renewable energy: solar power

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2008VOL. 01 NO. 01

Forum for Energy Economicsand Development, UCLA

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FEEDat UCLA

The Forum or Energy Economics and Development (FEED)

is a student-led organization whose mission is to learn about

renewable energy resources. The group is interdisciplinary

with elds including Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, Politics,

Environmental Science, and Business. We meet weekly at UCLA

and are proud to publish our rst academic journal.

FeeD Jounal staf and Contibuto

Igor Bogorad, Editor-in-Chief, Webmaster

Maurice Diesendruck, Editor-in-Chief, Layout Design/Production

Manager

Danielle Perrot, Editor

Monica So, Editor

Edo Konrad, Editor

Dr. James Liao, UCLA Faculty Adviser

Jeremy Ephrati Kartik Atyam

Reeve Zemel Eddison LaiReider Larsen Alex Chapman

Greg Soulages Daniel Nomanim

Adam Sorensen Joseph Patterson

David Goldenberg Adam Brown

Eli Rubin Sachin Goel

Jack Moxon Sam Feinberg

Shyaam Subramanian Maya Benari

Induty Contibuto

Bertrand Vick, Aurora Biouels

Betsey Fleischer, Materials Research SocietyJohn Ziagos, LLNL

Al Darzins, DOE-NREL

Stephen Thomas, Ceres Inc.

Matthew Peters, Gevo

Paul Glenney, AeroVironment

Vasilios Manousiouthakis, UCLA

Contact Inomation

Editor-in-Chie, Hedrick Hall Room 656

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250 De Neve DriveLos Angeles, CA 90024

Visit FEEDs web site at http://renewableeed.googlepages.com

or email at [email protected] or [email protected]

Cover photo: Courtesy o Bill Dunster Architects. London, UK.

Back cover photo: Poem by Jon Shapiro,

Artwork by Greg Soulages

Thank you so much or giving your time in helpingwith our project. Without your initial support, FEEDwould not have had the opportunity to publish this

journal.

Dr. James Liao,UCLA Proessor,Department oChemical andBiomolecular

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Solar Photovoltaic

Table o Contents

Scientic 4Monica So, 10

Political 5Reider Larsen, 10

Economic 7Greg Soulages, 10

Social 7Maurice Diesendruck, 10

Environmental 9David Goldenberg, 10

World Implementation 9Daniel Nomanim, 10

UCLA Implementation 10Eddison Lai, 10

Solar Thermal

Scientic 11Joseph Patterson, 10

Political 12Kartik Atyam, 10

Economic 13Jeremy Ephrati, 11

Social 14Adam Brown, 11

Environmental 15Alex Chapman, 09World Implementation 15

Eli Rubin, 11 and Sachin Goel, 09UCLA Implementation 16

Igor Bogorad, 10

Discussion and Opinion

Supermileage Vehicle Team 17Alex Chapman, 09

Escaping the Hydrocarbon Rut 17Jack Moxon, 09Interview with Proessor Stolzenbach 19

Sam Feinberg, 11Future o PV 19

Adam Sorensen, 09Wind Energy: Not a Breeze, But Worth It 20

Shyaam Subramanian, 09Fuel From Algae? 21

Igor Bogorad, 10


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SOLAR ENERGY:PHOTOVOLTAICS

by solar cell or battery combos, much like some o our

common pocket calculators are today. At home, solarpanels are already nding use in outdoor lighting,water heating, and daytime use o electric appliances,says de Villers.

Solar panels, employing PV technology, havebeen gaining popularity in recent years. In act, thispast March, Southern Caliornia Edison announcedtheir plan to build the worlds largest solar cell projectin the Inland Empire (near San Bernadino County,CA) that will place 250 megawatts o advanced PVgenerating technology on 65 million square eet oroos o Southern Caliornia commercial buildings3.Ultimately, the goal o this notable undertaking is

to encourage other institutions and companies toadopt similar plans. So as more commercial systemsare installed, PV technology will become more costeective.

Solar, however, will not be the only solutionto the worlds insatiable hunger or energy, says deVillers. It will take combined progress among solar,wind, nuclear, and geothermal energy harvestingtechnologies, as well as some as-yet discoveredsources, to continue to drive global growth. Regardless,the solar cell eld continues to show great promise.

I cannot guarantee that it will become theperect sustainable solution, explains Darcy Wanger,a ourth year undergraduate and researcher o thematerials science and physical chemistry department.But the hours o research I have devoted to researchin this eld are an indicator o my trust in increasedscientic understanding to positively aect the state

o science and sustainable technology.

Ayzner agrees. At this point the only clearprediction is that the solar cell eld is not going toget less active any time soon.

Political by Reider LarsenPolitical inuence has been responsible or

both periods o great advancement, and stagnationin the development and use o solar technologiesin the United States. While true action to promotethese technologies did not take hold until the mid70s, the rst introduction or a solar energy research

and development bill happened almost two decadesearlier in 1959. Unortunately, without a clearnecessity or the technology and with the aid ocorporate lobbyists, this bill and all similar attemptsat solar legislation proposed throughout the 60s andearly 70s ailed passage.

Yet with the occurrence o the OPEC oil embargoin 1973, the necessity or renewable orms o energybecame painully apparent. In order to combatsuch an extreme shortage in supply, oil prices wereraised dramatically and gasoline had to be rationed.Through this conrontation with the severity o thenations petroleum dependence, the government

started taking immediate action to nd renewablesources o energy, ocusing most o their unding onsolar energy.

In a very proactive response to the crisis,the government became strongly involved in the

Increasing efciencies o solar photovoltaic technologies rom 1976 to 2007. Courtesy o NREL.

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photovoltaics.

This can be consideredsolar powers golden age,when unding and interestwas at a level ambitiousenough to provide 20% othe nations energy throughsolar power by the end o the20th century. In a show o hissupport or the technology,President Carter installedsolar panels on the roo othe White House.

However, the

decreased oil consumptionthat was encouragedthroughout the 70s metwith overproduction o oilin the 80s that resulted in agreat decrease in oil prices.The increased supply ocheap oil led to a massivedrop in interest towardsthe prolieration o solartechnologies. Once againthe country lost sight o thenecessity or alternative ormso energy. Under President

Reagan, the unding or research and developmento solar technologies suered massive cuts thatwould make it impossible to achieve the ambitiousgoals embodied by the rst solar legislation o the1970s and, in a move that characterized the generaldisinterest in solar technologies, the solar panels werestripped rom the White House roo.

Sadly the trend remained greatly unchangedthroughout the 90s. It was not until recently thatgovernment interest in promoting solar developmentpiqued once again. O course it is only in the ace

o another oil crisis in which prices have escalatedto levels as high as those ollowing the oil crisis o1973 that such a dramatic increase in interest in solartechnology occurs.

Although the unding or alternative energyresearch and development (specically solar energy)is much less than it was in 1979, most o that spendinghad been directed toward photovoltaics. This areahas made huge progress and will continue to grow,allowing solar panels to be made and installed at alower cost than ever beore. Because o this, most othe governments unding or solar energy today isallocated to tax credits and programs that promote

the installation o solar equipment.Instead o one general tax credit as there wasin the 70s, today there is a wide variety o tax credits,clean renewable energy bonds, and energy efcientmortgages available to those who install solartechnologies on a commercial, industrial, agricultural,or residential level provided by both state and ederalgovernments.

Governmental support or solar power alsooccurs by through the creation o programs to installsolar panels. The Federal government has recently


development o alternative orms o energy and therst two major pieces o solar legislation were bothenacted in 1974: The Solar Heating and CoolingDemonstration Act o 1974 and the Solar EnergyResearch, Development and Demonstration Act o1974.

In only a ew years, the government was notonly unding research and development o solartechnologies, but was implementing tax credits orinstallations o solar equipment on both the stateand ederal level. Caliornia, especially, was one othe most active states in providing nancing or solarenergy by oering income tax credits. Caliorniasrst solar energy tax credit was implemented in 1976,a year beore the ederal governments, and oereda 10% tax credit or the purchase and installation osolar technologies.

This rst program proved to be very successuland in 1977 Caliornia greatly increased its solartax credit to 55% o all installations that cost lessthan $12,000 and 25% o all the costs o a systeminstalled that cost more than $12,000. The Federalgovernments tax credit was established the sameyear but was not quite as generous as Caliornias.

The Federal governments program provided 30%o the rst $2,000 o expenditures and 20% o theexpenditures between $2,000 and $10,000.

Though it was just beginning, the undingor research and development and tax credits orinstallation o solar technologies that the UnitedStates was supplying proved to be a greatly eectivesolar energy policy. Interest in solar energy rosetriumphantly throughout the 70s and allocations orsolar energy made up the greater part o all undingor alternative energy research and development,with over hal o its unding dedicated specically to

Energy inormation Administration (EIA) analysis o global energy markets in 2007. Courtesy o DOE.

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President George Bush recently set 2015 as the goal

or grid parity in America and pledged 170 milliondollars over the next three years to help producersmake it happen. Although solar power is still twoto three times more expensive than energy derivedrom ossil uels, solar prices have declined steadily. In1980, the cost o generating solar power with a siliconcell was about $30 per watt; today it averages $3 to$4 a watt. Bushs goal is to bring the cost down to $1per watt to make it competitive with conventionalpower sources. Already, subsidies exist in Caliorniato achieve grid parity through tax rebates, eed intaris, and renewable energy credits. The CaliorniaSolar Initiative was implemented in 2006, as a part o

the three billion dollar Million Solar Roos program,to generate 3000 megawatts o new solar powerby 2017. Other government policies could have apositive eect on solar grid parity, including orcingcarbon taxes or tradable carbon permits that wouldincrease the price o traditional power production.In addition to support rom the government,companies can count on more cost-efcient methodso silicon production, which is a necessary ingredientin the manuacturing o photovoltaic cells. This incombination with economies o scale captured bylarge production makes grid parity look like a reality.To aid this process, rising oil prices will begin to havean impact on investors decisions, as they will lookto alternative energy sources to step up. Lookingoverseas can provide America with inspiration anda jumpstart on the solar market, which has beenexperiencing tremendous growth.

The solar energy market has been making itspresence elt on Wall Street in recent years, averagingannual growth o around 30-40 percent. The growth inthe market is representative o increases in worldwide

solar production, which hasincreased 50 percent rom 2006to 3,800 megawatts in 2007.

According to Jonathan Dorn othe Earth Policy Institute, solarproduction has been growingby an impressive average o 48percent each year since 2002making it the worlds astest-growing energy source. Theincreases have not been withoutmarket volatility though,with the industry on averageincreasing around 150 percentin 2007, and decreasing 30percent since then. The actors

that play into investors decisions are the same orcesthat aect when solar power will reach grid parity.Investors have recently been reluctant to invest due toa weak economy and low oil prices at the beginningo the year. Solar stocks have proved to be resilientduring tough economic times, though, as was thecase during the 2001 recession, so now may be thetime to buy. With the recent spike in oil prices, solarstocks will gain ground as government support oproducers remains the norm and the shit away romcarbon-based energy becomes a reality.


announced the Solar America Initiative that plans to

install solar technologies on rootops throughout 25cities. In a similar action, Southern Caliornia Edison hasrecently made plans to install an array o photovoltaiccells covering two square miles o rootops which willhelp achieve the governors goal o providing 20% othe states power through renewable energy sources.

Overall what the history o solar policy in theUnited States has revealed is that the governmentsrelationship to solar power is symbiotic. Solar poweris one o the most promising renewable energyresources but it needs the support o the governmentin order to grow. Without an increased cost in oil, thenecessity or solar power has been quickly orgotten

thereby damaging the development and prolierationo solar technologies through lack o support.Because the price o oil today is the highest it has

been since the oil crisis, the country is presented witha great opportunity to promote the incorporationo solar power with the same enthusiasm that waspresent in the 70s, when governmental supportexemplied the possibility o rapid progress in thedevelopment o solar power.

Economics by Greg SoulagesThe sun has long been recognized as a clean

and unlimited source o power, prompting the use ophotovoltaics in cars, houses, and even skyscrapers.But what ever became o the goals set by Carter tohave renewable energy be twenty percent o thenations energy supply by 2000? Today, photovoltaicsolar power represents only eleven billion o theone trillion dollar power industry, even though thesun provides enough energy in one day to meetthe energy needs o the worldspopulation or twenty-seven years.It seems as though the conversion

to cleaner energy sources has beenslower than expected, and despiteeconomic justication or thereluctance, it looks as though thetime is right or change in America.

Already the Chinese,Europeans, and Japanese havesuccessully established solar poweras a competitive source o energy;they represent two thirds o theglobal market while America holdsonly ten to teen percent. Thesenations have implemented similar

incentives to promote the production o solar power,though high energy prices explain the dierencein market share. The combination o subsidies andtraditional energy pricesdetermines the level at which solar power will reachwhat is called grid parity. This is the point at whichsolar power is no more expensive than electricityproduced by other sources or the gird. Foreign nationshave already been able to achieve solar grid paritydue to higher energy costs, though the changingmarket conditions could make it a reality in America.

Cost-efciency or rst (crystalline Si materials), second (thin-lm, solar concentrations, solar thermal conversions, and organics),and third generation (high efciency multijunction thin-lm) PVtechnologies. Courtesy o MRS Bulletin.

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Social by Maurice DiesendruckSocial momentum is important to the green

revolution. Imagine, or example, the way celebritieshave used their popularity to pushenvironmental goals by driving to theEmmys in Priuss and hydrogen-poweredcars. The way we interact with renewableenergy technologies in society plays animportant role in the way and the extentto which they become incorporated intoour lives. PV technologies exist on bothresidential and industrial scales; this

article will ocus mostly on residentialimplementation. Social actors thatinuence the acceptance o energytechnology include price, aesthetic,location and size, ad or style, emissions,and industry growth.

Price is one o the main drivingactors in choosing whether or not topurchase a PV system or a household. I the pay-backtime or a roo-mounted PV system is 15 years, it isunlikely that a amily will choose to buy one, as ewpeople make the commitment to be in one place oran extended period o time. Pay-back times should

ideally settle around two yearsan estimate thatwill continue to decrease with cheaper, improving PVtechnologies. Still, home systems can range in pricerom two to twelve thousand dollars, making theinvestment out o reach or some people.

Aesthetics is another issue o PV systems. In orderor consumers to continue purchasing PV systems,they have to eel condent that the huge black panelon their roo doesnt destroy the look o their prizedVictorian home. For industrial scale projects (many owhich are in the desert), aesthetics seems to play lesso a role in the decision o whether or not to build. Incontrast, many people admire the beauty o desert

landscape and would hate to see it covered with glass

and metal. Interesting to this issue is the question o,Who would more readily install home solar panels?Would a amily living in a contemporary San Francisco

apartment be more willing to install themthan one living in an 80 year old Victorianhome in Boston? Do solar panels only t withthe modern image, or is it acceptable to putthem on an old, more classic home?

As mentioned previously, location aectshow willing people are to building solarprojectslocation also regulates the size osystem that can be installed. Although the ideao energy independence is largely a bipartisan

issue, areas o more liberal leanings may bemore likely to adopt solar, e.g. Caliorniasleadership in solar implementation relativeto other states. Location also matters whendeciding between utility-scale solar powerplants in remote areas and much smallerresidential solar systems. While some maypreer isolating PV so it cannot be seen,

it is important to note that PV has the potential tobenet rom positive side eects o public use. Thisis, o course, assuming that the owner o a solar panelgets some social or moral boost when his neighborcompliments his solar array.

Fad and style can allow solar PV technology togrow quickly, and can bring about ast change. Whilethe scientic evidence supporting PVs useulness ispowerul, it does not have the power to create socialbuzz. As celebrities, actors, and other people in thepublic eye increasingly espouse renewable energy,the green revolution grows as a social movementallowing it to reach every one rom elementary schoolstudents to senior citizens. Having PV technologycan become something commendable and peoplecan strive or social admiration. A neighborhoodcompetition may even emerge, as people try to

This zero energy home was built by NREL and Habitat Metro Denver in 2005. Courtesy o Pete Beverly/NREL.

Photovoltaic technology providesthis building at Oberlin Collegewith electricity. Courtesy o NREL.

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have the newest, most socially conscious sun-

powered homes. In contrast, i PV arrays areviewed as ugly and represent a radical or politicalidea, then it may well op and lose popularity.

The advantage o lower emissions is aninherent quality o PV systems that allows eacho the previous points to work in society. Ithe technology was not really advantageous,the social buzz might have carried it out or ashort period o time. The extent o this wave ogreen technology, however, has lasted becauseo its scientic integrity. People understandthat i they want to cut down on electricity andresource dependence, PV panels will do it.

Finally, increased popularity o PV technologyhas the potential to create new jobs in a growingsolar industry. People can continue to avor using anew technology i it means they will have a job, gainskills, and work in a progressive, cutting-edge eld, asopposed to sitting in a cubicle pushing papers.

In the eld o sociology, there is an idea thateach o us is born into the womb o society. Whatimplications does this have? It means that all ouractions are made in the context o our social groupsand social roles. The potential or PV technology isdependent on whether or not it continues to sit well

with the people.

Environmental by David GoldenbergEnergy rom photovoltaic cells, which oer

tremendous environmental benets, has long beenconsidered an alternative to carbon-emitting ossiluels. However, the benet gained rom this type ouel can be lessened i placed in areas that wherephotosynthetic plants reduce carbon dioxide in theenvironment. Ideally, photovoltaic cells would beplaced in areas not suitable or plant growth (roos,

sides o buildings, or in deserts). Deserts make or aparticularly advantageous site or photovoltaic cells.In order to assess and compare the

environmental advantages o photovoltaic energy,it is useul to compare the energy pay-back timeso the dierent techniques. Crystalline silicon PVsystems currently have an energy pay-back time o1.5-2 years in South Europe and 2.7-3.5 years in theMiddle East. Silicon technology prospects or urtherenergy reduction within several years that woulddecrease pay back time to as little as one year. Thinlm technologies have energy pay-back time in therange o 1-1.5 years (S. Europe). Greenhouse gasemissions are now approximately 25-32 g/kWh andcould decrease to 15 g/kWh in the uture.

Photovoltaic cells have oten been the sourceo environmental concern due to the amount ocadmium (a heavy metal) in Cadmium telluride (CdTe).Heavy metals, such as mercury, can be absorbed bythe blood stream and potentially accumulate in thebodies o primary consumers. As organisms move upthe ood chain, each o these heavy metals becomesmore concentrated.

The amount o cadmium used in thin-lm PV

is relatively small (5-10g/m2). The cadmium can be

controlled with proper emission control techniquesthat reduce the cadmium emission to almost zero.In comparison, cadmium emissions contain only 0.3-0.9 micrograms/kWh, while coal contains 3.1, lignite6.2, and natural gas 0.2 micrograms/kWh. Use ophotovoltaic cells in place o other energy sourceswill actually decrease cadmium emissions.

World Implementationby Daniel Nomanim

Just a ew years ago many researchers and

academics argued that photovoltaic (PV) cells wereonly economical or small scale applications andwould never become a major source o renewableenergy, especially where there is no establishedelectrical grid. In addition to the small systems thathave cropped up around the world to help countrieslike Kenya have electrical power, PV cells havebecome a much more viable competitor to otherrenewable energies. By taking the amiliar idea oconcentrating light rom solar thermal, large scalePV plants have become much more efcient andthe industry is booming. With an impressive 33%

average growth in the solar electricity market peryear rom 1997 to 2005 (according to author WinriedHoman), the industry is experiencing rapid growth,not only rom o grid implementations, but mostlyrom grid tied PV cells. This suggests that while PVwill continue to play an important role in areas wheregrid systems are not easible or or residential uses,there will be greater market growth or PV cells inindustrial countries or large scale power generation.This trend is supported by the nancial support omany countries governments, the rapid growth otechnology, and the rising cost o more conventionalsources o energy.

To understand the position o solar PV in theenergy market it is important to know the currentproduction capacity, the uture applications anduses o the energy, and the planned investments inthe construction o the PV cells. Countries like Indiaand China have seen a rise in the number o solarPV rms and although only slightly over a millionhomes have been equipped with PV cells, growthrates seem extremely promising. These systemsare used or better quality writing, access to bettercommunication systems, distance education, pump

The Role o Renewable Energy Consumption in the Nations Energy Supply, 2006. Courtesy oEnergy Inormation Agency/DOE.

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o UCLA Sustainability Committee say that P6, P8

and P9 structures would be the best candidates tosupport PV systems due to the act that they couldshare an inverter to maximize energy production andminimize extra costs,. The three structures wouldtotal to over 350,000 square eet and could produce

over 3.5 mWh o energy per year.Along with providing clean

energy, PV systems like carports,or raised PV panels, would alsoprovide shade to cars on sunny daysmuch like the systems at Cal StateNorthridge and the Santa MonicaCivic Center Parking Structure.

UCLA parking structures could jointhe trend o sustainability and ullyutilize solar potential, saving moneyand urther upholding its image o

environmental responsibility in the process.I PV solar panels are so great, why hasnt UCLA

already implemented them on campus? Well, largePV systems can add up to millions o dollars and theUC systems poor state unding is contributing to alow-budget or UCLA. O course, there are ways tohelp save money in sustainable energy purchases.

According to Gilbert, one way to help nance thepurchase o solar panels would be through LADWP,UCLAs power company. LADWP has cash incentivesor the construction o new PV panels that can amountto 50% o the system cost, however, the Universitywould have to pay the remaining cash due up ront. Onthe other hand, Power Purchasing Agreements helpcustomers save money by associating the purchasewith ederal tax credit, paying or the system overtime.

Bryan Gates o Sunpower Corp estimated thata 1mWh PV system that covers 100,000 square eetcould produce about 1,806 mWh per year. Gilbertand his colleagues predict a payback period o under

15 years, assuming the cost o electricity increases by3% per year and electricity can cost up to 17.8 cents/kWh during daytime peak hours. This is great newssince PV products are usually guaranteed or 20 yearsand usable or 30 years. This shows that a PV systemcould be making pure prot or the school or overhal its lietime.

All it takes is an initiative or implementinga clean energy project. And ater one project issuccessully applied, more will ollow. Hopeully, ateradding the rst system, the university will continue toadd renewable projects, possibly smaller PV systemson buildings such as John Wooden Center or Bunche

Hall. Obviously unding will always be an issue.Raising 5 million dollars to cover hal o a 1mWhsystem is a challenge in itsel. Although not very likely,it is possible or the UCLA to get unding or smallerprojects rom groups such as The Green InitiativeFund which is a new reerendum that would undstudent-led energy projects. The green movement isstill at its inancy, so as students, we need to unite andtake the next step towards sustainability or the sakeo the environment.


and puriy water, and or television. Recent satellite

linkages have also made monitoring and upkeepmuch cheaper and more efcient. In more developedcountries like the United States, many residentialapplications are similarly growing because o netmetering laws, which orce electric companies to buyback power at the same price theysell it, as well as other nancialand social incentives. CurrentlyCaliornia is the nations leader inthe use o this new technologywith about 200 MW o solar PVand is only behind Germany andJapan internationally. New plans

and projects will soon enlargethis number because PV hasbecome a competitive methodor mass energy production. Inact, the worlds largest projected solar power plantin Victoria, Australia that will supply about 154 MWo electricity will use concentrated PV instead o solarthermal. Further plans to expand output includea 1.5 GW production plant in Singapore by theRenewable Energy Corporation, a 75 MW productionplant in Devens Massachusettes by Evergreen Solar,and 8.9 MW will be installed on 28 Macys stores inCaliornia by SunPower Corporation. These examplesare indicative o the larger trend o solar companiesaround the world. Both small and large plants arebeing integrated into homes, businesses, and orlarger commercial use. These systems not onlypromise or uture utility savings, but also boastarchitectural value and may even add to the aestheticvalue o buildings. As new technologies arise to makePV cells even more efcient and as the silicon marketbecomes more competitive this market will continueto expand. Although it will take a ew decades, solartechnologies will become one o the major supplierso clean renewable power.

UCLA Implementationby Eddison Lai

As a world leader in research, the Universityo Caliornia at Los Angeles ought to be a leader inphoto-voltaic solar panel implementation. UCLA hasa great location in sunny Southern Caliornia justinland o Santa Monica, meaning ewer clouds thatlessen efciency o solar panels. There are hundredso thousands o square eet o at roo space acrosscampus which could potentially generate thousands

o mWh o energy per year. In applying PV panels oncampus, not only would the university benet romthe publicity, but also inspire other universities andinstitutions to ollow suit. And in the process, UCLAwould help lower Americas reliance on oreign oil.

To some people, the sight o PV panels areaesthetically unpleasing, however, I move that PVpanels be put on top o UCLAs parking structuressince parking structures arent meant to have mucheye appeal anyways. There is plenty o space availableand virtually all structures have enough space to hostcost-eective systems. Robert Gilbert and colleagues

Courtesy o NREL

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SOLAR ENERGY:THERMAL

Scientic by Joseph PattersonThe Sun, our amiliar source o hydrogen

usion is a massive power plant. O the 3.8461026

joules continually emitted by our sun every second,approximately 1366 strike each normal square metero the Earths upper atmosphere. At sea level, this solarradiation is attenuated to roughly 1000 watts/m2 atpeak hours on a clear day. Insolation at aparticular location is a unction o latitude,altitude, and climate, but the global averageis roughly 250 watts per square meter.High deserts such as Caliornias Mojaveexperience considerable direct insolationand provide ideal sites or the collection othis gratis energy. Insolation as an energysource has extensive benets, including

domestic energy with minimal pollution.In the United States, though, it was onlyater the oil crises o the 1970s that theseadvantages became sufciently attractiveto draw ederal and commercial interest.Since then, extensive cooperative researcheorts have evaluated various methodso harvesting the bounty o the sun orthe production o electricity. Commercialinvestment in solar technologies, and inparticular solar thermal power, has resurged

in recent years at the behest o rising interest in

cleaner, renewable, and domestic sources o energy.This article oers a brie exploration o the scienticunderpinnings o this extremely hot technology.

Despite the green hype, the conversion o solarthermal energy into electrical energy is actually a veryinefcient process. The production o electricity romthermal energy requires a heat engine and is thereorelimited by the basic laws o thermodynamics. Theefciency o any heat engine depends on the relativedierence between the input output temperatures aswell as the absolute value o the input temperature.The output temperature o a solar thermal energysystem is the ambient temperature o the air, which

is very ar rom the ideal absolute zero regardlesso season, location, or time o day. The inputtemperature is directly proportional to the intensityo the light collected, which can be increased byocusing light incident on a larger area onto a smallerarea. Consequently, commercial Concentrated SolarPower (CSP) plants tend to sprawl over vast tracts oland to maximize light intensity and thus the inputtemperature. However, designs or solar collectorsmust also minimize the distance traveled by theocused light as well as the distance between the siteo heat o collection and the heat engine to reduceenergy losses to diraction and escaping heat. Asingle CSP system has an ideal size at which it is mosteective.

The concentrator component o a CSP systemaggregates solar energy as thermal energy inthe working uid o the heat engine by ocusingincident solar radiation onto an absorbing medium.The absorbing medium converts the concentratedelectromagnetic radiation into heat and transersthis heat to a circulating heat transer uid, usuallysynthetic oil, molten salt or pressurized steam. Theuid may carry thermal energy to the heat enginethat drives the generator, or may unction as the

working uid in the heat engine itsel. Similar to ossiluel and nuclear power generation, most solar powergeneration systems use traditional steam turbinesto generate electricity, although newer and more

Alex and Eddison inspecting the solar thermal system at UCLAs Dykstradormitory. Courtesy o Maurice Diesendruck.

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Schematic o electricity production using a solar heliostat system with molten salt.Courtesy o Sandia Labs.


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efcient designs eliminate the intermediate transeruid and ocus incident light directly onto the heatengine.

Selection o the absorbing medium and theworking uid are critical to the efciency o a solarthermal collector. Encasing the the heat transer uidin the absorbing medium and insulating the two rom

the surroundings with a vacuum severely reducesconvective losses, but heat loss still occurs over anysignicant distance. The use o molten salt as thetranser medium, such as the 6,250 tons o moltensodium nitrate planned or the Solar Tres installation,necessitates an additional heat transer to water priorto the generation o electricity via steam turbine.However, current technological limitations and thehigh heat capacity o sodium make the storage oheat signicantly cheaper and more efcient thanthe storage o electricity. Molten sodium reservoirsalso allow the latest generation o solar power plantsto continue generating electricity in the absence o

sunlight, improving utilization o the generator andthus reducing the operating cost.Joint ederal-commercial eorts have

thoroughly investigated various collector designsand identied the most cost-eective solutions.Parabolic trough designs such as those ormerly inuse at the 354 MW Solar Energy Generating Systems(SEGS) and currently in use at the 64MW Nevada SolarOne Mojave Desert acilities use rows o parabolictroughs to concentrate solar radiation on absorbertubes. Parabolic troughs only require a single-axistracking system and are signicantly cheaper tomanuacture than parabolic dishes. Solar power

tower designs, such as those implemented in PS10,Solar Two and Solar Tres, employ concentric banks oindividually tracked heliostats to ocus radiation on acentral absorbing medium mounted on a tower. Eachheliostat consists o an array o mirrors and a trackingsystem to continually reect light onto the powertower as the sun moves throughout the day. Studiesby the US National Renewable Energy Laboratoryhave ound that electricity can be be produced withmore maintenance but at a lower overall cost usingpower tower designs. Nonetheless, the most efcient

design to date consists o a single Stirling engineand dish pair mounted to on independent trackingsystem. Sandia has reported efciencies o over 40%with these smaller, modular systems at their acilities.Southern Caliornia Edison has announced plans toconstruct a massive 500MW system 70 miles northeasto Los Angeles based on this design.

Outside o electrical power generation, solarthermal technology is currently employed on a muchsmaller scale or residential pool heating, cooking,and water pasteurization. The NREL has stated thatlow temperature collectors could directly address50% o the hot water demands or residential andcommercial applications in the United States. Solarthermal technology is also currently being investigatedin medical applications as a cheap energy source orsurgical devices. Gordon et. al. have demonstratedthat a concentrated beam o sunlight carried via aber-optic cable has the same surgical utility andprecision o expensive, high-wattage laser systems.

Solar thermal power has also ound applications inindustrial desalination, cooking, and seasonal heatstorage.

Political by Kartik AtyamPolitics have a deep impact on the

implementation o green technologies and renewableenergies in general. The solar thermal process isalso dependent on the decisions o politicians andlegislators because it is not very well known and- asmost renewable energy sources- has a high initial

cost. All major solar thermal implements havebeen created with government subsidies but havealso been subject to high tax rates. The subsidiesprovided have given enough incentive to increasethe square ootage o solar thermal panels sold rom7,759 thousand square eet in 1997 to 19,532 squareeet in 2006. There are 110,852 square eet o panelsavailable today because o the sales rom 1997 to2006. The urther implementation o these systemsare dependent on the decisions made by politiciansto either create more subsidies and lower taxes or to

A solar trough system is a parabolic concentrator with a single axis tracking system. Courtesy o NREL.

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turn a blind eye to this system and ocus more on

other types o technology.An example o solar thermal implementationtangible to UCLA students is the work done by UCLAadministration to make UCLA as environmentallyriendly as possible. UCLAs implementation osolar thermal processes include those installedon the rootop o Dykstra Residential Hall. Thisimplementation saves the school stress in terms oenergy and saves money. The administration at thisuniversity have been adamant to implement moregreen technologies and create as little o a carbonootprint as possible.

The United States Department o Energy

(DOE) is also working with 5 universities to createbetter materials and more efcient manuacturingprocesses. With these new ideas rom the universitiesthe DOE works with two companies to provide scaleprototypes to test. DOE is also working with theNational Renewable Energies Laboratories (NREL)and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) as well asother universities and industry partners in regardto solar heating technologies. This shows that thegovernment is investing time and eort into moreresearch or the implementation o solar thermalsystems.

Also, international work includes the entirenation o Israel. Every home in Israel is providedrunning hot water through individual water heatersadjacent to their homes. This provides a monetarysaving to the individual home owners as well lesso a strain on power or the entire nation.

The United States government has providedsome incentive to conversion to solar thermalwater heaters or home owners. I the conversionto solar water heater is approved by an afliatednon-prot then through the U.S. Energy Policy Acta 30% tax credit will be provided. Unortunatelythis policy has not been well advertised and not

many home owners know o its availability. Ratherthe idea has been brought up to individual cities tobe implemented at a local level. There are 25 SolarAmerica Cities that are working with the US DOEto accelerate the adoption o solar technologieslocally. This program needs to be expanded andbetter advertised to the whole population togreatly reduce non-renewable energy usage as wellas reduce strain on the power grid. By extending an

invitation to all cities as well as inorming all citizens,

this program can be most efcient.The Energy Policy Act works very well to slightlyreduce the non-renewable energy usage but itdoes not approach the idea o making solar thermalsystems into major energy creators. There are onlytwo solar thermal plants in the United States, the64MW Nevada Solar One and 354 MW Solar EnergyGenerating System in the Mojave Desert in Caliornia.But Caliornia and Florida have contracted or at least8 new plants totaling over 2000MW4. Deep interestin creating solar thermal plants only began in 2004,when reasonable and easible plans were introduced.So the recent creation o 2 plants and plans or 8 more

is a positive sign or the promotion o renewableenergies. The government is supporting the creationo renewable energy or use in households. Onceall household energy usage needs are completelysupplied with renewable energies rom a consistentsource we can ocus on expanding that scope toindustry and transportation.

Economic by Jeremy EphratiToday, there is a lot o talking around traditional

energy resources based on nonrenewable resources

extracted rom the ground. However, it is importantto be reminded that the astest growing sourceso energy are solar and wind resources that willnever run out. The technology that uses solar is verypractical. Solar thermal power plants have been incommercial use in southern Caliornia since 1985. Anarea o desert around 250 km by 250 km covered withconcentrating solar power could supply the entireworlds current electricity demand. Thermal plantscan be built within ve years. For now, operationalplants are mostly in the U.S. and Spain and generatebetween 10 and 50 MW.

Currently, there are over 5800MW o solarthermal plants in the planning stages worldwide.The company receiving the most attention is Ausra,led by David Mills. Mills estimates that solar thermalplants could provide more than 90 percent o currentU.S. power demand at prices competitive with coaland natural gas. He also presented statistics aboutsolar-thermal technologies, saying that the prices are$3000 per kW, possibly dropping to $1500 per kW

This solar thermal system heats domestic water by a glycol ethylene system which circulates through theparabolic trough collectors into a coil system in the 4000 gallon tank. Courtesy o David Parsons/NREL.

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in a ew years. Ausra says it can generate electricity

or 10 cents per kWh. Ausra is initially planning a 177MW plant in Caliornia, and has committed to supply1,500 MW o power to Caliornian utilities Pacic gasand Electric Company and Florida Power and LightCompany. PG&E has also signed a 25-year deal withAusras competitor Solel Solar Systems o Israel to buypower rom a 553 MW solar thermal plant that Solelis developing in Caliornias Mojave Desert. FPL hasalso hired Solel to upgrade the SEGS solar-thermalplants it operates in the Mojave. More new plants arebeing planned in Algeria, Australia, Egypt, Iran, Israel,Morocco, Arizona, and Caliornia, ranging rom 10 to300 MW o power generation.

Electricity rom solar thermal plants currentlycosts between US$0.13 and US$0.17 per kilowatt hour(kWh), depending on the location o the plant and theamount o sunshine it receives. Conventional powerplants generate electricity or between US$0.05 andUS$0.15 per kilowatt hour (not including any carbontaxes or cap and trade related costs), but in mostplaces it is below US$0.10, and wind power generallycosts around US$0.08 per kWh.

An economic analysis released last monthby Severin Borenstein, director o the University oCaliornias Energy Institute, notes that solar thermalpower will become cost competitive with other ormso power generation decades beore photovoltaicsdo, even i greenhouse-gas emissions are not taxedaggressively. An estimate rom Sandia labs showedsolar thermal costs (or solar towers) could all toaround 4 cents per kWh by 2030.

Other options or solar power include Stirlingengine based power plants, which generate electricitydirectly, rather than rst storing the energy as heat.Stirling Energy Systems seems to be the leader inthis eld, with some reports describing agreementswith Southern Caliornia Edison and San Diego Gas& Electric or up to 1.75 GW o power. The company

recently set a new world record o 31.25% or Solar-to-Grid conversion efciency.

O

course, generating power isnt the only way to utilize

solar thermal energysolar hot water is a very cheapand efcient way o replacing gas or electricity usagewith solar energy. Solar hot water systems are inwidespread use in Australia, with state and ederalgovernments encouraging people to upgrade theirhome hot water systems to solar, to the point that itis almost cost ree in some states. The New Zealandgovernment also encouraging the use o solar hotwater systems. Solar hot water is in wide use in China,with the city o Rizhao becoming somewhat amousor achieving widespread takeup o the units.

Social by Adam BrownFor millenia, solar thermal energy has providedpeople cheap and abundant energy. With the sunsability to heat things to very high temperatures byexposing them to sunlight, artisans and engineersalike ound ways to harness this energy and put itto work. From temperature regulation to drying thelaundry to cooking meals, solar thermal energy useshould not sound new nor strange.

However, due to the energy crises o the 20thcentury (as well as our current one), solar thermalbecame modernized. In an attempt to alleviate

skyrocketing oil prices in the 70s, alternative energyenterprises saw a huge increase in investment. Withan imperative to make renewable uels economical,many solar-powered technologies entered into theconsumer market.

Arguably the most obvious application o solarthermal energy is in electricity generation. Largearrays have been built in the American southwest,Australia, and the Mediterranean. Smaller panelsare available to power homes. Since no uel isrequired to convert solar energy to electricity, andno pollution is produced, solar thermal power has

gained in popularity with environmentally-conscioushomeowners and businesses. Yet solar arrays typicallyyield low amounts o electricity comparedto the energy they collect, and many placesdo not have strong enough sunshine tomake solar panels the most sensible route.

Cooking with solar energy did notcatch until the 1950s. Though the methodis well over 200 years old, modern solarcookers were an attempt to oer amiliesin the expanding desert communities othe southwestern United States a cheapmeans o preparing hot meals. Their use has

remained rather limited. However, a handulo humanitarian eorts in third worldcountries seek to provide solar cookersto impoverished communities. The solarcookers eliminate the need or wood uelin places devastated by drought or subjectto wildre. And without the need or uel,poor amilies save money. These programsextend rom Central America to Darur andthe Indian subcontinent.

Solar thermal energy has been utilized

Solar troughs in the Eldorado Valley which is part o a 50 MW station. The mirrors are aligned toconcentrate sunlight onto a receiver tube located along the troughs ocal line. There is uid inside thereceiver tube that is heated to a high temperature o approximately 300 degrees Celsius. This workinguid powers a turbine which in turn, generates power. Courtesy o NREL.

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in many other ways. In the United

States, 25% o our energy heatsand cools are homes and ofces.Solar solutions to A/C have beendeveloped to control temperaturevia the movement o water or air andmaterials with high heat capacities.A movement towards buildings thatuse sustainable power to the pointwhere they do not connect to thepower grid, or zero energy buildings,has gained momentum in modernarchitecture. Recent governmentacts have reormed building codes to work with zero

energy rameworks, so we may soon begin to seemany buildings integrating these technologies.Other close - to - home applications o solar

thermal energy include lighting, water heating, andwater purication. Even cars have been designedto run on electricity drawn rom solar rays. And asthe demand or oil increases exponentially as thenew century grinds on, we will likely see even moreinnovative uses or solar energy make it as close asour backyard. Unlike the worlds oil elds, the suncannot be claimed by anyone, so it shines equally onthe poor and the wealthy. This universal energy willsurely become integral to societys unctionality.

Environmental by Alex ChapmanThe most obvious environmental impact o

solar thermal energy generation is the use o land.Other eects that are not obvious are the mining andproduction o materials that go into building thermalplants, the impact o the personnel required to run theplant, and the potential or a catastrophic meltdown.

Solar Thermal Power Systems (STPSs) are usuallybuilt in uninhabited desert areas. These areas provide

cheap land with nominal obstruction rom the sun. Itis sae to say that STPSs do not interere considerablywith human use o the land. Native plants and animalsare impacted, however, in general these living thingscan adapt to the loss o a raction ohabitat.

Over ninety-nine percent o thepollution caused by the use o a STPS iscaused by the mining or and processingo materials that become the physicalcomponents o the power plant. Thisenvironmental cost is not marginal andpales in comparison to the pollution

caused by combustion o ossil uel andeven bio uel.Thermal plants require operation

and maintenance sta. The sta bring the burden ohousing and other human needs, which may or maynot be present beore the building o a STPS. I not,these needs would have to be satised, which wouldimpact the environment in the usual way that humansdo. These needs would be satised i the plant werebuilt within commuting distance o a small or mediumtown.

While not quite the same

scale as a nuclear meltdown,a sudden release o highpressure, hot oil could do bodilyharm as well as harm to thesurrounding land. The potentialor contamination is a reality andmust be a consideration, albeitminor.

Solar Thermal PowerSystems produce certain negativeimpacts on the environment butthese eects certainly seem small

compared to other sources o power generation.

World Implementationby Eli Rubin and Sachin Goel

Solar thermal energy has proven eectiveenough to catch the eyes o many across the globe.There are three main types o solar thermal energylow temperature, medium temperature, and hightemperatureand each application provides varyingmagnitudes o energy to meet the more specieddemand o particular municipalities. The idea o solarthermal energy retains the same basic technology

yet diers in its implementation rom location tolocation.In Bakerseld, Caliornia, the constant sunlight

provides a great opportunity or solar thermal energyto remedy Caliornias energy crisis. Pacic Gas andElectric (PG&E) reached a deal with BrightSourceEnergy Inc. to provide over 900 MW o power, aimingto satisy the Caliornia state goal o achieving 20%renewable energy by 2011. According to Fonn Wang,vice president o energy procurement at PG&E, solarthermal energy can be largely rewarding in Caliornia.Solar thermal energy is an especially attractiverenewable power source because it is availablewhen needed most in Caliornia -- during the peakmid-day summer period. The high temperatureBakerseld plants will use the Distributed Power

Tower technology, aimed at efcientlycapturing the high concentration osunlight ound in Caliornias MojaveDesert.

On the other side o the worldin Cloncurry, Australia, solar thermaltechnology is being implemented inthe city that at one time held Australiashighest recorded temperature o 127.5

degrees Farenheit. Though the claimhas been disputed, the importantconclusion to draw here is that it ishot (enough or solar thermal power).

This power tower is unique in that it implementsnew technology to retain heat in the orm o puriedgraphite. A major advantage o solar thermal poweris the ability to store energy or a cloudy day, and thepuried graphite allows or the heat to be stored,as it is drawn rom the graphite blocks rather thanthe receivers themselves. The Cloncurry station isexpected to cost around 30 million dollars (American)

This experimental solar power station in Caliornias MojaveDesert (Solar Two) uses light reected by mirrors to heatmolten salt to 565C (1050F). The salt then boils water whichdrives a steam turbine to generate electricity.Courtesy o NREL.

The SEGS IV parabolic trough power plant inKramer Junction, Caliornia. Courtesy oSandia National Laboratories.

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and produce 30 million kilowatt hours a year,

beginning in the year 2010.Up north in Toronto, Canada, mediumtemperature solar thermal tanks are being undedby the Portland Energys Centre via City Hall asenvironmental recompense or a new gas-poweredenergy plant. Medium temperature solar thermalenergy is more suitable or individual consumption,and special evaluations o property is undergonebeore a household is eligible to receive city undingor solar thermal energy. The pilot project aims to gainbetween 100 and 150 homes o the South Riverdaledistrict, and i successul expand the project to otherareas o the city.

There are also numerous locations around theglobe that are under consideration or solar thermaldevelopment including the Sahara Desert, and Turkey.Experts believe that 0.3% o the Sahara Desert has thepotential to provide enough energy or all o Europeand Arica, enabling the region to reduce carbonemissions by 70%. Turkey is another country that isin dire need o a solution to their energy problems.Although the country is bordered by resource-richnations to the north and south, there are limitedreserves within its borders; thereore within the lastew years, the country has begun to invest heavily insolar thermal energy solutions.

Demand all over the world will most likelyincrease in the coming decade as countries continueto try and decrease their carbon emissions and searchor alternative energy sources.

UCLA Implementationby Igor Bogorad

Located in one o the most progressive citiesin the world, UCLA should be at the oreront oimplementing renewable energy. Though theuniversity has made many large scale improvements,UCLA can still do a lot more. UCLA is the second largestuser o water in the Los Angeles County (LADWP). Thisact should come as no surprise considering that wehave 9,500 residents living on the Hill. The sun radiatesabout 250 watts per square meter. This energy iscomposed o electromagnetic radiation with dierent

wavelengths. Most o the suns energy lies within the

visible rage. One way to utilize the suns energy is toconvert a specic wavelength range (band gap) intoelectricity by direct current. Another option, which iscurrently more economical, is to use the suns thermalenergy.

Solar water heaters have existed or decades andcan be considered a mature technology. On CampusHousing uses solar water heaters in each o the ourResidential Hall towers (Dykstra, Rieber, Hedrick, andSproul). The heated water is used by the ResidentialHalls as well as De Neve Dining Restaurant throughthe use o a heat exchanger.

The heat exchanger uses the solar energy and

converts it into heat. The receiver absorbs the solarradiation and transers the energy to a working uid,either water or air. Glycol is oten added to water toprevent reezing. Since air is worse at transerringheat, it can tolerate higher temperatures than a water-containing collector. A major issue with many solarsystems is the problem o the suns changing position.A stationary at-plate collector is usually positionedto ace the equator with an angle that would give theoptimal amount o sunlight.

The at-plate collectors have a dark absorberwhich is heated by radiation. The heat is trappedwithin the cover o the glass similar in concept tothe greenhouse eect. The absorber usually consistso copper, aluminum and steel. What improvementscan be made? Coating the glass with a material thatreduces reection can enhance perormance by 4%.Also, using two glass covers will reduce heat lossbut increase the cost o the system and lower theoptical efciency. Using reectors could improveperormance but the reector must not cast a shadowon the collector. Residential load (demand) or heatedwater occurs at times when solar radiation is theweakest. Because o the dierence in load times, astorage system must be used.

Next year, Rieber Hall will be retrotted. Arecent UC Regents mandate requires that all new andretrotted buildings must become LEED certied.Maintenance is attempting to nd more ways toimprove the buildings perormance to obtain goldcertication. Jerey Hall, the acilities manager orOn Campus Housing, stated that though no PVwill be installed in Rieber, the building is designedto accommodate solar panels. However, theinefciencies o solar cells, low reductions in carbonemissions, and high price are major obstacles whichmust be overcome beore a substantial decision canbe made.

What else can UCLA do to implement solarthermal energy? With the cost o about $250,000 togenerate 25 kW, the Sterling Dish solar concentratorcould provide cheaper and more efcient electricitythan a PV system. However, a solar concentrating planton top o a Residential Hall would be heavy, large, anddependent on additional training rom maintenance.Many details must be considered careully beoreapplying a technology that seems attractive.

Igor viewing the solar thermal water heating system on the roo o the Dykstra Buildingat UCLA. Courtesy o Maurice Diesendruck.

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UCLA Super MileageVehicle by Alex Chapman

Supermileage Vehicle at UCLA isan engineering student project whichbuilds a small car to compete with otheruniversities and schools or the best gasmileage. Last year, the team competedin two events. The rst was ShellsEcomarathon at the Caliornia Speedwayin Fontana, in which UCLA scored anincredible 824 miles per gallon or 8thplace out o 22 teams. The second wasthe Society o Automotive Engineerscompetition in Lansing, Michigan, wherethe team achieved 832 miles per gallonwhich was 6th place out o 20 teams.These numbers are outstanding, but thereis still room or improvement. The world recordexceeds 6000 miles per gallon. The major actorsbehind achieving such uel efciency are low rollingresistance and air drag, extremely low weight, and asmall engine.

At UCLA, students direct the design andabrication o the car. This year brings a whole new

design, one that has a higher center o gravity but aatter prole overall. The designers hope the reducedprole decreases air resistance. The body wasengineered to have less material without sacricingrigidity and thinner tires with a higher air pressure toimprove the rolling resistance. While the Supermileagevehicle may look more like an enclosed Go-Kart thana amily sedan, all o these improvements could beapplied to current automobiles.

The student project is a lesson in design,abrication, and problem solving or all o itsmembers, most o whom are mechanical engineeringundergraduates. The car also proves that the cars we

drive today can get better gas mileage with simpledesign changes--we do not have to waitor some distant uture.For urther inormation, visit the websiteat http://smv.uclaracing.com.

Escaping theHydrocarbon Rut

by Jack Moxon

Since taking the reigns as the

president o Shell Oil, John Homeisterhas been turning heads with his candid discussiono the worlds energy problems. On April 10, 2008 Mr.Homeister brought that candor to UCLA as he metwith aculty rom the Institute o the Environment toelucidate his vision o our energy uture and Shellsposition in the 21st century. At the meeting, hedescribed our energy concerns with the same bluntlanguage that he has as he has toured the nation.We are stuck in a hydro-carbon rut, he said. Loadedwith as many implications as that statement is, it is

particularly important coming rom a man who,in his own terms, represents an industry somewould say has all but zero credibility. Howeverone eels about the oil industry and its corporateleaders, it must be said that John Homeisterand Shell Oil have entered the conversationabout our energy needs in a world which acesclimate change. One can only hope that theywill be joined by impassioned yet pragmaticenvironmentalists and willing politicians in orderto bring about a positive solution to the energycrisis we ace.

The president began the meeting withwhat he called three hard truths. First, energydemand will only increase in the coming century.Second, conventional or easy oil productionwill soon peak. And third, world demand or coalwill increase. In light o the rapid developmento China, India and the rest o the Third World,the planets thirst or oil will only grow. Another

hard truth which he did not mention explicitlybut implied throughout the meeting and inprevious interviews is the act that ourcurrent orm o energy consumptionexacerbates anthropogenic climatechange. In the widely respected SternReview, British economist NicolasStern estimates that stabilization othe planets climate will ultimatelyrequire reduction o carbon dioxideemissions by 80 percent. This is aphenomenally large gure.

How do we get out o this rut?

Shell is looking or answers in twoplaces: renewable energy and unconventionalsources o oil. Over the past decade renewableenergy has been important to Shell, as thecompany has invested $1 billion in windtechnology and it has been steadily investingin new solar technologies and more efcientphotovoltaic cells. It has even opened the rsthydrogen ueling station in North America. Atthe same time, Mr. Homeister and Shell estimatethat a trillion barrels o unconventional oil

DISCUSSION andOPINION

Courtesy o Shell

Supermileage Vehicle team and car. Courtesy o Alex Chapman.

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resources lie in the shale deposits o North America

and that this may prove a cost eective solution tothe limitations o traditional oil supplies. Accordingto Mr. Homeister, the company has invested over$100 billion in developing new extraction technologywhich, given the investment o a mere $1 billion inrenewable sources, indicates a strong bias towardscontinuing to use ossil uels as the primary source oenergy.

In an interview on Charlie Roses PBS show, Mr.Homeister proposed a two pronged solution to ourenergy problem. First, the United States should openup domestic oil reserves (o the Alaskan coast andalong the East and West coasts) to drilling in order

to ease the burden o high oil prices and promotecontinued economic growth. He stresses that wemust continue to provide or a strong economy.Second, the United States should impose a capand trade system to regulate emission o carbondioxide in order to combat climate change. The latterproposition represents a tremendous evolution inthe discussion o climate issues and energy policyin the United States. The president o a major oilcompany is calling or mandatory emissions caps oncarbon dioxide. This is remarkable, and I applaud Mr.Homeister or his position on this matter. However, Imnot completely convinced that his rst prescription isequally laudable.

The United States government ought to maintainits ban on drilling and publicly afrm its intention odoing so. This will send a clear signal to the oil industrythat its revenue will have to come rom sources otherthan domestic oil while allowing the price o oil tocontinue to increase. This will act as an implicit subsidyto producers o alternative uels and improves thecompetitiveness o their products. Consumers andproducers will substitute towards more cost eectivealternatives as the price o oil extends well beyond$100 a barrel. While our demand or energy may

increase, our demand or ossil uels need not. Price

increases will help curb our appetite or oil in the most

efcient way possible. At the same time, the UnitedStates government ought to increase and encourageinvestment in renewable energy in order to reduceits cost and improve its efciency. This two prongedstrategy would more rapidly acilitate the transitionto a carbon neutral world.

While I appreciate Mr. Homeisters concernor the prots o his company and the eect thatrising oil prices will have on the world economy, I amunconvinced that we need to transition as slowly as histwo pronged prescription suggests. It is true: we aredeeply dependent on hydro-carbons. But the best wayto decrease this dependency is to begin substituting

away rom carbon based energy immediately.Unconventional oil shale is not the answer. Wind, solarand hydrogen are. As mentioned beore, the Sternreport estimates that climate stabilization will require80 percent reduction o carbon dioxide emission overthe course o the 21st century. This requires swit andundamental change in the source o our energysupply. Opening up the United States to drilling isa step in the wrong direction and merely delays ournecessary oray into a carbon neutral uture. Allowingthe price o oil to rise encourages a ree marketsolution to our undamental energy problems.

What I really took away rom the meeting withMr. Homeister was that the United States needs acomprehensive and coherent energy policy. Whetherit is Mr. Homeisters two pronged solution or theone that I suggested above, everyone needs to be onthe same page. All interested parties need to begintalking. Shell has come to the table. Will the rest othe country have the political will to answer themand negotiate a comprehensive strategy? I thinkso, but it remains to be seen. Currently, in a void oleadership and clear policy, Shell is wagering thatunconventional sources o ossil uels will drive theuture; their investment ratios clearly suggest this.

However, i the United States government comes


FEED students on the roo at UCLA. More than one hundred 4 t by 8 t panels collect solar thermal energy. Courtesy o Maurice Diesendruck.

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orth with a clear and explicit policy afrming

its ban on domestic drilling and promotinginvestment in renewable energy, Shell andother market actors can begin investing morewisely. Only then will Shell begin to investing$100 billion in renewable energy and $1billion in oil extraction, and only then will weescape the hydro-carbon rut.

Interview withProessor Stolzenbach

by Sam Feinberg

We here at FEED wanted to get a proessorsopinion on the uture o energy production.We sat down with environmental engineerKeith Stolzenbach to let him try and tacklethese difcult questions.

FEED: What is the energy technology o theuture?

Proessor Stolzenbach: The uel o the uture shouldbe something we wont run out o, and that also helpsthe climate. We will never run out o solar, wind, tidal,

and biouels, and or all practical purposes, nuclear aswell. The problem with many o these is that at thepresent time none o them are economically easibleto replace our dependency on carbon. Economicpressure however will create change. This will resultin the incorporation o these new sources o energy,but will cost more money and will require a changein liestyle. There will even be coal still used but it willcost more to clean it up.

FEED: Do you think there is either an undiscoveredproduction method or a more efcient use o currenttechnology?

Proessor Stolzenbach: The usion power,which is clean nuclear energy, is always lurking,but it is not talked about because it is still aresearch topic in the physics community. Unlesssomeone makes the process more efcient itmay not happen. There is also a whole area oconverting solar energy to electricity such asthrough solar voltaic and uel cells. The holygrail o biouels is a microorganism that will moreeectively break down the carbon in plants. Therecould be a breakthrough in the ability to break down

cellulose and there is a lot o energy in the cellulose.Getting a bug to break it down into uel would behuge.

*The views expressed here are simply the opinions oProessor Stolzenbach.

Future o PV by Adam SorensenAdams Corner: Whats Hot in Solar Cell Technology?

Solar cells are similar to batteries in the way

they operate, but batteries derive their energy roma chemical reaction contained within them, whereassolar cells obtain energy rom the sun. Solar cells usethe suns energy to produce an electrical potential,essentially the same thing as the two ends o abattery a positive and negative end. When a solarcell is exposed to the sun and an electrical device isattached to these two ends, energy can be extracted.The power conversion efciency o solar cells dependson how they are made, and herein lays the questionand challenge that continues to puzzle and inspireindividuals in the scientic and research community.In this article, we explore three options that scientistshave investigated to help increase the efciency osolar cells

Thin-lm Solar CellsThe most popular solar technology right now

is thin-lm solar, with commercially availableproducts being supplied by companies such asPowerFilm Solar and Nanosolar. The scientistsat Nanosolar, a new company created aboutsix years ago, have been able to produce veryeective thin-lm solar technology that issuperior in quality. To create these thin lms, amachine passes a roll o oil through an ink madeo CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide). TheCIGS serves a useul purpose by eectively

locking in a uniorm distribution (by design).In other words, Nanosolar has optimized their inkto obtain a uniorm distribution o the proper ratios

o these our elements on anything they print on.PowerFilm Solar manuactures similar materials andemphasize the dierent ways in which these solarlms can be used. Some examples o applicationo their PowerFilm include oldable solar sheets thatcan be used to charge personal electronic devicessuch as cell phones, laptop batteries, and PDAs. On alarger scale, their roll-out solar mats can be placed onbuildings to reduce energy costs.

Plant Biomimicry


Magnied view o the Popcorn-ball Design. Courtesy o University o Washington.

Courtesy o UCLA

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Our current environmental problems o industrial

pollution and global warming, compounded with agrowing population with growing energy demands,motivates us to search or preexisting prototypes thathave streamlined their light-harvesting mechanisms.Plant biomimicry seems to be the answer, since plantshave been around or ages. Thus, they have been ableto develop a very efcient and essentially perect wayo capturing energy rom sunlight and converting itinto chemical energy in which they can use to growand reproduce. Biomimicry provides a promisingmodel or which we can use to develop useul andefcient devices to better suit our energy wantsand needs. Currently, scientists who have studied

photosynthesis can recreate individual reactions in alaboratory setting, but combining these reactions inthe right order to produce sufcient energy continuesto be challenging.

In the January issue o ScienticAmerican, Mark Alpert described anew technique in monitoring howphotosynthesis works, which wouldprovide a better understanding on how tocapture the suns energy more efciently.Using spectroscopy techniques on greensulur bacterium at the temperature oliquid nitrogen (77 Kelvin) changed theold theory o light-to-energy transerassociated with photosynthesis. In thediscovery, which was conducted by GregoryS. Engel and his group at the University o Chicago, thelight energy was ound to travel in wavelike motionsalong all possible light-accepting molecule paths. Inother words, contrasted with the old theory that lightenergy hopped rom one molecule to the otheruntil it was reacted into useable energy a processthat would systematically decrease the light energy it was ound that light somehow ound the mostefcient path o travel. By integrating this new nding

into photovoltaic solar cells, the efciency may verylikely increase.

Dye-Sensitized Solar CellsIn contrast to thin-lm solar technology, dye-

sensitized solar cells are beginning to emerge as ahot technology as well. Dye-sensitized solar cellswork dierently than conventional silicon-basedphotovoltaic cells. In dye-sensitized solar cells,the dye molecules provide the electrons sincethey are photosensitive, and the semiconductingnanoparticles, commonly made o zinc oxide ortitanium dioxide, create the charge separation. In

silicon-based solar cells, the silicon perorms boththese unctions, hindering the exibility by which thesetwo processes can be manipulated independently.

Although dye-sensitized technology hasbeen around since 1991, it has only recently beenreexamined due to the current push toward renewableenergy sources. A relatively new company calledSolaronix, located in Switzerland, claims to be theleading developer o dye-sensitized solar cells andeven sells kits to make your own dye-sensitized solarcells! Since the dye-sensitized solar cells produce

electricity directly rom light on a molecular level, the

process closely resembles photosynthesis, the lightto energy conversion process that plants utilize. Inact, by using titanium dioxide, a common non-toxicingredient ound in toothpaste and Dentyne Ice gum,as the semiconductor surace, scientists have beenable to obtain over 11% percent efciency with thesedye-sensitized solar cells.

An efciency booster o more than 250%applied to dye-sensitized solar cells was reported inScience Daily this past April. This may be explainedby coating the surace o dye-sensitized solar cellswith a substance that resembles the appearance opopcorn, with its structure designed to accept light

more eectively than simple at-panel solar cells o thesame design. The image below is greatly magnied,with the largest particles about 300 nanometers indiameter particles so small the surace appears

absolutely at to the naked eye.One advantage o these dye-

sensitized solar cells is that they are muchless expensive to produce, as they donot require harsh chemical treatments orheating conditions. Furthermore, theyuse less toxic chemicals in most designs,and are simple to assemble. The tradeos,however, are lower power conversionefciencies and the use o dyes based on

ruthenium, a rare and expensive metal toxicto humans.

Despite these obstacles, Dr. Wayne Campbell andresearchers at Massey University in New Zealand haveound a way to incorporate the ingenuity o nature intotheir solar cells. They used the dye-sensitized solarconcept as a oundation, but incorporated syntheticchlorophyll containing magnesium as the dye in placeo the ruthenium dyes used in conventional dye-sensitized solar cells. When these cells were tested atlow-light conditions to simulate cloudy days, they still

perormed efciently. Moreover, the predicted cost tomanuacture these cells would be ten times cheaperthan silicon-based solar panels, making them a likelyinvestment in the competitive world market.

There is still a ways to go with solar technology,but combining the concepts o todays solartechnology with natures ingenuity looks promising,since doing this will likely reduce pollution, lowermanuacturing costs and increase efciency. Withall these innovative advances in light-to-energyconversion, solar technology is on its way to providea substantial part o our energy demand.

Wind Energy: Not a Breeze,But Worth It by Shyaam Subramanian

The sprawling expanse o rural Tamilnadu inSouth India is, in a word, breathtaking. You see rockymountains, iconic Hindu temples situated near thevibrant Indian Ocean, and large tracts o armlanddoused in sunlight so erce it makes you wonderi this part o India is closer to the sun. I rememberespecially enjoying the breeze rom the ocean and


Dr. Wayne CampbellCourtesy o Massey University

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the Indian sweets (made with no restraint o sugar)

as comort rom the unbearable humidity and heat.I remember experiencing nature sometimes in itspurest orm, getting a sense o what lie would belike without civilization, and seeing dry, untouched,barren land. Still, one o my most vivid memories waswitnessing human ingenuity in this rural setting. Iremember being struck by an excessively simple andeective way to make salt--having various pools oseawater in a controlled space, and then allowingsolar evaporation to leave the salt behind. While thismethod might be a common practice, I saw it as anexample o humans using natures orces (in this casethe sun) or constructive, economic purposes. I saw

not just these salt arms, but also various windmills,wind arms, and wind-powered water pumps, whichconrmed my belie that nature is not just aestheticallyvaluable, but useul to modern society, and thati Tamilnadu serves as a model, then wind energycertainly has a uture in several regions through local,concentrated eorts.

There are denitely costs and obstacles or thedevelopment o wind energy. People have concernsabout inconsistent wind patterns, costs o operationand transmission to demand centers as well as ndingthe political impetus to invest in alternative energy.However, we can still analyze potential rom growthin terms o environmental, economic, and politicalviability. First, wind arms do not have to be evenlyspread out across the country; they can be located inareas where wind is more consistent or the geographyis more amenable. In act, Tamilnadus success in windenergy is largely due to certain geographical eatures.For example, three mountain ranges concentratesteady winds, and monsoon season in the regionbetween June and September provides especiallystrong winds. In addition, the availability o vast

expanses o inexpensive land are perect or wind

arms, which on average require 25 acres or everyone megawatt o wind power generated . While somemay doubt the ability o a rural, localized setting tohave a national impact, Tom Gray rom the AmericanWind Energy Association notes, At present, just over70 percent o Indias total wind capacity o 180 MW issited in Tamil Nadu, with 120 wind turbines totaling19.35 MW being owned by the state electricity boardand 458 machines totaling 111.73 MW in privatehands.

However, there is even hope or weak orintermittent winds to be used or constructive,economic purposes. Small arms can experiment

with wind-powered water pumps that could irrigatetheir arms, conserve electricity, and supplant electricmotors or diesel pump sets. An example o a smallbut eective project involving wind energy is in SpiritLake, Iowa, where 250 and 750-kilowatt turbines willsoon be able to provide sufcient electricity to powerall the districts operations. This marks the rst time aU.S. school district is using wind as its primary energysource. In this case, the U.S Department o Energyprovided start-up capital or the turbine, but the districthas earned money rom the sale o electricity back toutility companies -- somewhere in the neighborhoodo $20-25,000 since 1998. Businesses, school districts,and arms can take the initiative, and while start-upcosts can be expensive, it costs less than it did whenresearch rst began. Ater all, local associations andprivate individuals own 75% o the wind turbines inDenmark.

A second way or wind energy to developis through government incentives or regionaldevelopment programs that can improve theeconomic viability o wind energy projects. Therehas been historical precedent or regional and rural


Liberty Flower Courtesy o Maya Benari, 2008. Graphic design and photography. Lets take a little care o our planet by meeting the needs o the present and notcompromising the needs our uture generations. Gaining liberty rom dwindling energy sources owers through using sustainable practices.

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development, such as the SUDENE program o dams

and rural electricity to counteract the impacts odrought in Northeast Brazil, or the Tennessee ValleyAuthority in the southern United States. Similarly,Tamilnadu has an agency known as the TamilnaduEnergy Development Agency (TEDA), which estimatesthat continued growth in wind energy in the statecould occur at 60 MW a year or the next ew years. This organization, along with others such as anenergy division o Tamilnadus electricity board, canbe and has been successul by providing consultationand technical inormationto those with experimentalprojects. The local

government has also beeninvolved, with (two percent)wheeling (transmission),10 percent project costsubsidy, and tax exemptionsor generator purchase andwind consumption. A taxincentive or businessesto relocate to areasamenable to wind energyis another political option,but requires commitment,experimentation, andprobably some patience.

There is a Tamil proverbthat reads Searching all over the place or what youhave with you in hand-- a phrase that is trite but stilltrue. We live in a world sometimes so elaborate andindustrialized that we try to nd the most complexsolutions to our problems when sometimes oursolution can just come rom that simple breeze romthe Indian Ocean.

Fuel From Algae? by Igor BogoradWhy has Big Oil started to und renewable energy

programs? Many argue that this investing is largelya publicity stunt; however, the money that is spentsuggests otherwise. Last year, British Petroleum (BP)spent $500 million to create the Energy BiosciencesInstitute, a collaboration with UC Berkeley andUIUC. Chevron has taken a dierent approach byinvesting in dozens o biouels research projects,thus diversiying its renewable energy portolio. Byinvesting smaller amounts but with greater breadth,Chevron hopes to maximize it chances to own therights to the renewable energy o the uture. Chevron

has been reconstructing its image rom that o an oilgiant to that o an energy company, even adoptingthe new slogan Human Energy. Chevron has recentlysponsored a $12 million dollar collaboration with theNational Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) toproduce algal biodiesel. This is not a new technologyand is very reminiscent o a similar NREL programstarted several decades ago.

Ater the energy crisis o 1973, there was anattempt to decrease US dependency on oreign oil.Between 1976 to 1996, DOE sponsored a program

called the Aquatic Species Program with the goal to

produce economical quantities o algal biodiesel. Theprogram was heavily under-unded and relativelyunsuccessul. When the price o oil dropped tonormal rates, the ASP was cut. The closing report orthe ASP revealed that thousands o algal strands wereanalyzed, but only minimal discoveries were made.Unortunately, genetic engineering and the studyo proteins had emerged in the last two years o theprogram, which would have allowed or the majorbreakthroughs that were needed or large scale algal

growth.Algae can contain up

to 50% oil. This oil can be

converted into biodiesel andrun on any diesel engine. Algaecan produce more biodieselper acre than any other energycrop such as soybean or palmoil (which currently dominatethe market). The estimatedtransportation diesel uel andhome heating oil used in theUnited States is about 160million tonnes. I the entirearable land area o the UnitedStates (which is 2 millionsquare km) was devoted tobiodiesel production rom

soy, this would just about provide the 160 milliontonnes required. The DOE estimates that i algaeuel replaced all the petroleum uel in the UnitedStates, it would require 40,000 square km. Othercool ideas? An amazing research eort is attemptingto produce economical quantities o hydrogen gasrom algae. This hydrogen can then be used as theuel or a hydrogen uel cell to produce electricity.Scientists have converted the lactic acid producedby microorganisms into bioplastics. These plastics are

called polylactates and can be used in commercialproducts such as git cards.During Winter 2007, Maurice and I talked to

Chie Scientist Ofcer Dr. Bertrand Vick rom AuroraBiouels. The company won the prestigious Intel+ UC Berkeley Challenge (IBTEC) in 2006. Aurora isdeveloping proprietary strains and technology thatlead to greater biomass and oil-yields rom algalcultures. The company initially licensed technologyrom the University o Caliornia at Berkeley, butlater developed its own strain platorm. The algalstrains remove CO2 rom the air as they grow quickly.According to Dr. Vick, number #2 Diesel contains large

amounts o sulur which produces greenhouses andcarcinogenic compounds. These negative attributeso petro-diesel can be replaced by the clean, algal-derived biodiesel. Ater winning the IBTEC, VCcapitalists went to Aurora instead o the other wayaround.

Bottom line: algal biodiesel has huge potential inthe transportation energy sector. The major challengewill be to develop methods to cheaply extract andconvert the oils into high quality diesel uel on a largescale.

Four FEED students made a test batch o biodiesel rom pure soybean oil.Courtesy o Jon Shapiro/FEED.

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Reerences

PV

1. Berkman, Leslie, From Rootop to Shining Rootop, The PressEnterprise, March 28, 2008.2. Brown, Mark. Gaining on the Grid http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9019305&contentId=70351993. Biouels and Solar Energy Discussed in Wall Street TranscriptWall Street Transcript. March 6 2008. http://biz.yahoo.com/twst/080306/zv802.html?.v=14. Dorn, Jonathan. Solar Cell Production Jumps 50 Percent in 2007Earth Policy Institute. December 27, 2007. http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Solar/2007.htm5. Drews, A.C. de Keizer, H.G. Beyer, E. Lorenz, J. Betcke W.G.J.H.M.van Sark, W. Heydenreich, E. Wiemken, S. Stettler,

renewable energy: solar power

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