The Pros And Cons Of Renewable Energy
The global average temperature increases 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit each year since 1880; it never stopped going up. The global atmospheric concentration of CO2 past the milestone of 400ppm, the highest in a million years. Fossil fuels is one of the main perpetrator of such damage to the environment and in response, renewable energy is on the rise.
Describe why you chose your project and whom it would be helping
Renewable energy is often not efficient and powerful enough compared to traditional power sources; the disadvantage present in energy systems such as solar and wind fail to win the energy revolution against the oil-based economy. The damage to the environment is a threat to life on Earth and we can no longer afford to be spectators. Given
the growing population and increasing demand for energy, it is best to actively seek solutions for the energy challenges as soon as possible. Our project seeks to join the force to save the environment through establishing a new method of using sustainable energy.
Describe the sort of result you would like to see from your project
In this project, we would like to see the concept of hybrid energy system being simulated and worked out on smaller scale. The project will aim to create a mini power plant that powers an electric device, perhaps a fan or light, purely through renewable energy. From the idea of the small plant, we would like to slowly apply it to larger scale and more power-consuming devices. In the end, it may be able to provide enough electricity for an average vehicle or even household.
Outline the methodologies you will explore in achieving your project
There are two parts of the project. The first part is to simulate the condition of supply and demand for energy in the San Diego area for a larger power plant. This part will be done by the HOMER simulation program. We will collect data about the energy usage (demand), weather condition, battery storage or hydrogen gas storage required, and the solar and wind energy input and output. Then we select the remaining system components based on the demand and supply. For the second part, we will actually construct a small scale power plant that powers a fan that runs on renewable energy. We will determine the energy required by the fan and build a small model of solar and wind energy plant that supplies enough power to meet the demand. For storage, since hydrogen gas storage is not realistic on such size and is rather dangerous, we will use lithium batteries instead.
Describe why you chose your project and whom it would be helping
Renewable energy is often not efficient and powerful enough compared to traditional power sources; the disadvantage present in energy systems such as solar and wind fail to win the energy revolution against the oil-based economy. The damage to the environment is a threat to life on Earth and we can no longer afford to be spectators. Given
the growing population and increasing demand for energy, it is best to actively seek solutions for the energy challenges as soon as possible. Our project seeks to join the force to save the environment through establishing a new method of using sustainable energy.
Describe the sort of result you would like to see from your project
In this project, we would like to see the concept of hybrid energy system being simulated and worked out on smaller scale. The project will aim to create a mini power plant that powers an electric device, perhaps a fan or light, purely through renewable energy. From the idea of the small plant, we would like to slowly apply it to larger scale and more power-consuming devices. In the end, it may be able to provide enough electricity for an average vehicle or even household.
Outline the methodologies you will explore in achieving your project
There are two parts of the project. The first part is to simulate the condition of supply and demand for energy in the San Diego area for a larger power plant. This part will be done by the HOMER simulation program. We will collect data about the energy usage (demand), weather condition, battery storage or hydrogen gas storage required, and the solar and wind energy input and output. Then we select the remaining system components based on the demand and supply. For the second part, we will actually construct a small scale power plant that powers a fan that runs on renewable energy. We will determine the energy required by the fan and build a small model of solar and wind energy plant that supplies enough power to meet the demand. For storage, since hydrogen gas storage is not realistic on such size and is rather dangerous, we will use lithium batteries instead.