil fuels, which will help reduce greenhouses gases, pollutants, and waste products that result from fossil fuel use. Marine traffic, recreation, and other sea space uses. It is possible that wind turbine energy plants may disrupt air traffic control and maritime radar systems, and that facilities siting could affect recreation and other sea space uses. Visual impacts from towers, rotating turbine blades and navigation and aerial warning lights. Noise impacts from rotating turbine blades.
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World and continents capacity

Global capacity Below you will find the development of global wind energy production capacity: Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Capacity (MW) 4,800 6,100 7,482 9,670 13,699 18,040 24,318 31,184 41,353 49,461 59,135 74,176 93,959 121,247 157,910 194,560 236,874 Growth (MW) 1,300 1,382 2,188 4,029 4,341 6,279 6,866 10,170 8,109 9,674 15,041 19,783 27,289 36,664 36,650 42,315 Growth (%) 27.1 22.7 29.3 64.3 31.7 34.9 28.3 32.7 19.7 19.6 25.5 26.7 29.1 30.3 23.3 21.8
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Europe capacity The development of Europe's capacity for wind energy production is shown below: Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Capacity (MW) 4,620 6,426 9,464 13,248 17,287 23,281 30,770 36,540 40,983 48,543 57,013 65,818 75,353 85,262 94,084 Growth (MW) 1,806 3,038 3,784 4,039 5,995 7,489 5,771 4,443 7,560 8,470 8,805 9,535 9,910 8,822 Growth (%) 39.1 75.4 40 30.5 34.7 32.2 18.8 12.2 18.5 17.5 15.5 14.5 13.2 10.4
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Spain Production capacities
End 1997: 427 MW End 1998: 834 MW (+95.4 %) End 1999: 1,542 MW (+84.9 %) End 2000: 2,535 MW (+64.4 %) End 2001: 3,337 MW (+31.7 %) End 2002: 4,830 MW (+44.8 %) End 2003: 6,202 MW (+28.5 %) End 2004: 8,263 MW (+33.3 %) End 2005: 10,028 MW (+21.4 %) End 2006: 11,630 MW (+16 %) End 2007: 15,145 MW (+30.3 %) The development of wind energy in Spain is regarded as a model due to many different circumstances; one of them is the fact that the installed capacity at the beginning of End 2009: 19,149 MW (+14.4 %) 2011 of 20,676 MW is only exceeded by three countries: End 2010: 20,623 MW (+7.7 %) China, United States and Germany, of much larger population and area. New 1,515.95 MW were installed in End 2011: 21,673 MW (+5.1 %) 2010, which were the highest increase across the European Union. This development has been steady and regular over the last twelve years thanks to the firm commitment made during the last two decades both by the Government and by a large business sector. End 2008: 16,740 MW (+10.6 %) The fact that wind power covered 16.6 percent of the electricity demand in 2010 becomes very important to our country as it is practically an electrical island with a very low interconnection level. The effort made by the industry, along with the System Operator to integrate into the grid overcoming some sensitive issues such as the adaptation of the turbines to voltage dips, and achieving that high level of penetration has no comparison in the world and has become a reference. But, undoubtedly, the most important feature is that the development of wind energy in Spain has been accompanied by the creation of a solid industrial basewith more than seven hundred companies - from large world leaders multinationals to small and medium family businessescovering the entire value chain, from components and wind turbine manufacturing, engineering and consulting companies to those that provide all services to the farms already in operation. Current situation about wind energy in Spain
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The value chain of the wind energy industry can be divided into four big subsectors: Wind farm developers /energy producers, Wind turbine manufacturers, Specific components manufacturers (bearings, gear boxes) Other attached services to all phases (engineering and consulting, finance, technological solutions).
Other values, like having its own technology, a continuous and big effort in R&D -well above the average of the energy sector as a whole- , and, finally, the high qualification of its workers, must be added to the importance of the business value chain and its quantitative assessment. Indeed, according to the latest edition of the Macroeconomic Study of the Impact of the Wind Energy Sector in Spain, published in November 2010, one of the keys to the success of the Spanish model is the level of recognized industry professionals worldwide. This study highlights the industrial base built around wind energy in Spain which employed (directly and indirectly) 35,719 people by the end of 2009. It should also be noted that a large number of the jobs generated by the industry are highly qualified. The structural analysis of the developers and turbine manufacturers staff shows that the percentage of university graduates is high: 55% in the case of wind farm developers and 49% in the case of wind turbine manufacturers. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets The growing interest in obtaining training related to wind energy in our country, as the analysis of the large number of courses and students shows, is proof of the importance of this employment. These, among other factors, have allowed the Spanish wind power sector companies to undertake international expansion, which makes this sector a reference in the world, not only for the leadership of its major businesses but also because of the massive presence of small and medium companies all over the world where they take their experience, know-how and technology. One of the five major wind turbine manufacturers and two of the top five wind energy operators in the world are Spanish and the sector exported in 2009 worth 2,179 million Euros, more than other traditional sectors in our country such as fishing, leather and footwear. This business directory, published by the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE) with the support of the Institute for Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE), includes more than two hundred companies among which are the major wind turbine manufacturers, developers, components manufacturers and companies offering all sort of services for the sector: from resource measuring to maintenance, civil engineering, transport and logistics and installation.
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Index of Figures Wind Energy

FIGURES 1,2 (PP. 35) HTTP://WWW.ISLANDNET.COM/~SEE/WEATHER/ELEMENTS/SEABRZ.HTM FIGURE 3 (PP. 36) HTTP://WINDTURBINEZONE.COM/WIND-TECHNOLOGY/WIND-FARMS FIGURE 4 (PP. 36) WWW .WINDPOWER.ORG FIGURE 5 (PP. 37) HTTP://SCIENCE.HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM/ENVIRONMENTAL/GREEN-SCIENCE/WIND-POWER2.HTM FIGURE 6 (PP. 37) HTTP://WWW.UCSUSA.ORG/CLEAN_ENERGY/OUR-ENERGY-CHOICES/RENEWABLE-ENERGY/HOW WIND-ENERGY-WORKS.HTML FIGURE 7 (PP. 37) HTTP://WWW.EVWIND.ES/2012/10/10/NEW -MILESTONE-AT-WIND-FARM-IN-ULLEY/24541/ FIGURE 8 (PP.39) HTTP://BLOG.CLEANENERGY.ORG/2012/12/12/OBAMA-ADMINISTRATION-ADVANCES-NORTHCAROLINA-OFFSHORE-WIND-ENERGY-AREAS/ FIGURE 9 (PP. 39) HTTP://OFFSHOREWIND.NET/OTHER_PAGES/TURBINE-FOUNDATIONS.HTML FIGURES 10,11 (PP. 41-43) WWW .THEWINDPOWER.NET FIGURE 12 (PP. 44) HTTP://WWW.GLOBALWINDPOWER.COM/PRODUCT/THE-VALUE-CHAIN.ASPX
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Ocean Energy
Introduction
Almost 1,500 million cubic kilometres of water cover the Earth, more than 70% of its surface, representing 360 million square kilometres of the planet. This is a huge ocean energy potential.
Waves in the sea
Ocean energy shows up itself in different ways: Swell The waves are produced by the action of the wind on the sea surface. Subsequently these travel hundreds of miles across the sea.
Wave Energy Levels (kW/m of wave front)
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Tides and currents The movement of large masses of water produced by the gravitational action of the sun and the moon causes locally periodic variations in sea level and currents that can be harnessed by human to produce energy.
Tidal Power Levels
Thermal gradient Solar radiation causes differences between the temperature in the surface of the sea and in the bottom of the sea that can exceed 20 C.
Temperature difference between surface and depth of 1000 m.
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Salinity gradient At the mouths of rivers there are strong differences in salt concentration between ocean water and river water. However, marine energy is the renewable energy source that is less developed to reach commercial maturity.
Currently, the exploitation of ocean energy is specially centred in waves energy, tides and currents energy and thermal energy which is the one that takes advantage of the difference between temperatures of the water surface warmed by the sun and the lower temperature of the deeper water. If a positive and a negative feature of this energy source have to be emphasized, as positive feature stands out that it is a source of high energy density, this mean that occupies small area where a lot of energy can be got. As negative feature and because of the hostility of the Pelamis generators of Scottish Power Renewables, Orkeney marine environment, it is noted that Islands (Escocia), it will become the biggest waves energy there are great difficulties to extract such facility in the world (3 MW). Foto: Iberdrola Renovables. energy. Nowadays, ocean energy is being minimal harnessed by humans, with an installed capacity reduced to several pilot plants located in just a few countries. You could say that marine energy are in a time of technological divergence, in which there are many ideas in development but none has demonstrated technology leadership. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets Ocean Power as a form of Green Energy falls into two essential forms. One is commercially exploitable, the other a long way off. The First, and commercially exploitable form of Ocean Power is Kinetic power, that is, harnessing the motion of the waves as a source of energy. This is achieved via a barrage or series of buoys anchored to the sea bed. The resulting swell of the ocean creates "mechanical stroking" inside the buoy, which is convertible into electrical energy via appropriate power take-off mechanisms. Wave farms are a reality, a 10 megawatt farm requiring approximately 30 acres of space. Power output is scalable by adding more buoys.
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The other form of ocean power is "Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion" (OTEC) or making use of the thermal energy in water. OTEC was conceived by the French engineer Jacques D'Arsonval as far back as 1881 but at present there is only a single experimental OTEC plant (the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii) in the world. There is no easily identifiable means of making OTEC commercially viable, and there is little research into the technologies required to make it viable. Whilst Ocean thermal energy is theoretically a very clean and green source of energy it would presently be very costly to set up commercially - and paradoxically OTEC plants themselves would almost certainly not be very green or environmentally friendly in themselves. There are additional benefits to OTEC, however, due to the processes required to extract thermal energy. One spin-off is the inevitable chemical output of the processes as the latent heat of seawater is extracted by reaction; the other spin-off is the availability of very cold deep sea water which can be used for refrigeration and air conditioning. A further spin-off of OTEC is the possibility of introducing mar culture and aquaculture projects such as fish farming around the enclosures where the energy extraction process is occurring (due to the availability of heat). So which commercially not exploitable presently, OTEC potentially offers other spin-off benefits than just production of energy. In the following chart, share of each resource in renewable primary energy consumption of the European Union in % can be observed. As it shows, Ocean energies represent the smallest ratio.
Ocean Energy in UE
La Rance tidal barrage has been operating since 1966 near Saint-Malo, France, with 240 MW of capacity and produced 530 GWh of electricity in 2010. It is Europes biggest marine energy production site and the second biggest in the world.
La Rance tidal barrage, France
However tidal barrage technology is one of the myriad subsectors that glean the exploitable sources in the marine environment: electricity production from current energy, tidal, waves, using the
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thermal gradient between surface water and water from the depths, and the osmatic pressure difference between saline and fresh water, in addition to seawater air-conditioning from deep waters. These technologies are at different stages of gestation, but are being vigorously developed through the involvement of major European industrial concerns. The most buoyant sector at the commercial stage is that underwater generators powered by currents. Wave energy is ensnared in the sea demonstrator validation phase. A number of technologies seem to be emerging but they are struggling to overcome technical hurdles because of lack of funding. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion and osmatic energy are still in the R&D phase, yet this has not stopped the proliferation of small prototypes and multi-megawatt projects. In the next chart, different projects and status that are taking part in Europe can be observed:
The United Kingdom has all the assets to keep its European leadership slot, huge potential to be tapped vigorously supported political resolve and industrial sector with a head start. In the spring of
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2011, RenewableUK identified 3,4 MW of installed capacity and total of 11 MW of projects planned to be up and running by 2014. The industry has the backing of R&D facilities and test centres such as EMEC (European Marine Energy Centre), the first of its kind in Europe, and WaveHub, but also by proactive policy and an incentive support system. Marine electricity is paid two ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates) per MWh, worth about 104 per MWh, and 3-5 ROCs per MWh in Scotland and the Orkney Islands, where major development of the sector is going on. At the same time, the Crown Estate awarded 16 GW of marine energy leases for energy projects in 2010, before offering further tenders for projects of up to 30 MW during 2011. The only project to fall victim the UK governments austerity plan was the huge 8,6 GW Severn Estuary currents energy project. France, which has been an out-sider for a long time, is making great strides in the underwater generator sector. At the end of August, the fist OpenHydro tidal turbine, of a future 4-turbine array totaling 2 MW, was submerged off Paimpol. Brittanys coasts will play host to several other projects on other prototypes. The French Overseas Departments and Collectivities, and in particular, Reunion Island, are spearheading wave energy development -three projects each of several megawatts capacity, into CETO, Pelamis and Limpet technologies- and use of OTEC -a first prototype of several kilowatts is being built on Reunion Island that should pave the way for 10 MW units planned for Reunion Islands, Martinique and Tahiti. In Portugal, the pilot project for a wave farm comprising 4 Pelamis wave converters has foundered, because there is not enough money to finance the prototype adaptation phase. Despite this upset, the country is still backing the sector through the Wave Energy Centre R&D platform and the pilot test zone. It also has a relatively attractive feed-in tariff (FiT) of 0,26 per KWh for demonstrators. A number of prototypes are being tested off its coastline. In Norway, the Norwegian company StatKraft inaugurated the worlds first osmotic energy plant, a prototype with a few kW of capacity, for the purpose of building a commercially viable one in 2015. Only eight of the 27 EU Member States set quantified targets for 2020 in their national renewable energy action plans (NREAP): the United Kingdom (1300 MW), France (380 MW), Portugal (250 MW), the Netherlands (135 MW), Spain (100 MW), Ireland (75 MW), Finland (10 MW) and Italy (3 MW), which gives a total of 2253 MW. The indicative electricity production trajectory set out in the NREAPs points to output of 6 GWh in 2020. According to EurObservER, this trajectory looks quite achievable given the current level of investment in research and development, but the majority of installed capacity will be installed between 2015 and 2020. The EU-OEA for its part reckons that it will be possible to achieve 2,6 GW in 2020 and forecasts the creation of about ten jobs for every installed megawatt. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
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In this chart, the comparison of the current installed tidal, wave and ocean energy capacity trend against the NREAP roadmap can be seen. The European Ocean Energy Association (EU-OEA) is the voice of the ocean energy sector at the European level. It is a nonprofit association with a growing international membership of more than 70 of the worlds leading companies involved in wave, tidal, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), and salinity gradient energy technologies. Enjoying its strategic location at the heart of the European district in Brussels, it actively represents the interests of the sector through its regular contact with European institutions (European Commission, Parliament, Member States Permanent Representations, etc). Furthermore, the association is actively engaged in promoting the development and use of these technologies through a mixture of policy, legislative, educational and communications activities. The EU-OEA hosts conferences, workshops and site visits, providing members and legislators with the ability to monitor commercial developments, and to assess emerging technologies for their commercial readiness, relative competitive position, and deployment prospects. It also produces reports and publications in order to inform, promote and tackle issues that the European ocean energy sector faces today. The associations international conference features authoritative presentations from key stakeholders in the industry about a wide range of new technologies being deployed, and under development, worldwide, and an opportunity to participate in the informal professional network that the group supports. Site visits organized by the EU-OEA through its extensive contacts in member companies and their affiliates offer members access to innovative facilities worldwide, while workshops provide an opportunity for continuing education from technical experts. Last but not least, the EU-OEA participates in or coordinates a number of European projects, which gives it a central position in the European ocean energy network, and provides it with first hand, state-of-the-art information on the policy, technology, and academic status of the sector. In the next chart, ocean energy technology roadmap can be seen. These are the targets and liabilities with the mentioned technology in this period of time, from 2010 to 2020.
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Ocean Energy in Spain

Spain, a late starter in terms of projects despite its useful energy potential, has had a detailed map of potential wave energy farm development sites drawn up. In the following map, wave energy levels in Europe can be observed and we can realize that Spain has one of the greatest potential levels in its coasts in this sense. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
Waves Energy Levels in EU (kW/m of wave front)
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In the current state of ocean energy in Spain, the following aspects can be stood up: Tidal range resource: Spain has no appropriate sites (tidal range bigger than 6 meters) except some commercial harbours with huge environmental impact and restrictions for other uses. Marine currents: there is some theoretical resource in the South (i.e. Strait of Gibraltar) and in some river mouths not available due to navigation and other uses restrictions. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC): Insufficient thermal difference. Salinity gradient: there are some theoretical resources at river mouths. Although there would be an important environmental impact, and the technology is still immature. Waves: this is the resource with greater potential in Spain inasmuch as ocean energy referred. The level of wave energy on Atlantic and Cantabrian coastline goes between 40 and 55 kW/m. The available resource is 21 GW. Furthermore, some experts say that Spain has potential to be a leader in the development of ocean energy for four main reasons: 1. Existence of one of the best energy resources in Europe. 2. There is national research and technology in innovation stage. 3. The current and future legislative framework already includes wave energy: a. Royal Decree 661/2007 of Special Regimen. b. Renewable Energy Promotion Plan 2011-2020. 4. Well proven model of success on RES. Spain has wind energy experience. Finally, it is possible to enumerate the most important on-going projects in Spain, which are being developed by the most important companies in energy sector. 1. Nereida Project (Mutriku, Basque Country): The NEREIDA MOWC project is intended to demonstrate the successful incorporation of OWC technology with Wells turbine power take-off into a newly constructed rubble mound breakwater in Mutriku, in the north coast of Spain. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
Mutriku, Basque Country
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The technical solution adopted in this case consists on 16 OWCs, to give an active collector length of close to 100 meters. Power take-off involves multiple turbines, each turbine being rated at 15kWe.
Oscillating Water Column Technology
The key features of the facility are the following ones: Technology: OWC (Oscillating Water Column) Installed capacity: 250 kW Turbines: 16 Wells turbines Length of breakwater occupied: 100 meters. Extra investment in civil engineering: 2M Investment in electromechanical equipment. and others: 1.5M Estimated annual energy: 485 MWh/year. Forecast commissioning date: 2008 The project will demonstrate its viability for future commercial projects. 2. IberMar Project (Santoa, Cantabria): In 2006 OPT formed a joint venture with Iberdrola S.A., global oil major TOTAL, the Spanish Government IDAE (Institute of Energy Savings and Efficiency), and the local regional development agency SODERCAN, for the development of wave energy off the North coast of Spain. The joint venture, called Iberdrola Energias Marinas de Cantabria, was formed with the goal to build a grid-connected wave power station near Santoa, Spain. It is expected to be completed over several phases. The first phase of the project includes the deployment of a PB40 PowerBuoy.
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An initial PB40 system was tested at the Santoa site in 2008 demonstrating deployment methodologies and procedures, power conditioning systems, and mooring/anchoring arrays. Subsequently OPT announced the award by the European Union of funding for a new PB40 system to be deployed at Santoa. The PowerBuoy is expected to demonstrate significant improvements to OPTs proprietary electronic tuning system, which enables the PowerBuoy to enhance its energy conversion efficiency. This project, called WavePort, is being conducted by OPT in close association with a group of European companies and institutions.
Santoa, Cantabria
Following the WavePort project, an additional step planned for the Santoa site development is installation of an Undersea Substation Pod (USP) to collect, network, and transform power and installation of a 6 km subsea power transmission cable to deliver grid-quality energy to the on-shore electricity network. It is expected with customer funding, additional PB150 PowerBuoys will be installed at the site and connected to the grid. The technology and the details of the project are the next ones: Total Generating Capacity: 1,39 MW Buoy Specification: PB150 and PB40 Application: Grid connected Major Components: 1 PB40 Power Buoy 9 PB150 Power Buoy 1 Undersea Substation Pod (USP) 6 km of sub-marine cable
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Project partners are key to achieving success in Spain. Strong partnerships have been formed with Spanish suppliers, and key supply chains have been established. Local Spanish infrastructure and support are critical to the project, with fabrication of the buoy structure undertaken by local metal fabricators and local harbor facilities, boats, and divers employed for deployment operations. 3. Calma Project Hidroflot (Asturias): The project is to develop a pilot infrastructure capturing energy from the sea, with the patented Hidroflot system. This demonstrative prototype (scale 1:1) is a floating platform with 16 sensors over 40 meters capable of producing 6 MW with the action of waves. The central base of the wave energy is located 2 miles boat off the coast, and it will act independently evacuating all the energy generated by a submarine cable connection to the networkreception electrical ground. The selected location for the installation of the plant production is the Asturian coast, occupying an area of 0.090 km2.
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Floating Platform Prototype
Index of Figures Ocean Energy

FIGURE 1 (PP. 48) WAVES IN THE SEA: GOOGLE IMAGES FIGURE 2 (PP. 48) WAVE ENERGY LEVELS (KW/M OF WAVE FRONT): THE ENERGY BLOG FIGURE 3 (PP. 49) TIDAL POWER LEVELS: ECO WAVE POWER FIGURE 4 (PP. 50) TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SURFACE AND DEPTH OF 1000 M.: ENERGY LAND FIGURES 5-10 (PP. 51-55) EUROBSERV BILANS: HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/ FIGURE 11 (PP. 55) WAVES ENERGY LEVELS IN EU (KW/M OF WAVE FRONT): TECNALIA FIGURE 12-16 (PP. 56-59) SPANISH RENEWABLE ENERGY ASSOCIATION
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Biomass
Introduction
Biomass is a renewable energy source which consists on biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products. What is commonly known as garbage has now become a source of energy to consider. Some of this garbage we are talking about it is just stuff lying around us: dead trees, tree branches, yard clippings, left-over crops, wood chips, and bark and sawdust from lumber mills. It can even include used tires and livestock manure.
In the first sense, biomass is plant matter used to generate electricity with steam turbines & gasifiers or produce heat, usually by direct combustion. Examples include forest residues and even municipal solid waste. In the second sense, biomass includes plant or animal matter that can be converted into fibers or other industrial chemicals, including biofuels. Industrial biomass can be grown from numerous types of plants, including miscanthus, switchgrass, hemp, corn, poplar, willow, sorghum, sugarcane, bamboo, and a variety of tree species, ranging from eucalyptus to oil palm. The trash, paper products that can't be recycled into other paper products, and other household waste are normally sent to the dump wrongly. This trash usually contains some types of biomass that can be reused. Recycling biomass for fuel and other uses cuts down on the need for landfills to hold garbage. This stuff nobody seems to want can be used to produce electricity, heat, compost material or fuels. Composting material is decayed plant or food products mixed together in a compost pile and spread to help plants grow. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
Wood chips
Biomass Sources
Biomass is carbon, hydrogen and oxygen based. Biomass energy is derived from five distinct energy sources: Garbage; Wood; Waste; Landfill gases; Alcohol fuels.
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Wood energy is derived by using lignocellulosic biomass (second generation biofuels) as fuel. This is either using harvested wood directly as a fuel, or collecting from wood waste streams.
Typical source of biomass: Wood
The largest source of energy from wood is pulping liquor or black liquor, a waste product from processes of the pulp, paper and paperboard industry. Waste energy is the second-largest source of biomass energy. The main contributors of waste energy are municipal solid waste (also called MSW), manufacturing waste, and landfill gas. Sugars and oils, such as sugarcane and corn (first generation biofuels), are used to produce bioethanol, an alcohol fuel. These alcohol fuels can be used directly, like other fuels, or as an additive to gasoline. Second generation biofuels are less simple to extract or process, while first generation biofuels are more prone to escalating the Food vs. Fuel dilemma. Biomass can be converted to other usable forms of energy like methane gas or transportation fuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Rotting garbage, and agricultural and human waste, all release methane gasalso called "landfill gas" or "biogas." Crops, such as corn and sugar cane, can be fermented to produce the transportation fuel, ethanol. Biodiesel, another transportation fuel, can be produced from left-over food products like vegetable oils and animal fats. Also, Biomass to liquids (BTLs) and cellulosic ethanol are still under research.
Energy crops Energy crops can be grown on farms in potentially large quantities and in ways that dont displace or otherwise reduce food production, such as by growing them on marginal lands or pastures or as double crops that fit into rotations with food crops. Trees and grasses that are native to a region often require fewer synthetic inputs and pose less risk of disruption to agroecosystems.
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Grasses Thin-stemmed perennial grasses used to blanket the prairies of the United States before the settlers replaced them with annual food crops. Switchgrass, big bluestem, and other native varieties grow quickly in many parts of the country, and can be harvested for up to 10 years before replanting. Thick-stemmed perennials like sugar cane and elephant grass can be grown in hot and wet climates. Switchgrass is a perennial grass that grows throughout the Great Plains, the Midwest and the South of the United States of America. Switchgrass is a hardy speciesresistant to floods, droughts, nutrient poor soils, and pestsand does not require much fertilizer to produce consistent high yields. Today, switchgrass is primarily cultivated either as feed for livestock or, due to its deep root structure, as ground cover to prevent soil erosion. However, this prairie grass also has promise for biopower and biofuel production (see profile of Show-Me Energy below). If demand for switchgrass outstrips the capacity of marginal lands, it could, however, compete with other crops for more productive land.
Manure Manure from livestock and poultry contains valuable nutrients and, with appropriate management, should be an integral part of soil fertility management. Where appropriate, some manure can be converted to renewable energy through anaerobic digesters, combustion or gasification. The anaerobic digesters produce biogas which can either directly displace natural gas or propane, or be burned to generate biopower. For instance, dairy farms that convert cow manure with methane digesters to produce biogas can use the biogas in three ways (or in some combination of these end uses). They can use the biogas on-site as a replacement for the farms own natural gas or propane use, clean up the biogas and pressurize and inject into nearby natural gas pipelines, or burn it to produce steam that is run through a turbine to generate renewable electricity for use on-site and/or fed into the local energy grid. The best application of biogas from manure will be determined by the type of manure, opportunity to displace natural gas or propane use, local energy markets and state and federal incentives. Poultry litter can be digested to produce biogas, or combusted to produce renewable electricity, either directly or through gasification, which improves efficiency and reduces emissions.
Woody biomass Bark, sawdust and other byproducts of milling timber and making paper are currently the largest source of biomass-based heat and renewable electricity; commonly, lumber, pulp, and paper mills use them for both heat and power. In addition, shavings produced during the manufacture of wood products and organic sludge (or "liquor") from pulp and paper mills are biomass resources. Some of these mill residues could be available for additional generation of renewable electricity.
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Beyond these conventional types of woody biomass, there are additional sources of woody biomass that could be used for renewable energy. With the proper policy (see below), these additional sources could be sustainably harvested and make a significant contribution to renewable energy generation. Inside woody biomass we can distinguish: forest residues, forest treatments, thinned trees and shortrotation trees: Forest residues: It is important to leave some tree tops and branches, and even dead standing trees, on-site after forest harvests. Coarse woody debris left on the soil surface cycles nutrients, especially from leaves, limbs and tops, reduces erosion and provides habitat for invertebrates. Dead standing trees provide bird habitat. Provided that appropriate amounts of residues are left in the forest, the remaining amounts of limbs and tops, which are normally left behind in the forest after timber-harvesting operations, can be sustainably collected for energy use. Often, limbs and tops are already piled at the landingwhere loggers haul trees to load them unto trucks. Using these residues for biomass can be cheaper than making additional trips into the woodsand reduce impacts on forest stands, wildlife and soils. Forest treatments: Many forest managers see new biomass markets providing opportunities to improve forest stands. Where traditional paper and timber markets require trees to meet diameter and quality specifications, biomass markets will pay for otherwise unmarketable materials, including dead, damaged and small-diameter trees. Income from selling biomass can pay for or partially offset the cost of forest management treatments needed to remove invasive species, release valuable understory trees, or reduce the threat of fires, though the science behind fire reduction is very complex and site specific. Removing undesired, early-succession or understory species can play an important role in restoring native forest types and improving habitat for threatened or endangered species, such as longleaf forests in the Southeast. Thinned trees: Thinning plantations of smaller-diameter trees before final harvest can also provide a source of biomass. In addition, thinning naturally regenerating stands of smallerdiameter trees can also improve the health and growth of the remaining trees. With the decline in paper mills, some areas of the country no longer have markets for smaller-diameter trees. Under the right conditions, biomass markets could become a sustainable market for smallerdiameter trees that could help improve forest health and reduce carbon emissions. Short-rotation trees: Under the right circumstances, there may be a role for short-rotation tree plantations dedicated to energy production. Such plantations could either be re-planted or coppiced. (Coppicing is the practice of cutting certain species close to the ground and letting them re-grow.) Coppicing allows trees to be harvested every three to eight years for 20 or 30 years before replanting. Short-rotation management, either through coppicing or replanting, is best suited to existing plantationsnot longer-rotation naturally-regenerating forests, which tend to have greater biodiversity and store more carbon than plantations.
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Policy is needed to ensure that the growing biomass industry will use these beneficial resources, and use them on a sustainable basis. See below for more on the policy needed to guide the biomass industry toward sustainable, beneficial resources.
Conversion Process
At first, thinking about how biomass works is very simple. The waste wood, tree branches and other scraps are gathered together in big trucks. The trucks bring the waste from factories and from farms to a biomass power plant. Here the biomass is dumped into huge hoppers. This is then fed into a furnace where it is burned. The heat is used to boil water in the boiler, and the energy in the steam is used to turn turbines and generators.
Truck loading waste wood
Biomass can also be tapped right at the landfill with burning waster products. When garbage decomposes, it gives off methane gas. Pipelines are put into the landfills and the methane gas can be collected. It is then used in power plants to make electricity. This type of biomass is called landfill gas. A similar thing can be done at animal feed lots. In places where lots of animals are raised, the animals - like cattle, cows and even chickens produce manure. When manure decomposes, it also gives off methane gas similar to garbage. This gas can be burned right at the farm to make energy to run the farm. However, this chapter requires a further study of the process of conversion of biomass. There are a number of technological options available to make use of a wide variety of biomass types as a renewable energy source. Conversion technologies may release the energy directly, in the form of heat or electricity, or may convert it to another form, such as liquid biofuel or combustible biogas. While for some classes of biomass resource there may be a number of usage options, for others there may be only one appropriate technology. At this point we will distinguish three conversion processes: thermal conversion, chemical conversion and biochemical conversion.
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Thermal Conversion Thermal conversion processes use heat as the dominant mechanism to convert biomass into another chemical form. The basic alternatives (explained below) of combustion, pyrolysis, and gasification are separated principally by the extent to which the chemical reactions involved are allowed to proceed (mainly controlled by the availability of oxygen and conversion temperature). Combustion The oldest and most common way of converting biomass to electricity is to burn it to produce steam, which turns a turbine that produces electricity. The problems with direct combustion of biomass are that much of the energy is wasted and that it can cause some pollution if it is not carefully controlled. Direct combustion can be done in a plant using solely biomass (a dedicated plant) or in a plant made to burn another fuel, usually coal.
Building for the combustion process
Pyrolysis Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures without the participation of oxygen. It involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible. Gasification By heating biomass in the presence of a carefully controlled amount of oxygen and under pressure, it can be converted into a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide called syngas. This syngas is often refined to remove contaminants. Equipment can also be added to separate and remove the carbon dioxide in a concentrated form. This syngas can then be run directly through a gas turbine or burned and run through a steam turbine to produce electricity. Biomass gasification is generally cleaner and more efficient that direct combustion of biomass. Syngas can also be further processed to make liquid biofuels or other useful chemicals.
McNeil Power Station in Vermont, for SilvaGas Process of gasification
Energy created by burning biomass (fuel wood), also known as dendrothermal energy, is particularly suited for countries where the fuel wood grow more rapidly, e.g. tropical countries.
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There is a number of other less common, more experimental or proprietary thermal processes that may offer benefits such as hydrothermal upgrading (HTU) and hydroprocessing. Some have been developed for use on high moisture content biomass, including aqueous slurries, and allow them to be converted into more convenient forms. Some of the Biomass briquettes for dendrothermal energy applications of thermal conversion are combined heat and power (CHP) and co-firing. In a typical dedicated biomass power plant, efficiencies range from 7 27% (HHV basis). Biomass cofiring with coal, by contrast, typically occurs at efficiencies near those of the coal combustor (3040%, HHV basis). Another important consideration with biomass energy systems is that unprocessed biomass contains less energy per pound than fossil fuelsit has less energy density. Green woody biomass contains as much as 50% water by weight.
This means that unprocessed biomass typically can't be cost-effectively shipped more than about 50100 miles by truck before it is converted into fuel or energy. It also means that biomass energy systems may be smaller scale and more distributed than their fossil fuel counterparts, because it is hard to sustainably gather and process more than a certain amount of in one place. This has the advantage that local, rural communities will be able to design energy systems that are self-sufficient, sustainable, and adapted to their own needs. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets However, there are ways to increase the energy density of biomass and to decrease its shipping costs. Drying, grinding and pressing biomass into pellets increases its energy density. Compared to raw logs or wood chips, biomass pellets can also be more efficiently handled with augers and conveyers used in power plants. In addition, shipping biomass by water greatly reduces transportation costs compared to hauling it by truck. Chemical Conversion A range of chemical processes may be used to convert biomass into other forms, such as to produce a fuel that is more conveniently used, transported or stored, or to exploit some property of the process itself. Many of these processes are based in large part on similar coal-based processes, such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, methanol production, olefins (ethylene and propylene), and similar chemical or fuel feedstocks. In most cases, the first step involves gasification, which step generally is the most expensive and involves the greatest technical risk. Biomass is more difficult to feed into a pressure vessel than coal or any liquid. Therefore, biomass gasification frequently is done at atmospheric pressure and often involves mainly pyrolysis, as opposed to gasification, which by strict definition involves conversion of char to carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
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Biochemical Conversion As biomass is a natural material, many highly efficient biochemical processes have developed in nature to break down the molecules of which biomass is composed, and many of these biochemical conversion processes can be harnessed. Biochemical conversion makes use of the enzymes of bacteria and other micro-organisms to break down biomass. In most cases micro-organisms are used to perform the conversion process: anaerobic digestion, fermentation and composting. Other chemical processes, such as converting straight and waste vegetable oils into biosdiesel, are transesterification. Another way of breaking down biomass is by breaking down the carbohydrates and simple sugars to make alcohol. However, this process has not been perfected yet. Scientists are still researching the effects of converting biomass. Anaerobic digestion Micro-organisms break down biomass to produce methane and carbon dioxide. This can occur in a carefully controlled way in anaerobic digesters used to process sewage or animal manure. Related processes happen in a less-controlled manner in landfills, as biomass in the garbage breaks down. A portion of this methane can be captured and burned for heat and power. In addition to generating biogas, which displaces natural gas from fossil fuel sources, such collection processes keep the methane from escaping to the atmosphere, reducing emissions of a powerful global warming gas.
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Fermentation This process consists of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen, via an electron transport chain. Fermentation is important in anaerobic conditions when there is no oxidative phosphorylation to maintain the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) by glycolysis. During fermentation, pyruvate is metabolised to various compounds. Homolactic fermentation is the production of lactic acid from pyruvate; alcoholic fermentation is the conversion of pyruvate into ethanol and carbon dioxide; and heterolactic fermentation is the production of lactic acid as well as other acids and alcohols. Fermentation does not necessarily have to be carried out in an anaerobic environment. For example, even in the presence of abundant oxygen, yeast cells greatly prefer fermentation to oxidative phosphorylation, as long as sugars are readily available for consumption (a phenomenon known as the Crabtree effect). The antibiotic activity of hops also inhibits aerobic metabolism in yeast. Composting Compost is the organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. It is a key ingredient in organic farming. At the simplest level, the process of composting simply requires making a heap of wetted organic matter (leaves, "green" food waste) and waiting for the materials to break down into humus after a period of weeks or months. Modern, methodical composting is a multi-step, closely monitored process with measured inputs of water, air and carbonand nitrogen-rich materials. The decomposition process is aided by shredding the plant matter, adding water and ensuring proper aeration by regularly turning the mixture. Worms and fungi further break up the material. Aerobic bacteria manage the chemical process by converting the inputs into heat, carbon dioxide and ammonium. The ammonium is further converted by bacteria into plant-nourishing nitrites and nitrates through the process of nitrification.
Conversion of plant matter into hydrogen gas
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Environmental Impact
The biomass power generating industry in the United States, which consists of approximately 11,000 MW of summer operating capacity actively supplying power to the grid, produces about 1.4 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Currently, the New Hope Power Partnership is the largest biomass power plant in North America. The 140 MW facility uses sugar cane fiber (bagasse) and recycled urban wood as fuel to generate enough power for its large milling and refining operations as well as to supply renewable electricity for nearly 60,000 homes. The facility reduces dependence on oil by more than one million barrels per year, and by recycling sugar cane and wood waste, preserves landfill space in urban communities in Florida. Using biomass as a fuel produces air pollution in the form of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, NOx (nitrogen oxides), VOCs (volatile organic compounds), particulates and other pollutants, in some cases at levels above those from traditional fuel sources such as coal or natural gas. Black carbon a pollutant created by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass is possibly the second largest contributor to global warming. In 2009 a Swedish study of the giant brown haze that periodically covers large areas in South Asia determined that it had been principally produced by biomass burning, and to a lesser extent by fossil-fuel burning. Researchers measured a significant concentration of 14C, which is associated with recent plant life rather than with fossil fuels. Biomass systems can reduce waste energy from 66% to 25% compared to traditional fossil fuels, meaning a significantly smaller amount of input material (biomass) is used, therefore having a positive effect on the global environment and use of fuel. In addition, modern biomass systems utilise biomass sources such as energy crops with a 1 year lifecycle, meaning that (carbon) emissions are able to be recycled within 1 year following their emission considerably better than the millions of years needed to recycle coal or nuclear materials. The same modern biomass systems use filters. These filters capture carbon and other pollutants before they enter the atmosphere. Thus in the biomass lifecycle, the pollutants are captured by trees and crops, they are burnt, pollutants are captured and less are released back into the environment. Any pollutants released are then reabsored by trees and plants. Consequently, each burning cycle can significantly lower the amount of pollutants in the atmosphere and the biomass unit acts like a large cleaning unit for the planet. Biomass power plant size is often driven by biomass availability in close proximity as transport costs of the (bulky) fuel play a key factor in the plant's economics. It has to be noted, however, that rail and especially shipping on waterways can reduce transport costs significantly, which has led to a global biomass market. To make small plants of 1 MW el economically profitable those power plants have need to be equipped with technology that is able to convert biomass to useful electricity with high efficiency such as ORC technology, a cycle similar to the water steam power process just with an organic working medium. Such small power plants can be found in Europe. On combustion, the carbon from biomass is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The amount of carbon stored in dry wood is approximately 50% by weight. However, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, plant matter used as a fuel can be replaced by planting for new growth. When the biomass is from forests, the time to recapture the
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carbon stored is generally longer, and the carbon storage capacity of the forest may be reduced overall if destructive forestry techniques are employed. Despite harvesting, biomass crops may sequester carbon. For example, soil organic carbon has been observed to be greater in switchgrass stands than in cultivated cropland soil, especially at depths below 12 inches. The grass sequesters the carbon in its increased root biomass. Typically, perennial crops sequester much more carbon than annual crops due to much greater non-harvested living biomass, both living and dead, built up over years, and much less soil disruption in cultivation. The biomass-is-carbon-neutral proposal put forward in the early 1990s has been superseded by more recent science that recognizes that mature, intact forests sequester carbon more effectively than cut-over areas. When a trees carbon is released into the atmosphere in a single pulse, it contributes to climate change much more than woodland timber rotting slowly over decades. Current studies indicate that "even after 50 years the forest has not recovered to its initial carbon storage" and "the optimal strategy is likely to be protection of the standing forest". Forest-based biomass has recently come under fire from a number of environmental organizations, including Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council, for the harmful impacts it can have on forests and the climate. Greenpeace recently released a report entitled "Fuelling a BioMess"[41] which outlines their concerns around forest-based biomass. Because any part of the tree can be burned, the harvesting of trees for energy production encourages Tree Harvesting, which removes more nutrients and soil cover than regular harvesting, and can be harmful to the long-term health of the forest. In some jurisdictions, forest biomass is increasingly consisting of elements essential to functioning forest ecosystems, including standing trees, naturally disturbed forests and remains of traditional logging operations that were previously left in the forest. Environmental groups also cite recent scientific research which has found that it can take many decades for the carbon released by burning biomass to be recaptured by regrowing trees, and even longer in low productivity areas; furthermore, logging operations may disturb forest soils and cause them to release stored carbon. In light of the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short term in order to mitigate the effects of climate change, a number of environmental groups are opposing the large-scale use of forest biomass in energy production.
Potential and Targets

The European Union Member States political resolve to develop the energy potential of solid biomass has started to pay off, as in 2010 there were clear signs that growth of primary energy production had quickened pace. The output figure rose to 79.3 Mtoe in 2010, which is 8% up on 2009 and deserves comparison with the previous years 4% rise (from 70.6 Mtoe in 2008). The trend, which was driven deeper by Europes
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particularly cold winter of 2009-2010, demonstrates that the economic downturn failed to scuttle the Member States effort to structure the solid biomass sector. 67 TWh of electricity were produced from solid biomass in the EU in 2010. 66 Mtoe were the heat consumption from solid biomass in the EU in 2010. 79,3 Mtep was the primary energy production from solid biomass in the EU in 2010. Solid biomass has nothing to fear from the recession or the cold, while their part, the sectors operators showed they had the capacity to meet the significan increase in energy demand for both heating and electricity in an extremely difficult and uncertain economic context. The EurObservER consortiums data shows that primary energy production from solid biomass increased by almost 8% between 2009 and 2010, which equates an additional contribution of 5.9 Mtoe. That is the second biggest increase of the decade behing that of 2003 (9.8%) but with much higher production volumes (graph above). This sharp rise can be partly ascribed to the winter of 2009-20120 was unusually long and cold, with four major cold snaps in succession, compounded by heavy snowfalls in some countries that lasted trough to mid-March. These cold spells forced woodfired heating appliance users to increase their consumption of wood. However the harsher winter was not entirely responsible for the increase, as other factors played their part such as greater use of existing production capacities, an increase in the number of production infrastructures (new woodfire boilers, new cogeneration units and heating networks) and improved organisation of the woodenergy supply chain. These structural changes are important, because in time they will enable biomass to replace coal, heating oil and gas consumption.
Heat consumption rises sharply First available data points to a significant increase in solid biomass-sourced heat consumption. The volume of heat sold by heating nerworks increased by 18%, which equates 6.7 Mtoe in 2010, and 68.7% of this was delivered by cogeneration units whose heat production increased at a slightly quicker pace, namely 19.3% between 2009 and 2010. If the heat consumption directly provided by solid biomass combustion is added into the equation, total solid biomass heat consumption should stand at around 66 Mtoe in 2010 (59.9 Mtow in 2009), which amounts to 10.1% growth (table below). Although the 2010 data will be consolidated over the next few weeks, this initial estimate should be close to the mark.
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Trends shaping the solid biomass sector Cogeneration unit manufacturers and biomass power plant constructor are the main beneficiaries of the current biomass energy sector boom. According to Metso, a Finnish specialist manufacturer in this market segment, demand for biomass plants has been buoyant in 2011 and should keep up momentum trough to the beginning in 2012. It claims that this demand has not only been created by energy and greenhouse gas reduction policies, but also the pressing need to replace coal-fired power plants that are either obsolete or near their end of life. This modernisation need is particularly prevalent in Europe and the United States. The manufacturer predicts that in the next fewyears the conversion of units into biomass or multifuel plants using modern high-yleld and low-emission technologies will become increasingly common-place. These opportunities will enable the industry to develop and further exploit new technologies such as gasification, pyrolysis and torrefaction which will enable biomass to be converted into blocoal.
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Biomass Co-firig: an alternative to all coal In Northern Europe, co-firing in cogeneration units or heat plants feeding heating networks is widely practised. What has been emerging in the last few years is the trend to use co-firing in coal-fired power plants, as part of the move to modernise existing coal-fired plants to reduce CO 2 emissions along with reducing their green-house gas liability. However, the chemical properties of biomass have implications for combustion quality or impacts on equipment when biomass is incorporated into existing coal-fired plants. Accordingly, plant operators tend to favour wood pellets - the biomass feedstock that offers the highest yield. The use of wood pellets in coal-fired plants is extremely common practice in the countries of Northern Europe such as Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium. Much of this feedstock is shipped from the United States, Canada and Russia, but also comes from the former Baltic States and Finland. The North American Wood Fiber Review estimates that in 2010, 1.6 million tonnes of wood pellets were imported from the United States and Canada alone - twice the 2008 volume. A study conducted by Biofpr, a specialist bioenergies journal from the UK, puts European wood pellet consumption at 9.8 million tonnes in 2009, including 9.2 million within the confines of the Europe of 27. In 2010 this consumption should easily exceed 10 million tonnes, which equates to consumption of around 4 Mtoe and 5% of the European Unions total solid biomass primary energy production. Germany is also gradually coming around to using these pellets. A study conducted by Dena, the German Energy Agency, demonstrate that if Germany were to run its coal-fired plants with 90% coal to 10% wood pellets, it would use 7 million tonnes of wood pellets. This solution would force Germany to develop local production on high scale or to resort to imports. Current German production is put at 1.7 million tonnes for a capacity of 2.7 million tonnes. This new appetite for biomass fuel has prompted for biomass fuel has prompted a number of manufacturers and starts-up to work on new technical solutions to maken it easier to incorporate biomass into this type of plant. One possible avenue would be to increase the calorific value of the pellets trough torrefaction. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets While the use of pellets may offer a solution, it still represents a small share of solid biomass fuels. Most of the production is fuelled by logwood, followed by wood waste (20-25%) and black liquors (about 15%), with other plant matter and waste (such as straw) accounting for about 8%.
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Is solid biomass equal to the EUs ambitions? Has solid biomass become a recession-proof value and a hedge against inflation? In the current extremely tight and uncertain economic context, politicians tend to credit solid biomass projects with stimulating development and local job creation. The biomass sector is is attracting an increasing number of electricity utility companies that view these projects as the way forward for slashing theis greenhouse gas emission. Local authorities are likewise increasingly interested in wood fuel whose price is much more stable over time than fossil fuels. By choosing a biomss heating plant that may operate for over twenty years they get a better grip on their energy expenditure in a context where hydrocarbon prices threaten to go through the roof at any time. The biomass energy production increase expected for 2020 will call for constant, sustained effort from the public authorities and sector operators. This goes right across the board from communities to the service industry and manufacturing. The issue of access to the resource is crucial, and new management methods are being tried out, while some producers are attempting to improve the quality of their fuels. Is the current momentum enough to achieve the European Renewable Energies Directive objective? The Member States have set out highly ambitious aims for solid biomass in their national renewable energy action plans (NREAP). The Energy Research Center of the Netherlands (ECN) has compiled all the data extracted from the action plans of the 27 European Union countries. In our study, solid biomass data includes combustion of renewable municipal waste. Accordingly the study data advanced by the ECN is not directly comparable with the barometers solid biomass indicators, as the final energy consumption from renewable municipal waste needs to be added in. The NREAP plans forecast that electricity production from solid biomass (including renewable municipal waste) will be 154.9 TWh in 2020 (113.7 TWh in 2015) up from 76.8 TWh estimated in 2010. At the same time, the consumption of solid biomass heat in these countries should rise to 77.2 Mtoe in 2020 up from 53.8 Mtoe in 2010.
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According to the EurObservER indicator, current solid biomass sector momentum is more promising than the NREAP forecasts. In the electricity production segment, solid biomass electricity production in the broad sense shoul reach 82.4 TWh based on the stability of energy recovery plant output from renewable household waste between 2009 and 2010. Likewise, the heat production segments momentum is more promising than the NREAP forecasts. If we add renewable heat from household waste recovery plants, presumed to be stable between 2009 and 2010, solid biomass heat in the broad sense would rise to 62.8 Mtoe in 2010. The EU should thus outstrip the intermediate objectives ser in the NREAP plans. Thys flying stat may be due to the fact tha the last two years growth has largely outperformed some countries expectations. It can also be explained by better accounting practices applied to solid biomass heat consumption in the Member States. Turning to the prospects for growth by the 2020 timeline, most national experts refer to the NREAP objectives, both for electricity and for the heat. In view of the lead established by heat consumption, EurObserER estimates 80 Mtoe barrier could easily be broken. However, successful achievement of these objectives by the 2020 timeline is less dependent on the technologies than it is on the sector actors capacity to set up and secure lines of supply. This is a particularly moot point for high-capacity plant operators, as logistics arrangements are more complex to set up. These stakeholders are also waiting for improved market mechanisms for estimating prices and assessing the quantity of available biomass fuel. A number of mechanisms would make achievement of these objectives easier. The European Commission is currently working on legal provisions to make it easier to substitute fossil energies with biomass. On 13 April, the Commission presented a proposal for revising directive 2003/96/CE on energy taxation. It tabled the introduction of a carbon tax at a minimum rate of 20 per tonne of CO 2 , alongside an energy production tax that would apply to the production of heat (0.15/GJ) and petrol consumption (9.6/GJ). Uncertainties remain as to which types of bioenergies could be exempted from these two taxes at the exemption threshold. In that document, the European Commission also suggests that the national tax receipts are redistributed to reduce the fiscal burden on labour.
If this revision of the directive is accepted by the European Parliament and the European Council, it could come into for from 2013 onwards. However negotiations are likely to be hard-fought as a
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numer of Member States of the European Union including the United Kingdom, Ireland and Luxembourg have already expressed their disagreement. The issue of solid biomass sustainability criteria should also move towards resolution. The European Unions solid biomass requirements cannot be met solely from the countries of the European Union where production conditions are easy to regulate. Therefore, imports of biomass fuels such as wood pellets, should follow the example of biofuels, and meet sustainability criteria. The European Commission is preparing a report on the sustainability of solid and gaseous biomass with a proposal for a sustainability scheme for the European Union. It is due to be published at the end of 2011.
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Index of Figures Biomass Energy

FIGURE 1 (PP. 59) HTTP://WWW.ENERGYQUEST.CA.GOV/STORY/CHAPTER10.HTML FIGURE 2 (PP. 60) HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/BIOMASS FIGURE 3 (PP. 60) HTTP://WWW.UCSUSA.ORG/CLEAN_ENERGY/OUR-ENERGY-CHOICES/RENEWABLE-ENERGY/HOW BIOMASS-ENERGY-WORKS.HTML FIGURE 4 (PP. 63) HTTP://WWW.ENERGYQUEST.CA.GOV/STORY/CHAPTER10.HTML FIGURE 5 (PP. 63) HTTP://WWW.ENERGYQUEST.CA.GOV/STORY/CHAPTER10.HTML FIGURE 6 (PP. 64) GOOGLE IMAGES FIGURE 7 (PP. 64) HTTP://WWW.UCSUSA.ORG/CLEAN_ENERGY/OUR-ENERGY-CHOICES/RENEWABLE-ENERGY/HOW BIOMASS-ENERGY-WORKS.HTML FIGURE 8 (PP.65) HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/BIOMASS FIGURE 9 (PP. 67) HTTP://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/BIOMASS FIGURES 10-15 (PP. 69-76) EUROBSERV BILANS: HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/
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Biofuels
A Biofuel is a fuel produced from non-fossil organic materials derived from biomass. Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid and gas fuels, called "Biofuels". This represents a great advantage because liquids meet the requirements of being both portable and clean burning (which is needed to keep the engine clean and minimize air pollution). Also both liquids and gas can be pumped, which means handling is easily mechanized, offering this way a good potential alternative to petroleum in transports. Lastly, Biofuels do not address global warming concerns (according to the European Environment Agency). Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. Due to the oil price hikes, Biofuels have been gaining increased public and scientific attention, as it can be shown in the tables below (14,1% toe increase in the consumption of biofuels in European Union from 2009-2010).
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In the same way, governments, in order to reach their goals imposed by European Union on energetic consumption, have been offering tax exemption to green fuels which contributed to the increase in consumption.
B REAKDOWN OF THE TOTAL 2011 B IOFUEL CONSUMPTION
Bioalcohol
Alcohol has been used throughout mankind's history as a fuel. Having a general chemical formula of C n H 2n+1 OH, these alcohols can be synthesized chemically and biologically which means that they were generated by plants and living things versus non-biological sources such as petroleum. Being oxygenized hydrocarbons, they have lower heating values, higher humidity ratio, and higher percentage of sulfur than liquid fuels derived from petroleum. Nonetheless, one advantage shared by all four alcohols is their high octane rating. This tends to increase fuel efficiency and largely offsets the lower energy density of alcohol fuels (as compared to petrol/gasoline and diesel fuels), therefore resulting in comparable "fuel economy" in terms of distance per volume metrics, such as kilometers per liter in a car. There are four basic alcohols (that can be ordered according to number of Carbon atoms): Methanol, Ethanol, Butanol and Propanol. Although all these are biofuels, well address only Ethanol as it is the second most important biofuel in the transport sector.
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Ethanol
Ethanol is the most important alcohol in the transport sector. It is obtained through the fermentation of sugar. It can be derived from fossil fuels, biomass or perhaps most simply, from carbon dioxide and water. Ethanol is already being used extensively as a fuel additive and its used alone or as part of mix with gasoline is increasing. Its popularity over other Bioalcohols is due to its non-toxicity and because it constitutes a good alternative fuel for internal combustion engines. In spark ignition engines, Ethanol can run at a much higher exhaust gas recirculation rates and with higher compression ratios because of its high octane rating. When used in spark ignition engines alcohols have the potential to reduce NOx, CO, HC and particulates. Tailpipe emissions of CO 2 also decrease due to the lower carbon-to-hydrogen ratio of this alcohol, and the improved engine efficiency. However, Ethanol fuels contain soluble and insoluble contaminants. These contaminants have a large effect on the corrosivity and conductivity of alcohol fuels. Increased electrical conductivity promotes electrical, galvanic and ordinary corrosion in the fuel system and may even clog it over time. To prevent corrosion the fuel system must be made of suitable materials and electrical wires must be properly insulated. Methanol and ethanol are also incompatible with some polymers. In some engines ethanol may degrade some compositions of plastic or rubber fuel delivery components designed for conventional petrol. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
C ORRODED WHEELER CARBURETOR DUE TO E THANOL
In addition, high quality alcohol should have a low concentration of contaminants and have a suitable corrosion inhibitor added, although it was discovered that increasing the amount of water in fuel ethanol can reduce the corrosion. All these precaution measures obviously result in higher costs, although for the past few decades most cars have been designed to tolerate up to 10% Ethanol (E10) without a problem.
Using pure Ethanol

"FlexFuel" vehicles have upgraded fuel system and engine components which are designed for long life using E85, and the ECU (Engine Control Unit) can adapt to any fuel blend between gasoline and E85. Typical upgrades include modifications to: fuel tanks, fuel tank electrical wiring, fuel pumps, fuel filters, fuel lines, filler tubes, fuel level sensors, fuel injectors, seals, fuel rails, fuel pressure regulators, valve seats and inlet valves. "Total Flex" Autos destined for the Brazilian market can use E100 (100% Ethanol). Ethanol combustion is: C 2 H 5 OH + 3O 2 2CO 2 + 3H 2 O + heat
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1 E THANOL E85 PUMP IN

G AS S TATION
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil or animal fatbased diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl (methyl, propyl or ethyl) esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids (vegetable oil or animal fat) with an alcohol producing fatty acid esters. Biodiesel is a liquid which varies in color between golden and dark brown. It is immiscible with water, has a high boiling point and low vapor pressure. The flash point of biodiesel (>130 C) is significantly higher than that of petroleum diesel (64 C) or gasoline (45 C). Biodiesel has a density of 0.88 g/cm, higher than diesel (0.85 g/cm). The calorific value of Biodiesel is about 37.27 MJ/kg. This is 9% lower than regular diesel but it has been claimed biodiesel gives better lubricity and more complete combustion thus increasing the engine energy output and partially compensating for the higher energy density of diesel. Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and is thus distinct from the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with diesel. Biodiesel can also be used as a low carbon alternative to heating oil. Just like Ethanol, Biodiesel used in the pure form may affect the well-functioning of older engines that contain rubber parts. These might be affected by biodiesel's solvent properties, but otherwise biodiesel doesnt need any conversion required. Care must be taken, however just like Ethanol, given that varnishes left behind by petrodiesel will be released and can clog pipes- fuel filtering and prompt filter replacement is required. Another approach is to start using Biodiesel as a blend, and decreasing the petroleum proportion over time can allow the varnishes to come off more gradually and be less likely to clog. Thanks to its strong solvent properties, however, the furnace is cleaned out and generally becomes more efficient.
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Biofuels in European Union
B IOFUEL C ONSUMPTION 2011- G REEN = B IODIESEL , Y ELLOW = B IOETHANOL
The European Union sees the growth of biofuels consumption in the transport sector as one of the most important ways of fighting the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the same time as it was already said, biofuel consumption is positive for the security of energy supply, technological development, economic development at regional scale and job creation. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets To work towards that goal, the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC has set the Member States a target of at least 10% of renewable energy in the transport sector in 2020. This target must be achieved by each European Union countries bearing in mind that these biofuels must respect the sustainability criteria. To address the environmental concern of greenhouse gas emissions, the Directive decided that the types of biofuel that have particulary good emissions,
T REND OF EU B IOFUEL CONSUMPTION FOR TRANSPORT
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will count double for the purposes of compliance with the 10% renewable energy share target in transport. Biofuels eligible for double counting include those based in waste and residue. Also, biofuels that dont respect the sutainability criteria, including at least 35% GHG emissions compared to fossil fuels, wont be accounted for in the national targets. In the previous graphic (fig n4), we can see that although the Biofuel consumption is increasing, its growth rate in the last years decreased. The reason for this downslide is the 2020 target that requires less effort than the one written in 2003 (which aimed for 5.75% share in 2010). The date by which Member States must incorporate biofuel into their national markets has also been pushed back. Although Biodiesel consumption had a slight growth in 2011, the production has decreased for the first time in history. Production decreased to the point of plants in Spain had to be closed and workers laid off. This phenomenon was caused by fraudulent North America Biodiesel imports. Since then antidumping taxes were applied to subsidized United States biodiesel imports of B99 have also been applied to US biodiesel passing through third-party countries such as Canada and extended to blends with less than 20% of biodiesel.
On the other hand, both consumption and production of Bioethanol increased in 2011, from around 4268 to 4392,8 million liters which represents a 2.8% increase.
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Biofuels potential in Europe

Unlike others Renewable energy sources (like Solar or Wind energy that we can obtain data of average sunny days or wind speeds per year), Biofuels potential is really hard to measure. Every field is a potential Colza/Soy/Sunflower (used as biodiesel ingredient) or a Sugarcane (used for Bioethanol) cultivation field. Theoretically its superior limit is equal to the quantity of fields in square meters as well the capacity to irrigate the soil. This may represent a problem if it starts to conflict with the food agriculture as it happened in Mexico (the so called Tortilla effect).
Biofuels in Portugal
There is no production of bioethanol for transport fuel in Portugal. Portugal established mandates for liquid biofuels as a whole and later introduced quotas for biodiesel only. This happened because the only private company created with the aim of producing bioethanol has decided early on to abandon its project and dissolve. Anyway, given the countrys soil and climatic conditions, the production of crops for bioethanol could be an efficient way of using the irrigation capacity of Alqueva, a major irrigation dam in the South of the country that is allowing the switching of 110,000 hectares of dryland to irrigated crop area. As long as Portugal does not produce bioethanol, blenders from other Member States can continue to export gasoline with incorporated bioethanol that counts to meet other MSs targets on biofuels. The Portuguese law protects national produced feedstock and when national production eventually starts blenders will incorporate Portuguese produced bioethanol that counts for Portuguese biofuel targets. Sales of biodiesel fell by 6.7 percent in 2011 to 342,276 MT in line with lower road transport diesel sales, a consequence of the economic recession the country is going through.
Policies
Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets The new mechanism in place that applies from 2011 until 2020 has, according to the General Directorate for Energy and Geology (DGEG), been based on the following general principles: Companies introducing fuels for consumption must submit documents relating to the incorporation of biofuels in quantities corresponding to a specific percentage, which will increase during the period. Biofuel must be certified in terms of sustainability criteria. The previous tax assistance (reduction of tax on petroleum products - ISP) is removed. The support given to the production of biofuels produced using wastes, residues, non-food cellulosic material, and ligno-cellulosic material, the introduction of which for consumption continues to be the subject of tax exemption. The inclusion of biomethane into the natural gas network continues to be considered. This biogas is expected to be acquired by transport companies and counted under Directive 2009/28/EC for the purposes of complying with the target of incorporating renewable fuels in the transport sector.
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Article 11 of Decree-Law 117/2010 defines targets for mandatory incorporation. Blenders are mandated to contribute to the fulfillment of blending targets in the following percentages of biofuels, in energy content, relative to the quantities of fuel that they supply to the market: 2011 and 2012 5%; 2013 and 2014 5.5%; 2015 and 2016 7.5%; 2017 and 2018 9%; 2019 and 2020 10%
Finally, following the European Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC, Portugals government implemented a system of subsidies and incentives. The bigger producers of biodiesel have benefited until the end of 2010 of an exemption of the tax on petroleum products (ISP) amounting to 280 Euro/1000 liters. This subsidy is now over for bigger producers and only applies to Small Dedicated Producers (SDPs). Companies applying for this should fulfill the following conditions: Maximum annual production of 3,000 tons of biofuels or other renewable fuels. Utilization of residues or resource to projects of technological development of less pollutant products, using innovative processes, or in the demonstration phase.
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Index of Figures Biofuel Energy

FIGURE 1 (PP. 78) HTTP://TEENBIOTECHCHALLENGE.UCDAVIS.EDU/2012_TBC/JSINGHSHELDON/IMAGES/BIOFUEL.JPG FIGURE 2 (PP.78) HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/PDF/BAROBILAN11.PDF FIGURE 3 (PP. 78) HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/PDF/BAROBILAN11.PDF FIGURE 4 (PP. 79) HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/PDF/BAROBILAN11.PDF FIGURE 5 (PP. 79) HTTP://WWW.METHANOL.ORG/ENERGY/TRANSPORTATION-FUEL/FUEL-BLENDINGGUIDELINES/BLENDERS-PRODUCT-BULLETIN-(FINAL).ASPX FIGURE 6 (PP. 80) HTTP://WWW.LEEREPAIR.COM/COMMONREPAIR.HTML FIGURE 7 (PP. 80) HTTP://WWW.THETRUTHABOUTCARS.COM/2008/06/E85-BOONDOGGLE-OF-THE-DAY-USTAXPAYERS-SUBSIDIZE-ETHANOL-TO-THE-TUNE-OF-51-CENTS-A-GALLON/ FIGURE 8 (PP. 81) HTTP://WWW.TREEHUGGER.COM/CARS/WORLDS-LARGEST-BIODIESEL-PLANT-COMING-TOINDIANA.HTML FIGURE 9 (PP. 82) THE STATE OF RENEABLE ENERGIES IN EUROPE-11TH EUROBERSV'ER REPORT FIGURE 10 (PP. 82) HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/ FIGURE 11 (PP. 83) HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/ FIGURE 12 (PP. 84) HTTP://EUROPA.EU/ABOUTEU/COUNTRIES/MEMBERCOUNTRIES/PORTUGAL/INDEX_EN.HTM
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Hydro Power Energy

Introduction
Hydropower is the energy from water. It is using water to power machinery or make electricity. Water is constantly moving. It describes a cycle called the water cycle. The energy of this cycle, which is driven by the sun, can be tapped for mechanical tasks like grinding grain or to produce electricity. The water cycle is an endless source of energy because it is in constantly moving recharging system, so hydropower is considered a renewable energy. When flowing water is captured and turned into electricity, it is called hydroelectric power or hydropower. Turbines and generators convert the energy into electricity, which is then fed into the electrical grid to be used in homes, businesses, and by industry. There are several types of hydroelectric facilities; they are all powered by the kinetic energy of flowing water as it moves downstream.
Hydropower like renewable energy is clean and reliable energy source which converts kinetic energy from falling water into electricity, without consuming more water than is produced by nature.It is the oldest method by which renewable energy has been harnessed by the human. The first water wheels were used well over 2000 years ago, and the technology has since been refined to become very efficient in the production of electricity.
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The potential energy stored in a body of water held at a given height is converted to kinetic energy which is used to turn a turbine and create electricity. Mechanical energy is derived by channeling moving water. The amount of available energy in moving water is determined by its flow or fall. The water flows through a pipe, then pushes against and turns blades in a turbine to spin a generator to produce electricity. The force of the current applies the needed pressure, while in a storage system, water is accumulated in reservoirs created by dams, then released when the demand for electricity is high.
So, the hydraulic energy is that which is obtained by the use of the energy produced by a stream of water falling from a certain height. The potential energy of the water at its highest point is converted into kinetic energy when falling, in the process, and going through the turbines, causing a rotational movement that transforms this energy into electricity from generators.
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The amount of energy produced depends on two factors: The height of the waterfall Flow rate.
When greater than two, the greater the amount of electricity produced.
The mechanical energy available at the shaft of the turbine is converted into electrical energy by means of the generator.
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General arrangement of a hydro-electric power plant Water reservoir Continuous availability of water is the basic necessity for a hydro-electric plant. Water collected from catchment area during rainy season is stored in the reservoir. Dam The function of a dam is to increase the height of water level behind it, which ultimately increases the reservoir capacity. More water is synonymous than more energy.
Spillway Water in the dam after a certain level in the reservoir overflows through spillway without allowing the increase in water level in the reservoir during rainy season. Pressure tunnel It carries water from the reservoir to surge tank. Penstock ( water pipes) Water from surge tank is taken to the turbine by means of pen stocks, made up of reinforced concrete pipe or steel. Surge tank There is sudden increase of pressure in the penstock due to sudden backflow of water, as load on the turbine is reduced. The sudden rise of pressure in the penstock is known as water hammer. The surge tank is introduced between the dam and the power house to keep in reducing the sudden rise of pressure in the penstock. Otherwise penstock will be damaged by the water hammer. Water turbine Water through the penstock enters into the turbine through an inlet valve. Prime motors which are in common use are pelton turbine, francis turbine and kalpan turbine. The potential energy of water entering the turbine is converted into mechanical energy. The mechanical energy available at the turbine shaft is used to run the electric generator. The water is then discharged through the draft tube. Draft tube It is connected to the outlet of the turbine. It allows the turbine to be placed over tail race level.
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Tail race Tail race is a water way to lead the water discharged from the turbine to the river. The water held in the tail race is called tail race water level. Step-up transformer Its function is to rasie the voltage generated at the generator terminal before transmitting the power consumers. Power house The power house accommodates the turbine, generator, and transformer and control room.
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Hydro Power currently

Hydropower is currently the world's largest renewable source of electricity, accounting for 6% of worldwide energy supply or about 15% of the world's electricity.
Its the most widely used renewable energy worldwide. An estimated 20% of the energy consumed in the world comes from hydropower, while in developing countries this percentage rises to 33%. Compared to other renewable energy data are overwhelming: the total global renewable production, 90% comes from the hydro.
The following graph shows the global production of electricity, broken down by origin. Coal being the main source of energy, and the most abundant hydropower in renewable energy.
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In Spain Spain has a high hydroelectric potential, developed over more than a century. As a result, today, we have an established and important hydroelectric generation system highly efficient. Within that exploit renewable energy in our country, hydropower technology is more established and more mature, thanks to the use of the terrain and the existence of a large number of dams. There are two basic types of hydropower: "Central-river": capture a portion of the flow of the river and bring it to the plant to be turbinado and subsequently return to the river. They use low power ranges (typically less than 5 MW) and represent 75% of the market. They include the "central irrigation canal", using the slope of the water in the irrigation canals to produce electricity. The power range of these is between 1 and 5 MW and may represent 5% of the market in Spain. "Central base of the dam" by building a dam or using an existing one, can regulate flow. They usually have power levels greater than 5 MW and account for approximately 20% market share in Spain. Among them are the "reversible pumping stations or" plants and generate energy (turbine facilities mode), have the ability to raise water to a reservoir or tank consuming electricity (pumping mode).
In addition, Spain has a total capacity of 55,000 hm3 reservoirs, of which 40% of this capacity is for hydroelectric dams, one of the highest proportions in Europe and the world. Although the development of hydroelectric power in Spain has been increasing in recent years has experienced a significant decline in its share in the total electricity production in favor of other renewables. However, it still remains one of the most productive with renewable wind energy. For example, in 2010, the contribution of hydropower to the national electricity production accounted for 13.19%, much higher than previous years, as a result of a water well above the historical average of recent years . Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
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In future, this technology is expected to continue growing at an annual average of 40 to 60 MW, as the hydroelectric potential with possibilities of being developed under sustainability criteria, is more than 1 GW. Catalonia, Galicia and Castilla y Len are the regions that have the largest installed capacity in the hydropower sector, being the areas of greatest hydroelectric resources within Spain. Gradually, the technological development has made this small hydro power at very competitive costs in the electricity market, though they vary according to the type of plant and the action to be performed. A small hydro plant is considered if you have an installed capacity less than or equal to 10 MW and can be flowing or standing water dam. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets Microturbines are being developed hydraulic power below 10 kW, very useful to harness kinetic energy from rivers and generate electricity in remote areas. The turbine produces electricity directly and does not require AC waterfalls, additional infrastructure and high maintenance costs. Currently the development of the sector in Spain is oriented mainly to achieve greater efficiency, improving yields of operational facilities. The proposals are aimed at the rehabilitation, modernization, improvement or expansion of existing plants. In Spain, renewables represent a significant percentage of electricity generation. Within renewables, hydro as we said is the principal as we can see in the following tables.
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Source: Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce / IDAE (A) Source: General Secretariat of Energy, Mains of Spain and the National Energy Commission (B)
Date 2010: Source: IDEA
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If we talk in terms of consumption and then we can compare what the primary energy consumption in Spain and what the renewable energy, which has increased from 5983 ktoe in 1990 to 20,000 ktoe more anticipated for in 2010.
Source: IDAE
RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN SPAIN (ktep)
Fuente: IDAE
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Hidro Power in Spain
Fuente: CNE
It is estimated that by 2010, the hydraulic power obtained in the mini, reach 25,000 MW in Asia, that place as a world leader, with a production of 100 000 GWh / year. Western Europe would have an output of 50,000 GWh / year. In Spain is expected to be achieved by 2010, about 2200MW, as shown in the graph. Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets
Source: IDEA
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In the European Union In the graphs below we can see the facilities for obtaining water power obtained in the mini world level, the European continent and nationally, and how they are distributed in Spain. (We call those large hydro power plants with a capacity> 10 MW, small hydro, units with a capacity between 1 MW 10MW, and mini-hydro, units with a capacity less than 1 MW)
Source: EurObserv'ER 2008
In the european unin, Spain ranks third in terms of hydroelectric power generation mini hydro (figure 1),and fourth in terms of big centrals (figure 2)
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Europe is the region with the largest installed capacity of hydropower. Other situations geographical feature prominently in the report, including Eastern Europe, which is rapidly developing its water resources and are expected to be the world with the highest level of deployment in the next three years. Hydroelectric power distribution for Europe
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For small hydro (less than 10 MW), development opportunities are significant. Whenever the office of the EU member countries is carried out in a timely manner, the European Small Hydropower Association (ESHA) estimates that the installed capacity of small hydropower could reach 16,000 MW in 2020 - an increase of more 4,000 MW at current levels. Another important growth area for the hydropower sector in Europe, especially in the central region of the continent, is in pumped storage. Besides the additional electricity supply at a time when energy demand is higher, pumped storage capacity in order to balance production and regulate the transmission network in light of the increased use of intermittent renewables, especially wind, is attractive. Up to ten pumped storage facilities are under construction, including 178-MW Avce in Slovenia, 540MW Kopswerk 2 in Austria, 480-MW Limberg 2 in Austria, and 141-MW Nestil in Switzerland. Several potential projects are being investigated. Europe also is an established leader in the research and development of new technologies - ocean, wave, and hydrokinetic. Thirty years ago, the UK was the wave energy more aggressive research and development program in the world. This commitment to research and development and the commercialization of new designs, continues today throughout Europe. Hydroelectric installed in Europe amounts to around 179,000 MW. European countries with the largest amounts of hydro are France, Italy, Norway and Spain. Maintain and, in many cases, upgrading, this existing infrastructure remains a major focus across Europe. The emphasis in Western Europe is retrofitting hydro plants with modern equipment, usually improving the capacity of the plant. In Eastern Europe, the focus is rehabilitating aging plants.
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The Future of Hydro-Electric Power

Hydropower will remain the main source of generating renewable electricity in the coming years. According to the estimates presented by the European Commission in 2005, not until 2030 when wind energy, which is the largest renewable presents growth rates, production levels exceed the hydraulic power in the EU. In developing countries, where wind power has no such growth, this situation will be extended over time. The future of the hydraulic stage, therefore, is the generation of a form of mature, stable and effective, and has a sustained moderate growth. Although, in many countries, no aid has to bear the cost of installation, hydropower generation does benefit from economic incentives allocated to renewable.
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In Europe In Europe further development will come in the area of small hydro (plants with installed capacity below 10 MW), especially encouraged by the energy and environmental authorities because of their low environmental impact. In Spain In Spain the short-term development is defined in the Renewable Energy Plan 2005-2010, which proposes some measures to solve the problems arising from the installation and use of plants: coordinate and streamline the environmental impact criteria between organizations, then updated the rules of network connectivity or performance of information campaigns on the benefits of hydropower.
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Index of Figures Hydro Energy

FIGURE 1 (PP. 88): HTTP://GA.WATER.USGS.GOV/EDU/WATERCYCLE-SCREEN.HTML FIGURE 2 (PP. 88) HTTP://SCIENCE.HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM/ENVIRONMENTAL/ENERGY/HYDROPOWER-PLANT1.HTM FIGURE 3 (PP. 88) HTTP://WWW.KIDS.ESDB.BG/HYDRO.HTML FIGURE 4 (PP. 89) HTTP://GA.WATER.USGS.GOV/EDU/HYHOWWORKS.HTML FIGURE5 (PP. 89) HTTP://WWW.ALTERNATIVE-ENERGY-NEWS.INFO/TECHNOLOGY/HYDRO/ FIGURE 6 (PP. 90) WWW .GOOGLE.COM FIGURE 7 (PP. 91) WWW .WIKIPEDIA.ES FIGURE 8 (PP. 92) WWW .GOOGLE.COM FIGURES 9-16 (PP. 93-98) WWW .IDEA.ES FIGURES 17-25 (PP. 99-102) HTTP://WWW.EUROBSERV-ER.ORG/ FIGURES 26 (PP. 103) WWW .GOOGLE.ES
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Principal Sources:
Eurobserv Bilans: http://www.eurobserv-er.org/ Clean Energy Ideas: http://www.clean-energyideas.com/energy_definitions/definition_of_wind_energy.html Dictionary: http://definicion.de/energia-eolica/ IFP: http://www.ifpaenergyconference.com/Wind-Energy.html Wind Power: http://www.windpower.org Energa Elica: http://energiaeolica.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/hola-mundo/ Thomas, Ron. & Sydenham, Shirley. Wind energy [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2009) OCS Energy: http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/guide/wind/index.cfm AE Elica: http://www.aeeolica.org/uploads/documents/aee_publica/Guia%20de%20empresas%20comple ta%20maquetada.pdf European Ocean Energy Association: http://www.eu-oea.com/ Green Energy Article: http://www.greenenergy-eu.com/Articles/ocean-power-alternativeenergy.html Spanish Renewable Energy Association: http://www.appa.es/ Institutos a Carneiro: http://www.institutosacarneiro.pt/portugal2020/?idc=1115&idi=2402 Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colza_oil Biodiesel Portugal: http://biodieselportugal.wordpress.com/ambiente/ Porta-Energia: http://www.portal-energia.com/downloads/estatisticas-renovaveis-set-out2009.pdf
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RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Task 1: Overview and Targets

Univerza v Ljubljani Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Erasmus Students 2012-2013

About The Authors

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources

Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

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Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Solar passive technologies

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Solar active technologies

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Potential in the European Union and in Spain

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Index of Figures Solar Energy

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Flash Steam Power Plant

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Advantages of geothermal energy

Disadvantages of geothermal energy

Geothermal heating and cooling

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Costs of geothermal power

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Index of Figures Geothermal Energy

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Where does wind energy come from?

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

How does a wind turbine work?

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

What are the disadvantages of wind turbines?

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Transport of Wind-Generated Energy

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

World and continents capacity

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Spain Production capacities

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets

Index of Figures Wind Energy

Renewable Energy Sources Task 1: Overview and Targets