Loyd_Dencentralization of Power Generation

Times have changed, and if we do not diversify our energy sources today, we are all heading down the road of infinite environmental troubles and consequences. The importance of energy security and energy stability is the nation’s top priority in order to promote economic growth and remain in accordance with current and future environmental policies. Decentralization of power generation will lead to considerable effects on the environment, economy, efficiency, security, and reliability of the current network. First, a decentralized energy system will expand energy sources with new renewable energy companies, expanding the field of renewable energy and thereby reducing the environmental impacts such as CO2 emissions. Second, a DE system will increase competition as it will be more so based on a free market system with limited regulation. The greater number of players in the field of embedded generation will encourage firms to operate in the most cost-effective, efficient manner as possible. In essence, the companies want to offer energy at lower costs than competitors to become successful. Therefore, companies will create or adapt new technologies that increase the efficiency and profitability of the firm. Such techniques that may be considered could be more improved storage infrastructures for renewable energy plants to sell electricity during peak hours. Currently, a significant hurdle in the distribution system is that the supply must be generated as needed. Thus, when supply exceeds demand (as with the case of most renewable energy sources) the excess energy is sold at very low prices on the flooded market. Therefore, I believe that we can expect to see large advances within storage technologies such as improved batteries for PV (Photovoltaic) units, and hydro storage infrastructures that would store energy more efficiently to sell during peak hours. In addition to storage technologies, there will be a higher demand for smart infrastructures such as smart meters and smart grids to manage grid stability. These types of technologies would become invaluable in a decentralized energy system for it would allow real-time monitoring and communication between the producers and the consumers.
Implementation of a DE system would spawn job growth and create numerous market possibilities within the energy and technical sector. I can imagine myself creating a business that would either focus on improving a plants efficiency by improved technology that is original to the market or becoming a consulting business to educate future investors and companies. The renewable energy market is growing at a remarkable pace and with the help from renewable energy payments and rebates, it is only expected to increase. Thus, two years from now, equipment used today may be outdated and not as efficient. Therefore, I believe that there is a niche in the market to keep firms updated and educated in the technological advancements. Perhaps, I could create a sale representing company that conducts business audits as well to ensure that they are operating at an optimum level. If and only if renewable energy technology continues to improve, I could present companies with new more efficient technologies. I also could offer discount rates if they would sell me the old equipment. Then, I could sell this used equipment to start-up businesses or residential units that are searching for less expensive systems. Another niche would be to start a consulting company to help new businesses learn the “ropes” of the decentralized control system to diminish the chance for failure and increase the potential for success. Overall, there are significant opportunities in starting a business catered to the decentralization of power generation; but I feel that these activities would lead to great success for the fact that they both focus outside the industrial market and power plants. The companies can be integrated on a full scale both commercially and residentially increasing the likelihood of expansion.

Low carbon Green Road map for Asia and Pacific. “Decentralized Energy Systems” UNESCAP. Nd. Mozilla Firefox. November 05 2014. Found here: http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/14.%20FS-Decentralized-energy-system.pdf

Klitgaard, Thomas. Reddy, Rekha. “Lowering Electric Prices through Deregulation”. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. December 2000. Mozilla Firefox. November 5 2014. Found here: http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci6-14.pdf

Renewables vs. Nuclear

There are many reasons why renewable energy technologies do not receive as much financing and government support as nuclear energy. A major shortcoming of most renewable energy technologies is intermittency and a dependence upon the weather. Solar and wind projects develop models that predict how much energy they will produce over their useful life, but these models are based on weather forecasts and historical data that may not always be reliable. There are also often more energy-producing components in a typical renewable energy installation, like many solar panels or wind turbines, and if one or more of these components is not producing as it should, it can have a significant impact on the overall energy produced. This variability makes renewable energy a less appealing prospect for financing, which relies on the energy produced to repay the loan. Nuclear energy facilities are large, centralized producers that experience far less unanticipated variability in energy output. Nuclear facilities also have a longer operating history with more favourable performance than most renewable energy technologies, which makes the technology more mature and a safer investment.

In terms of government policy, renewable energy installations are often more expensive per unit of energy produced than nuclear facilities, and require larger land areas than nuclear. There is also a political component to the support of nuclear energy over renewables – many of the owners and developers of nuclear facilities are wealthy energy companies and utilities, which can provide more campaign donation contributions than more grassroots-oriented renewable energy companies.

Globally, there are a great deal of opportunities to apply renewable technologies in less developed areas where there is limited access to a national electric grid. The distributed nature of renewable technologies like solar power, geothermal, and biodigestor systems are ideally suited to rural villages in places like India and Africa. Island nations can also make great use of renewable technologies because their imported fuels costs are so expensive, that renewable technologies become cost competitive much more easily.

 

Lesson 2: Searching For Niche- Loyd

The technological advancements in renewable energies have made alternate energy solutions more feasible and affordable than ever before; nonetheless, there still remains to be one obstacle hindering the expansion which is the amount of support from the government and financial institutions. Nuclear energy, on the hand, has been considerably backed from political and financial institutions despite the potential environmental damages and accidents. There seems to be strong evidence why nuclear energy is well supported by the financial community and the government compared to the potentials that remain in the renewable industry. First and foremost, nuclear energy is highly efficient by producing large amounts of energy over a short time period with a small amount of uranium. Renewable energy, on the other hand, must harvest the energy over extended periods of time to meet small energy demands. Next, nuclear energy is very dependable for there are no interruptions in the power supply as with other renewable resources such as solar or wind. It is also becoming more reputable due to the stringent environmental regulations and technological advances. Furthermore, nuclear plants appear to favor clean energy policies as they produce little to no greenhouse gases. Consequently, politicians and financial organizations can invest securely in nuclear energy. In my opinion, renewable energy projects are failing to receive the same degree of support because they are rather high risk ventures. Indeed, nuclear energy has proven to have catastrophic failures; however, it is an established technology that is proven to be financially successful. The politicians get commended by carrying out the “clean energy” policies, while the financial institutions that invested in an established industry count their rates of return. Overall, it seems that nuclear energy has a higher success rate than most renewable energy projects at the present time. The technology and power can be continuously relied upon and the financial investments are proven to be cost-effective compared to some renewable energy projects.  From an economic standpoint, it does not surprise me that the government and the financial community wants more bang for their buck.

The niche opportunities that I see for global development of renewable resources include expanding renewable energy education, solar energy, and biofuels in developing countries. The report on renewable energy in Mali was very inspirational, for I can access potential weaknesses and recognize how the public’s commitment reflects the success of operations. The public’s response to renewable energy was surprising for the lack of information lead them to mistrust and reject sustainable development. I also had the opportunity to see how renewable resources effect the local economy in a positive and negative perspective. The people need alternate income opportunities prior to making the transition to renewable resources in order to reduce poverty. Perhaps, educating the residents about renewable energies and creating renewable jobs would be an alternative. Unmistakably, the people will not support an industry that will replace his/her job (such as the firewood or kerosene business).  Generally, there is a great deal of factors that must be overcame; however, there remains a strong incentive to invest sustainable in developing countries.

Click to access NUC3.pdf

Click to access RE%20Mali%20exec%20summary%20final.pdf

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/Advantages_NuclearEnergy.php

 

 

 

Searching for the Entrepreneurial Niche – MSWALE

I believe this has to do with nuclear being a complex subject, in many ways nuclear is talked about more often due to the health and safety concerns people have with them. Because of this I believe this renewable resource gets more public attention but nonetheless it does not change the fact that this is a renewable energy with little to no pollution and is very efficient. Which is why I think it has more support from the financial community and the government. They believe nuclear is the way to go to provide environmentally friendly, greener energy and know there are risks involved with this type of energy so they still implement stricter regulations for nuclear plants to follow. This isn’t really the case with solar, geothermal, or hydro so often they are less talked about. Solar for example has improved over the years and has gained some attention in recent years but still holds a small share of producing electricity. I believe solar has not been able to gain much support for a couple of reasons, the first being the lifespan of them. The lifespan is expected to be around 30-40 years, however the efficiency of the solar panel goes down a certain percentage each year, so even though their total life is 30-40 years they may be 90% efficient in the first couple years but closer to 30 years may only be 30-40% efficient. This also depends on what type of material the solar panel is made of for example, monocrystalline will be more efficient and last longer than a thin-film solar panel. The second reason is the price of solar panels, they are still fairly expensive to get and install. However, there is government and state incentives for getting solar panels on residential and commercial building and some areas can even get paid by utility companies for have a renewable energy. Overall, I believe nuclear gets more attention than other renewable resources because of how much they can generate, nuclear plants can take over the production of a coal or natural gas plant and be more efficient and cleaner. When we talk about solar or geothermal, often times they are referred to for residential use (single system for one home, versus nuclear can cover 100’s of homes).

Getting to Know Liston Jackson

Hello class,

My name is Liston and like many of you, I’m an ESP student. This will be my sixth semester at World Campus, and while I still have about a year to go, I’ve been steadily making progress. I am originally from northern Virginia (the D.C. suburbs) and I’m currently serving active duty U.S. Coast Guard and stationed in Chicago. I am still in the process of figuring out what career I will pursue. As I’ve taken courses in the ESP program I know I want to work in the renewable energy field. I am just not sure exactly what form that will take. Will it be working on energy policy, energy finance, sales, consulting, etc? I hope this course will help me better understand sustainability entrepreneurship and the types of careers available.

I have never started a business. In fact, aside from a few summer jobs in high school, most of my adult working life has been spent in the military and not in private business. I have been trying to learn more about solar energy and ways to make it more practical and profitable to increase solar energy use. Companies like SolarCity, which pays all upfront installation costs, are coming up with unique ways to increase their business and I’d like to learn more about how they are accomplishing it.

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Mark Moore Introduction

My name is Mark Moore and I currently live in Lake Ariel, Pa. I started my secondary education in 1990 when I attended Temple University. I majored in biology and unfortunately in my junior year I lacked the financial support to finish so had to withdraw. I then moved to NYC (East Harlem) where I worked at a mid-town restaurant, Sparks Steakhouse for 14 years. I was earning a very good living with free health care so my education was not a priority at that age of my life. In 2009, my wife and I moved permanently to Lake Ariel and I quickly realized how important education is in obtaining a ‘real career’.

I have always been interested in business and environmental issues. I would like to start a business in the renewable energy sector providing residential and commercial structures a clean source of energy. I plan on gaining experience in the energy/utility sector next summer working for Consolidated Edison in their development program(renewable/sustainability department). I have no prior experience in starting a business or even working in the energy sector, so my eyes and ears are wide open. I expect to learn a great deal in this course to help me better understand what is needed to start a business. I plan on working for ConEd for a few years to also gain knowledge in the energy sector. I hope to start my own company in 10 years based on all the knowledge and experience I will gain. I also hope to gain valuable knowledge from fellow classmates who already work in the energy field and from those who have started their own business’s.

I look forward to working with everyone this semester!

Getting to know Mike Reichart

Hello everyone! My name is Frank Reichart, although I do go my Michael. I cannot believe it, but I am actually a Junior majoring is ESP. I live and grew up in Cambridge Springs Pennsylvania. Cambridge Springs is a small town, about an hour South of Lake Erie and PSU Behrend. I actually attended Behrend for 3 semesters, and it was (still is) a fantastic campus. As far as a career that I am thinking of pursuing, I typically do not even know how to respond. I have grown up doing residential improvements, so a part of me wants help homeowners be sure that they have proper insulation, efficient lighting and up to date appliances. Then I actually see a wind turbine, and I feel that I should be involved with renewable energy. So I honestly do not know exactly what specific field I might join, and I am open to suggestions. The biggest thing I am thinking about and leaning towards is spending time with the Peace Corps upon graduation. I could learn so much, and right now I have nothing holding me back. My main interest in this course is Energy Auditing on a Residential and Commercial Scale. There are many homeowners who ask for my opinion of efficiency energy used in their homes, so it will nice to have proper training.

I personally have not legally started a business, but it is trend that runs in my family. Therefore I have learned that anyone who has started a business deserves massive credit. I have helped to start, resolve daily issues, and even close companies that my family owns, so I am very excited so learn more about entrepreneurship. I feel that the entertainment business will have a huge impact on renewable energy. Television and movies which show people using renewable energy successfully will make people more aware of the industry we have. Of course this might not be the case for the writers of this blog, but I feel that if Family Guy or (name a popular film) were to have some solid episodes focusing on renewable energy, that there might at least be a spike of potential sales. I am sure everyone will have a different answer to the last question though, and I am looking forward to reading them.

Mike Reichart

Marielle Martin – Introduction

My name is Marielle Martin. I am a senior in the Energy and Sustainability Policy program. For all 22 years of my life, home has been in the Hershey, PA area. My goals, in terms of a career in sustainability, have to do with minimalism and living small. I plan to earn a master’s degree in environmental engineering after graduation, specifically to start a company building micro/tiny homes and other sustainable projects. In fact, I’m working on blueprints and planning for a pilot project home of my own right now. I hope to have my own ‘tiny house’, in under 150 square feet, completed by the time I graduate in a year and a half. This course should be right up my alley based on these interests. I hope this class will serve as a ‘practice run’ for my future business and personal goals.

I have never started a business myself. My parents are self-employed though, running a specialty carpentry business. I have worked on projects with my father and seen a lot that goes into the paperwork and management side that my mother handles. I believe that businesses involved in off-grid, minimalist style home construction, as I plan to get involved in, are very important to advancing renewable energy. These businesses must be well versed in a wide variety of renewable options in order to cater to client needs, climate conditions, and local regulations. Using diverse renewable energy supplies to power both on and off-grid homes will provide people with a feeling of confidence and independence that will help renewable energy gain popularity and prestige as an industry. Additionally, as population increases, open space becomes more limited, and resources run low, smaller more efficient and self-sufficient homes and lifestyles will become increasingly necessary. This transition will create business for ‘tiny house’ construction and the renewable energy industry.