Comprehensive Overview of Energy Sustainability and Systems

Sustainability

The ability to meet present needs while ensuring that future generations can also meet their own needs.

Energy Sustainability

The use of renewable and clean energy sources to support environmental, economic, and social well-being while minimizing negative impacts.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change, which should be reduced for environmental sustainability.

Public Acceptance

The level of community support for sustainable practices, indicating a higher quality of life.

Fossil Fuels

Natural resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas that are non-renewable and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #7

A global initiative aimed at ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

Electricity Access

The availability of electrical power to households and businesses, which is essential for modern living.

Megawatt-hour (MWh)

A unit of energy equivalent to one megawatt of power used for one hour.

Primitive Dimensions

Fundamental physical quantities that cannot be expressed in terms of other dimensions, such as mass, length, and time.

Energy

The capacity to do work, often measured in joules, and represented by the combination of dimensions ML2/T2.

Power

The rate at which energy is used or produced, measured in watts, and represented by the combination of dimensions ML2/T3.

Engineering Design Process

A systematic approach to problem-solving that includes steps from identifying a problem to refining a solution.

Best Practices in Engineering Analysis

Methods for documenting work that include detailing equations, defining variables, stating assumptions, and including units in calculations.

Renewable Energy

Energy derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.

Habitat Destruction

The process of altering or destroying natural environments, which can negatively impact biodiversity and ecosystems.

Noise Pollution

Unwanted or harmful levels of noise that can disrupt wildlife and human activities, often a concern in energy infrastructure development.

Energy Infrastructure

The physical systems and structures required for the production, transmission, and distribution of energy.

Environmental Indicators

Metrics used to assess the health of the environment, such as air quality, water quality, and biodiversity.

Economic Profits from Renewable Energy

Financial gains achieved through investments in sustainable energy sources, contributing to a strong energy economy.

Species Migration

The movement of animal populations from one habitat to another, which can be affected by environmental changes and habitat availability.

Joules (J)

The SI unit of energy, defined as the amount of work done when a force of one newton moves an object one meter.

British Thermal Unit (BTU)

A unit of energy used in the United States, defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

Kilowatt-hour (kWh)

A unit of energy equivalent to one kilowatt of power used for one hour, commonly used for measuring electricity consumption.

Exajoule (EJ)

A unit of energy equal to 10^18 joules, often used in large-scale energy reporting.

Modeling

Creating a representation of a design to visualize and analyze its features and behavior.

Simulation

Testing a model under various conditions to predict its performance and identify potential issues.

Solar Energy

Energy harnessed from the sun's electromagnetic radiation, converted into electricity or heat.

Biomass

Organic matter used as fuel or converted into biofuels, derived from plants, animals, or waste.

Hydro Energy

Energy generated from the kinetic or potential energy of flowing water, often used to turn turbines.

Wind Energy

Energy captured from the kinetic energy of moving air, converted into mechanical and then electrical energy.

Wave Energy

Energy derived from the motion of ocean waves, generated by wind.

Tidal Energy

Energy captured from the predictable rise and fall of ocean waters caused by gravitational forces.

Nuclear Energy

Energy released from nuclear fission, used to generate steam for electricity production.

Geothermal Energy

Energy obtained from the Earth's internal heat, used for electricity generation or direct heating.

Mechanical Energy

The sum of kinetic and potential energy in an object.

Chemical Energy

Energy stored in the bonds of chemical compounds, released during chemical reactions.

Thermal Energy

Energy related to the temperature of an object, often referred to as heat.

Electromagnetic Energy

Energy that travels in waves, including light and radio waves.

First Law of Thermodynamics

States that the change in a system's internal energy equals the heat added to the system plus the work done on it.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

States that the total entropy of an isolated system can only increase over time.

Energy Consumption

The total amount of energy used by humankind, measured in exajoules or terawatt-hours.

U.S. Energy Consumption

The distribution of energy sources in the U.S., with petroleum, natural gas, coal, and renewables contributing varying percentages.

Renewable Energy Growth

The increase in the use of renewable energy sources over time, particularly wind and solar.

Hydropower

Energy generated from the movement of water, typically through dams or turbines.

Excel

A spreadsheet software used for data organization, calculations, and graphical representation.

Significant Figures

Digits in a number that contribute to its precision, determined by the least precise measurement.

Units Conversion

The process of changing a quantity expressed in one unit to another unit using conversion factors.

Dimensional Consistency

A property of an equation where all terms have the same fundamental dimensions.

Engineering Analysis

A systematic approach to problem-solving that includes defining variables, assumptions, and equations.

Energy Transformation

The process of changing energy from one form to another, such as from chemical to thermal energy.

Efficiency

The ratio of useful output energy to the input energy, expressed as a percentage.

Chart

A graphical representation of data, used to visualize trends and comparisons.

Formula

A mathematical expression that represents a relationship between different quantities.

Calculation

The process of using mathematical operations to derive a numerical result.

Trend Analysis

The practice of collecting information and attempting to spot a pattern or trend in the data.

Solar Panel

A device that converts sunlight directly into electricity using photovoltaic cells.

Nuclear Fission

The process of splitting an atomic nucleus to release energy, often used to heat water in reactors.

Average Power

The total energy consumed or produced over a period of time divided by that time.

Kinetic Energy

The energy an object possesses due to its motion, calculated as half the mass multiplied by the square of its velocity.

Gravitational Potential Energy

The energy stored in an object as it is raised above the ground, calculated as mass times gravitational acceleration times height.

Capacity Factor

A ratio that compares the actual output of a power plant to its potential output if it were to operate at full capacity continuously over a period.

Electromagnetic Induction

The process by which a changing magnetic field generates an electric current in a conductor.

Undershot Water Wheel

A type of water wheel that derives its energy from the kinetic energy of water flowing underneath it.

Overshot Water Wheel

A type of water wheel that uses the potential energy of water flowing over it to produce mechanical power.

Hydropower System

A system that generates electricity by harnessing the energy of flowing or falling water, typically involving dams, reservoirs, and turbines.

Impulse Turbine

A turbine designed to convert the kinetic energy of a high-velocity water jet into mechanical energy, typically used in high head applications.

Reaction Turbine

A turbine that generates power from the pressure difference created by water flowing through it, suitable for lower heads and higher flow rates.

Pumped Storage Hydropower

A large-scale energy storage system that uses excess electricity to pump water to a higher elevation for later use in generating electricity.

Generation Mode

The phase in which water is released from an upper reservoir to flow downhill through turbines, converting potential energy back into electrical energy.

Pumping Mode

The phase in which excess electricity is used to pump water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir, converting electrical energy into gravitational potential energy.

Head

The vertical distance that water falls, which is directly proportional to the potential energy available for power generation in hydropower systems.

Flow Rate

The volume of water passing through a given point per unit of time, which, along with head, determines the power output of a hydropower system.

Head Loss

The reduction in the total available head of water due to friction and turbulence as it flows through pipes and fittings, affecting the power output.

RMS Values

Root Mean Square values that represent the effective voltage and current in an AC generator, calculated from peak values.

Power Factor

A measure of how effectively electrical power is being converted into useful work output, represented as the cosine of the phase angle between voltage and current.

Mechanical Power (Kinetic Energy)

The power available from the kinetic energy of flowing water, calculated using the equation P=½ρQV².

Mechanical Power (Potential Energy)

The power available from the potential energy of water at height, calculated using the equation P=ρQgh.

AC Generator

A device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy through electromagnetic induction, producing alternating current.

Magnetic Flux

The measure of the quantity of magnetism, which affects the induced voltage in an AC generator.

Turbine

A device that converts the energy of flowing water into mechanical energy, which can then be converted into electrical energy.

Power Production

The electrical output generated by a hydroelectric power plant, calculated using the efficiency, water density, flow rate, gravity, and net effective head.

Overall Efficiency (η)

A dimensionless measure of how effectively a hydroelectric power plant converts the energy in water into electrical energy.

Volumetric Flow Rate (Q)

The volume of water flowing through the system per unit time, typically measured in cubic meters per second (m³/s).

Net Effective Head (hnet)

The height of water available to generate power after accounting for losses due to friction in the system.

Head Losses (hf)

The reduction in energy or head of water due to friction and turbulence as it moves through the penstock.

Energy Storage Capacity (Estorage)

The potential energy stored in a pumped storage facility, calculated based on the volume of water, effective head, and system efficiency.

Reservoir Volume (V)

The total capacity of the upper reservoir in a pumped storage facility, influencing the amount of potential energy stored.

Power Capacity (Pcapacity)

The maximum electrical output that a pumped storage facility can generate, determined by flow rate, head, and efficiency.

Environmental Impacts

The effects of hydropower facilities on river ecosystems, including habitat fragmentation, sediment transport disruption, and fish migration challenges.

Economic Impacts

The financial benefits and costs associated with hydropower development, including renewable energy provision and community displacement.

Mitigation Strategies

Approaches to reduce the negative environmental impacts of hydropower, such as fish ladders and environmental flow regimes.

Run-of-River System

A type of hydropower system that generates energy without large reservoirs, relying on the natural flow of the river.

Turbine Selection

The process of choosing an appropriate turbine type based on site-specific head and flow conditions for optimal energy generation.

Grid Stability

The ability of the electrical grid to maintain a consistent supply of electricity, which can be supported by pumped storage solutions.

Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines

These turbines have rotor blades that capture wind energy, spinning a hub that transfers rotation to a gearbox, which increases speed for the generator to produce electricity.

Rotor Blades

The components of a wind turbine that capture wind energy and convert it into rotational motion.

Gearbox

A mechanical device that increases the rotational speed from the rotor for the generator to produce electricity.

Generator

A machine that converts mechanical energy from the gearbox into electrical energy.

Yaw System

A mechanism that rotates the nacelle to keep the turbine facing the wind for optimal energy capture.

Tower

The structure that supports the turbine assembly, elevating it to access stronger winds.