INTRODUCTION
Modern energy development in Russia is characterized by an increase in the cost of energy production. The greatest increase in energy costs is observed in remote areas of Siberia and the Russian Far East, Kamchatka, and the Kuril Islands, where decentralized power supply systems based on diesel power plants running on imported fuel are mainly used. The total cost of electricity in these areas often exceeds the world price level and reaches 0.25 US dollars or more per 1 kWh.
World experience shows that a number of countries and regions today are successfully solving energy supply problems based on the development of renewable energy. To intensify the practical use of renewable energy resources in these countries, various benefits are legally established for producers of “green” energy. However, the decisive success of renewable energy is ultimately determined by its efficiency in comparison with other more traditional fuel power plants today. The development of the technical and legislative framework for renewable energy and the stable trends in the growth of the cost of fuel and energy resources already today determine the technical and economic advantages of power plants using renewable energy resources. It is obvious that in the future these benefits will increase, expanding the areas of application of renewable energy and increasing its contribution to the global energy balance.
CLASSIFICATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES (RES)
Renewable energy sources (RES) are energy resources of constantly existing natural processes on the planet, as well as energy resources of waste products of biocenoses of plant and animal origin. A characteristic feature of renewable energy sources is their inexhaustibility, or the ability to restore their potential within a short time- within the lifetime of one generation of people.
The UN General Assembly, in accordance with resolution 33/148 (1978), introduced the concept of “new and renewable energy sources”, which includes the following forms of energy: solar, geothermal, wind, sea wave energy, ocean tidal energy, wood biomass energy, charcoal , peat, draft animals, shale, tar sands, hydropower.
Most often, renewable energy sources include the energy of solar radiation, wind, water flows, biomass, thermal energy of the upper layers earth's crust and the ocean.
RES can be classified by type of energy:
Mechanical energy (wind energy and water flows);
Thermal and radiant energy (energy of solar radiation and heat of the Earth);
Chemical energy (energy contained in biomass).
If we use the concept of energy quality - efficiency, which determines the proportion of source energy that can be converted into mechanical work, then RES can be classified as follows: renewable sources of mechanical energy are characterized by high quality and are used mainly for the production of electricity. Thus, the quality of hydropower is characterized by a value of 0.6...0.7; wind - 0.3…0.4. The quality of thermal and radiant RES does not exceed 0.3...0.35. The quality indicator of solar radiation used for photoelectric conversion is even lower - 0.15...0.3. The energy quality of biofuels is also relatively low and generally does not exceed 0.3.
The feasibility and scale of using renewable energy sources are determined primarily by their economic efficiency and competitiveness with traditional energy technologies. The main advantages of RES compared to energy sources using fossil fuels are the practical inexhaustibility of resources, the widespread distribution of many of them, the absence of fuel costs and emissions of harmful substances into the environment. However, they tend to be more capital intensive, and their share of total energy production is still small (with the exception of hydroelectric power plants). According to most forecasts, this share will remain moderate in the coming years. At the same time, in many countries around the world there is growing interest in the development and implementation of non-traditional and renewable energy sources. This is due to several reasons.
Firstly, RES, inferior to traditional energy sources in large-scale energy production, are already, under certain conditions, effective in small autonomous energy systems, being more economical (compared to energy sources using expensive imported organic fuel) and environmentally friendly.
Secondly, the use of even more expensive RES compared to traditional energy sources may turn out to be advisable based on other, non-economic (environmental or social) criteria. In particular, the use of renewable energy sources in small autonomous energy systems or for individual consumers can significantly improve the quality of life of the population.
Thirdly, in the longer term, the role of renewable energy sources may increase significantly on a global scale. A number of countries and international organizations are conducting research into the long-term prospects for energy development in the world and its regions. Interest in this problem is due to the decisive role of energy in ensuring economic growth, its significant and ever-increasing negative impact on the environment, as well as limited reserves of fuel and energy resources. In this regard, a radical restructuring of the energy structure with a transition to the use of environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources is inevitable in the future. The world community has recognized the need for a transition to sustainable development, which involves the search for a strategy that ensures, on the one hand, economic growth and an increase in the living standards of people, especially in developing countries, and, on the other hand, a reduction in the negative impact of human activities on the environment to a safe limit that allows one to avoid long term catastrophic consequences. In the transition to sustainable development important role will belong to new energy technologies and energy sources, including renewable energy sources.
The main disadvantages limiting the use of renewable energy sources include relatively low energy density and extreme variability. The low specific power of the energy flow leads to an increase in the weight and size of power plants, and the variability of the primary energy resource, up to periods of its complete absence, necessitates the need for energy storage devices or backup energy sources. As a result, the cost of produced energy is high even in the absence of a fuel component in the total energy price.
The contribution of non-traditional renewable energy sources to the global energy balance in the future is estimated from 1...2% to 10%, although today there are countries where the share of these sources exceeds half of the national energy balance. The share of renewable energy sources in the fuel and energy complex of different countries of the world is constantly increasing. This applies to both developed countries (USA, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, etc.) and, especially, developing ones. For example, in 2000, the share of renewable energy sources in electricity production was: Norway -99.7%, Iceland - 99.9%, New Zealand - 72%, Austria - 72.3%, Canada - 60.5%, Sweden - 57.1%, Switzerland - 57.2%, Finland -33.3%, Portugal - 30.3%. The last decade of the last century for the world as a whole was characterized by a steady increase in the share of renewable energy sources in the overall energy balance of most countries of the world. For example, Great Britain - from 2.1% to 2.7%; Germany - from 3.7% to 6.3%; France - from 13.3% to 14.6%; Italy - from 16.4% to 18.9%, etc.
In anticipation of serious environmental consequences in many developed countries an economic strategy has been developed that applies not only to energy, but also to other sectors of production and consumption of resources that can cause damage environment. This strategy provides for the leading role of the state in solving environmental problems. An example of stimulating the development of energy from renewable sources is the German “Law
on the priority of using renewable energy sources." The dramatic increase in the development of renewable energy resources at the end of the 20th century was achieved in different countries peace, especially initial stages their development, with the help of State programs to support this energy sector (Germany, Japan, USA, India, etc.)
solar biofuel wind power geothermal
Academic year
Lecture 20
Energy saving technologies and development of new energy sources
Conventionally, energy sources can be divided into two types: non-renewable And renewable. The first include gas, oil, coal, uranium, etc. The technology for obtaining and converting energy from these sources has been proven, but, as a rule, is not environmentally friendly, and many of them are being depleted.
Renewable Energy- these are sources that, on a human scale, are inexhaustible. The basic principle of using renewable energy is to extract it from natural resources - such as sunlight, wind, movement of water in rivers or seas, tides, biofuels and geothermal heat - which are renewable, i.e. are replenished naturally.
The prospects for the use of renewable energy sources are associated with their environmental friendliness, low operating costs and the expected fuel shortage in traditional energy.
Examples of using renewable energy.
1.Wind power is a rapidly growing industry. The power of a wind generator depends on the area swept by the generator blades. For example, the 3 MW turbines (V90) manufactured by the Danish company Vestas have a total height of 115 meters, a tower height of 70 meters and a blade diameter of 90 meters. Coastal zones are considered the most promising places for producing energy from wind. In the sea, at a distance of 10-12 km from the coast (and sometimes further), offshore wind power plants are built. Wind turbine towers are installed on foundations made of piles driven to a depth of up to 30 meters. The use of wind energy is growing at about 30 percent per year and is widely used in Europe and the United States.
2. On hydroelectric power stations(hydroelectric power station) uses the potential energy of water flow as an energy source, the primary source of which is the Sun, which evaporates water, which then falls at higher elevations in the form of precipitation and flows down, forming rivers. Hydroelectric power plants are usually built on rivers by constructing dams and reservoirs. It is also possible to use the kinetic energy of water flow at the so-called free-flow (damless) hydroelectric power plants.
Features of this energy source:
The cost of electricity at hydroelectric power plants is significantly lower than at all other types of power plants;
Hydroelectric generators can be turned on and off quite quickly depending on energy consumption;
Renewable energy source;
Significantly less impact on the air environment than other types of power plants;
Hydroelectric power plant construction is usually more capital intensive;
Often efficient hydroelectric power plants are located far from consumers;
Reservoirs often occupy large areas;
The leaders in hydropower production per person are Norway, Iceland and Canada. The most active hydraulic construction is carried out by China, for which hydropower is the main potential source of energy; up to half of the world's small hydroelectric power plants are located in this country.
3.Solar energy- a direction of non-traditional energy based on the direct use of solar radiation to obtain energy in any form. Solar energy uses inexhaustible source energy and is environmentally friendly, that is, it does not produce harmful waste.
Methods for generating electricity and heat from solar radiation:
Generating electricity using photocells;
Converting solar energy into electricity using heat engines: steam engines(piston or turbine) using water steam, carbon dioxide, propane-butane, freons;
Solar thermal energy - heating a surface that absorbs solar rays, and the subsequent distribution and use of heat (focusing solar radiation on a vessel with water for subsequent use of the heated water in heating or in steam electric generators);
Hot air power plants (conversion of solar energy into energy air flow, sent to the turbogenerator);
Solar balloon power plants (generation of water vapor inside the balloon balloon due to heating by solar radiation of the balloon surface covered with a selective-absorbing coating), the advantage is that the steam reserve in the balloon is sufficient to operate the power plant at night and in inclement weather.
Advantages of solar energy:
Public accessibility and inexhaustibility of the source;
Theoretically, completely safe for the environment, although there is a possibility that widespread adoption of solar energy may change the albedo (reflectivity characteristic) earth's surface and lead to climate change.
Disadvantages of solar energy:
Dependence on weather and time of day;
As a consequence, the need for energy accumulation;
High cost of construction;
The need to periodically clean the reflective surface from dust;
Heating the atmosphere above the power plant.
4.Tidal power plants. Power plants of this type are a special type of hydroelectric power station that uses the energy of tides, and in fact the kinetic energy of the Earth's rotation. Tidal power plants are built on the shores of seas, where the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun change the water level twice a day.
To obtain energy, the bay or river mouth is blocked with a dam in which hydraulic units are installed, which can operate both in generator mode and in pump mode (to pump water into the reservoir for subsequent operation in the absence of tides). In the latter case, they are called pumped storage power plants.
The advantages of PES are environmental friendliness and low cost of energy production. The disadvantages are the high cost of construction and power that varies throughout the day, which is why the PES can only operate in a single power system with other types of power plants.
5.Geothermal energy- a direction of energy based on the production of electrical and thermal energy from the thermal energy contained in the bowels of the earth at geothermal stations. In volcanic areas, circulating water overheats above boiling temperatures at relatively shallow depths and rises through cracks to the surface, sometimes manifesting itself in the form of geysers. Access to underground warm waters possible using deep well drilling. More common are dry high-temperature rocks, the energy of which is available by pumping and then withdrawing superheated water from them. High rock horizons with a temperature of less than 100 °C are also common in many geologically inactive areas, therefore the use of geotherms as a heat source is considered the most promising. The economic use of geothermal sources is widespread in Iceland and New Zealand, Italy and France, Lithuania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, Japan, and Kenya. The world's largest geothermal installation is the geysers installation in California, with rated power 750 MW.
6.Biofuel- This is a fuel from biological raw materials, obtained, as a rule, as a result of processing biological waste. There are also projects of varying degrees of maturity aimed at producing biofuels from cellulose and various types of organic waste, but these technologies are in early stage development or commercialization. Varies liquid biofuel(for engines internal combustion eg ethanol, methanol, biodiesel), solid biofuel(firewood, briquettes, fuel pellets, wood chips, straw, husks) and gaseous(biogas, hydrogen).
The USA and Brazil produce 95% of the world's bioethanol. Ethanol in Brazil is produced primarily from sugar cane, and in the United States from corn. According to Merrill Lynch estimates, the cessation of biofuel production will lead to an increase in oil and gasoline prices by 15%.
Ethanol is a less energy-dense energy source than gasoline; mileage of vehicles operating on E85(a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline; the letter “E” from the English Ethanol), per unit volume of fuel is approximately 75% of the mileage of standard cars. Conventional cars cannot run on E85, although internal combustion engines run great on E85. E10(some sources claim that even E15 can be used). Only so-called ethanol can work with “real” ethanol. "Flex-Fuel" cars ("flex-fuel" cars). These cars can also run on regular gasoline (a small addition of ethanol is still required) or on an arbitrary mixture of both. Brazil is a leader in the production and use of bioethanol from sugarcane as fuel.
Critics of the development of the biofuel industry say that the growing demand for biofuels is forcing agricultural producers to reduce the area under food crops and redistribute them in favor of fuel crops. According to calculations by economists from the University of Minnesota, as a result of the biofuel boom, the number of hungry people on the planet will increase to 1.2 billion people by 2025.
On the other hand, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in its report says that increased consumption of biofuels can help diversify agricultural and forestry activities, promoting economic development. The production of biofuels will create new jobs in developing countries and reduce the dependence of developing countries on oil imports. In addition, the production of biofuels will allow the use of currently unused land. For example, in Mozambique, agriculture is carried out on 4.3 million hectares of the 63.5 million hectares of potentially suitable land. According to Stanford University estimates, 385-472 million hectares of land have been taken out of agricultural production worldwide. Growing raw materials for the production of biofuels on these lands will increase the share of biofuels to 8% in the global energy balance. In transport, the share of biofuels can range from 10% to 25%.
7.Hydrogen energy- a developing energy sector, a direction in the production and consumption of energy by humanity, based on the use of hydrogen as a means for accumulating, transporting and consuming energy by people, transport infrastructure and various production areas. Hydrogen is chosen as the most common element on the surface of the earth and in space, the heat of combustion of hydrogen is the highest, and the product of combustion in oxygen is water (which is again introduced into the circulation of hydrogen energy).
Fuel cell- an electrochemical device similar to a galvanic cell, but differing from it in that the substances for the electrochemical reaction are supplied to it from the outside - in contrast to the limited amount of energy stored in the galvanic cell or battery. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that can have very high conversion efficiency chemical energy to electrical (~80%). Typically, low temperature fuel cells use: hydrogen on the anode side and oxygen on the cathode side (hydrogen cell). Unlike fuel cells, disposable voltaic cells contain solid reactants and when the electrochemical reaction stops must be replaced, electrically recharged to start the chemical reaction back, or, in theory, the electrodes can be replaced. In a fuel cell, reactants flow in, reaction products flow out, and the reaction can proceed as long as the reactants enter it and the functionality of the element itself is maintained. Fuel cells cannot store electrical energy, like galvanic or rechargeable batteries, but for some applications such as operating in isolation from electrical system power plants that use intermittent energy sources (sun, wind), together with electrolysers, compressors and fuel storage tanks (for example, hydrogen cylinders), form an energy storage device. The overall efficiency of such an installation (converting electrical energy into hydrogen and back into electrical energy) is 30-40%.
Fuel cells have a number of valuable qualities, including:
7.1 High efficiency: Fuel cells do not have a strict limitation on efficiency, like heat engines. High efficiency is achieved through the direct conversion of fuel energy into electricity. When diesel generator sets burn fuel first, the resulting steam or gas rotates a turbine or internal combustion engine shaft, which in turn rotates an electric generator. The result is an efficiency of a maximum of 42%, but more often it is about 35-38%. Moreover, due to the many links, as well as due to thermodynamic limitations on the maximum efficiency of heat engines, the existing efficiency is unlikely to be raised higher. Existing fuel cells have an efficiency of 60-80%.
7.2Environmental friendliness. Only water vapor is released into the air, which is harmless to the environment. But this is only on a local scale. It is necessary to take into account the environmental friendliness of the places where these fuel cells are produced, since their production in itself already poses a certain threat.
7.3 Compact dimensions. Fuel cells are lighter and occupy a smaller footprint than traditional power sources. Fuel cells produce less noise, run less heat, and are more efficient in terms of fuel consumption. This becomes especially relevant in military applications.
Fuel cell problems.
The introduction of fuel cells in transport is hampered by the lack of hydrogen infrastructure. There is a “chicken and egg” problem - why produce hydrogen cars if there is no infrastructure? Why build hydrogen infrastructure if there is no hydrogen transport? Fuel cells, due to their low speed chemical reactions, have significant inertia and, to operate under conditions of peak or pulsed loads, require a certain power reserve or the use of other technical solutions (ultracapacitors, batteries). There is also the problem of producing hydrogen and storing hydrogen. Firstly, it must be clean enough so that rapid poisoning of the catalyst does not occur, and secondly, it must be cheap enough so that its cost is profitable for the end user.
There are many ways to produce hydrogen, but currently about 50% of the hydrogen produced worldwide comes from natural gas. All other methods are still expensive. There is an opinion that as energy prices rise, the cost of hydrogen also increases, since it is a secondary energy carrier. But the cost of energy produced from renewable sources is constantly decreasing.
Renewable energy sources with their production and application technologies are recognized by the global community as an alternative fuel as a result of the pollution of fossil fuels.
The word "renewable" means that they do not rely on sources that are limited in quantity, they rely on the virtually inexhaustible Sun.In all cases, the energy is huge, but it is distributed over the territory and is unstable, therefore, basically, the cost is expensive.
Unfortunately, this makes most renewable energy sources uneconomic for large-scale projects, with the exception of hydropower, where nature has concentrated renewable energy resources. Hydropower has many attractive and valuable features, but the laws of physics are inexorable.
Renewable resources include
Hydropower
Hydroelectric power (HPP for short) is an established and reliable renewable energy source that supplies most electrical energy in mountainous countries like Norway and Switzerland.
However, worldwide there is a limit to the number of suitable mountains and fails to supply more than about three percent of the world's energy needs.
Electricity produced at hydroelectric power stations must be transmitted over long distances and power lines must have low losses.
Renewable energy sources are relatively safe, with a fatality rate of about four accidents per thousand megawatts. Dams that hold water must be reliable and not dangerous if destroyed. However, it sometimes happens, especially with an earthen dam, that water begins to leak through small channels, gradually weakening the dam until it breaks. The wall of water then sweeps away everything in its path. Since 1969, more than eight dams have failed, with an average death toll of more than 200 people. The lakes near the dam provide habitat for wildlife and can be popular for people. However, during droughts, the water level drops and provides ugly streaks of mud. In addition, these lakes can destroy picturesque valleys with villages and valuable agricultural lands.
Wind
Of the other sources of renewable energy, wind is the most promising. Windmills have been used since ancient times, and wind generators are now a common sight in rural areas. They have several disadvantages, however, the main one is that the wind is not constant and the power output fluctuates. When there are gusts of wind, the oscillations increase because the power output is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. This means that energy is only available during a limited range of wind speeds, when the speed is low very little energy is produced. At that time, if there is a hurricane, then the safety limit is exceeded and catastrophic damage must be avoided.
General wind resources generally do not meet all of our energy needs, and cannot always be realized due to high cost (two or three times more expensive than coal power), unreliability and the large amount of land required. It can however make a useful contribution if costs can be significantly reduced.
Wind energy is surprisingly dangerous, with five accidents per thousand megawatts. This is due to the large number of turbines, which are inevitably dangerous. In addition, there are dangers during construction and maintenance.
The environmental impact of wind turbines is increasingly recognized. They must be built in open positions where they can be seen for many kilometers around. They emit a persistent buzzing sound that people living nearby find intolerable. Often people who have moved for peace of mind are forced to leave a place with wind farms. Wind farms can be built along the coast, but this increases the cost and can pose a hazard to shipping.
Despite intensive efforts over the years, renewable energy sources in the form of wind are still unprofitable and in most cases rely on massive government subsidies. Research is ongoing to overcome these difficulties, but it is not yet wise to deploy wind turbines on a large scale.
Against wind energy, it is sometimes argued that the blades kill large numbers of birds, estimated at about 70,000 per year in the United States. This figure corresponds to the number of birds killed on highways by cars. 
Tidal
Some river estuaries are formed so that they are exposed to high tides. When the tide is high sea water comes at a certain distance from the sea. At low tide, the water flows back to the sea again. This flow of water can spin turbines and generate electricity. Such a device has been operating in the La Rance estuary in France for many years producing 65MW. This is a reliable source, although peak periods vary depending on the Moon and Sun, so electricity is not always available when needed.
The production cost is approximately twice that of a conventional power plant. This is practically feasible, but hardly attractive for the future.
Wave
Renewable resources like using waves are huge, but difficult to focus. Several devices have been built for this, but the result is not cost-effective.
One such device, costing over millions of dollars in the UK, has a power of 75 kW, enough for only 25 indoor electric heaters.
The danger is that huge waves can appear at the mercy of the storm, which can destroy equipment within minutes. 
Solar
The sun emits energy to the earth on average about 200 watts per square meter so it is a renewable resource that we receive in proportion to the area. It is estimated that meeting the energy needs of four houses would require a collector the size of a large radio telescope. sunlight can be used directly to heat water circulating in pipes on the roof. This process is economically reasonable and widely used. However, there must be additional source fuel when the sun doesn't shine. You can focus the sun's rays on a cauldron of hundreds of mirrors. Steam production can be used to drive small turbines to generate electricity. The disadvantage is that the mirrors must be constantly rotated by expensive servomechanisms in order to concentrate the sun's rays on the boiler. So this whole process is unprofitable.
Electricity can also be generated using photovoltaic cells. It is quite expensive to produce electricity with the required voltage. This is not economical for large-scale production, but is very useful for power generation in applications where other sources are not possible or practical, such as for satellites or traffic lights in remote areas.
Thus, renewable resources in the form of solar rays have small applications that will undoubtedly be developed to reduce the cost of photovoltaic cells. It is not yet a practical economic renewable energy source for basic needs.
In some places hot water shoots out of the ground. It can be used as a renewable resource, but on a small scale in very few places. In other places, you can drill two nearby wells and then pump the water down where it is hot and extract it from another pipe. After passing through the rocks, the water heats up and this is a source of renewable energy. However, if the heat is close and quickly used at the top, then only then is there any benefit.
Tests show that this process is completely unprofitable.
Cost of energy production
In our society, the price of resources and production costs are critical. Even a small difference in price is enough for one renewable resource to prevail over another. With renewable energy sources, the situation is more complex because the choice depends on weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each source. This is difficult because they are often incommensurable: how much, for example, are we willing to pay for increased safety or reduced environmental impact? Finally, it is impossible to estimate the cost of environmental disruption, for example, due to global warming and climate change. This expense could be the greatest of all.
It is sometimes said that research will improve existing sources and thereby eliminate current shortcomings. As a rule, this is true.
But in some cases, the disadvantage is a consequence of the laws of physics, and then it can never be overcome. An example is the fluctuating nature of wind energy. It is simply not possible to keep the wind constant all the time.
Throughout the world, the need for renewable raw materials is so urgent that it is important to use existing natural renewable energy sources and they have development prospects. Of course, it is necessary to continue research into new sources, but we cannot wait. For many years now, millions of people have suffered from a lack of energy resources.
Research shows that all renewable and non-renewable resources have serious drawbacks: oil and natural gas are running out quickly. Either way, all fossil fuels pollute the earth, especially coal. Hydropower is limited, wind and solar power are unreliable.
If this is the end of the story, the future will be bleak. However there is one more
In recent decades, the use of renewable energy sources has increasingly become the topic of various scientific studies, meetings, and assemblies. People are coming to understand that by extracting resources for ourselves, we are causing irreversible harm to the planet. And with the development of technological progress, humanity needs more and more energy. If a couple of decades ago, experimental installations that converted wind or solar energy into electrical and thermal energy caused sarcastic smiles, now these resources have already become widespread and have become quite commonplace.
But not everyone knows that in the designs of many modern devices technologies using non-traditional and renewable energy sources are used. For example, Bosh manufacturers produce heating and hot water boilers and have created several models that are connected to solar collectors. As a result of this step, the efficiency of the boilers increased by 110%. It turns out that the atmosphere receives much less harm in the form of natural gas combustion products, and people receive significant savings due to a reduction in gas consumption, and therefore, in payments for it.
The benefits of economical devices powered by renewable energy sources are clear, and now scientists and industrialists face the main task of conducting the most extensive information campaign that would lead humanity to the choice of environmentally friendly technologies.
What is renewable energy
Renewable energy goes by several other names. This is “regenerative energy” and “green energy”, that is, energy that is produced by natural sources, and its extraction does not harm the environment at all. The reserves of such energy are inexhaustible, their size is unlimited, judging by the standards of humanity.
It is absolutely impossible to correlate the foreseeable future of people and, for example, the lifespan of the sun. Just recently, scientists published the number of years they derived, after which the sun will completely go out. This is 5 billion years. I really want to believe that life on Earth will flourish all this time, and that people will live and be healthy. But we can already assume that the number of people on the planet will grow, as it is now. They will need cheap energy resources. Renewable energy technologies will be the only way out in this matter, provided that the planet, its riches of flora and fauna, climatic diversity, landscape beauty, clean air, water, land and subsoil are preserved.
That is why technologies for producing energy using wind, sun, rain, geothermal sources, rivers, seas and oceans, etc. are already so widely welcomed. All these are renewable energy sources. No matter how much a person uses such energy, it will never run out. The wind will always blow, causing ebbs and flows, rivers will always spin the blades of hydraulic turbines with their power, solar collectors will provide heat in residential buildings and large institutions.
Energy efficiency and energy saving in Russia
These two directions are included in the overall strategic development plan for Russia; they were outlined back in 2010. It is truly beneficial for the state that renewable energy sources are actually used in Russia. If the plant consumes cheap and easily obtained energy, the cost of production will decrease. At the same time, the price of goods in the store will decrease, creating a reduction in social tension, and the overall profit of the enterprise will increase. This means that new jobs will be created, new technologies will be developed and the level of funds transferred by the enterprise in the form of taxes will significantly increase.
If a private home owner switches to consuming renewable energy, then the state will again benefit greatly from this step. Firstly, he will purchase the latest equipment, which is not cheap at present. Secondly, a person will not require central communications to be brought to his home. And thirdly, the impact on the environment will be reduced to a minimum, therefore, the state will spend much less money on environmental protection measures.
The motives for the whole of Russia are clear; the most difficult thing remains - to teach Russian citizens to reason not only based on their own costs, but also from the standpoint of saving natural resources. It is necessary to convey to the population that renewable and non-renewable energy sources can have different effects not only on well-being, but also on the health and life expectancy of a nation.
Oil, gas, peat, coal - all these are familiar, effective, but non-renewable resources. Yes, if we consider the issue from the perspective of those living today and even their children and grandchildren, then all this will be enough for our century. But air pollution occurs for the most part precisely by the combustion products of these resources, and diseases from dirty air (asthma, allergies, immune deficiency, heart disease, cancer, etc.) are already a problem for those living today.
The use of renewable energy sources not only reduces the cost of production and consumption, but also cleans the atmosphere and improves our health. And this is also a huge benefit for the state, because a healthy society is a guarantor of high economic indicators, achievements in science, culture and art, etc.
Scientists note that our country has enormous potential for developing the use of energy saving technologies. We can achieve 40% of total energy consumption. That is, 40% of energy will be produced using renewable sources. This is 400 million t.e. For reference: 1 t.u.t. – is the heat of combustion of 1 kilogram of standard fuel. That is, we can replace 400 million kilograms of fuel per year with alternative sources, which is expensive and produces harmful emissions. This is renewable energy in Russia, and if we talk about the world as a whole, then this figure is 20 billion t.e. in year! This is more than half of all fuel and energy resources.
The Russian government has developed a number of documents that define the regulations for introducing energy efficient technologies in our country. Their effect is calculated until 2030.
The opinion of economic analysts on the topic of introducing technologies using renewable energy sources in Russia is very interesting. They noticed that the reason for large business entities to use the latest developments, the production of environmentally friendly devices, has two motives. The primary motive is economic. If a technology brings profit to the manufacturer or user, then it is used and implemented. But improving the environment is always a secondary motive; they remember it only when profit has been successfully made. Mentality, what to do!
Renewable energy sources: global trends
A very interesting trend in this direction is striking - all types of renewable energy sources are most rapidly developing and applied in developing and poor countries. They, of course, are not close to the cost figures of advanced countries, but they are ahead in terms of development rates, and quite confidently.
In 2012, projects on renewable technologies were created and developed in 138 countries. And two thirds of this number are developing countries. The undisputed leader among them is China; in 2012, it increased the production of electricity from solar energy by 22%; according to government prices, $67 billion was received “from the sun”! A similar sharp increase in the development of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies occurred in Morocco, South Africa, Chile, Mexico, and Kenya. The Middle East and Africa have achieved brilliant results in their regions.
The UN noted that thanks to such efficient growth, access to modern energy services was ensured for all countries, the rate of increase in energy efficiency was doubled alternative energy on Earth, and there is a clear possibility that by 2030 alternative energy will overtake the standard one.
In developed countries, a number of measures are being taken to speed up the construction of renewable energy plants. In Japan, for example, those who install solar panels, preferential tariffs and subsidies for construction and installation.
Hydroelectric power plants
In these structures, electricity is generated from the energy of falling water. Therefore, such objects are built on rivers with large currents and differences in level on the ground. Besides the fact that the river never stops flowing, the generation of energy does not cause any harm to the surrounding area. The world community receives up to 20% of all electricity in this way. The leaders in this industry are countries where a large number of high-water rivers flow: Russia, Norway, Canada, China, Brazil, and the USA.
Biofuel
Biofuels are a wide variety of renewable energy sources. These are waste from various industries: woodworking, Agriculture. And simply household garbage is a valuable source of energy. Also, waste from construction, deforestation, paper production, farms, waste from city landfills and naturally produced methane are used in the production of alternative energy.
IN Lately More and more information is appearing in the press that sources that previously could not even be supposed to be fuel are becoming fuel. This is farm manure, this is rotten grass, this is vegetable and animal oil. Little is added to the products processed from these sources. diesel fuel, and is then used for its intended purpose - for refueling cars! The emissions of such fuel are many times less toxic, which is especially important in megacities. Now scientists are developing a recipe and technology for producing biofuels without adding diesel.
Wind
Windmill technology has been known since ancient times. It was only in the 70s of the last century that people began to invent windmills as sources of alternative energy. The first wind power plants were created. Already in the 80s of the 20th century, whole rows of generators began to appear in villages that converted wind energy into electrical energy. Now the leaders in the number of such power plants are Germany, Denmark, Spain, the USA, India and the same progressive China. Distinctive feature installation of such structures is not at all low cost. A wind turbine does not pay for itself very quickly, and the construction of wind farms requires initial investment.
Geothermal energy
Geothermal power plants operate on the heat of natural hot springs, they convert it into electrical energy and supply the living quarters of nearby settlements hot water. The first such power plant was put into operation in Italy in 1904. Moreover, it still works and quite successfully! Now such stations have been built in 72 countries around the world, with the USA, Philippines, Iceland, Kenya, and Russia leading the way.
Ocean
The tides in the coastal areas of the ocean are so strong that their currents can generate quite a large amount of energy. The dam separates the upper and lower pools; when the water moves, the turbine blades rotate, which drives the electricity generator. The scheme is simple, like everything related to renewable energy sources. There are only 40 such stations on the planet, because in few places nature has met the basic requirement - a level difference in pools of 5 meters. Tidal stations have been built in France, Canada, China, India, and Russia.
Recently, the technology of “passive cooling and heating” has become increasingly popular. Thanks to it, there is absolutely no need to heat or cool the living space, therefore, environmentally friendly energy is obtained from the internal resources of the house itself. The technology includes the correct architectural solution, compliance with the size of windows and the slope of canopies, the structure of walls and ceilings, as well as the use of internal fans and trees planted near the house. A very interesting and efficient technology, tested in more than one residential building.
A few words about the future
The future today seems a little naive, just as solar panels and wind power plants once seemed ridiculous. Today, scientists predict the development of hydrogen fuel technology, the energy of fusion of hydrogen atoms into a helium atom with a huge release of energy, and also plan to receive solar energy using Earth satellites and use the energy of black holes. In a word, all theories are extremely interesting. Who knows, maybe in 5-10 years all the black holes in our galaxy will work to heat our homes. The main thing is that our planet lives and is clean and safe!
Germany: Bet on renewable energy
News about records in the field of use of renewable energy sources has not left the news feeds over the past few years. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in the period 2013-2015, the share of renewable energy sources in new capacities in the electric power industry is already 60%. It is expected that before 2030, renewables will shift coal to second place and become leaders in the electricity generation balance (according to the IEA forecast, a third of electricity volumes will be produced by renewable energy sources by this year). Taking into account the dynamics of the commissioning of new capacities, this figure does not look too fantastic - in 2014, the share of renewables in global electricity production was 22.6%, and in 2015 - 23.7%.
However, the general term RES hides very different energy sources. On the one hand, this is large-scale hydropower that has been successfully operated for a long time, and on the other, relatively new types - such as solar energy, wind, geothermal sources and even the completely exotic energy of ocean waves. The share of hydropower in global electricity generation remains stable - 18.1% in 1990, 16.4% in 2014 and approximately the same figure in the forecast for 2030. The driver of the rapid growth of renewable energy sources over the past 25 years has been precisely “new” types of energy (primarily solar and wind energy) - their share increased from 1.5% in 1990 to 6.3% in 2014 and is expected to catch up with hydropower in 2030 , reaching 16.3%.
Despite such a rapid pace of development of renewable energy sources, there are still quite a lot of skeptics who doubt the sustainability of this trend. For example, Per Wimmer, former employee investment bank Goldman Sachs, and now the founder and head of his own investment consulting company Wimmer Financial LLP, believes that renewable energy is a “green bubble” similar to the dot-com bubble of 2000 and the US mortgage crisis of 2007-2008. Interestingly, Per Wimmer is a citizen of Denmark, a country that has long been a leader in the wind energy sector (in 2015 in Danish wind power plants It produced 42% of the electricity consumed in the country) and strives to become the greenest state, if not in the world, then certainly in Europe. Denmark plans to completely eliminate the use of fossil fuels by 2050.
Wimmer's main argument is that renewable energy is commercially uncompetitive and projects using it are unsustainable in the long term. That is, “green” energy is too expensive compared to traditional energy, and it develops only thanks to government support. The high share of debt financing in renewable energy projects (up to 80%) and its growing cost will, according to the expert, either lead to the bankruptcy of companies implementing projects in the field of green energy, or to the need to allocate an increasing amount of government support funds to keep them on track. floating. However, Per Wimmer does not deny that renewable energy sources should play a role in the energy supply of the planet, but he proposes to provide government support only to those technologies that have a chance to become commercially viable over the next 7-10 years.
Wimmer's doubts are not unfounded. Perhaps one of the most dramatic examples is SunEdison, which filed for bankruptcy in April 2016. Until this point, SunEdison was one of the fastest growing American companies in the field of renewable energy sources, which was valued at $10 billion in the summer of 2015. In the three years preceding bankruptcy alone, the company invested $18 billion in new acquisitions, and in total it raised $24 billion in equity and borrowed capital.
The turning point for investors came when SunEdison unsuccessfully attempted to take over solar installation company Vivint Solar Inc for $2.2 billion. solar panels on the roofs of houses, which coincided with a decrease in oil prices. As a result, SunEdison's stock price fell from its peak of more than $33 in 2015 to 34 cents when it filed for bankruptcy. The SunEdison story is a troubling, but not clear, signal for the industry. According to analysts, the company's projects were “good”, and the reason for bankruptcy was too rapid growth and large debts.
However, the performance of the MAC Global Solar Energy Stock Index (an index that tracks the stock prices of more than 20 publicly traded solar energy companies headquartered in the US, Europe and Asia) over the past four years is also not encouraging.
The issue of subsidies also seems ambiguous. On the one hand, the volume of government support for renewable energy sources in the world is growing every year (in 2015, according to IEA estimates, it approached $150 billion, 120 of which were in the electricity sector, excluding hydropower). On the other hand, fossil energy sources are also subsidized by states, and on a much larger scale. In 2015, the volume of such subsidies was estimated by the IEA at $325 billion, and in 2014 - at $500 billion. At the same time, the effectiveness of subsidies for renewable energy technologies is gradually increasing (subsidies in 2015 increased by 6%, and the volume of new installed capacity - by 8%).
The competitiveness of renewable energy sources is also growing, and rapidly, due to the reduction in the cost of electricity production. To compare the cost of various sources of electricity, the LCOE indicator (levelized cost of electricity - the total levelized cost of electricity) is often used, the calculation of which takes into account all costs of both investment and operating nature over the full life cycle of a power plant of the corresponding type. According to Lazard, which annually produces LCOE estimates for different types fuel, for wind this figure has decreased by 66% over the past 7 years, and for solar - by 85%.
At the same time, the lower levels of the LCOE assessment range for industrial-scale wind and solar power plants are already comparable or even lower than the values of this parameter for gas and coal. Despite the fact that the LCOE methodology does not allow taking into account all system effects and the need for additional investments (grids, base reserve capacity, etc.), this means that wind and solar energy projects become competitive compared to traditional fuels and without government support.
Another characteristic of this trend is the rate of decline in prices declared by energy companies at auctions for the purchase of large volumes of electricity through PPA (power purchase agreement - agreement on the supply of electricity). For example, another record for solar energy of 2.42 cents per kWh was set by a consortium consisting of Chinese panel manufacturer JinkoSolar and Japanese developer Marubeni in 2016 in the United Arab Emirates. As recently as 2014, the lowest bid at such auctions was above 6 cents per kWh.
In conclusion, we should once again recall the key reasons for the rapid development of renewable energy sources in the world. The main factor stimulating the development of renewable energy is still decarbonization, that is, taking measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. This was the goal of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which was adopted on December 12, 2015 and entered into force on November 4, 2016.
Other benefits of switching to renewable energy sources include improved environmental conditions, supply of energy-scarce and remote areas, as well as the development of technology and the creation of new jobs. Over the past few years, the use of renewable energy sources has stimulated the creation of one of the most high-tech industries in the world. The volume of investment in this industry in 2015 was estimated at $288 billion. 70% of all investments in electricity generation were made in the renewable energy sector. This sector (not counting hydropower) employs more than 8 million people in the world (for example, in China their number is 3.5 million).
Today, the development of renewable energy sources should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of a broader process of Energy Transition - an “energy transition”, a long-term change in the structure of energy systems. This process is also characterized by other important changes, many of which strengthen green energy, increasing its chances of success. One such change is the development of energy storage technologies. For weather- and time-of-day renewable energy sources, the emergence of such commercially attractive technologies will obviously be of great help. The global process of development of new energy is irreversible, but a clear answer to the question about its place and role in the Russian fuel and energy complex has yet to be formulated. The main thing now is not to miss the window of opportunity - the stakes in this race are quite high.