Energy for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide to Conventional and Alternative Sources PDF
Preview Energy for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide to Conventional and Alternative Sources
Energy for the 21st Century Energy for the 21st Century A Comprehensive Guide to Conventional and Alternative Sources Second Edition Roy L. Nersesian M .E.Sharpe Armonk, New York London, England To friends of the family— Taffy, Daisy, Rue, Heather, Ginger, Quincy, Marco, and Maya Copyright © 2010 by M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher, M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, New York 10504. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nersesian, Roy L. Energy for the 21st century : a comprehensive guide to conventional and alternative sources / Roy L. Nersesian.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7656-2412-3 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Power resources. 2. Energy policy. I. Title. HD9502.A2N465 2010 333.79—dc22 2009037417 Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z 39.48-1984. ~ CW (c) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS List of Tables and Figures xi Preface xiii 1 Are We on Easter Island? 3 Easter Island 3 The Mathematics of Extinction 4 Progress Is Our Most Important Product 6 The Unremitting Rise in Population 6 The Case of Double Exponential Growth 9 A Lesson in Fish 11 From Hunting to Farming 13 Energy Depletion 14 Notes 14 2 Electricity and the Utility Industry 15 It Takes Energy to Make Energy 15 Energy for Electricity Generation 17 Enhancing Efficiency in Electricity Generation 19 Early History of Electricity 20 Generating Electricity 21 Generating Electricity Commercially 22 System Operation 22 Methods of Rate Regulation 24 Operating Models in an Era of Deregulation/Liberalization 27 Smart Meters/Smart Grids 32 Utility Pools 33 When Demand Exceeds Supply 36 The Real Lesson of California 41 Notes 42 3 Biomass 43 Yesterday’s Fuel 43 Today’s Fuel 44 China 45 India 45 v vi CONTENTS Indonesia 46 Brazil 46 Biomass for Electricity Generation 46 Biogas 49 Biofuels 53 Brazil—The Great Leap Forward for Biofuels 58 The Great Sugar–Corn Debate 67 The United States is Following Brazil’s Footsteps in a More Complex Way 69 Cellulosic Ethanol 74 Biodiesel 76 Biodiesel Feedstocks 80 Biofuel Risks 88 Notes 91 4 Coal 92 The First Energy Crisis 92 The Origin and History of Coal 93 Coal and the Industrial Revolution 97 Coal and Railroads 99 Coal and Steel 100 Rise and Fall of King Coal 102 Types of Coal 104 Coal Mining 105 Coal in the Twenty-first Century 108 Role of Coal Among the Major Consumers 113 Case Against Coal 116 Clean-Coal Technologies 116 Eliminating Coal Not So Easy 120 Notes 121 5 The Story of Big Oil 123 History of Lighting 123 History of Oil 124 Enter John D. Rockefeller 127 Enter Marcus Samuel 133 Spindletop 141 Spindletop and Shell 144 Emergence of Oil as a Strategically Vital Commodity 148 Era of the Seven Sisters 149 Opening Up the Middle East 150 Early Attempts at Oil Price Controls 153 Enter Saudi Arabia and Kuwait 155 Exit the Key Players 156 Shareholders and Stakeholders 156 Development of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Fields 157 Shoes Begin to Fall 158 Next Shoe to Fall 158 CONTENTS vii Birth of OPEC 160 1973 Oil Crisis 161 First Time of High Oil Prices 166 End of High Oil Prices 168 Era of Moderate Oil Prices 169 Second Time of High Oil Prices 170 It’s Not Oil Prices Anymore, It’s Oil Security 171 Oil and Diplomacy 172 Oil and Environmentalists 173 Role of Oil Companies After the Oil Crisis 174 A Changing World 175 Are Oil Companies’ Margins All That Great? 175 Future Role of Oil Companies 176 Notes 178 6 Oil 180 The Earth as an Oil Manufacturer 180 Formation of Oil 182 Oil Exploration and Production 184 Drilling Rights 186 Drilling Equipment 187 Directional Drilling 189 Offshore Drilling Rigs 191 Evaluating a Well 195 Completing a Well 196 Moving the Oil to the Well 198 Maintaining Reservoir Pressure 198 Getting the Oil to a Refinery 199 Tankers and Barges 200 Oil Spills 202 Refining 203 Oil Reserves 207 Are We on a Slippery Slope? 208 Was 2004 a Watershed Year? 212 Synthetic Crude 215 Challenge of Oil: The Automobile 218 Vehicles That Use Alternative Fuels 220 Enhancing Engine Efficiency 222 Internalizing an Externality 223 Is This Politically Acceptable? 226 Notes 228 7 Natural Gas 229 Background 229 Early History of Coal Gas 231 History of Natural Gas 232 The Battle Over Lighting 234 viii CONTENTS Long-Distance Transmission 235 Federal Regulation 237 The War Years 239 Opening Up the Northeast 239 Last Stop Before Total Regulation 240 Unraveling Natural Gas Regulation 241 The Road to Deregulation 243 From Source to Consumer 244 Natural Gas as a Fuel 248 The European Version of Deregulation 251 LPG: Prelude to LNG 252 Liquefied Natural Gas 256 Organizing and Financing the LNG Supply Chain 259 LNG Carriers 262 LNG Pricing 264 The Future of LNG 266 Gas to Liquids (GTL) Technology 269 Nonconventional Gas 270 Methane from Coal 271 Methane from Tight Shale 271 Methane from Tight Sands 272 Methane Hydrates 272 Notes 273 8 Nuclear and Hydropower 274 Background 274 Physics of a Nuclear Reactor 276 Nuclear Incidents and Accidents 277 Three Mile Island Incident 277 Chernobyl 278 Weapons Proliferation 280 Disposal of Spent Fuel 280 Commercial Reactors 281 European Pressurized (Evolutionary Power) Reactor 284 Pebble Bed Reactor 285 Fusion Power 288 Future of Nuclear Power 289 Hydropower 290 The Saga of the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams 293 Aswan High Dam 297 Hydropower: Today and Tomorrow 298 Notes 302 9 Sustainable Energy 304 The Meaning of Sustainability 304 Wind Energy 309 Historical Development 310 CONTENTS ix Government Involvement in Developing Wind Turbines 312 From Tiny Acorns to Mighty Oaks 314 Objections to Wind Power 319 Evaluating a Potential Site 321 Financial Incentives 321 Small Can Be Beautiful 323 Solar Energy 323 Historical Development 324 Thermal Solar Energy 325 Photovoltaic Energy 327 Economics of Solar Power 332 Geothermal Energy 334 Ocean Energy 336 Notes 339 10 Looking Toward the Future 341 The Hydrogen Economy 341 Hydrogen Stores Electricity 344 Tomorrow’s World of Hydrogen 347 Climate 348 Climate Changes During Recorded History 351 Where Is Climate Headed? 352 Carbon Dioxide Conundrum 354 Projecting the Future 358 Environment 359 U.S. Clean Air Acts 361 Montreal Protocol 367 Kyoto Protocol 367 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 372 Efficiency and Conservation 373 Energy Star Program 373 Light-Emitting Diodes and Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs 374 U.S. Green Building Council/LEED 375 CAFE Standards 375 Notes 377 11 An Energy Strategy 379 We Need to Identify the Relevant Goal 379 Motor Vehicle Fuels 379 Biofuels as a Substitute for Gasoline 381 Electricity as a Substitute for Gasoline 383 The Problem Is the Magnitude of the Problem 385 Are Energy Companies Endangered from Such a Transformation? 386 There Is Always an Alternative 386 Index 389 About the Author 401
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