September 26, 2015

Diego VillarrealSHP – Columbia University

Introduction to Energy

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Course Overview

• This course is intended for you to get an better understanding of the “energy system”.

• We will use tools for engineering and economics to answer some fundamental questions about our energy system such as:○ What is energy?○ How much do we use?○ Where does it come from?○ How much does it cost?○ Are we “running out” of oil?○ Can renewables replace fossil fuels?

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Syllabus• What other

things/topics would you like to cover?

• Computer/Phone policy.• Do you have any

questions?

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Energy is crucial for our economy

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What do we mean by Energy?

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• Energy – capacity to do work, to make a force act through a distance. Makes thing hot or makes things move: kilowatt hours.

• Power – energy transferred per unit time: kilowatt hours per unit time, typically day, flow of energy. Energy = powerXtime

• Capacity of power station – kilowatts [or megawatts = 1000 kW], maximum number of kilowatt hours it can produce in an hour

• (see MacKay chapter 2)• Units of energy:

• Joule (J) – kJ, MJ, GJ, etc• kWh – 1 kW * 1 hr = 1kWh = 3.6MJ• BTU (British thermal unit) = 2.931E-4 kWh• toe (ton of oil equivalent) = 11630 kWh• Quads = 1E15 BTU’s• Kcal = 1.163E-3 kWh

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Power

• Power is the rate at which something uses/consumes energy○ Analogy: Think of water and water taps. If you want to drink 1 L of water,

turn on the water tap and create a flow until you fill your 1L glass:• Volume = flow x time• flow = volume/time

○ Energy is like water volume, power is like water flow.• Energy = power x time

• Power is so important, that it has its own units (unlike water flow)○ Units of power:

• Watts (J/s), kW (1000J/s), MW (1E6 J/s), GW (1E9 J/s), TW (1E12 J/s).• Horsepower (hp): 1 hp = 745 W• Foot-pound (ft-lbf/min): 1 W = 44.25 ft-lbf/min

○ Remember, if we are talking about power it always needs to be “per-something” (e.g. Joules per second).

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Power vs output

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• 1 watt = 0.00134102209 horsepower• 1 megawatt = 1,341 hp = 4 powerful cars• Wind turbine = 3 MW• Engines of a Boeing 747 have capacity of 250

megawatts• Big coal or nuclear power station is 1000

megawatts (gigawatt) up• NYC electricity consumption 140,000 GWh/yr• NYS generation capacity 40,000 MW or 40GW• US generation capacity 1000GW or 1TW

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The Energy system

• The energy system is complex interconnection of all components related to the production, conversion, and use of energy.

• Key components: Primary Energy, Energy Carriers, Energy Forms, Energy Services.

• All steps are linked by different conversion and distribution technologies.

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The Energy System

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A first glimpse at the energy system

• Which do you think is the fuel with the largest share of Total Primary Energy Supply?○Does this change for the US?○China?

• For the world, which sector/flow do you think consumes the largest share of energy?

• What do you think is the most important fuel for electricity production?

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The Global Energy System

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USA

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China

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World Electricity Production

IEA, Key World Energy Statistics 2013

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Primary Energy Consumption Per Capita

BP Statistical Review 2013

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Is Energy Required for Development?

• What do you think is the relationship between development and energy use?

• Is the economy tightly “coupled” to energy?

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Challenges

• So what’s the big deal?• Non-renewable resources• CO2 emissions• Environmental degradation. • Are there enough resources to sustain

increasing demand?

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