RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS

ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING: Emergy and Environmental Decision Making, by Howard T. Odum; Wiley, 1996 ;
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471114421/brainfood.a

From page 314 we find that in 1993 total US fuel use was 4.78 x 10e24 sej increasing about 2% per year ever since). From page 187 we find that total net solar radiation absorption for Alaska and the lower 48 was 4.48 x 10e22 sej. In other words, the US is presently using fossil fuels more than 100 times greater than the total absorption of solar radiation across the entire US!

So-called "renewable" energy systems are evaluated differently than "nonrenewable" energy systems. In order to be "renewable", an energy system must produce enough net energy to reproduce itself.

Different kinds of energy have different "qualities". For example, a BTU of coal is fundamentally different than a BTU of wood. Coal contains more energy per pound than wood, which makes coal more efficient to store and transport than wood. Oil has a higher energy content per unit weight and burns at a higher temperature than coal; it is easier to transport, and can be used in internal combustion engines. A diesel locomotive wastes only one-fifth the energy of a coal-powered steam engine to pull the same train. Oil's many advantages provide 1.3 to 2.45 times more economic value per kilocalorie than coal.

Directly and indirectly it takes about 1,000 kilocal of sunlight to make a kilocalorie of organic matter, about 40,000 to make a kilocalorie of coal, about 170,000 kilocal to make a kilocalorie of electrical power, and 10 million or more to support a typical kilocalorie of human service. So when renewable energy systems are evaluated, both inputs and outputs must be converted to solar eMjoules (or "sej") and compared. There are ten different sets of equations to convert energy to sej:
http://dieoff.com/emergy.pdf
The difference between the sej input and sej output is known as the "net sej".

Calculations show that solar cells consume twice as much sej as they produce. http://dieoff.com/pv.htm So even if all the energy produced were put back into production, then one can only build half as many cells each generation -- they are not sustainable. Even if the sej efficiency of solar cells doubled, ALL of the energy produced would have to be used to manufacture new cells, which still leaves a zero net benefit to society!

Traditional measures of "net energy" for solar cells may be improving but "net sej" may be getting worse because there are ten different sets of equations to convert energy to sej. The only way to know is to DO THE STUDY.
http://dieoff.com/emergy.pdf

H.T. Odum's solar "eMergy" (eMbodied energy) measures all of the energy (adjusted for quality) that went into the production of a product. Odum's calculations show that the only forms of alternative energy that can survive the exhaustion of fossil fuel are biomass (burning wood, animal dung, or peat), hydroelectric, geothermal in volcanic areas, and some wind electrical generation. Nuclear power could be viable if one could overcome the shortage of fuel. No other alternatives (e.g., solar voltaic) produce a large enough net sej to be sustainable. In short, there is no way out.

The fact that our society can not survive alternative energy should come as no surprise, because only an idiot would believe that windmills and solar panels can run bulldozers, elevators, steel mills, glass factories, electric heat, air conditioning, aircraft, automobiles, etc., AND still have enough energy left over to support a corrupt political system, armies, etc.

If you are interested in more specific details, read the messages at
http://www.egroups.com/messages/energyresources or write to Jay at
j@qmail.com

But hey, what about Fuel Cells? They brighten the future outlook don't they?

What is the energy source for fuel cells to store?

Don't fuel cells require hydrogen?

"Since they require hydrogen, I would like to know where is the hydrogen mine you are going to exploit in order to make a go of fuel cells after oil declines."
http://www.egroups.com/messages/energyresources

Why not the oceans? We thought.

"The key thing to remember about fuel cells is that they are essentialy energy storage systems. They convert energy in one form into another form. As we know, thermodynamics demands that a price be paid in the process. Given that, there can be very good uses for fuel cells as fast-charging, and efficient energy storage mechanisms, but they will not be primary energy producers. This is mainly one of those instances where the hype has gotten before the reality, and the public, lacking a sufficient understanding of rudimentary energetics, is lead to believe that miracles exist to overcome ordinary physics. What have I missed here? "~~~~~ EnergyResources Moderator Tom Robertson
http://www.egroups.com/messages/energyresources

Solar + Fuel Cells = ?

We were thinking about putting solar cells together with very efficient fuel cells. It seemed like a clever idea. So we asked the Big Kahuna, Jay Hanson. He must have been in a really rotten mood, however.

Dear Jay;
We thought that once the solar cells were made, they could be used to create electrical energy forever. Then they would replace the energy it took to produce them, right?
Then also the solar cells and / or some additional techniques could be used the electrolyse water to get the hydrogen for fuel cells. What could be more hunky-dory than that?

The Big Kahuna replied:
"No. That's a popular misconception. The only valid studies that have been done (Odum and his students) show that solar cells can not support themselves. In other words, when global oil and North American gas "peak" by the end of this decade, this civilization comes to a violent, radioactive end. That's why I don't worry about biodiversity. There won't be any "versity" at all in a radioactive mushroom cloud."
. -- Jay

Why so glum, Jay? Look, here's the multipart solution. Admittedly it's far fetched. But it is nonetheless possible. Some in Japan are already thinking in these terms.
1.)    Media tells the truth about energy and overpopulation.
2.)    Population goes down while substantive energy conservation is instituted. Utterance of obfuscatory remarks, jingoism, and platitudes are made crimes subject to severe punishment.
3.)    Available dwindling energy sources, including fission, are used to produce solar and hydrogen energy infrastructure. And that infrastructure is used as the interim solution for something else which isn't as yet on the drawing board.
4.)    Institutions and social modes of human behavior are given time to adapt themselves to new exigencies.

True, solar and hydrogen don't strictly pencil out ergonometrically. And true, fission fuel won't last forever. But with a population of four billion humans or hopefully less, this approach is not only possible, it is very do-able. It beats the heck out of Dr. StrangeLove, doen't it?

The biggest IF humanity has ever faced. In fact the biggest IF humanity could ever concieve.

Possible? Possible schmossible. Everything depends on plutocratic wirepullers. IF they really want Armageddon, they will make it happen by doing nothing. Make that continuing to do nothing. The situation has been well understood for quite some time, many decades. The status quo has humanity on a collision course with Armageddon. All they have to do is to give instructions to the Media to refrain from initiating the process by telling the truth. The beautiful thing about the Media is that it follows its directives very well. The beautiful thing about a democracy is that it can very easily be made to believe it is, in truth, a democracy.

Which will it be? Armageddon or Brave New World? When will we know?

When we hear the Media telling the truth, we will know that the decision has been made to choose a Brave New World.

Until we hear the truth in the Media, the status quo has humanity on a collision course with Armageddon.

The Media is the message.

Reviews from Amazon.com:

Jon E Traudt from Omaha, Nebraska
"This book is a great case study in management and innovation. It shows once again that a small group of dedicated individuals can compete successfully against much larger competitors. Fuel cells have long been successful in space craft. Soon you will be able to use them in your vehicles and buildings. Utility power plants typically discard about 60% of the heat energy from fuel. A fuel cell in your home would provide electricity efficiently. Instead of discarding the heat, you could use the fuel cell to heat your water everyday and provide some winter space heating. A fuel cell in your vehicle will increase fuel efficiency and eliminate the need for oil changes. About 40 cubic miles of crude oil remain available for more than six billion people, and we are consuming more than one cubic mile each year. By helping to reduce fuel consumption, fuel cells will help us to delay and reduce the severity of the coming shortages of fossil fuels."

Let the Hydrogen Revolution Begin!
August 10, 2000 Reviewer: A reader from San Francisco, CA USA
"The Hydrogen revolution has started with the unexpected emergence and success of fuel cell maker Ballard Power Systems. This is a very exciting industry. We are looking towards a future of abundant clean energy. Greenland is racing to become the first ever hydrogen economy, extricating itself from the reliance on foreign oil, and positioning itself as a possible future exporter of hydrogen. Oil companies are scrambling to redefine themselves as "energy companies." Innovative companies such as Energy Conversion Devices have come up with technologies allowing safe hydrogen storage. I suggest this book for anyone interested in environment and the future of energy."

Book Reviews from Amazon.com:

Book Description
The use of fuel cells as independent power sources is expected to become increasingly widespread in the next twenty years. From electric vehicles to mobile phones, the uses for this environmentally friendly and efficient energy source are growing. This book seeks to broaden understanding of the technology by setting out the working methods, behavior, limitations, special features, and potential of fuel cells in terms accessible to electrical, automotive, power, and control engineers.

Robert Wilder from Hawaii
"Fuel cells including their ranging balance of plant, are quite difficult to write about in usefully technical fashion, because the authors must have expertise across so many various disciplines: i.e. chemistry, engineering, materials, thermodynamics, systems theory, etc. Yet Larminie and Dicks are clearly up to the task, and we are the more fortunate for it. They've done the trick of not only writing a technically-inclined and broadly encompassing work for a fast-growing field (one that's much in need of such books now)--but they've also done it in a way that's surprisingly quite readable. This book could serve as an excellent self-instruction text for those new to fuel cells, or as a very helpful text for experts in particular fuel cell types who wish to brush up on other systems. And it could be used in any university level class. Should I be pursuaded to lend my copy briefly to someone I know well, then I shall also take care to ensure that I get it back promptly! It is quite reasonably up to date and highlights for instance Basic Principles; Efficiencies and Voltages; PEMFCs, AFCs, PAFCs; MCFCs; SOFCs; various possible fuel types; compressors, turbines, fans, blowers (etc); delivering FC power, among other topics. Remarkably, this book even happened to cover a very wide swath of topics that are of a personal interest--despite their diversity. I might suggest more discussion on just a few quite developing topics like sodium borohydride as an H2 storage/generation medium. Yet I note too that near-term emerging topics like that (and much farther off, potential blue sky topics like carbon nanotubes) are likely best left for a future edition of this excellent book. In sum, I highly recommend this book. It's usefully technical yet readable, essential for fuel cell enthusiasts. Though rather dear, it is I believe well worth the price..."

Understanding Fuel Cells
"This book is an actual text book that can be used for self learning. It is a year 2000 publication so it has up-to-date information on all types of fuel cells including an in depth chapter on Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells that most other books lack. The authors develop concepts and formulas in such a way that you don't have to have a PhD in electrochemistry to understand the subject. It also gives specific examples of the concepts and formulas to show how to use them. This book doesn't just cover the fuel cells themselves but goes into fuel reforming, pumps, electric motors and DC/AC inverters. It has many useful diagrams, tables and photos of fuel cells and their applications. I highly recommend this book to anyone who deals with any aspect of fuel cells."

Jay Hanson

Whatta Hero!

Mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru.