13: Two Evolving Energy Technology Pathways
- Page ID
- 41709
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SCOTT SAMUELSEN UC Irvine
At the end of the chapter, the reader should be able to do the following:
- Identify the roles of electric power generation and transportation in both climate change and the degradation of urban air quality.
- Explain the role of combustion in both the generation of electricity and the powering of vehicles today, as well as the role of combustion in climate change and the degradation of urban air quality.
- Identify the alternatives to combustion for the generation of electricity and the powering of vehicles.
- Understand fuel cell technology and the application of fuel cells to the generation of electricity and the powering of vehicles.
- Delineate the attributes and challenges associated with the generation of (1) renewable electric power and (2) renewable hydrogen.
- Describe the two major pathways that are evolving in the electric grid, the evolution of vehicle engines and fuels, and the merging of the electric grid with transportation in response to mitigating climate change and the degradation of urban air quality.
- Explain smart grid technology
Nomenclature
|
°C AC BEV CCHP CH4 CHP DC DER DG FC FCEV G2V GHGs GT ISO MCFC MW PAFC PEMFC PEV PFCEV PM SMR SOFC V2G WDAT |
Degrees Celsius Alternating current Battery electric vehicle Combined cooling, heat, and power Methane Combined heat and power Direct current Distributed energy resources Distributed generation Fuel cell Fuel cell electric vehicle Grid-to-vehicle Greenhouse gases Gas turbine Independent system operator Molten carbonate fuel cell Megawatts Phosphoric acid fuel cell Proton exchange membrane fuel cell Plug-in electric vehicle Plug-in fuel cell electric vehicle Particulate matter Steam methane reformation Solid oxide fuel cell Vehicle-to-grid Wholesale distribution access tarif |
Symbols
Overview
Climate change and the degradation of urban air quality are forcing paradigm shifts in the two key sources emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants into the atmosphere: electric power generation and transportation. Combustion of fossil fuels is the reason, serving as both (1) the conversion technology for both the generation of electricity and the powering of vehicles and (2) the principal source worldwide of CO2 and “criteria” pollutants (that is, ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead, and particulate; see Box 13.1). While CO2 is a concern for global climate change, criteria pollutants are primarily a concern because of their local impacts on human health. As emissions of carbon are reduced, attention to the concomitant reduction in the emission of criteria pollutants must be addressed as well.
To reduce the emission of CO2 and criteria pollutants, the historical reliance on combustion needs to be displaced. This chapter outlines two pathways that are evolving to transform both the electricity and transportation sectors from a classic combustion-dominant construct (that has supported the economic growth and evolution of a myriad of societal conveniences over the last century) to a renewable-dominant construct (that is evolving in the new millennium in response to environmental impacts, geopolitics, and fossil fuel resource constraints). Among the notable characteristics of the two pathways is the merging of the transportation and electricity sectors (for example, plug-in electric vehicles charging with electricity) and the deployment of energy storage technologies to buffer and manage the idiosyncrasies (for example, temporal variation, intermittency, low capacity factor) associated with renewable wind and solar power generation. While the pathways are identical early in the transition, they differ in the future years. In particular, the first pathway projects that electric battery technology and pumped hydro will alone manage the solar and wind resources now and in the future. The second pathway projects that, in addition to battery energy technology and pumped hydro, the following two additional resources will be required in the future:
- Renewable hydrogen “battery” technology.
- 24/7, clean, load-following renewable power generation.
For both pathways, the goal is to establish a 100% renewable electricity sector and a 100% renewable transportation sector with the following characteristics: (1) zero emission of greenhouse gases (to mitigate climate change), (2) zero emission of criteria pollutants (to mitigate degraded urban air quality), and (3) energy sourced locally (to mitigate dependency on other countries for energy).
As a foundation to placing the two pathways into perspective and understanding the underlying technologies, the chapter reviews the historical role of combustion, the rapidly emerging deployment of wind and solar resources as an option to combustion, fuel cell technology for both the generation of electricity and the powering of vehicles, energy storage and clean 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week (24/7) power generation to manage the idiosyncrasies of solar and wind, smart grid technology to manage the complexity of and interactions between the electricity and transportation sectors, and renewable hydrogen as both a transportation fuel and a resource for energy storage.