Going Green: A Step Forward100% Renewable Energy by 2020

Solar thermal towers are a new experimental form of renewable

energy that uses heliostats (mirrors) to concentrate energy at a central

reactor at the top of the tower, creating steam, powering a turbine

to generate electricity.

The PS10 currently has over 600 mirrors reflecting light at the tower, generating about 24.3 Gigawatt hours per year, supplying electricity for 5,500 homes in Seville, Spain. A second tower, PS20, will produce twice as much electricity. Currently solar thermal energy is 15-17 cents/kWh.

Solar Thermal Towers

Solar thermal energy in USA

Nuclear

Tidal

Nuclear is a very commonly used renewable energy source. Despite common belief, nuclear energy is a zero carbon emission energy, making it very clean. Nuclear is widespread in Europe, and fuels 25% of the world’s electricity. However, there are problems due to major political constraints. This includes the fear of spills, waste disposal, and radiation.

Tidal power is virtually silent and capable of providing energy to a large-scale grid. Tides are predictable, so the high tides and low tides can be matched with high demand and low demand, respectively. Tidal is an extremely cost efficient source of renewable energy only costing 3.5 cents per kWh which rivals coal and gas.

Tidal barrages are a variation of tidal power that uses a hydropower dam-like system, except with water flowing in and out, rather than in one direction. They are very large, and are prone to causing environmental damage and impeding shipping, two of the main problems with tidal barrages.

Nuclear power plant with steam towers

Tidal Turbine

Tidal Barrage

Objective:Inspired by Al Gore’s Unified Energy Grid plan to create a national grid of 100% renewable energy by 2020, we determined the best renewable energy source for Princeton Township and The Borough of Princeton, NJ (Population: 31,037). Princeton uses roughly 120 million kWh per year to power the 9,500 homes. Comparing renewable energy sources and the different transmission systems that are currently active in the world, we attempted to design an effective type of hybrid system to create large amounts of energy while reducing the costs of energy production, making renewable energy more appealing for the future.

Al Gore addressing global warming

Another problem is its 13 cents/kWh cost, which is high compared to coal and gas’s cost, which is 6-8 cents/kWh.

Sponsors:National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)NASA New York City Research Initiative (NYCRI)Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT)

Contributors:Dr. Siva Thangam, PIProf. Joseph Miles, PIWilliam Carroll, HSTAnthony Scalzo, HSSChristopher Brown, HSS

Wind TurbinesWind turbines are a great source of renewable energy due to their extremely low cost of 4-6 cents/kWh. Unfortunately, wind in NJ is not very strong, except for offshore.

A current offshore project is the Garden State Offshore Energy Wind Park. It is located 20 miles east of Avalon, NJ, and consists of 96 wind turbines covering 15 square miles. This park will cost over $1 billion dollars to make. It is a 350 MW park that will power 110,000 homes.

Wind Energy + Solar Energy in USA

Hydro-Electric

Hydro-electric power uses dams that power turbines to create electricity. Hydro-electric is becoming more effective and efficient. A problem with producing hydropower in NJ is the lack of a large-scale river. Hydro-electric energy costs about 8 cents/kWh.

The Hoover Dam

Solar PanelsPhotovoltaic Solar Panels use the sunlight to create electricity. Sinopuren Energy Group Ltd. offers 280W solar panels. Solar panel energy costs 22.5 cents/kWh, due to a shortage of silicon.

Solar panels on a rooftop

PS10

Alternative Design Matrix Renewable Energy Sources

Tidal Hydro-Electric Solar PanelsSolar Thermal

Tower Wind Nuclear

ScoreWeighted

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Score

Criteria Weight

Efficiency 10 3 30 9 90 4 40 9 90 6 60 3 30

Construction Cost 10 5 50 6 60 6 60 3 30 4 40 7 70

Operation Cost 10 10 100 7 70 7 70 4 40 9 90 6 60

Cost Effectiveness 20 5 100 7 140 7 140 7 140 8 160 8 160

Noise 5 10 50 8 40 10 50 8 40 8 40 7 35

Size 5 6 30 5 25 7 35 7 35 8 40 8 40Energy Potential For

NJ 15 3 45 3 45 5 75 5 75 6 90 9 135

Capacity Factor 10 3 30 5 50 2 20 7 70 4 40 9 90Environmentally

Friendly/Safe 15 7 105 7 105 10 150 9 135 7 105 3 45

Total 100 52 540 57 625 58 640 59 655 60 665 60 665

Renewable Energy Design Matrix

This matrix determines which renewable source is most effective. Based on select criteria, nuclear power and wind power received the highest scores, but due to political issues, nuclear power is unacceptable in NJ, making wind energy the next choice. Wind energy is intermittent, constantly changing its direction and speed. However, wind energy is a 100% green, cost-effective source. More wind parks, like the Garden State Offshore Energy Wind Park will reduce the cost of the energy. Also, wind energy can be made more reliable by pairing it with another source in a hybrid.

Smart Grids and Hybrids

Smart GridNASA NYCRI Green Energy Grid Matrix 2009    Smart Grid Conventional Grid 

Criteria Weight ScoreWeighted

Score ScoreWeighted

Score

Efficiency 15 9 135 7 105

Cost 15 0 0 6 90

Enough Power 14 8 112 7 98

Blackout prevention 12 8 96 6 72

Resilience to natural disasters 11 7 77 5 55

Years before Profitable 12 1 12 9 108

Real-time data analysis 9 9 81 6 54

Acceptance of renewable energy 12 8 96 4 48

Total:   50 609 50 630

Interconnections

Conventional Grids

An interconnection is a transmission system of multiple overlaying electricity grids. NJ falls in the Eastern Interconnection run by the RFC (Reliability First Corporation). The Eastern Interconnection extends from Quebec to north Virginia. 1,187 Gigawatts used per year. This number is expected to grow by 32.6% in consumption over the next 10 years. All utilities on this interconnection are synchronized to a frequency of 60Hz.

Smart Meters

Electrical Grids Design Matrix

The Smart Grid is a new form of electric grid that is more efficient, more reliable, and safer than conventional grids. Smart grids have a “healing” mechanism that trips a circuit breaker to prevent blackouts. The Smart Grid is adept in taking in different energy sources such as renewable energy sources like solar and wind. For now, however, the Smart Grid is not cost-effective, as it would require billions of dollars to install throughout the US.

Smart Meters are small household products that can regulate the amount of electricity consumed in a house. The digital meter was created to better monitor a user’s electricity. While development in the US is just beginning, Southern California Edison is making a large step forward. They have installed 5.3 million smart meters in California, which will cost the company 1.63 billion dollars.

Conventional grids currently run electricity through 157,000 miles of high voltage power lines in the Unites States. These grids do not have real-time pricing, causing consumers to pay for peak hour prices even when it’s not peak hours. The transmission of electricity requires many complex network systems. These network systems make it hard for the grid to utilize renewable energy. Due to the inability to regulate real-time energy, the network system can not deal with power surges, and is therefore prone to blackouts.

To understand which grid would be the best choice, we compared the Smart Grid vs. the Conventional Grid in a design matrix. The conventional grid won, mainly due to the extremely high cost of a smart grid. Until the government has the funding and incentives to build the Smart Grid, the Conventional Grid will stay as the best transmission source.

Hybrids

The Smart Meter

Sponsors:National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS)NASA New York City Research Initiative (NYCRI)Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT)

Contributors:Dr. Siva Thangam, PIProf. Joseph Miles, PIWilliam Carroll, HSTChristopher Brown, HSSAnthony Scalzo, HSS

When determining which renewable energy source would be most efficient and effective, the idea of hybrids seemed to be highly useful. Many hybrids utilize wave and wind energy, while others utilize wind and solar energy. However, we did not find a hybrid which used solar, wind, and wave energy all in the same system. Therefore, we began looking at designs, like the one to the right, and determined the best type of hybrid system.

Currently, there are no large-scale hybrid systems, so we decided to attempt to create one. The picture to the left is our solar, wind, and wave energy hybrid system using oil-rig like platforms to support solar panels and buoys. The top platform would be placed above sea level, so the buoys can hang at sea level and create energy by being moved up and down by the waves.

Power lines in the Conventional Grid

It is also beneficial to put the platforms above the water so that the solar panels located on the top platform would receive minimal water damage. In the center of the platforms would be a large hole, where a wind turbine will be placed in order to produce wind energy. Due to the variability of wind energy, wave/wind hybrids are not very efficient unless paired with another source, and we chose solar to keep the hybrid completely renewable. A hybrid like this has the potential to reduce costs of each energy, while being more efficient and creating more electricity than any hybrid on the market today.

Another possibility for a hybrid system is a wind/nuclear or solar/nuclear system. To the right is the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant, which services 600,000 homes already. By combining wind or solar, or possibly both, with the nuclear energy, this energy production would increase. This would decrease demand of coal and gas energy and would make New Jersey a more renewable energy dependent state.