Energy Camp blog publishes a Google Map showing the positions of current Smart Grid projects internationally. Needless to say, there are quite a few markers on the map. The article goes on to describe the rising awareness of Smart Grids.
In practice, I wonder sometimes if the Smart Grid will turn out to be as distinct and separated from other energy efficiency related initiatives. It will be difficult to see electricity alone as separated, for example, from the building industry or the transport initiatives of the European Technology Platforms. The production and management of energy will criss-cross applications and daily living, deepening into IT structures, yet, will continuously require a constellation of knowledge from various discplines to ensure it’s convergence remains practical, economical and useful.
Carbon emissions trading is a market-driven means to reduce and control pollution by providing economic incentives. It’s often referred to as cap and trade, because the idea is for the government to set a limit, and then companies are required to meet that limit either by reducing emissions or purchasing credits from others in order not to exceed the cap. There are active trading programs underway right now, with the largest market in the European Union, and there’s talk from the Obama administration to pass such a scheme in the United States by the end of the year.
Energy producers will be among the highest taxed because of their large carbon output. This tax will provide an incentive for cleaner power generation, and will require closer monitoring of emissions and efficiency in power production and transmission.
Carbon Capture and Storage
There are ongoing efforts to develop technology to capture carbon as it is emitted from smokestacks and other sources and to store that carbon for the long term. By sequestering carbon close to the power generation site, energy producers can reduce their carbon output, and their tax burden. Carbon storage or sequestration is typically accomplished using geological formations such as coal seams or depleted oil reserves as reservoirs to hold carbon emissions that are pumped underground. There are a large number of such projects worldwide, and ongoing research into the efficacy of this solution.
Carbon sequestration requires detailed knowledge of geological formations. The knowledge of where to store carbon is a geospatial problem, and the monitoring of the storage facilities requires a sensor and location-based approach. Researchers at MIT have developed a Carbon Management Geographic Information System in order to take a detailed systems-based approach to understanding the cost-effectiveness of storage and overall efficiency of competing options.
Mapping and Monitoring
The creation of carbon cap and trade taxation will require a close monitoring of power plant emissions. Geospatial technologies are ideally suited to bring together disparate data such as the location of power plants, industrial sites, potential storage sites, and infrastructure along with socioeconomic data in order to perform in-depth analysis that provides transparency into the taxation and trading process.
The issue of carbon emissions is a complex problem that requires detailed measurement and analysis. The geospatial toolset will play a large role in assessing pollution sources and sinks in order to apply equitable and fair measures for this emerging market. The global carbon trading market has been doubling in size every year, with more than $40 billion carbon-dioxide permits traded this year. This puts the market on pace to be a $200 billion market by 2010, and the geospatial community can profit greatly by providing needed services.
There are many critics of carbon trading, and most fault difficulties related to: assessing pollution levels, ongoing monitoring, enforcement, and the overall complexity of the system. Geospatial technologies are ideally suited to each of these four issues, providing a credible and science-based means for assessment, monitoring and enforcement, and lending some transparency to help reduce the complexity of the systems.
REFERENCES
Focus Sharpens on Forests for Climate Fix, Reuters, Wed., Oct. 8
International Consensus on Forests’ Vital Role in Fighting Climate Change
Agriculture’s Role in Mitigating Climate Change, American Farmland Trust
Carbon Storage Project Map, Scottish Centre for Carbon Storage
Global Carbon-Trading Market Enriches World’s Energy Desks
Tax vs. Trade, noted economist Jeffrey Sachs favors a climate tax
The Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy is located at the University of Nevada in Reno. Included at the center are a large number of spatial information related to geothermal locations, maps, exploration, papers and presentations.
Students and teachers will find this r
There’s an increasing interest in mapping renewable energy resources, given the boost that such projects have received with additional federal funding. The idea of renewable energy solves many problems at once by reducing both our economic dependence on foreign energy and the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming our planet. The investment in hydro, geothermal, wind, solar and wave energy will require careful consideration about where to best site these investments.
Mapping tools coupled with remote, and on-the-ground, sensors provide the data necessary to site new power plants and design new utility routes. There are many factors to consider when determining the best locations, and conducting a geospatial analysis of the problem requires many different data sets at different scales over time, coupled with energy use information.
Mapping the Sources
GIS provides the means to visualize long-term observations of wind, sun, wave, water and agricultural production. The best sites for different renewable energy options differ widely across the world, with some regions better suited for solar generation and others better suited for wind production, etc.
Many of the observations necessary to determine renewable energy viability are provided as component of weather. Wind speeds have been recorded as a weather observation over time. Solar energy is largely dependent on cloud cover, which can best be calculated based on satellite observation of weather patterns and the amount of clouds that blanket a specific area over time. Hydropower is largely dependent on the amount of moisture and rainfall in a region. And biomass production is dependent on excellent conditions for agriculture, which is also highly weather dependent.
Renewable energy viability is also determined by the lay of the land or topology of a region. The windiest locations on Earth occur where tall coastlines or high mountains meet the ocean, and other high wind areas are at high elevation closer to the jet stream or where tall mountains funnel wind energy into smaller valleys. The best solar production occurs nearest the equator, since there’s more sunlight year round considering these areas don’t drift as far north and south with the seasons. Hydropower is best harnessed where rivers have great elevation changes, because the swifter the current the faster the turbines can be spun, resulting in greater power generation. Much geothermal power is generated from direct use systems, where hot springs indicate direct venting of the heat from the Earth’s core to the surface.
Each of these examples illustrates the location-specific conditions of renewable energy mapping related to earth processes.
Coupling to Needs
There are also geographic considerations that require closer observation of power source to demand, such as population proximity to the energy source and the existence of infrastructure to transport the power. Determining the optimal power sources is just part of the equation, because the location of the best energy sources need to be considered in proximity to demand, and the cost to transport the energy to where it’s needed.
Although water, wind, the sun and other renewables may appear free, their cost comes in collecting, harnessing, and transporting the energy. For example, to utilize energy from water, a dam must be built along with electric generators and transmission lines. And often times the most powerful renewable resources are far from populations, because the conditions for great power from our Earth are often inhospitable for human habitation.
The location of transmission lines is a politically sensitive issue, with a great deal of regulation and public input, because people don’t want transmission lines where they can see them. There are also environmental considerations, potential damage over time from vegetation, and higher costs if the transmission lines have to be routed over physical barriers such as bluffs or rivers. Routing of transmission becomes a considerable component of renewable energy siting due to these factors.
A number of different government and non-government sources are working on calibrated maps that show the best sites for renewable power generation investments. While some locations may seem obvious choices for power generation, making the most of the money available will require a detailed assessment of many geographic factors to make sure that only the optimal sites and energy sources are chosen.
Resources
National Atlas, Renewable Energy Sources in the United States
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Renewable Resources Maps & Data
Colorado Wind Atlas – combines wind reading with power lines and land ownership data
3Tier A wind energy assessment company
