Sustainable Renewable Energy Production and Consumption

Sustainable Renewable Energy Production and Consumption

Task One

The industrial sector consumes a larger percentage of the national grid power consumption. For example, Nikoobakht et al (2018) agree that in 2017 about one-third of energy consumption in the United States was used by industries. This is due to the increased demand for production and manufacturing in the industries whereby some of the heavy machinery, which consume huge amounts of power, run for longer durations. However, most of the industries such as Rotork Controls rely on oil, coal, and natural gas as their sources of energy hence having a great negative impact on climate change due to the excessive release of Green House Gases into the atmosphere (Stigka et al, 2014). Some of the pollutants generated include Sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides which end up boosting the depletion of the ozone layer. Moreover, hazardous metals such as chromium, lead, mercury, and beryllium are released in the process of generating electricity during the burning of fossil fuels. Due to the looming danger of climate change, Rotork Controls is in the haste of enhancing the consumption of renewable energy so as to keep up with the standards of sustainable energy production and consumption in the industry.

Large-scale production and consumption of renewable energy technologies not only in Rotork Controls but also in the vast industrial sector will greatly help in the mitigation of negative effects due to energy use in the environment. As a result of the revolutionizing technology fraternity, effective and efficient technologies of renewable energy have been invented and inflicted in the industrial sector (Abdel-Shafy  & Mansour, 2016). Such technologies include the use of biofuels, solar energy, wind energy, and hydroelectric power. Due to the increased efficient energy production and consumption techniques, Rotork Controls aims at shifting coal energy consumption to natural gas energy, escalating the efficiency of a waste heat recovery process, as well as other renewable energy technologies. According to a previous research on the future of renewable energy consumption, it has been found that if the production of green sustainable energy is taken seriously the direct and indirect renewable energy consumption can rise past 30% by 2050.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the rate of demand for energy by the industrial sector increases day by day due to the high demand of electricity by these industries. more than 60% of this electricity is usually bought from independent power producers while the other percentage is produced internally by the industries at their plants so as to reduce the cost of production. To keep up with the production of sustainable energy, some of the industries use solar photovoltaic technology to generate electricity for lighting, heating, cooling, running machinery and office equipment.

Consequently, renewable energy technologies offer energy security as well as diversification of energy supply since they have different sources, for instance, wind, solar, biomass among others. Due to the rapid demand and increase in energy consumptions and the need of environmental sustainability, scientists have come up with efficient energy technologies such as nuclear fusion, concentrated solar photovoltaics power, geothermal and marine energy (Nikoobakht et al, 2018).

According to Stigka et al (2014), wind power is one of the commonest and more available renewable energy technologies. Its intensity is influenced by the vegetation cover, water bodies, and the earth’s terrain. This power is generated through harvesting wind in wind turbines which in turn produces mechanical power which is later converted into electrical power by a generator. Utility-scale production ranges from 50-800 kilowatts whereas small-scale production can go up to 50 kilowatts. Generally, wind power production cost has shot down over the last decade than fossil fuel energy production. However, the big challenge remains the machinery which consumes almost 80% of the initial capital while the other percentage is consumed by preparations and installation costs. For instance, commercial wind power generation costs around 3$-4$ million for complete installation of 2-megawatt production whereas small-scale wind power production ranges around 50,000$-80,000$ for less than 100 kilowatts production (Rosnes et al, 2018). This kind of energy technology has massive advantages such as: Wind energy is free and unlimited, it occurs naturally, it is eco-friendly, it is economical due to low maintenance costs, it is flexible since the turbines can be placed anywhere, and sustainable. Nevertheless, it’s dependent on new technology for faster and reliable energy production and has a high initial cost. Also, it causes aesthetic pollution, endangers wildlife such as flying birds, and unpleasant noise (Abdel-Shafy  & Mansour, 2016).

Pursuing this further, solar power is another major source of renewable technology. It incorporates the conversion of sunlight into electricity through photovoltaics or concentrated solar power technology. Besides, according to the energy statistics, solar power contributed 1.8% of electricity production globally. Technological advancements in the energy sector have led to the introduction of floatovoltaics which have the ability to float on water masses although they hinder water activities. Also, it has seen the invention of concentrator photovoltaics which is more efficient and powerful than the normal conventional photovoltaics. Such technologies are currently being used in Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China. Basically, solar power cost of production is very low compared to non-renewable power production. Small-scale production of solar power of a 5-kilowatt system can cost $25000-$35000 for installation whereas a large-scale solar farm producing 1 Megawatt can cost about 1 million dollars (Rosnes et al, 2018). Solar power production is eco-friendly since it doesn’t emit greenhouse gases, reduces dependency on fossil fuels, has a low maintenance cost, can be installed anywhere, therefore, increasing its flexibility, and it’s more efficient. However, its initial cost is very high, needs a huge space, direct current appliances are very expensive, has low production during the winter season, and its absence during the night.

In addition, biofuels energy consumption is getting a lot of attention from developing and developed countries. Basically, a biofuel is a fuel made from a renewable biomass material such as biodiesel and ethanol. For instance, Brazil has been using biofuels to provide energy to their cars from the decomposition of sugarcane to form ethanol. Also, United Airlines have incorporated the use of jet fuel made from biofuels so that they can reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses by 60%. Actually, its production costs $0.21-$0.4 per gallon (Rosnes et al, 2018). Since it uses locally available materials, its production is inexpensive. Besides that, it is carbon neutral because the amount of carbon dioxide produced during their production is equal to the amount consumed by plants. Moreover, it is clean and renewable. Nevertheless, the process of production leads to the emission of nitrous oxides which cause climate change. Also, it leads to loss of habitat since its production requires a lot of land.

Unquestionably, all energy sources or technologies have an effect, either positive or negative, to the environment. For instance, non-renewable energy sources, such as fossil fuels, have a huge negative impact on the environment than renewable sources due to their harm towards it (Abdel-Shafy  & Mansour, 2016). On the contrary, renewable sources help in mitigating climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gases’ emissions. However, renewable energy production is related to the distraction of wildlife and habitat and public health and community such as wind energy through the generation of sound, and geothermal power production is associated with water and air pollution (Abdel-Shafy  & Mansour, 2016).

Task Two

For a sustainable energy consumption, wastage of energy should be minimized to the lowest limit possible. Energy efficiency measures ensure saving huge amounts of energy by reducing energy consumption (Penna et al, 2015). Globally, a majority of the business enterprises, as well as, Rotork Controls have included these measures in their enterprises so as to reduce the cost used in paying for energy consumption. For instance, due to the continuous hiking of energy consumption utility bills, Rotork Controls decided to perform replacements, refurbishments and system optimization of its machines and lighting systems so as to achieve an energy efficient business platform. This has directly or indirectly helped in the reduction of greenhouse gases emission, utility bills, maintenance costs as well as improving occupancy comfort.

Pursuing this further, measures such as the installation of lighting controls, for example, timers and occupation sensors assist in saving lighting energy since it is automated such that the lights only go on when a room is occupied (Karmellos et al, 2015). Also, the use of compact fluorescent lamps lowers energy consumption. Moreover, improved insulation in boilers and heat ventilation, air conditioning and cooling using actuators and controls reduce energy loss. Consequently, installation of upgraded solar PV systems and battery storage, variable speed drives, voltage regulation units, and chillers also help in the conservation of energy in the housing sector (Karmellos et al, 2015). On the other hand, according to Yuan et al (2015), vehicles should be fitted with energy dashboards, efficient insulation as well as LED lighting system so as to reduce energy consumption and save more power.

With the help of the International Energy Agency, a body which helps in the formulation and implementation of energy efficiency policies, the building, and transport sector has gained much on energy saving technologies (Lo, 2014). The body gears towards improving fuel efficiency, and shifting to low carbon fuels through the integration of advanced technologies in the transport sector. In addition, it facilitates implementation of policies aimed at making efficiency improvements in the cooling, heating, and lighting of houses since the housing sector consumes almost 30% of the energy produced (Diaz-Rainey & Ashton, 2015). Some of the policies which are relevant in the transportation and building sector include: all electronic appliances should adhere to a certain maximum allowable energy consumption, building codes for design and material selection should meet some energy performance requirements, lights should be turned off when not in use, individuals should maximize daylighting, all power consuming equipment should be put in sleep mode when in use, thermostats should be adjusted for seasonal changes, leakages in compressed air systems and insulations should be repaired among others (Karmellos et al, 2015).

Significantly, some factors are directly proportional to the amount of energy consumption in a building. Penna et al (2015) affirm that some of these factors include the purpose of the building, the type of construction, the occupancy rate, mechanical systems within, its insulation, the technology used in heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plug loads in the building, the age, window type, and shading. In order to achieve an energy efficient building, the mechanical equipment in the building should be upgraded to low energy consuming equipment, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system should be fitted with thermostats and sensors, the insulation should be properly fitted to avoid more energy consumption among others (Diaz-Rainey & Ashton, 2015).

Technology experts in Simulink and MATLAB have actualized automated vehicle integration systems in the modeling of vehicles. The vehicle is fitted with engine and transmission simulators, hardware-in loop for the full vehicle, automated transmission simulators. The engineers in these model labs use a system model that match components of powertrain and ensure optimization of hardware variables so as to minimize fuel consumption and maximize fuel efficiency (Maloney & Nursilo, 2018). Additionally, in the transportation sector, light-duty vehicles are more prone to wastage of energy and emission of greenhouse gases than the heavy-duty vehicles (Yuan et al, 2015). Energy efficiency in vehicles is enhanced by technologies which increase the drive energy train such as cylinder deactivation, direct fuel injection, continuous variable power transmission, turbochargers, and variable valve timing. Furthermore, in order to reduce fuel consumption vehicles ought to be fabricated with lighter materials, vortex generators, and have a lower height so as to overcome much drag force (Maloney & Nursilo, 2018).

Basically, Arzani et al ( 2018) affirms that most of the power produced by renewable energy sources is usually direct current, therefore, a converter is required to boost the current into an alternate current. For instance, in solar power production, the voltage source converters (VSC) is the most common power electronic interface (PEI) at the point of common coupling (PCC). Therefore, a photovoltaic (PV) inverter is the core part of the whole solar panel for solar power production (Arzani et al, 2018). Generally, the dynamic performance of the power production is dependent greatly on the VSC. During high solar energy penetration, the power fluctuations experienced affects the power quality. On the other hand, during low solar energy penetration, that is, during a cloud cover, more controller performance is initiated which in turn results to a dynamic response by the PEI. Undoubtedly, in order to achieve more rapid dynamic responses, utilization of an efficient optimization is mandatory (Arzani et al, 2018). Due to the complexity of back-to-back converters, MATLAB has come up with a digitized real-time simulator for simulating a solar plant. It uses a specific code to ensure optimal PI parameters for the PV inverters.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the price of an inverter ranges from $0.25-$1.08/Watt for both small-scale and large-scale solar power production. Other costs incurred include costs for miscellaneous electrical components, system design, site preparation, and installation, as well as electricity storage systems (Rosnes et al, 2018). For example, small-scale solar power generation requires lead-acid batteries which cost $150/kWh or lithium-ion batteries which cost $600/kWh. In general, residential PV systems producing up to 20kW costs $5500/kW whereas utility-scale systems cost averagely $6.5/W (Larcher & Tarascon, 2015).

In conclusion, production and consumption of renewable energy are at the forefront of fighting climate change. Most of the countries have woken up and legislated policies which aim at reduction in greenhouse gases into the environment (Lo, 2014). However, a lot has to be done in the investment of clean energy production which is harmless to the environment. Chiaroni et al (2016) agree that due to the rapid technological revolution, advanced technologies of renewable energy production, consumption and efficient use have evolved not only in the housing sector but also in the industrial and transportation sector. The world’s population ought to understand the importance of low production and use fossil fuel energy which endangers the environment. Despite some of the renewable power production technologies having a negative impact on the environment such as geothermal and biofuel energy, most of them are eco friendly, have a low maintenance cost and are unlimited. Moreover, renewable energy production leads to a sustainable environment.

References

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Maloney, P., & Nursilo, W. (2018). Optimizing Performance and Fuel Economy of a Dual-Clutch Transmission Powertrain with Model-Based Design. Retrieved from https://www.mathworks.com/company/newsletters/articles/optimizing-performance-and-fuel-economy-of-a-dual-clutch-transmission-powertrain-with-model-based-design.html

Nikoobakht, A., Aghaei, J., Shafie-khah, M., & Catalão, J. P. (2018). Assessing Increased Flexibility of Energy Storage and Demand Response to Accommodate a High Penetration of Renewable Energy Sources. IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy.

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