Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable.
Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water
and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even
deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

Almost everywhere, the shallow ground or upper 10 feet of the Earth's

surface maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50° and 60°F (10°
and 16°C). Geothermal heat pumps can tap into this resource to heat and
cool buildings. A geothermal heat pump system consists of a heat pump, an
air delivery system (ductwork), and a heat exchanger-a system of pipes
buried in the shallow ground near the building. In the winter, the heat pump
removes heat from the heat exchanger and pumps it into the indoor air
delivery system. In the summer, the process is reversed, and the heat pump
moves heat from the indoor air into the heat exchanger. The heat removed
from the indoor air during the summer can also be used to provide a free
source of hot water.
 Applications of Geothermal Energy

1) Direct use of geothermal energy in ancient days: The cracks developed on

the surface of the earth cause the release of hot water leading to formation of the
hot springs. Hot is water is available continuously from these springs. In the
earlier days people used hot springs for bathing, cooking food, and heating.

2) Direct use of geothermal energy in present days: In present days the

geothermally heated water is used in swimming pools and the health spas. The
hot water from geothermal reservoir can also be used to grow fruits, dry the
lumber, vegetables, fruits etc.

3) Heating the buildings: The geologists carry out various tests to find out the
location where geothermal energy reservoir is located. From such a place hot
water is pumped to various locations for different applications. In the green
houses the hot water from the earth’s magna can be used to heat the buildings
from below the ground for growing plants.

4) Generation of electricity: In some cases intense heat is produced in the

geothermal reservoir leading intense heating of water and formation of steam.
The steam from such sources is siphoned off by the pipes and is passed through
the turbines where electricity is generated.

5) Geothermal energy used as the heat pumps: Heat pump is the devise
which can be used for cooling during hot seasons and for heating during the cold
seasons. Normally the temperature of upper 10 feet of the surface of earth is
uniform throughout the world and it is between 50 and 60 degree Fahrenheit.

 The Advantages of Geothermal Energy

When a power station harnesses geothermal power in the correct manner,
there are no by products, which are harmful to the environment.
Environmentalists should be happy about that! There is also no consumption
of any type of fossil fuels. In addition, geothermal energy does not output
any type of greenhouse effect. After the construction of a geothermal power
plant, there is little maintenance to contend with. In terms of energy
consumption, a geothermal power plant is self-sufficient. Another advantage
to geothermal energy is that the power plants do not have to be huge which
is great for protecting the natural environment.
  The Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy
There are several disadvantages to geothermal energy. First, you cannot just
build a geothermal power plant in some vacant land plot somewhere. The
area where a geothermal energy power plant would be built should consist of
those suitable hot rocks at just the right depth for drilling. In addition, the
type of rock must be easy to drill into. It is important to take care of a
geothermal site because if the holes were drilled improperly, then potentially
harmful minerals and gas could escape from under ground. These hazardous
materials are nearly impossible to get rid of properly. Pollution may occur
due to improper drilling at geothermal stations. Unbelievably, it is also
possible for a specific geothermal area to run dry or lose steam.

 Alternative uses for Geothermal Energy

Besides power resources, geothermal energy can be harnessed for other
means as well. Thanks to geothermal water, there are natural hot springs all
over the world and many people enjoy the warm waters and its restorative
effects. Geothermal water can also be beneficial for growing agricultural
products in a greenhouse within a cold or icy climate. Geothermal waters
can be harnessed to create space heating in buildings or even to keep streets
and sidewalks warm enough to prevent icing over. Several cities have
actually used geothermal energy in this unique manner.

Because geothermal energy is reliable and renewable, this alternative power

source will start to enjoy more growth. However, just remember that
geothermal energy will not necessarily be available in many areas due to its
volatile needs. Areas like California, Iceland, Hawaii and Japan are just a
few places where geothermal energy is being used, many due to earthquakes
and the underground volcanic activity.
 Wind Energy and Wind Power
Wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating
of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and
rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns are modified by the earth's terrain,
bodies of water, and vegetative cover. This wind flow, or motion energy,
when "harvested" by modern wind turbines, can be used to generate
electricity.

How Wind Power Is Generated

The terms "wind energy" or "wind power" describe the process by

which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind
turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This
mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or
pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into
electricity to power homes, businesses, schools, and the like.

Wind Turbines
Wind turbines, like aircraft propeller blades, turn in the moving air and
power an electric generator that supplies an electric current. Simply stated,
a wind turbine is the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make
wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns
the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes
electricity.

Advantages:
• Wind energy is friendly to the surrounding environment, as no fossil
fuels are burnt to generate electricity from wind energy.

• Wind turbines take up less space than the average power station.
Windmills only have to occupy a few square meters for the base, this
allows the land around the turbine to be used for many purposes, for
example agriculture.
 • Newer technologies are making the extraction of wind energy much
more efficient. The wind is free, and we are able to cash in on this free
source of energy.

• Wind turbines are a great resource to generate energy in remote

locations, such as mountain communities and remote countryside.
Wind turbines can be a range of different sizes in order to support
varying population levels.

• Another advantage of wind energy is that when combined with solar

electricity, this energy source is great for developed and developing
countries to provide a steady, reliable supply of electricity.

Disadvantages:

• The main disadvantage regarding wind power is down to the winds

unreliability factor. In many areas, the winds strength is too low to
support a wind turbine or wind farm, and this is where the use of solar
power or geothermal power could be great alternatives.

• Wind turbines generally produce allot less electricity than the average
fossil fuelled power station, requiring multiple wind turbines to be
built in order to make an impact.

• Wind turbine construction can be very expensive and costly to

surrounding wildlife during the build process.

• The noise pollution from commercial wind turbines is sometimes

similar to a small jet engine. This is fine if you live miles away, where
you will hardly notice the noise, but what if you live within a few
hundred meters of a turbine? This is a major disadvantage.

• Protests and/or petitions usually confront any proposed wind farm

development. People feel the countryside should be left in tact for
everyone to enjoy it's beauty.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

OTEC, or ocean thermal energy conversion, is an energy technology that

converts solar radiation to electric power. OTEC systems use the ocean's
natural thermal gradient—the fact that the ocean's layers of water have
different temperatures—to drive a power-producing cycle. As long as the
temperature between the warm surface water and the cold deep water differs
by about 20°C (36°F), an OTEC system can produce a significant amount of
power. The oceans are thus a vast renewable resource, with the potential to
help us produce billions of watts of electric power. This potential is
estimated to be about 1013 watts of baseload power generation, according to
some experts. The cold, deep seawater used in the OTEC process is also rich
in nutrients, and it can be used to culture both marine organisms and plant
life near the shore or on land.

The economics of energy production today have delayed the financing of a

permanent, continuously operating OTEC plant. However, OTEC is very
promising as an alternative energy resource for tropical island communities
that rely heavily on imported fuel. OTEC plants in these markets could
provide islanders with much-needed power, as well as desalinated water and
a variety of mariculture products.
 Applications
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems have many applications
or uses. OTEC can be used to generate electricity, desalinate water, support
deep-water mariculture, and provide refrigeration and air-conditioning as
well as aid in crop growth and mineral extraction. These complementary
products make OTEC systems attractive to industry and island communities
even if the price of oil remains low.

OTEC can also be used to produce methanol, ammonia, hydrogen,

aluminum, chlorine, and other chemicals. Floating OTEC processing plants
that produce these products would not require a power cable, and station-
keeping costs would be reduced.

 Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages
1. OTEC uses clean, renewable, natural resources. Warm surface seawater
and cold water from the ocean depths replace fossil fuels to produce
electricity.
2. Suitably designed OTEC plants will produce little or no carbon dioxide or
other polluting chemicals.
3. OTEC systems can produce fresh water as well as electricity. This is a
significant advantage in island areas where fresh water is limited.

4. There is enough solar energy received and stored in the warm tropical
ocean surface layer to provide most, if not all, of present human energy
needs.

5. The use of OTEC as a source of electricity will help reduce the state's
almost complete dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Disadvantages

1. OTEC-produced electricity at present would cost more than electricity

generated from fossil fuels at their current costs.

2. OTEC plants must be located where a difference of about 20º C occurs

year round. Ocean depths must be available fairly close to shore-based
facilities for economic operation. Floating plant ships could provide more
flexibility.

3. No energy company will put money in this project because it only had
beentested in a very small scale.

4. Construction of OTEC plants and lying of pipes in coastal waters may

cause.
 TIDAL ENERGY

Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that

converts the energy of tides into electricity or other useful forms of power.
The first large-scale tidal power plant (Rance Tidal Power Station) started
operation in 1966.
Although not yet widely used, tidal power has potential for future electricity
generation. Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar power.
Among sources of renewable energy, tidal power has traditionally suffered
from relatively high cost and limited availability of sites with sufficiently
high tidal ranges or flow velocities, thus constricting its total availability.
However, many recent technological developments and improvements, both
in design (e.g. dynamic tidal power, tidal lagoons) and turbine technology
(e.g. new axial turbines, crossflow turbines), are suggesting that the total
availability of tidal power may be much higher than previously assumed,
and that economic and environmental costs may be brought down to
competitive levels.

TYPES OF TIDAL STREAM GENERATORS

Axial Turbines

These are close in concept to traditional windmills operating under the sea
and have the most prototypes currently operating. These include:
Kvalsund, south of Hammerfest, Norway. Although still a prototype, a
turbine with a reported capacity of 300 kW was connected to the grid on 13
November 2003.
A 300 kW Periodflow marine current propeller type turbine — Seaflow —
was installed by Marine Current Turbines off the coast of Lynmouth, Devon,
England, in 2003. The 11m diameter turbine generator was fitted to a steel
pile which was driven into the seabed. As a prototype, it was connected to a
dump load, not to the grid.

Vertical and horizontal axis crossflow turbines

Invented by Georges Darreius in 1923 and Patented in 1929, these turbines
that can be deployed either vertically or horizontally.
The Gorlov turbine is a variant of the Darrieus design featuring a helical
design which is being commercially piloted on a large scale in S.
Korea, starting with a 1MW plant that started in May 2009 and expanding to
90MW by 2013. Neptune Renewable Energy has developed Proteuswhich
can be used to form an array in mainly estuarine conditions.

Oscillating devices
Oscillating devices do not have a rotating component, instead making use
of aerofoil sections which are pushed sideways by the flow. Oscillating
stream power extraction was proven with the omni- or bi-directional Wing'd
Pump windmill.During 2003 a 150 kW oscillating hydroplane device, the
Stingray, was tested off the Scottish coast. The Stingray uses hydrofoils to
create oscillation, which allows it to create hydraulic power. This hydraulic
power is then used to power a hydraulic motor, which then turns a generator.

Venturi effect

This uses a shroud to increase the flow rate through the turbine. These can
be mounted horizontally or vertically.
The Australian company Tidal Energy Pty Ltd undertook successful
commercial trials of highly efficient shrouded tidal turbines on the Gold
Coast, Queensland in 2002. Tidal Energy has commenced a rollout of their
shrouded turbine for a remote Australian community in northern Australia
where there are some of the fastest flows ever recorded (11 m/s, 21 knots) –
two small turbines will provide 3.5 MW. Another larger 5 meter diameter
turbine, capable of 800 kW in 4 m/s of flow, is planned for deployment as a
tidal powered desalination showcase near Brisbane Australia in October
2008. Another device, the Hydro Venturi, is to be tested in San Francisco
Bay.
Environmental Impacts
Very little direct research or observation of tidal stream systems exists. Most
direct observations consist of releasing tagged fish upstream of the device(s)
and direct observation of mortality or impact on the fish.
One study of the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE, Verdant Power)
project in the East River (New York City), utilized 24 split beam
hydroacoustic sensors (scientific echosounder]) to detect and track the
movement of fish both upstream and downstream of each of six turbines.
The results suggested (1) very few fish using this portion of the river, (2)
those fish which did use this area were not using the portion of the river
which would subject them to blade strikes, and (3) no evidence of fish
traveling through blade areas.

DYNAMIC TIDAL POWER

Dynamic Tidal Power (DTP) is a new concept involving the construction of
very long dams of about 30 to 50 km, extending from the coast straight out
into the ocean, with a perpendicular barrier at the far end, forming a large 'T'
shape. This long T-dam interferes with coast-parallel oscillating tidal waves
which run along the coasts of continental shelves, containing
powerful hydraulic currents (common in e.g. China, Korea, and
the UK). The oscillating pattern in which these tidal currents flow every day
(they speed up, slow down, and reverse direction) will naturally cause the
water level to rise significantly on the one side of the dam and to drop on the
other side. Later in the day the situation reverses. The maximum water level
differential (head) will be about 2–3 meters in a suitable coastal region,
mainly depending on the length of the dam (longer is better), and the level
of acceleration of the local tidal currents. The head is converted into power
using a long series of turbines installed in the dam.
The concept was invented and patented in 1997 by Dutch coastal engineers
Kees Hulsbergen and Rob Steijn.
Benefits
Each dam can accommodate over 8 GW of installed capacity, and the
estimated annual power production of each dam is about 23 billion kWh (83
PJ/yr). If two dams are installed at the right distance from one another (about
200 km apart), they can complement one another to level the output (one
dam is at full output when the other is not generating power). As compared
to conventional barrage tidal power, dynamic tidal power T-dams have much
less social and environmental impacts, because the dams don't enclose a
coastal area. Because dynamic tidal power doesn't require a very high
natural tidal range, more sites are available and the total availability of
power is very high in countries with suitable conditions, such as Korea,
China, and the UK (the total amount of available power in China is
estimated at 80 - 150 GW).

WAVE ENERGY
Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the
capture of that energy to do useful work for example for electricity
generation, water desalination, or the pumping of water (into reservoirs).

Wave power is distinct from the diurnal flux of tidal power and the steady
gyre of ocean currents. Wave power generation is not currently a widely
employed commercial technology although there have been attempts at
using it since at least 1890. The world's first commercial wave farm was
based in Portugal at the Aguçadoura Wave Park, which consists of three
750 kilowatt Pelamis devices.[

Wave energy and wave energy flux

In a sea state, the average energy density per unit area of gravity waves on
the water surface is proportional to the wave height squared, according to
linear wave theory:

where E is the mean wave energy density per unit horizontal area (J/m2),
the sum of kinetic and potential energy density per unit horizontal area.
The potential energy density is equal to the kinetic energy, both
contributing half to the wave energy density E, as can be expected from
the equipartition theorem. In ocean waves, surface tension effects are
negligible for wavelengths above a few decimetres.
As the waves propagate, their energy is transported. The energy
transport velocity is the group velocity. As a result, the wave
energy flux, through a vertical plane of unit width perpendicular to the
wave propagation direction, is equal to:

with cg the group velocity (m/s). Due to the dispersion relation for
water waves under the action of gravity, the group velocity depends
on the wavelength λ, or equivalently, on the wave period T. Further,
the dispersion relation is a function of the water depth h. As a result,
 the group velocity behaves differently in the limits of deep and
shallow water, and at intermediate depths:
Deep water characteristics and opportunities
Deep water corresponds with a water depth larger than half the
wavelength, which is the common situation in the sea and ocean. In
deep water, longer period waves propagate faster and transport their
energy faster. The deep-water group velocity is half the phase
velocity. In shallow water, for wavelengths larger than twenty times
the water depth, as found quite often near the coast, the group
velocity is equal to the phase velocity.
The regularity of deep-water ocean swells, where "easy-to-predict
long-wavelength oscillations" are typically seen, offers the
opportunity for the development of energy harvesting technologies
that are potentially less subject to physical damage by near-shore
cresting waves.

CHALLENGES:
These are some of the challenges to deploying wave power devices:

• The device needs to capture a reasonable fraction of the wave energy

in irregular waves, in a wide range of sea states.
• There is an extremely large fluctuation of power in the waves. The
peak absorption capacity needs to be much (more than 10 times)
larger than the mean power. For wave power the ratio is typically 4.
• The device has to efficiently convert wave motion into electricity.
Generally speaking, wave power is available at low speed and high
force, and the motion of forces is not in a single direction. Most
readily-available electric generators operate at higher speeds, and
most readily-available turbines require a constant, steady flow.
• The device has to be able to survive storm damage and saltwater
corrosion. Likely sources of failure include seized bearings, broken
welds, and snapped mooring lines. Hence, designers may create
prototypes that are so overbuilt that materials costs prohibit affordable
production.
 • The total cost of electricity is high. Wave power will be competitive
only when the total cost of generation is reduced (or the total cost of
power generated from other sources increases). The total cost includes
the primary converter, the power take-off system, the mooring system,
installation & maintenance cost, and electricity delivery costs.
• There is a potential impact on the marine environment. Noise
pollution, for example, could have negative impact if not monitored,
although the noise and visible impact of each design varies greatly.
• In terms of socio-economic challenges, wave farms can result in the
displacement of commercial and recreational fishermen from
productive fishing grounds, can change the pattern of beach sand
nourishment, and may represent hazards to safe navigation.

 In the US, development of wave farms is currently hindered by a

maze of state and federal regulatory hurdles and limited R&D funding.
 Waves generate about 2,700 gigawatts of power. Of those 2,700
gigawatts, only about 500 gigawatts can be captured with the current
technology.

WAVE FARMS
The world's first commercial wave farm opened in 2008 at the Aguçadora
Wave Park near Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal. It uses three Pelamis P-
750 machines with a total installed capacity of 2.25MW.However, in
November the units were removed from the water, and in March 2009 the
project was suspended indefinitely.A second phase of the project planned to
increase the installed capacity to 21MW using a further 25 Pelamis
machines is in doubt following Babcock's withdrawal from the project.
Funding for a 3MW wave farm in Scotland was announced on 20 February
2007 by the Scottish Executive, at a cost of over 4 million pounds, as part of
a £13 million funding package for marine power in Scotland. The first of 66
machines was launched in May 2010.
Funding has also been announced for the development of a Wave hub off the
north coast of Cornwall, England. The Wave hub will act as giant extension
cable, allowing arrays of wave energy generating devices to be connected to
the electricity grid. The Wave hub will initially allow 20MW of capacity to
be connected, with potential expansion to 40MW. Four device
manufacturers have so far expressed interest in connecting to the Wave hub.
The scientists have calculated that wave energy gathered at Wave Hub will
be enough to power up to 7,500 households. Savings that the Cornwall wave
power generator will bring are significant: about 300,000 tons of carbon
dioxide in the next 25 years.