sources of energy renewable and inexhaustible. sources of energy learning standard engr-ep-1....

Sources of Energy

Renewable and Inexhaustible

Sources of Energy Learning Standard

ENGR-EP-1. Students will utilize the ideas of energy, work, power, and force to explain how systems convert, control, transmit, and/or store energy and power

Sources of Energy Concepts

Identify the basic sources of renewable energy and inexhaustible energy

Describe at least there different methods of producing power from renewable energy resources

Provide at least six examples of different methods of producing power from inexhaustible energy resources

Summarize several factors that influence the development of an energy resource

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of various conventional and alternative energy resources

Sources of Energy Concepts

Discuss the environmental consequences most closely associated with the use of various conventional and alternative energy resources

Sources of Energy Vocabulary

Anaerobic DigestionBarrageBioconversionBiomassCreosoteElectrolysisEthanolFermentationFish LiftGasoholGeothermal EnergyHeat PumpHydroelectric EnergyHydrogenHydrogen Sulfide Gas

MagmaMantleMethane DigesterMethanolMethyl AlcoholNacelleOvershot WaterwheelPenstockPyrolysisTidal FenceUndershot WaterwheelWaste-to-Energy PlantWind TurbineWind Velocity Profile

Sources of Energy Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable energy resources are those energy sources that can be replaced as needed on a relatively short-term

Management of renewable energy sources is critical to their effective use

There are seven renewable energy resources:

Animals Food Wood Alcohol Ethanol Methanol Bioconversion


Animals were used as a main source of energy for most of the work in this country into the 1900s. They are still used to produce power for farming in many third world nations and in certain cultures within the U.S.


Food is another source of energy. Physical labor, exercise, and recreation all require energy. Energy from food also keeps our bodies warm


Wood is very old source of energy. It has been used as an energy source since prehistoric times, and it continues to be used as an energy source today. The denser the wood, like oak and hickory, tend to yield a greater amount of energy per volume than most wood species


Alcohol is a liquid hydrocarbon that may be used as fuel. It is made from different crops, such as corn, sugar beets, and sugar cane. It can be use to power internal combustion engines, including those in automobiles. In some countries, such as Brazil, automobiles operate with 100% alcohol fuel


Ethanol is produced from biomass by the conversion process known as fermentation, similar to the way alcohol is made. An ethanol plant is a plant where the crops are distilled and processed into alcohol for use as fuel. Mainly in the U.S., this is corn and cornstalks


Methanol is the cleanest burning alcohol. It is also known as methyl alcohol. Methanol can be made from nonrenewable resources such as coal, but it can also be made from renewable resources such as wood, plants, and manure. Mainly, methanol is used as fuel to power vehicles


Bioconversion is the process of converting societal waste products into energy. Biomass is the waste product was consists of organic material. This biomass can be converted in to methanol or ethanol using a anaerobic digester which uses microorganisms to turn the biomass into usable energy

Sources of Energy Inexhaustible Energy Resources

Inexhaustible energy resources are those sources of energy that will never run out. All inexhaustible energy resources can be traced back to solar energy. It is solar energy that creates temperature differentials that ultimately creates tides and wind

There are six examples of inexhaustible energy resources

Hydroelectric Energy Tidal Energy Geothermal Energy Wind Energy Hydrogen Ocean Thermal Conversion Energy


Hydroelectric energy, waterwheel, was a major source of mechanical power for factories in colonial America. Water tapped from a nearby river is diverted into a sluiceway, which is a channel that carries the water to a waterwheel. The force of the water spins the wheel, creating mechanical energy. This mechanical energy was often transferred to into the factory by a shaft attached to the waterwheel. From there it was connected to machinery, often by a leather belt. This allowed many machines, such as saws, mills, and lathes, to be powered.

There are two primary types of waterwheels:

Overshot waterwheel Undershot waterwheel


Hydroelectricity cannot be considered a true alternative form of energy, here in the U.S., because it produces a significant amount of energy. Dams are used to trap and store water. A gate lets the water down a tunnel called a penstock. When the gate is opened the water rushed down the penstock to a water turbine at the end of the penstock. The turbine turns as the rushes past and spins a generator. The mechanical energy that spins the generator is converted into electricity


Hydroelectricity produces no fossil fuel pollutants, and the facilities are fairly quiet and perhaps less obtrusive than other generating plants. Hydroelectric power plants, however, are polluting. They produce a different form of pollution by having the potential to alter the ecology of rivers


Tidal energy is another form of hydroelectric energy that offers tremendous generating potential, if it can be harnessed. The gravitational pull of the moon and the rotation of the Earth cause the changing tides. Significant tide changes occur about twice daily. There are only a few places in the U.S. where the tide change is so significant that it can be used to generate power.


The concept of a tidal power plant is simple. Make use of the flowing tide to spin a generator in one direction during high tide, and then spin the generator in the opposite direction during low tide. A natural bay that can be sealed by a permanent or floating dam, called a barrage, is the most ideal way of using tidal power


There is only one major environmental concern associated with tidal energy. It has to do with a possible ecological disturbance. The use of dams or barrages may create disturbances to the surrounding ecological environment


Geothermal energy is heat from the Earth. Geo means “Earth,” and thermal relates to heat. The heat from the Earth’s core continuously flows outward. This heats the mantle and, in turn, heats the crust. Water trapped underground becomes steam when it comes in contact with this heat which can be used to turn turbines to create energy. Further development of geothermal energy for electrical generation is limited to locations where the heated steam is close enough to the Earth’s surface in order to make it economically recoverable


Heat pump are another application for the use of geothermal energy. They are used extensively for residential heating and cooling. The geothermal heat pump is based on the fact that ground temperature remains an approximate 55°F. A geothermal heat pump system includes pipes buried in the shallow ground and located near a home. Water flows through the pipes and conducts heat from the ground for transfer into the home. If the water enters the home at 55°F and that heat can be captured, less conventional energy is need to heat the home


Geothermal energy plants have raised the ire of a number of environmental groups that regard them as unsightly, smelly, and extremely noisy. The hydrogen sulfide gases within the steam smells like rotten eggs, and the minerals commonly found in steam with little moisture have the capability of poisoning lakes and streams. The moisture from wet steam plants tends to be heavily laden with salt, which can create maintenance problems


Today, the windmill is back in use, mainly to generate electricity. A way to harness this free energy produced by the wind is by a wind turbine. A wind turbine has two different designs. In both designs, the wind drives a propeller, or turbine, connected to a generator. The wind makes the turbine turn the generator


Regardless of the design, all wind generators work essentially the same way. They all have some type of blades that capture the force of the wind. Most modern wind generators are of a two- or three- blade design, this is because research has shown that multiple blades actually capture less wind that the two- or three- blade design. The wind energy is converted to mechanical energy by the blades and it is transferred to a gearbox that steps up the rpm’s of the mechanical power and then transfers the power to spin a generator which produces electricity


One obvious concern about increased wind generating capacity would be the amount of land that large wind farms would occupy. A recent study suggests that wind farms would need to occupy about 16,000 sq miles to produce 20% of the electrical demand for the U.S.


To some, hydrogen is considered the ultimate energy source. This is because hydrogen is found in water. It is also the most common element in the galaxy and the universe. Therefore, hydrogen is considered inexhaustible. The problem is that hydrogen rarely exists in its pure form. Usually it is bonded in a compound.


Breaking hydrogen bonds can be done in several ways, all require energy in order to obtain free hydrogen atoms. Heating can break the bonds through the process of pyrolysis. Also, the use of electricity can break the bonds through the process of electrolysis.


The by-product of inefficient hydrogen combustion is water. But the energy needed to produce an effiencent amount of hydrogen gas must come from some type of burning (fossil) fuel. Because of this, large amounts of carbon dioxide could be produced in the process of hydrogen gas, which is the biggest issue to this technology


There are vast differences in the temperature of the oceans at different depths. Water close to the surface of the oceans tend to be much warmer that the water near the bottom. Because of this temperature differential, the transference of energy between warm water and cold water can be harnessed and used to generate energy. OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) uses a refrigerant, usually ammonia, that vaporizes at a temperature les than the surface of the water temperature. The refrigerant will condense at a colder temperature. This refrigerant is locked into a closed system with a turbine. As the refrigerant expands into a gas it turns the turbine, it then is channeled through the colder water, pumped from the ocean bottom, and condensed into a liquid. The process then start again. This process needs a temperature differential of 40.0°F


There are no greenhouse pollutants from OTEC, but there are only a certain number of areas (equatorial oceans) where the correct temperature differential can be found. One of the main areas of study in the U.S. is the Hawaiian Islands where the warmer water and colder water can be found in relatively close proximity


Hawaiian Electric Company

sources of energy renewable and inexhaustible. sources of energy learning standard engr-ep-1....

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sources of energy concepts

ideas of energy

inexhaustible energy

alternative energy resources

old source of energy

main source of energy

andor store energy

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