9781422285619

NORTH AMERICAN NATURAL RESOURCES RENEWABLE ENERGY

Michael Centore

NORTH AMERICAN NATURAL RESOURCES RENEWABLE ENERGY

North American Natural Resources Coal Copper Freshwater Resources Gold and Silver Iron Marine Resources Natural Gas Oil Renewable Energy Salt Timber and Forest Products Uranium

NORTH AMERICAN NATURAL RESOURCES RENEWABLE ENERGY

Michael Centore

MASON CREST

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D

Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com

© 2016 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

MTM Publishing, Inc. 435 West 23rd Street, #8C New York, NY 10011 www.mtmpublishing.com

President: Valerie Tomaselli Vice President, Book Development: Hilary Poole Designer: Annemarie Redmond

Illustrator: Richard Garratt Copyeditor: Peter Jaskowiak Editorial Assistant: Andrea St. Aubin Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3378-8 ISBN: 978-1-4222-3387-0 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-8561-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Centore, Michael, 1980- Renewable energy / by Michael Centore. pages cm. — (North American natural resources) Includes index. ISBN 978-1-4222-3387-0 (hardback) — ISBN 978-1-4222-3378-8 (series) — ISBN 978-1-4222-8561-9 (ebook) 1. Renewable energy sources—Juvenile literature. I. Title. TJ808.2.C365 2015 333.79’4—dc23 2015005870

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 7 Chapter One: Biomass 9 Chapter Two: Geothermal 19 Chapter Three: Wind 28 Chapter Four: Water 37 Chapter Five: Solar 47 Further Reading 57 Series Glossary 58 Index 60 About the Author 64 Photo Credits 64 Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout the series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field. Note to Educator: As publishers, we feel it’s our role to give young adults the tools they need to thrive in a global society. To encourage a more worldly perspective, this book contains both imperial and metric measurements as well as references to a wider global context. We hope to expose the readers to the most common conversions they will come across outside of North America. Key Icons to Look for:

Renewable Energy Projects in North America— Highlights

N

Geothermal Hydroelectric

Solar Wind

Davis Strait

Churchill Falls Generating Station

C

Hudson Bay

A

N

Robert-Bourassa Generating Station

A

Centennial Wind Power Facility

D

A

Lac Alfred Wind Project

Grand Coulee Dam

Seigneurie de Beaupré

Aurora Solar Project Shepherds Flat Wind Farm

Wolfe Island Wind Project

Cape Wind (proposed)

U N I T E D S T A T E S O F A M E R I C A

The Geysers

Niagara Falls (US side: Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant; Canada side: Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Plant)

Amaranth Wind Farm

Topaz Solar Farm

Alta Wind Energy Center

Fowler Ridge Wind Farm

Cedar Creek Wind Farm

Salton Sea Power Station Ivanpah Solar Power Facility Hoover Dam

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Solar Energy Generating Systems

Saguaro Solar Power Station

Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center

Cerro Prieto Geothermal Field

Solana Generating Station

Roscoe Wind Project

Horse HollowWind Energy Center

PACIFIC OCEAN

Gulf of Mexico

M E X I C O

Eurus Wind Farm

0 km

200

0miles

150

Caribbean Sea

Keahoe Solar Project

0 km

500

1,000

1,500

Hawaii

0 miles

500

1,000

Note:This map shows just a sampling of renewable energy projects; there are far too many for a comprehensive treatment.

INTRODUCTION H umans use a lot of energy. Whether it is to light our homes, cook our food, or power our transit systems, the basic processes of our lives require some type of fuel. In the past, humans depended mostly on wood to sustain themselves. Over time, however, fossil fuels became more prevalent. Fossil fuels are formed by the decomposition of long-dead plants and animals, in processes that take millions of years. One problem with fossil fuels is that they are not renewable; that is, we only have finite amounts of oil,

coal, and natural gas, and once they are used up they are gone for good. Also, the extraction, transportation, and use of fossil fuels can damage our environment.

In Broomfield, Colorado, wood chips are used to create a biofuel called cellulosic ethanol. (US Department of Agriculture/ Wikimedia)

7

Unlike fossil fuels, renewable resources naturally replenish themselves. The five major types of renewable resources are biomass, geothermal, wind, water, and solar power. All of these are produced within the course of Earth’s biological cycles. Sunlight, for instance, does not need to be “extracted”; it shines over all parts of the planet, supplying stores of usable energy. Renewable resources do not release harmful pollutants into the air, and they are much better for the long-term health of the Earth. This book explores the five major renewable resources: their histories, how they are captured and converted for human use, and their benefits and potential drawbacks. Humankind still has a long way to go in shaping a more sustainable future. It is hoped that some of the information contained here will help you—the next generation of energy consumers—see a better way forward.

Chapter One BIOMASS

O f the five major renewable is defined as any plant or plant-derived material that can be used to supply energy. Burning wood to cook food and supply warmth is civilization’s earliest experiment with biomass. In addition to wood, biomass sources include agricultural residue, algae, cornstalks, and perennial grasses such as switchgrass. While wind and solar power are perhaps more well known, biomass generates 50 percent of the renewable energy produced in the United States. Biomass can be used directly, or it can be treated as the raw material that is converted into biofuel . resources, biomass has the longest history of human use. Biomass

briquette: a compacted mass of material, often shaped like a brick. emission: a substance released into the air. import: to bring a product from one country into another country. leachate: water or other liquid that has seeped through a substance such as soil; in landfills, the liquid runoff from accumulated garbage. perennial: a plant that lives through several growing seasons. Words to Understand

provision: the act of supplying a good or service.

9

10 Renewable Energy

Although biomass might sound like a new term, the use of biomass is as old as fire.

Before the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, biomass supplied the greater portion of the world’s energy needs. In North America, wood stoves and fireplaces remained the most common means of preparing food and heating homes well into the 19th century. Native Americans and settlers throughout the Great Plains—where trees were scarce—also burned buffalo manure for energy. Settlers learned to burn corn and sunflower stalks, as well as hay compressed into briquettes . Generations There are three main types of biofuels, known as first, second, and third generation. The idea of generation is based on how closely related each fuel is to a food source. For example, first-generation biofuels are made directly from edible food crops

11 Chapter One: Biomass

such as corn, starches, or vegetable oils, which are fermented into ethanol. Second- generation biofuels are made of nonedible, nonfood crops such as agricultural or forestry residue. The process of fuel conversion is a bit more involved than in first generation. Third-generation biofuels are sourced from algae, which, though still in development, shows great promise as a sustainable resource.

Dung cakes, made from the droppings of cows or buffalo, are burned as fuel in some parts of India.

12 Renewable Energy

The First Biofuels: Ethanol and Biodiesel One of the oldest forms of liquid biomass energy is ethanol. Ethanol is a renewable biofuel made of plant material. Humans have consumed ethanol in some form for thousands of years: it is the main component of alcoholic beverages. In 1826, an American inventor named Samuel Morey designed an engine that could run on a mixture of ethanol and turpentine. The German inventor Nikolaus Otto built on Morey’s designs, creating a more complicated ethanol-powered engine in 1876, and in 1896, Henry Ford developed a car called the Quadricycle that ran on ethanol. Twelve years later, Ford’s Model T could run on ethanol, gasoline, or a combination of the two. Around the same time Otto and Ford were pioneering the use of ethanol, a German engineer named Rudolf Diesel was hard at work creating another type of engine that could run on many types of fuels. This would come to be known as

Henry Ford and his Quadricycle, photographed in 1896.

13 Chapter One: Biomass

Switchgrass Switchgrass grows abundantly throughout many regions of the United States, especially the Midwest, South, and Great Plains. Because it is quick to grow, can be harvested for multiple seasons before reseeding, and is particularly drought resistant, it is an efficient crop for biomass. It can also flourish in soil where less hardy plants cannot, and it needs little fertilizer. Switchgrass can even help improve soil quality and protect against soil erosion.

Cows grazing in a field of Iowa switchgrass.

the diesel engine. Rudolf Diesel hoped to use vegetable oils as his primary power source, and in 1900, he successfully ran his engine on peanut oil at the World’s Fair in Paris, France. Such vegetable- or animal-based fuels are called biodiesel fuels. Research in biodiesel continued throughout the 1930s and 1940s, but the widespread availability and relatively low cost of petroleum-based gasoline soon made it the preferred choice for engines. When the costs of importing oil increased dramatically in the 1970s, the automotive industry began to look at ethanol-based alternatives, after several decades of relying on gasoline. While there is still a long way to go in making automobiles more energy efficient, customers today have a greater choice of “green vehicles” that run on biofuels than in years past.

14 Renewable Energy

Using Biomass: Burning Plants gain energy from the sun through a process called photosynthesis. This stored- up solar energy can be released to create electricity, fuel, or heat. There are several methods of converting biomass into energy. Burning, also called direct combustion , is the most basic. The steam produced by direct combustion can power turbine generators that produce electricity. This does not have the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels such as coal, which is frequently how electricity is generated today. However, biomass has to be either found or grown before it can be burned. Clearing land to grow biomass material, as well as the harvesting process itself, can result in excessive carbon pollution. It can also be bad for overall forest health if forests are not managed well. Sometimes biomass is mixed with coal and burned in a method known as co- firing. Energy experts advocate this as a good way of “transitioning” into biomass alternatives. Using Biomass: Other Methods In the fermentation process, biomass is converted to alcohol with the addition of yeast, enzymes, or bacteria. When these are introduced, they act on the sugars in the biomass products to create ethanol and carbon dioxide. After the ethanol has been purified, it can be used as automotive fuel. Gasification is a means of heating biomass in special low-oxygen environments so that it breaks down into its base components of solids, liquids, and gases. These Bioplastics Some plastic products are now made of biomass sources. Called bioplastics, they are derived from such materials as potato starch, soy protein, vegetable oils, and other renewable resources. Many are able to biodegrade after they are used, which means they break down naturally into the environment, rather than staying intact in landfills. Bioasphalt is a related technology in which road coverings are made from starches, cellulose, and even sugar or molasses.