What is peak oil? - www.micronesiarenewableenergy.com

THE world’s population is expected to increase by another 2 billion in less than 17 years. Most of the undeveloped countries moving into the 21st century are experiencing rapid growth especially in the transportation sector. If peak oil occurs, this will be a major dilemma for countries using fossil fuel for energy. What is peak oil?

Peak oil as defined by Investopedia as “a hypothetical date referring to the world's peak crude oil production, whereby following this day, production rates will begin to diminish.” Geophysicist Marion King Hubbert created the peak theory, which states that oil production follows a bell-shaped curve. In simple words, because oil does not renew or replenish itself, there is a limit to how much that can be pumped out of the ground. Peak oil will be the day that oil production reaches its maximum production, and from then on, production will decline until we deplete all the crude oil.

Peak oil is a little more complicated than just drying out oil wells. Most oil fields have three layers, the primary of which is on top, the secondary which is the middle layer, and the last layer is the tertiary. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the primary level accounts for about 10 percent of the reservoir, the secondary level accounts for 20 to 40 percent, and lastly the tertiary level account for about 50 percent. It is relatively easy to pump out the primary level, since at times this is sitting right at ground level. The secondary level is a bit more difficult.

There are usually two reasons why an oil field or well is abandoned. The first reason is during the drilling of the secondary level. Water or gas is injected into the reservoir to pressurize the oil. The process to extract the water or gas from the oil is expensive and adds on to the price of the oil. There comes a point in which it costs more to produce the oil, than what the oil is worth. When that happens, the oil field is abandoned. The second reason is when the primary and secondary oil layers are depleted and drilling to the tertiary level is too difficult and very costly.

Once we abandon the easy, cost-effective fields, drillers start looking elsewhere. There is a large untapped oil reservoir in the Artic, but the weather conditions and accessibility are very extreme and will most certainly raise prices of oil. Besides, do we really want to start drilling in one of the world’s most pristine areas?

Scientists are not sure exactly when the oil will run “dry.” It took millions of years and a whole lot of pressure to create fossil fuels and we have managed to burn approximately half of the oil reserves in a brief 125 years. So now is the time to start looking at renewable resources that the Earth provides. The sun, the wind, and the ocean tides are infinite and non-polluting and will be around for a long time to come. This to me is not a debate on climate change – just plain old common sense.

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Tracy Voacolo is the president of Micronesia Renewable Energy. She has more than 20 years of experience in the renewable energy industry. Tracy can be contacted at info[at]micronesiarenewableenergy.com.

For more information about Micronesia Renewable Energy, visit http://micronesiarenewableenergy.com/. 

Renewable energy: The next 50 years - www.micronesiarenewableenergy.com

LAST week’s article took a peek at the last 50 years of wind and solar energy. Let’s see what the next 50 years may look like for these renewable energy sources.

The last 50 years have been an incredible ride in the renewable energy industry with the last 20 years making a major jump in the industry. In the last 10 years, this new and exciting industry has pushed into the renewable energy mainstream where almost everyone can now afford to decrease their energy costs with sustainable energy systems.

But the energy industry will be facing some multifaceted challenges. Some of these challenges arise from geopolitical unrests and economic downturns. Another challenge for the industry is the growth of the world’s population. Our society has become very reliant upon electricity – from cell phones to computers and even some of our smart cars. The challenge is that as the world’s population grows, it is predicted that the supplies of conventional oil are expected to decline in the not-so distant future. How do we keep up with the demand?

New technologies in the wind power industry are being developed. Engineers are creating new blade designs and more efficient turbines. Because the wind blows stronger offshore, designers are looking into large 10-megawatt turbines that are moored to the ocean’s floor. New technology is being designed for a wind power system that will work in low-wind areas. As the manufacturing and demand rise, it is expected that the cost of wind power systems will start to decrease. In the U.S., more wind farms are expected to be built to add to the current power grid. As more wind power is created, it is expected that current power transmission systems will have to be upgraded. One possible challenge the wind power industry can face may have to do with Mother Nature. As more wind farms are created, the safety of wildlife – especially birds and bats – will have to be taken into consideration.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar power could be responsible for over a third of our energy supply by the year 2060. Because the sun shines more than the wind blows in many places, solar power may become the renewable energy leader. Solar energy systems have also become more affordable that most people can afford a personal home system. The future is bright for solar technology. Some of the upcoming technology for solar energy is more efficient solar panels and clear or pliable panels that can be attached anywhere. Another advancement being researched is the ability to store the energy created to be used during the times the sun is not shining. Currently, solar panels require a large amount of land to generate a sufficient amount of energy. Designers are researching on making smaller and more efficient panels.

Other renewable energy technologies, besides wind and solar, are also expected to help reduce the world’s carbon footprint and the dependence on foreign oil. These technologies are wave and hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen fuel cells are expected to take the lead in transportation over the next 50 years, especially in the airline industry.

With all of the renewable energy systems becoming more affordable and more advanced in their technology, grid parity now looks reachable in most areas of the world by 2020. Grid parity, as explained by the Renewable Energy Advisors, is a term that “is meant to describe the point in time, at which a developing technology will produce electricity for the same cost to ratepayers as traditional technologies. That is, when the new technology can produce electricity as inexpensively as the electricity currently available on a utility’s transmission and distribution grid.”

In areas like Guam and the north Pacific, where energy is so expensive, parity can be a reality by 2017.

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Tracy Voacolo is the president of Micronesia Renewable Energy. She has more than 20 years of experience in the renewable energy industry. Tracy can be contacted at info[at]micronesiarenewableenergy.com.

For more information about Micronesia Renewable Energy, visit http://micronesiarenewableenergy.com/. 

Renewable energy: The last 50 years - www.micronesiarenewableenergy.com

ACCORDING to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the global consumption of commercial energy has risen more than fourfold, far beating the growth of the world’s population. In other words, our population continues to increase and our demand for power is growing faster than we can produce it. No matter the type of resource we use to create energy, it all comes from natural resources. Even nuclear power derives from the natural element uranium.

As we move closer to a point where our dependency on fossil fuel will be halted, we are looking more toward renewable resources to move us into the future. But to understand where we are going, we need to understand how our technology has evolved. Since our region is best suited for solar and wind power, I will concentrate on these two forms of renewable energy.

The wind has been harvested for power as far back as 500 A.D. The wind energy was used to grind grains. Eventually, windmills were used to mill timber or pump water. Over the last 50 years, we started to use wind to generate electricity. Since then, wind energy has made a substantial contribution to renewable energy throughout the world. Within the last 30 years, wind turbines have grown four times in size. The blades have evolved into sleek long propeller-looking blades, some of which have a diameter that are longer than a football field.

Wind turbines in the 1980s could produce about 50 kilowatts of power. Today’s wind turbines can produce about 3 megawatts. A 1-megawatt wind turbine can provide power to run 350 average U.S. households for a year. In 2012, wind energy contributed to 43 percent off all new electricity added to the national power grid. The American Wind Energy Association stated that the wind turbines across the U.S. currently produce enough clean energy to meet the electrical needs of nearly 13 million homes. Utility-scale wind farms can now be found in 39 states.

Solar energy has had an amazing evolution over the last 50 years. The world is waking up to the fact that solar energy is truly God’s gift. Once installed, solar power systems require little to no maintenance. After the initial capital to purchase and install the system is repaid, it is absolutely free. Unlike wind power, the solar power that we know today came to fruition about 50 years ago. Scientists at Bell Laboratories used a semiconductor made of silicone to convert light into electricity. Since then, great strides have been made to make solar energy available to the masses at a reasonable price.

Over the last 20 years, the cost of solar energy systems has come down sevenfold. This decrease in price is due to the advancement in technology, increase in demand and manufacturing, and economical installation methods. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, solar energy was responsible for 50 percent of all newly added electricity capacity on the U.S. grid in 2012. Today, the solar power in the U.S. exceeds 8,500 megawatts. That is enough energy to power more than 1.3 million homes.

Thomas Edison envisioned a day when the world would be fueled by the sun. I do believe he was on to something.

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Tracy Voacolo is the president of Micronesia Renewable Energy. She has more than 20 years of experience in the renewable energy industry. Tracy can be contacted at info[at]micronesiarenewableenergy.com.

For more information about Micronesia Renewable Energy, visit http://micronesiarenewableenergy.com/. 

The natural evolution of energy (Part II) - www.micronesiarenewableenergy.com

EARLY man relied heavily on the natural energy. As the circle of life continues, we are now looking back to the Earth’s renewable resources to provide us with the energy that we need.

The United States still heavily depends on fossil fuels, most of which is imported from overseas. In 2011, the United States imported $420 billion of oil – making it the largest oil importer. Many factors indicate that fossil fuels now are insufficient for the world’s needs, necessitating the discovery of new sources of energy. Rising oil prices, foreign wars, instability of the nation, and terrorist attacks have also caused a demand for alternate sources of energy.

To modify the energy supply challenges mentioned above, the U.S. is actively pushing for advances in energy technology. The U.S. is also encouraging the increased usage of sustainable energy generated from sources such as solar, wind, biomass, landfill gas, geothermal, solid waste, or hydroelectric generation.

In 2012, solar energy in the U.S. reached a capacity of half the added capacity of electricity to the country’s grid. This increase is partly due to the decreased cost of solar technology. These prices have dropped about 75 percent during the past four years.

Wind energy is captured by blowing large blades that spin, turning an internal shaft in a turbine that connects to the generator. The generator creates electricity. How much electricity depends on the size and scale of the turbine. Last year’s total combined investment between solar and wind was more than $280 billion.

Geothermal energy is produced from heat within the earth. There are three primary types of geothermal systems: dry steam, flash, and binary.
*Dry steam takes steam out of cracks in the ground and uses it to directly drive a turbine.
*Flash pulls deep, high-pressure hot water into cooler, low-pressure water creating steam that is used to drive the turbine.
*Binary uses hot water that is passed by a second fluid with a lower boiling point than water, causing the second fluid to vaporize driving the turbine.
Biomass involves fuel, heat or electricity being produced from organic matter such as plants, waste and residues that can be found in nature, landfill gases, urban waste, and wastewater treatment. Biomass comes in various forms and may be heated directly, mixed with fossil fuels, or changed into liquid fuels.

The decomposition of organic waste creates a gas source that is made up of half methane and half carbon dioxide and a small amount of non-methane organic compounds. This methane is collected and burned to generate thermal steam that drives the turbines and produces electricity. This technology is best used at landfills.

Hydropower uses the current of a river to move a waterwheel or flow through dams. Ocean energy uses the movement of the ocean to create mechanical energy to generate power. Mechanical energy can be derived from waves, tides, and currents. This energy can be captured and converted into electricity.

From the discovery of coal to the implementation of solar panels, inventors have led the energy industry to where it is today. Certain trends in energy will continue in the future, as we are more aware of our limits of fossil fuels. Costs for renewable energy are falling, methods of integrating renewable energy into existing structures are improving, and new technologies are emerging. Finding a compromise between our planet’s capabilities and our energy demand will be the key to long-term solutions. With the right education, technology and government policies in place, the world is moving closer to optimizing our renewable energy future.

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Tracy Voacolo is the president of Micronesia Renewable Energy. She has more than 20 years of experience in the renewable energy industry. Tracy can be contacted at info[at]micronesiarenewableenergy.com.

For more information about Micronesia Renewable Energy, visit http://micronesiarenewableenergy.com/.