A few bits taken from my notes for a first semester project
COMPARISONS
NOTE: The ",,h" is a code for a bullet from MS Word, it didn't paste in right.
Coal
„h Inexpensive
„h Easy to recover (in U.S. and Russia)
„h Requires expensive air pollution controls (e.g. mercury, sulphur dioxide)
„h Significant contributor to acid rain and global warming
„h Requires extensive transportation system
Nuclear
„h Fuel is inexpensive
„h Energy generation is the most concentrated source
„h Waste is more compact than any source
„h Extensive scientific basis for the cycle
„h Easy to transport as new fuel
„h No greenhouse or acid rain effects
„h Requires larger capital cost because of emergency, containment, radioactive waste and storage systems
„h Requires resolution of the long-term high level waste storage issue in most countries
„h Potential nuclear proliferation issue
Hydroelectric
„h Very inexpensive once dam is built
„h Government has invested heavily in building dams, particularly in the Western U.S.
„h Very limited source since depends on water elevation
„h Many dams available are currently exist (not much of a future source[depends on country])
„h Dam collapse usually leads to loss of life
„h Dams have affected fish (e.g. salmon runs)
„h Environmental damage for areas flooded (backed up) and downstream
Gas / Oil
„h Good distribution system for current use levels
„h Easy to obtain
„h Better as space heating energy source
„h Very limited availability as shown by shortages during winters several years ago
„h Could be major contributor to global warming
„h Expensive for energy generation
„h Large price swings with supply and demand
Wind
„h Wind is free if available
„h Good source for periodic water pumping demands of farms as used earlier in 1900's
„h Need 3x the amount of installed generation to meet demand
„h Limited to few areas of U.S.
„h Equipment is expensive to maintain
„h Need expensive energy storage (e.g. batteries)
„h Highly climate dependent - wind can damage during windstorms or not turn during still summer days.
„h Can affect endangered birds.
Solar
„h Sunlight is free when available
„h Limited to southern areas of U.S. and other sunny areas throughout the world (demanded the most when least available, e.g solar heating)
„h Does require special materials for mirrors/panels that can affect environment
„h Current technology requires large amounts of land for small amounts of energy generation
Biomass
„h Industry in its infancy
„h Could create jobs because smaller plants would be used
„h Inefficient if small plants are used
„h Could be significant contributor to global warming because fuel has low heat content
Refuse Based Fuel
„h Fuel can have low cost
„h Could create jobs because smaller plants would be used
„h Low sulfur dioxide emissions
„h Inefficient if small plants are used
„h Could be significant contributor to global warming because fuel has low heat content
„h Flyash can contain metals as cadmium and lead
„h Contain dioxins and furans in air and ash releases
Fusion
„h Hydrogen and tritium could be used as fuel source
„h Higher energy output per unit mass than fission
„h Low radiation levels associated with process than fission-based reactors
„h Breakeven point has not been reached after ~40 years of expensive research and commercially available plants not expected for at least 35 years.
From
http://www.nucleartourist.com/basics/why.htm
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NOTES ON WIND POWER
In 2000 Danish wind turbine companies supplied 2,500 megawatts of new generating capacity, equivalent to a medium-sized nuclear power station. Danish manufacturers had a 50 per cent share of the world market for wind turbines in 2000.
Generating electricity with wind-powered turbines is quite popular these days, and already there are huge ¡§farms¡¨ of these generators springing up all over Europe. China even plans to power their Olympics with electricity generated by wind. Thus far, wind power farms supply small, isolated communities or contribute a small amount to larger power grids.
„h Wind turbines use only the energy from the moving air to generate electricity. A modern 1,000 kW wind turbine in an average location will annually displace 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from other electricity sources, i.e. usually coal fired power stations.
„h The energy produced by a wind turbine throughout its 20 year lifetime (in an average location) is eighty times larger than the amount of energy used to build, maintain, operate, dismantle, and scrapping it again. In other words, on average it takes only two to three months for a wind turbine to recover all the energy required to build and operate it.
From
http://www.windpower.org/