Reader response draft #1

In the webpage "District heating and cooling systems," ENGIE (2013) discussed how the use of renewable energy in its heating and cooling systems has impacted the world. As stated in the article, ENGIE's mission was to provide comfort to users in commercial offices, industrial buildings, and public facilities while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. ENGIE states that it had been utilizing renewable energy such as solar, geothermal, and biomass to generate heat in the form of hot air. ENGIE also mentioned its goals to increase the use of renewables to 50 percent in all its networks from Europe. They have worked on several projects with the use of renewables over the previous few decades. One project that was highlighted by ENGIE was the Saint-Denis biomass heating plant where the majority of the energy utilized is from renewables today. Though renewable energies have impacted many developing countries in recent years, there are several factors that limit the potential to be a favourable source in comparison to fossil fuel and nuclear.

One important aspect of any type of power generation plant is its capacity factor. The capacity factor is simply the ratio of energy generated over a time period divided by the installed capacity. On average, the solar panel gives us a capacity factor of about 20%. The percentage varies differently, depending on the location. According to the SUNMetrix website (2012), a 10 kW system in Seattle would generate about 14,000 kWh during the year. Comparatively, a 10kW nuclear system with an 89% capacity factor would produce 78000 kWh which is way more than what a solar system with a similar rating could produce. Thus, non-renewable energy plants have higher and efficient energy output in terms of capacity factor. 

Over the last decade, initial capital costs of solar and wind systems have declined drastically. However, even with a significantly lower capacity factor, they are still costly compared to the new fossil fuel-based power plants. Building a combined cycle gas-fired power plant costs $1000/kW whereas a solar system could cost up to $2000/kW. Although the cost of a solar system is higher, sunlight is not available throughout the night and on cloudy days. The solar system operates 50% of the time assuming the day and night are split equally. Therefore, it would be more costly to build a solar system that will supply and store less power compared to a gas-power plant that will supply more at a cheaper price. Though building a solar system would provide an environmentally friendly approach, companies would invest in an efficient system to save costs.

Unlike many countries, Iceland uses 100% renewable energies from its abundant hydropower and geothermal resources. Both resources could generate a high capacity factor in comparison to a nuclear system. The country even has many resources left unutilized due to the low demand of the country’s low population. However, it does not have the ability to export electricity directly as it is an isolated island. Geothermal and hydroelectric power plants need to be built in places where energy is accessible, which means that some areas are not able to exploit this resource. Thus, location does contribute a factor that makes renewable energy a favourable source of energy.

In conclusion, because of the low capacity factor, the high initial cost of solar system and location, the current capability of renewable energy systems are not on par with fossil fuel and nuclear plants. Thus, it has not been widely used in the present.

References

ENGIE. (2013, February 11). District heating and cooling systems

https://www.engie.com/en/businesses/district-heating-cooling-systems

Harshit, C. (2019, August 15). Why Renewables isn't feasible by 2050

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/why-100-renewables-isnt-feasible-by-2050/560918/

Nordic Energy. (2012, October 05). Iceland: World’s highest share of geothermal power

https://www.nordicenergy.org/figure/two-thirds-renewable/worlds-highest-share-of-geothermal-power/

Ozgur. (2013, July 25). What is Capacity Factor and how do solar and wind energy compare?

https://sunmetrix.com/what-is-capacity-factor-and-how-does-solar-energy-compare/

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