Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy
Chapter 16
Iceland Geothermal Energy
Core Case Study: Iceland’s Vision of a
Renewable-Energy Economy (1)
 Supplies 75% of its primary energy and almost
all of its electrical energy using
1) Geothermal energy (sits atop volcanic diverging
plate boundary)
2) Hydroelectric power
 No fossil fuel deposits: imports oil
 Bragi Arnason: “Dr. Hydrogen”
1) Energy vision – 100% renewable by 2050-2060
2) Use electricity to decompose H20 into H2 & O2
by electrolysis.
3) Use H2 as hydrogen fuel for transportation
Core Case Study: Iceland’s Vision of a
Renewable-Energy Economy (2)
 2003: World’s first commercial hydrogen filling
station
 2003–2007: three prototype fuel-cell buses
 2008: 10 Toyota Prius test vehicles
• Hydrogen-fueled
 Whale-watching boat: partially powered by a
hydrogen fuel cell
16-1 Why Is Energy Efficiency an
Important Energy Resource?
 Concept 16-1 We could save as much as 43%
of all the energy we use by improving energy
efficiency.
 Energy conservation – decrease in energy use
based on reducing unnecessary waste of energy
 Energy efficiency – measure of amount of work
we can get from each unit of energy used.
16-1 Why Is Energy Efficiency an
Important Energy Resource?
What % of energy in U.S. is wasted?
84%
Unavoidable Loss?
41%
Unneccessary Waste?
43%
What is the value of the lost energy?
$300 billion per year
How much does that cost the U.S. each
minute?
$570,000
How can we save a lot of this money?
Improve efficiency !
16-1 Improving Energy Efficiency
What is the Second Law of Energy
(Thermodynamics)?
In any conversion of energy to useful work,
some of the initial energy is always
degraded to a lower-quality, more
dispersed less useful energy – usually low
temperature heat that flows into the
environment.
2nd Law Spells Heat Loss
16-1 Energy Efficiency
Which pictured technology
is most efficient? Least?
Fuel cells 60%
Incandescent lights 5%
How do nuclear power and
coal fired power plants
compare?
Nuclear Power Plant 17%
Coal Fired Power Plant 34%
We Waste Huge Amounts of Energy (2)
 Four widely used devices that waste energy
 Incandescent light bulb
 Motor vehicle with an internal combustion
engine
 Nuclear power plant
 Coal-fired power plant
 Possible alternatives for the “outdated four”
Net Energy Efficiency
What % of the energy from
uranium ends up as useful
heat in a house?
14% (1/4 of U.S. homes)
Which step is least efficient?
Processing & Transportation
or Power plant
What % of sunlight ends up
as heat in a house?
90% !much better!
What happens to the lost
energy?
It ends up as heat lost to the
surroundings.
Passive Solar House Achievement
 99% of heating & 95% of daytime lighting from the
sun.
 Uses 1/10th of electricity of normal house.
 Costs of improvements saved in 10 months.
 Energy Saving Features?
 Superinsulating windows,
•
•
•
•
•
thinner insulation,
smart walls,
computer controlled heat adjustments,
solar cells
partially earth sheltered
Passive Solar Design Elements

 Direct gain
 Green house,
sunspace or

attached solarium
 Earth Sheltered 
 Thermal Mass

 Convection Loops
 Earth Tubes
House is designed for air to naturally
circulate by warm air rising and cool
air sinking.
Air coming into the house goes
underground to equilibrate with the
stable temperature of the ground.
House is built into the Earth to use
the Earth’s natural insulation.
Heat absorbing materials built into
the house to store heat collected
sunlight.
 Attached space that collects energy
of sunlight and cycles it through the
house.
 House has windows and eaves
oriented to collect Winter sunlight
We Waste Huge Amounts of Energy (1)
 Advantages of reducing energy waste:
1) Quick and clean
2) Usually the cheapest to provide more energy
3) Reduce pollution and degradation
4) Slow global warming
5) Increase economic and national security
6) Prolong fossil fuel supplies
7) Reduces oil imports, improves energy security
8) Very high net energy yield
9) Buys time to phase in alternatives
10) Creates local jobs
16-2 How Can We Cut Energy Waste?
 Concept 16-2 We have a variety of
technologies for sharply increasing the energy
efficiency of industrial operations, motor
vehicles, and buildings.
Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP)
 How is energy from burning gasoline in a car used for
more than just driving?
 Recharge the battery, radio, power steering, AC, heating
interior
 All reduce mileage except heating interior
 Kentridge is heated by steam radiators distributed from
the boiler room.
 Power plants can use their steam after turning the
turbines to heat the plant and nearby buildings. U.S. &
China following Europe.
 In Germany businesses, apartment buildings & homes
use small cogeneration units running on LPG or natural
gas to produce all their heat and electricity needed.
Residential Cogeneration
http://www.ballard.com/Stationary_Power/Cogeneration_Fuel_Cells/Default.htm
Household Cogeneration
We Can Save Energy and Money
in Industry (1)
 Replace energy-wasting electric motors (Retire
150 power plants)
 Convert cement industry to dry kiln process –
Save 42% NRG
 Recycling materials – Metals – Save 75% NRG
 Switch from low-efficiency incandescent lighting
to higher-efficiency fluorescent and LED lighting
Compact Fluorescent Lighting
Efficient: CFLs are four times more efficient and last up to 10 times longer than
incandescents. A 22 watt CFL has about the same light output as a 100
watt incandescent. CFLs use 50 - 80% less energy than incandescents.
Less Expensive: Although initially more expensive, you save money in the
long run because CFLs use 1/4 the electricity and last up to 10 times as
long as incandescents. A single 18 watt CFL used in place of a 75 watt
incandescent will save about 570 kWh over its lifetime. At 8 cents per kWh,
that equates to a $45 savings.(Would you buy $3 incandescent or $6 CFL?)
Reduces Air and Water Pollution: Replacing a single incandescent bulb with
a CFL will keep a half-ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere over the life of the
bulb. If everyone in the U.S. used energy-efficient lighting, we could retire
90 average size power plants.
High-Quality Light: Newer CFLs give a warm, inviting light instead of the "cool
white" light of older fluorescents. They use rare earth phosphors for
excellent color and warmth.
Versatile: CFLs can be applied nearly anywhere that incandescent lights are
used.
LEDs - Anatomy of an LED Video
Long-lasting - LED bulbs last up to 10x as long as compact fluorescents, and 100x
typical incandescents.
Durable – no filament, not damaged when a regular incandescent bulb would be broken
and hold up well to jarring and bumping.
Cool - LEDs produce 3.4 btu's/hour, compared to 85 for incandescent bulbs. This also
cuts down on summer air conditioning costs in the homes & offices.
Mercury-free - no mercury is used in the manufacturing of LEDs.
More efficient - LED light bulbs use only 2-10 watts of electricity (1/7th of Incandescents.
Small LED flashlight bulbs will extend battery life 10 to 15 times longer than with
incandescent bulbs. Also, because these bulbs last for years, energy is saved in
maintenance and replacement costs. For example, many cities in the US are
replacing their incandescent traffic lights with LED arrays because the electricity costs
can be reduced by 80% or more. NY saving $6 million per year. (Drop how many
power plants?)
Cost-effective - although LEDs are expensive, the cost is recouped over time and in
battery savings. For the AC bulbs and large cluster arrays, the best value comes from
commercial use where maintenance and replacement costs are expensive.
Light for remote areas - because of the low power requirement for LEDs, using solar
panels becomes more practical and less expensive than running an electric line or
using a generator for lighting.
Why Are We Still Wasting So
Much Energy?
 Energy remains artificially cheap
 Few large and long-lasting government
incentives
 What about the rebound effect? (Work out to
eat more? Save money to spend more? Save
energy and use it elsewhere?)
Regulatory Power
Nevada 2007 – First state to set higher efficiency standards
for higher lighting efficiency.
 All bulbs sold in Nevada must produce at least 25
lumens per watt.
 Will save consumers $1.3 billion by 2020.
 LEDs produce up to 90 lumens per watt.
Vermont – adds small charge to monthly bill to fund
efficiency to reduce demand. In 2006 saved 56 million
kilowatt*hours.
Federal U.S. phase out of incandescents by 2014!
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7301572n
We Can Save Energy and Money
in Industry (2)
 Electrical grid system: outdated and wasteful.
Convert to save U.S. $100 billion per year
 Utility companies promote use of energy rather
than discourage.
 California – First state to decouple energy sales
from profits. Rates are adjusted to provide
profits including rewards for meeting efficiency
goals.
 Dow Chemical Company: improvements in
efficiency saved 22% since 1996 at cost of $1
billion saving $5 billion.
We Can Save Energy and Money
in Transportation
 Corporate average fuel standards (CAFE)
standards
• Fuel economy standards lower in the U.S. than
many other countries (See page 404 Figure 16-5)
 Fuel-efficient cars are on the market
 Hidden prices in the gasoline
 Should there be tax breaks for buying fuelefficient cars, or feebate?
More Energy-Efficient Vehicles Are
on the Way

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
Superefficient and ultralight cars – Ford Focus
Gasoline-electric hybrid car – Prius, etc.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle – New Prius, etc.
City of Auburn just installed 1st charging station.
Energy-efficient diesel car – favored in Europe
Electric vehicle with a fuel cell – see apparatus
extra credit to get it working!
Science Focus: The Search for Better
Batteries
 Current obstacles
• Storage capacity
• Overheating
• Flammability
 In the future
•
•
•
•
Lithium-ion battery
Ultracapacitor
Viral battery
Using nanotechnology
We Can Use Renewable Energy in Place
of Nonrenewable Energy Sources
 Renewable energy
• Solar energy: direct or indirect
• Geothermal energy
 Benefits of shifting toward a variety of locally
available renewable energy resources
 Forms of renewable energy would be cheaper if
we eliminate
• Inequitable subsidies
• Inaccurate prices
16-3 What Are the Advantages and
Disadvantages of Solar Energy?
 Concept 16-3 Passive and active solar heating
systems can heat water and buildings
effectively, and the costs of using direct sunlight
to produce high-temperature heat and electricity
are coming down.
16-3 Passive Solar Energy
 What is passive solar How are seasonal changes in sunlight
designed into the house below?
heating?
 Sunlight is captured directly
within a structure & converts it
into low–temperature heat for
space heating.
 Heat is stored in walls & floors
made of materials like concrete,
brick, stone, or tires & is
released slowly throughout the
day.
Low winter sun comes thru while
high summer sun is blocked.
We Can Design Buildings That Save
Energy and Money (1)
 Green architecture – Showare Center
 Living or green roofs – find in downtown Seattle
 Straw bale houses – Styrofoam dental office in
Bonney Lake
 U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
We Can Design Buildings That Save
Energy and Money (2)
 Two buildings that were designed with energy in
mind
1) Georgia Power Company in Atlanta, GA (U.S.)
2) Ministry of Science and Technology Building in
Beijing, China
Solar Energy & Passive Solar Heating
A passive solar &
superinsulated design
is the cheapest way to
heat a home in regions
where sunlight is
available more than
___% of daylight hours.
60%
Where in the U.S. does
this apply to?
All but Western
Washington!
Case Study: The Rocky Mountain
Institute—Solar Powered Office and Home
 Location: Snowmass, CO (U.S.)
 No conventional heating system
 Heating bills: <$50/year
 How is this possible?
We Can Cool Buildings Naturally
 A few years ago the news announced that energy use for
Summer air conditioning had finally surpassed the use of
energy for Winter heating.
 New technologies available for cooling include:
 Superinsulation and high-efficiency windows
 Overhangs or awnings on windows
 Light-colored roof
 Reflective insulating foil in an attic
 Geothermal heat pumps (do AC too!)
 Plastic earth tubes underground – the ground stays cool!
 Plant deciduous trees to block the Summer Sun.
 Evaporative air conditioners.
Home Energy Efficiency
How can home energy efficiency be improved?
 Superinsulated homes
 Tankless water heaters – my neighbor.
 Fix air leaks with caulking and weather
stripping.
 Straw bale homes
 Passive solar heating
 High efficiency natural gas furnaces &
appliances
 Heat pumps in warm climates
 Energy saving windows
 Set higher energy efficiency building codes
 Switch to flourescent or LED lights
We Can Heat Buildings and Water with
Solar Energy – Figure 16-10
 Passive solar heating system – sunlight
 Active solar heating system – solar collector
distributes energy as directed
 Countries using solar energy to heat water
We Can Use Sunlight to Produce HighTemperature Heat and Electricity
 Solar thermal systems
• Central receiver system
• Other collecting systems
 Unfeasible for widespread use?
• High cost?
• Low net energy yields
• Limited suitable sites
• Sunny, desert sites
Active Solar Heating
How is the solar energy
being used?
 solar collectors absorb
solar energy & a fan or
pump supplies the
building’s space or
water heating & space
heating needs
Where in the world is this
common?
Cyprus & Jordan up to
65% of homes
Japan about 12%
Australia about 37%
Israel about 83%
U.S. About 1.3 million
homes
Direct Solar Energy
Generating high temperature heat & electricity
•What is the net energy ratio of these systems so far?
•0.9 but new technologies always get cheaper with numbers.
© Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP
Big Solar – Industrial Strength
 Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) built in 1980s & 1990s.
Uses parabolic mirrors & steam turbines in the Mojave Desert.
 Built in 30-50MW installments every 7 years.
 354MW total at present.
 3 more solar plants came online in 2009.
 By 2010 3 more will come online to make 500MW total.
Pacific Gas & Electric contracted to produce another 550MW by 2011
or 2012.
Ausra using less expensive flat mirrors to produce 177MW by 2011 or
2012.
Stirling Energy has contracted w/ San Diego Gas & Electric to deliver
900 MW & with California Edison 850MW using steam pistons.
At Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada in 2007 the largest solar array in
North America was completed using 70,000 PV cells.
We Can Use Solar Cells to Produce
Electricity (1)
 Photovoltaic (PV) cells (solar cells)
• Convert solar energy to electric energy
 Design of solar cells
 Benefits of using solar cells
 Solar-cell power plants
• Near Tucson, AZ (U.S.)
• 2007: Portugal
Producing electricity by Solar Energy
 solar energy can be converted directly into electrical energy by
photovoltaic cells
 sunlight striking silicon atoms creates an electrical current
 electrical energy is stored in batteries for use when the sun is
not shining
Solar Electricity
© Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP
We Can Use Solar Cells to Produce
Electricity (2)




1997 Total PV production was 126 MW
2010 reached 7300 MW
35% average annual increase
Solar-cell systems being built or planned in
•
•
•
•
Leipzig, Germany
South Korea
South California (U.S.)
China
 California passed SBI in 2006 “Million Solar
Roofs”
We Can Use Solar Cells to Produce
Electricity (3)
 Can generate enough to power your home and
earn credit supplying the utility grid with excess
 Key problem
• High cost of producing electricity
 Will the cost drop with?
 Mass production? SEGS in Mojave Desert
Original cost $0.28/KW. Latest cost $0.16/KW
 New designs: Parabolic to Flat mirrors; steam
turbines to steam pistons
 Nanotechnology?
The Solar Power Industry Is
Expanding Rapidly – Fastest growing
 Solar cells: 0.2% of the world’s electricity
 2040: could solar cells produce 16%?
 Germany: huge investment in solar cell
technology
 General Electric: entered the solar cell market
 Google completed 1.6MW PV system in 2007 at
corporate headquarters.
 Walmart announced in 2007 installation of
20MW in California & Hawaii & goal of 100%
renewable energy.
States have the Initiative
 29 states & DC have enacted “renewable
portfolion standards”
 Arizona committed to 15% by 2025
 Montana committed to 15% by 2015
 New Hampshire & Montana committed to 25%
by 2025
 California mandated 20% by 2010 & 33% by
2020
 Solar power creates 7 to 10 times the jobs as
coal.
Trade offs of Solar Cells









Advantages:
Fairly high net energy
Work on cloudy days
Easily expanded or
moved
No CO2
Low enviro impact
Last 20-40 years
Low land use (roofs)
Reduce fossil fuel use
 Disadvantages:
 Need access to sun
(S64&65)
 Low efficiency
 Need to store daylight
electricity for night
 Enviro costs not included
in market price
 Costs not yet competitive
 High land use (plants)
 Disrupt desert areas
 DC current convert to AC
16-4 Advantages and Disadvantages of
Producing Electricity from the Water Cycle
 Concept 16-4 Water flowing over dams, tidal
flows, and ocean waves can be used to
generate electricity, but environmental concerns
and limited availability of suitable sites may limit
the use of these energy resources.
We Can Produce Electricity from Falling
and Flowing Water
 Hydropower
• World’s leading renewable energy source used to
produce electricity
• Hydroelectric power: Iceland
 Micro-hydropower generators
 (I thought of it years ago!)
 Suitcase size generators that can be placed in
any stream or river to produce electricity with
little environ impact. Power your cabin!
Pros and Cons of Hydropower










Advantages:
Mod to high net energy
High efficiency (80%)
Large potential
Low cost electricity
Long life span
No CO2 emissions
Can help control floods
Provides irrigation water
Reservoir for irrigation

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
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

Disadvantages:
High cost of construction
Flood danger of collapse
Enviro cost not included.
Uproots people
Decreases fish harvests
Decreases flow of silt as
natural fertilizer
Tides and Waves Can Be Used to
Produce Electricity (1)
So far, power systems are limited
 Norway, Nova Scotia
 New York City 300 turbines in East River
• Turbines may turn to face the flow.





Portugal – powering 15,000 homes
Northern California, coast of Ireland & U.K.
Few suitable sites
Vulnerable to corrosion & storms
Sustainable potential will prompt continued
research.
16-5 Advantages and Disadvantages of
Producing Electricity from Wind
 Concept 16-5 When environmental costs of
energy resources are included in market prices,
wind energy is the least expensive and least
polluting way to produce electricity.
Using Wind to Produce Electricity Is an
Important Step toward Sustainability (1)
 Wind: indirect form of solar energy
 Spin of large turbines converted into electrical
energy
 Second fastest-growing source of energy
 What is the global potential for wind energy?
 Wind farms: on land and offshore (1st offshore
wind farm approved in 2010 for stronger steadier
wind.)
 See S68 & S69
 Total installed wind power surpassed 35,000MW
in 2009, enough to power 97,000 homes.
Using Wind to Produce Electricity Is an
Important Step toward Sustainability (2)
Where is the “Saudi Arabia of wind power?”
 North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Texas
Does wind power make sense in Washington?
 Eastern Washington & Oregon farmers
 Community Based Energy Development – CBED
 A farmer who owns his own wind turbines can generate
$25-30K per year for 1st 10 years & $100K per year after
installation costs repaid.
 How much electricity is possible with wind farms in those
states?
 2.5 x the entire country’s present production capacity
Producing Electricity from Wind Energy
Is a Rapidly Growing Global Industry
 What countries have the highest total installed
wind power capacity?
 Germany, United States, Spain, India, Denmark
 Installation is increasing in several other
countries
 In 2009, wind accounted for 39% of all new
installed power plants
Pros & Cons of Wind Power
Advantages:
 Mod to high net energy
 High efficiency
 Mod capital cost
 Low electricity cost (&
falling)
 Very low enviro impact,
no CO2
 Quick construction, easy
to expand
 Can locate at sea
 Land below available for
farming
 Steady winds needed
 Back up systems needed
when winds are low
 Enviro costs not in market
price
 High land use
 Visual pollution
 Noisy if close to people
 Can kill migratory birds
16-6 Advantages and Disadvantages of
Biomass as an Energy Source (1)
 Concept 16-6A Solid biomass is a renewable
resource, but burning it faster than it is
replenished produces a net gain in atmospheric
greenhouse gases, and creating biomass
plantations can degrade soil biodiversity.
16-6 Advantages and Disadvantages of
Biomass as an Energy Source (2)
 Concept 16-6B Liquid biofuels derived from biomass can be
used in place of gasoline and diesel fuels, but creating biofuel
plantations could degrade soil and biodiversity and increase
food prices and greenhouse gas emissions.
 “Indonesia & Malaysia produced 87% of the world’s palm oil in
2006. To achieve this more than 6.5 million acres of
irreplaceable tropical forests have been clearedfor massive
palm oil plantations.”
 Each year in Borneo “plantation owners set huge fires to clear
forests and expand their holdings, often directly in orangutan
habitat.
 “The fires in Borneo in 1997&98 alone destroyed 5 million acres
of rainforest and led to the deaths of an estimated 1/3 of the
worlds orangutan population.”
We Can Convert Plants and Plant Wastes
to Liquid Biofuels (1)
Liquid biofuels include:
 Biodiesel & Ethanol
Who are the biggest producers of biofuels?
 Brazil – Sugarcane to Ethanol
 The United States – Corn to Ethanol
(Controversy!)
 The European Union – Germany uses rapeseed
 China
We Can Convert Plants and Plant Wastes
to Liquid Biofuels (2)
 Major advantages over gasoline and diesel fuel
produced from oil
• Biofuel crops can be grown almost anywhere
• No net increase in CO2 emissions if managed
properly
• Available now
We Can Convert Plants and Plant Wastes
to Liquid Biofuels (3)
 Studies warn of problems:
 Decrease biodiversity – rainforest destruction
 Increase soil degrading, erosion, and nutrient leaching –
corn most fertilizer intensive crop
 Push farmers off their land – corporations grab land to
grow plantations & force small farmers off in corrupt
countries
 One villager in West Kalimantan (Malaysia) lost his farm
in 2006 “I went to my land one morning and found it had
been cleared. All my rubber trees, my plants, had been
destroyed.”
 Raise food prices – less corn supply as food
Case Study: Is Ethanol the Answer? (1)
 Ethanol converted to gasohol (5% common)
 Brazil: “Saudi Arabia of sugarcane”
 Saved $50 billion in oil import costs since the
1970s
 United States: ethanol from corn
• Reduce the need for oil imports?
• Slow global warming?
• Reduce air pollution?
 Hawaiian Sugarcane Industry collapsed. Now
poised to produce ethanol fuel on Kauai. How
about Maui or the Big Island?
16-7 What Are the Advantages and
Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy?
 Concept 16-7 Geothermal energy has great
potential for supplying many areas with heat and
electricity and generally has a low environmental
impact, but locations where it can be exploited
economically are limited.
 See S69
 40 countries use geothermal energy
 50% used by Philippines & U.S.
Getting Energy from the Earth’s
Internal Heat (1)
Geothermal energy: heat stored in
 Soil, Underground rocks, Fluids in the earth’s
mantle
Geothermal heat pump system for buildings
 Energy efficient and reliable for heating and
cooling
 Environmentally clean
 Cost effective to heat or cool a space
 Built into 2 schools in Kent School District
 Estimated $25K to install at my home, would
save me $1K per year.
Getting Energy from the Earth’s
Internal Heat (2)
 Hydrothermal reservoirs
• Iceland
See S69
 Geothermal energy: two problems
1) High cost of tapping large-scale hydrothermal
reservoirs
2) Dry- or wet-steam geothermal reservoirs could
be depleted if used too fast.
 Hot, dry rock: another potential source of
geothermal energy?
 Use oil drilling technology to drill 5km deep.
16-8 The Advantages and Disadvantages
of Hydrogen as an Energy Source
 Concept 16-8 Hydrogen fuel holds great
promise for powering cars and generating
electricity, but to be environmentally beneficial, it
would have to be produced without the use of
fossil fuels.
Hydrogen Is a Promising Fuel but There
Are Challenges (1)
 Hydrogen as a fuel
• Eliminate most of the air pollution problems
• Reduce threats of global warming
 Some challenges
• Chemically locked in water and organic
compounds
• Fuel cells are the best way to use hydrogen
• CO2 levels dependent on method of hydrogen
production
Hydrogen Is a Promising Fuel but There
Are Challenges (2)
 Production and storage of H2
 Hydrogen-powered vehicles: prototypes
available
 Can we produce hydrogen on demand?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhroR7oELw
A
 Larger fuel cells
16-9 How Can We Make a Transition to a
More Sustainable Energy Future?
 Concept 16-9 We can make a transition to a
more sustainable future if we greatly improve
energy efficiency, use a mix of renewable
energy resources, and include environmental
costs in the market prices of all energy
resources.
Choosing Energy Paths (1)
 How will energy policies be created?
 Supply-side, hard-path approach
 Demand-side, soft-path approach
Choosing Energy Paths (2)
 General conclusions about possible energy
paths
• Gradual shift to smaller, decentralized
micropower systems
• Transition to a diverse mix of locally available
renewable energy resources Improved energy
efficiency
• How?
• Fossil fuels will still be used in large amounts
• Why?
Economics, Politics, Education, and
Sustainable Energy Resources
 Government strategies:
• Keep the prices of selected energy resources
artificially low to encourage their use
• Keep energy prices artificially high for selected
resources to discourage their use
• Consumer education
Case Study: California’s Efforts to
Improve Energy Efficiency
 High electricity costs
 Reduce energy waste
 Use of energy-efficient devices
 Strict building standards for energy efficiency