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Presentation by Trevor Branton on Energy Choices

Presentation by Trevor Branton on Energy Choices. Received on Thursday 22 nd November 2007 At the Co-op training centre Ipswich. ENERGY OPTIONS. Fossil Fuels Nuclear Wind Waves Tides Sun Biomass Heat inside the earth. ELECRICITY USAGE. Fossil Fuels.

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Presentation by Trevor Branton on Energy Choices

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  1. Presentation by Trevor Branton on Energy Choices Received on Thursday 22nd November 2007 At the Co-op training centre Ipswich.

  2. ENERGY OPTIONS • Fossil Fuels • Nuclear • Wind • Waves • Tides • Sun • Biomass • Heat inside the earth

  3. ELECRICITY USAGE

  4. Fossil Fuels • Availability/Demand – World • Depleting resources — Dash for Gas • Fuel or Raw Material? • Security of supply — Georgia • Political — Iraq, Middle East • Cost - Fluctuation and dependence • Global Warming • Acid Rain • Transport • Fuel • Ash Disposal

  5. Nuclear Energy • Siting Demand Grid Connections Foundations Cooling Water • Sizewell A Magnox • Capacity 420 MW (Supply 500 000 homes) • Lifetime Availability ~75% • Typical Annual Production 3 000 000 units • 1 tonne Uranium 15000 tonnes coal (Magnox) • 1 tonne Uranium 150 000 tonnes coal (PWR) • Unit of Comparison Sizewell A Output • Sizewell B is equivalent to 3 Sizewell A Output • 30 times Fibropower at Eye = Sizewell A Output

  6. Coal Equivalent and Emissions • Sizewell A Lifetime Electricity Production • Electricity Production 110 000 000 000 units • Fossil Plant Efficiency 35% • Total Heat Equivalent 314 285 714 MWh 1 131 000 000GJ • Calorific Value of Coal 23.5 GJ/tonne • Coal Equivalent 48.1 million tonnes • Ash Produced 13.5 million tonnes • C02 Production 127.1 million tonnes

  7. WIND ENERGY • British Wind Energy Association • Installed Capacity 1200 MW • Average Availability 300 MW • Cost 500 MW Capacity £800 Million 500 MW Output £3200 Million • Environment 1200 MW East Anglia • Wildlife Bird strike • Visual On shore Wales Lewis • Noise Radio Interference Reliability • Availability 25% When the ~jg~ wind blows • About 75% of Sizewell A output.

  8. Wave Power • Another form of wind power (BWEA) • Potential 120 000 MW • Difficult Technology • Engineering problems are clearly formidable • (Pilot plants keep getting washed away, damaged or corroded up) • Getting the power ashore over long distances • No practical energy extraction demonstrated • Economics are speculative • Variations Winter Storms/Summer Calms • Scottish Isles - Small unit

  9. Tides • La Rance Small pilot scheme • 12.4 hour cycle and 14 day cycle • Power approx. Tidal Range - Twice • Time of high tide changes daily • Severn Estuary 2.5 to 14 times Sizewell A • Very high capital costs — cf Thames Barrier • Long construction times • Environmental Impact • Weston-super-Mare 2 miles of mud • Wildlife Waders displaced • Shipping Restrictions

  10. The Sun • Each year the Earth receives from the Sun 12000 times the energy consumed in 1970. • Solar Domestic Water Heating (5% of energy use) • Is it becoming more viable? • (Financial benefit cf interest from capital) • Solar Electricity Generation • Timing — energy need when Sun is not out • Britain one third of Sahara radiation • Very variable, particularly in Winter • Large collecting areas needed • High Capital Cost Service Life • £150 000 installation — how much for £7500?

  11. Biomass • Sunlight harnessed by biological conversion • Trees for fuel • Sugar and crops into alcohol • Algae into methane • Efficiency of sunlight into energy ~ 1% • Coniferous trees would need to cover 50% of land area to meet country’s energy needs. (Plus 20% to meet husbandry energy needs) • Sizewell A 3 to 4 million tonnes of wood • Fuel v Food - Mexico - Economics

  12. Biomass — Vegetable Oil • Vegetable oil use in UK 100 000 tonnes/year • Could produce 40 MW from generation = 1 000 000 units per day • A fry-up typically consumes 1 unit = 1 000 000 fry ups/day • Therefore the recycling of waste vegetable oil could produce sufficient energy to be self sustaining.

  13. Geothermal • In theory — everything going for it BUT • Depth at which useful temperature occurs is dependent on how long ago there was volcanic activity. • Iceland and New Zealand Relatively recent — high geothermal gradient • UK 55 million years — low geothermal gradients 25 °C per kilometre • Test Site on Cheshire/Shropshire 16°C • Los Alamos Geothermal Test Site 100°C per kilometre • Would require at least an 8 kilometre deep hole costs and difficulty increase rapidly with increasing depth.

  14. UK ELECTRICITY FUEL MIX • Gas 39% 19500 MW • Coal 33% 16500 MW • Nuclear 21% 10500 MW • Other (Oil) 3% 1500 MW • Renewable 4% 2000 MW • Hydro Resource nearly fully utilised • Biomass Fibropower • Wind • Nuclear (2006) 12000 MW • Nuclear (Current) 11000 MW • Nuclear (After 2010) ‘~ 9600 MW

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