The Black Appendix

Energy Ideas

Solar
&
Wind

  • Great Peak Shavers
    • Solar - hot sunny days when air conditioning demands high
    • Wind - cold winter - many houses are colder when there is a "Wind Chill"
    • Easily generated near by / at consumer location
      • Solar panels on roof
      • Wind turbines come in smaller sizes
  • Unreliable to carry a base load
    • Not every hot & humid day is sunny
    • Partly sunny / partly cloudy days offer inconsistent supply to a constant demand
    • It's not always windy when the sun is not shining
  • Energy "farms"
    • Usually placed far from consumers, more infrastructure needed
    • May be disruptive to nature
Co-generation
"Cogen"

  •  Common example - automobile
    • Motion is the main purpose of the engine
    • Heat - a by product of combustion, is used to keep the occupants warm in winter with NO additional fuel consumption
    • Electricity - is produced by harnessing some of the motion
  • Primary boilers / furnaces / heaters could be replaced by engines hooked up to generators
    • While heat is a by product, set engine specifications to amount of heat needed
    • Secondary units may yield a poor ROI (return on investment)
  • Produced near or at consumer location - reduced demand on infrastructure
  • Emergency preparedness
    • Site can operate "off grid"
    • Site can make heat & electricity from on site fossil fuel reserve
Nuclear
  • Successfully used in the Military
    • CVN76?? The Ronald Reagan
    • Nuclear submarines