Energy for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide to Conventional and Alternative Sources

415 Pages·2010·12.9 MB·English

by  Roy L. Nersesian

Energy for
the 21st Century
Energy for
the 21st Century
A Comprehensive Guide to
Conventional and Alternative Sources
Second Edition
Roy L. Nersesian
M
.E.Sharpe
Armonk, New York
London, England
To friends of the family—
Taffy, Daisy, Rue, Heather, Ginger, Quincy, Marco, and Maya
Copyright © 2010 by M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the publisher, M.E. Sharpe, Inc.,
80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, New York 10504.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nersesian, Roy L.
Energy for the 21st century : a comprehensive guide to conventional and
alternative sources / Roy L. Nersesian.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7656-2412-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Power resources. 2. Energy policy. I. Title.
HD9502.A2N465 2010
333.79—dc22 2009037417
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z 39.48-1984.
~
CW (c) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
List of Tables and Figures xi
Preface xiii
1 Are We on Easter Island? 3
Easter Island 3
The Mathematics of Extinction 4
Progress Is Our Most Important Product 6
The Unremitting Rise in Population 6
The Case of Double Exponential Growth 9
A Lesson in Fish 11
From Hunting to Farming 13
Energy Depletion 14
Notes 14
2 Electricity and the Utility Industry 15
It Takes Energy to Make Energy 15
Energy for Electricity Generation 17
Enhancing Efficiency in Electricity Generation 19
Early History of Electricity 20
Generating Electricity 21
Generating Electricity Commercially 22
System Operation 22
Methods of Rate Regulation 24
Operating Models in an Era of Deregulation/Liberalization 27
Smart Meters/Smart Grids 32
Utility Pools 33
When Demand Exceeds Supply 36
The Real Lesson of California 41
Notes 42
3 Biomass 43
Yesterday’s Fuel 43
Today’s Fuel 44
China 45
India 45
v
vi CONTENTS
Indonesia 46
Brazil 46
Biomass for Electricity Generation 46
Biogas 49
Biofuels 53
Brazil—The Great Leap Forward for Biofuels 58
The Great Sugar–Corn Debate 67
The United States is Following Brazil’s Footsteps in a More Complex Way 69
Cellulosic Ethanol 74
Biodiesel 76
Biodiesel Feedstocks 80
Biofuel Risks 88
Notes 91
4 Coal 92
The First Energy Crisis 92
The Origin and History of Coal 93
Coal and the Industrial Revolution 97
Coal and Railroads 99
Coal and Steel 100
Rise and Fall of King Coal 102
Types of Coal 104
Coal Mining 105
Coal in the Twenty-first Century 108
Role of Coal Among the Major Consumers 113
Case Against Coal 116
Clean-Coal Technologies 116
Eliminating Coal Not So Easy 120
Notes 121
5 The Story of Big Oil 123
History of Lighting 123
History of Oil 124
Enter John D. Rockefeller 127
Enter Marcus Samuel 133
Spindletop 141
Spindletop and Shell 144
Emergence of Oil as a Strategically Vital Commodity 148
Era of the Seven Sisters 149
Opening Up the Middle East 150
Early Attempts at Oil Price Controls 153
Enter Saudi Arabia and Kuwait 155
Exit the Key Players 156
Shareholders and Stakeholders 156
Development of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Fields 157
Shoes Begin to Fall 158
Next Shoe to Fall 158
CONTENTS vii
Birth of OPEC 160
1973 Oil Crisis 161
First Time of High Oil Prices 166
End of High Oil Prices 168
Era of Moderate Oil Prices 169
Second Time of High Oil Prices 170
It’s Not Oil Prices Anymore, It’s Oil Security 171
Oil and Diplomacy 172
Oil and Environmentalists 173
Role of Oil Companies After the Oil Crisis 174
A Changing World 175
Are Oil Companies’ Margins All That Great? 175
Future Role of Oil Companies 176
Notes 178
6 Oil 180
The Earth as an Oil Manufacturer 180
Formation of Oil 182
Oil Exploration and Production 184
Drilling Rights 186
Drilling Equipment 187
Directional Drilling 189
Offshore Drilling Rigs 191
Evaluating a Well 195
Completing a Well 196
Moving the Oil to the Well 198
Maintaining Reservoir Pressure 198
Getting the Oil to a Refinery 199
Tankers and Barges 200
Oil Spills 202
Refining 203
Oil Reserves 207
Are We on a Slippery Slope? 208
Was 2004 a Watershed Year? 212
Synthetic Crude 215
Challenge of Oil: The Automobile 218
Vehicles That Use Alternative Fuels 220
Enhancing Engine Efficiency 222
Internalizing an Externality 223
Is This Politically Acceptable? 226
Notes 228
7 Natural Gas 229
Background 229
Early History of Coal Gas 231
History of Natural Gas 232
The Battle Over Lighting 234
viii CONTENTS
Long-Distance Transmission 235
Federal Regulation 237
The War Years 239
Opening Up the Northeast 239
Last Stop Before Total Regulation 240
Unraveling Natural Gas Regulation 241
The Road to Deregulation 243
From Source to Consumer 244
Natural Gas as a Fuel 248
The European Version of Deregulation 251
LPG: Prelude to LNG 252
Liquefied Natural Gas 256
Organizing and Financing the LNG Supply Chain 259
LNG Carriers 262
LNG Pricing 264
The Future of LNG 266
Gas to Liquids (GTL) Technology 269
Nonconventional Gas 270
Methane from Coal 271
Methane from Tight Shale 271
Methane from Tight Sands 272
Methane Hydrates 272
Notes 273
8 Nuclear and Hydropower 274
Background 274
Physics of a Nuclear Reactor 276
Nuclear Incidents and Accidents 277
Three Mile Island Incident 277
Chernobyl 278
Weapons Proliferation 280
Disposal of Spent Fuel 280
Commercial Reactors 281
European Pressurized (Evolutionary Power) Reactor 284
Pebble Bed Reactor 285
Fusion Power 288
Future of Nuclear Power 289
Hydropower 290
The Saga of the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams 293
Aswan High Dam 297
Hydropower: Today and Tomorrow 298
Notes 302
9 Sustainable Energy 304
The Meaning of Sustainability 304
Wind Energy 309
Historical Development 310
CONTENTS ix
Government Involvement in Developing Wind Turbines 312
From Tiny Acorns to Mighty Oaks 314
Objections to Wind Power 319
Evaluating a Potential Site 321
Financial Incentives 321
Small Can Be Beautiful 323
Solar Energy 323
Historical Development 324
Thermal Solar Energy 325
Photovoltaic Energy 327
Economics of Solar Power 332
Geothermal Energy 334
Ocean Energy 336
Notes 339
10 Looking Toward the Future 341
The Hydrogen Economy 341
Hydrogen Stores Electricity 344
Tomorrow’s World of Hydrogen 347
Climate 348
Climate Changes During Recorded History 351
Where Is Climate Headed? 352
Carbon Dioxide Conundrum 354
Projecting the Future 358
Environment 359
U.S. Clean Air Acts 361
Montreal Protocol 367
Kyoto Protocol 367
Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 372
Efficiency and Conservation 373
Energy Star Program 373
Light-Emitting Diodes and Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs 374
U.S. Green Building Council/LEED 375
CAFE Standards 375
Notes 377
11 An Energy Strategy 379
We Need to Identify the Relevant Goal 379
Motor Vehicle Fuels 379
Biofuels as a Substitute for Gasoline 381
Electricity as a Substitute for Gasoline 383
The Problem Is the Magnitude of the Problem 385
Are Energy Companies Endangered from Such a Transformation? 386
There Is Always an Alternative 386
Index 389
About the Author 401