Patrick Thornton

Renewable Energy Magazine Article

Reaching Sustainability

Americans mostly agree that we need to replace our dependence on fossil fuels with
renewable sources of energy. However, many people disagree on the methodology for
implementing the new renewable energy technology. As a nation, we should focus more funding
towards renewable energy research and development. Existing technologies fail to be
competitive with oil, gas, and coal. This financial infeasibility restricts the renewable energy
projects from getting substantial support from investors. With more funding for research for
these technologies, we can improve the efficiency and lower the manufacturing costs, making
these projects feasible.

To understand what we need to change, we need to first understand the current state of
energy production and usage. With a growing world population, our energy demands are
growing as well. In 2010, about 80% of the worlds energy demand was met by Fossil fuels such
as Oil, natural gas, or coal, and another 10% of the energy demand was met by biomass heat
like burning firewood. This leaves about 10% of the global energy demand that was met by a
plethora of renewable sources. In the United States this percentage met by renewables is much
higher, with 13% met by common renewables and 19% met by Nuclear. (2012 data) There is a
debate on whether nuclear should be considered renewable because of the environmentally
dangerous nature of the waste. For this reason, we will keep the two separated when talking
about renewable energy sources. With the future in mind, we look ahead to find the best ways to
improve the capabilities and overall feasibility of sustainable energy projects. Pennsylvania, like
many places, meets most of its energy needs through the use of Coal, Natural Gas, and Gasoline
(automotive energy counts too). Surprisingly, a large portion is also supplied by the 5 nuclear
power plant in the state. Nuclear is the third greatest source of energy in PA. Typical household
electricity is typically generated by either coal or natural gas fired generators or by a nuclear
plant. Now that we see how we locally compare to global trends in energy usage, we can start to
envision solutions. I will use the solar energy industry as my main example of how research
could help alternative energy sources become competitive with coal, oil, and natural gas.

Solar power falls into two categories, Photovoltaic Cells (PV) and solar thermal power.
Photovoltaic cell is the fancy name for the blue solar panels that you may have seen on
rooftops or in large fields. These silicon based cells generate power by using light to
move/dislodge electrons and create a potential difference. These cells generate direct electrical
current, which flows in only one direction, so it must be first converted to alternating current, the
way electricity flows in high voltage power lines and in household appliances. This type of solar
cell, commonly referred to as a silicon cell, is reaching its efficiency limit. As a material, silicon
is far from ideal. To manufacture these silicon cells, the material must be refined and wafered
or cut into extremely thin crystalline sheets. This process has a high failure rate. These wafers are
then exposed to gaseous impurities such as boron to create a natural internal electric field,
lowering the band-gap for the semiconductor and allowing the interface to accept photons.
Overall, it is comparatively expensive to refine silicon and to manufacture and dope the wafers
for solar cell use.

Single junction silicon solar cells like the silicon based cell we just described, are
reaching their maximum efficiency. To move solar power forward we need to look into other
materials and other layouts to maximize efficiency and reduce cost per watt. Research in this
field would improve the efficiency of these arrays, or introduce new materials to take the place
of silicon to improve the band gap for acceptance of photons of different energies. One such
type of solar cell is known as a Dye Sensitized solar cell or DSSC. These solar cells use titanium
dioxide, the sun absorbing material in sunscreen, and organic dye pigments, like anthocyanin
which is found in raspberries, to capture the energy from sunlight. One of the amazing benefits
of such a cell is the ability to tune the acceptance range of cell to its geographical environment
by using different dyes. DSSCs are also incredibly cheap and easy to manufacture at fraction of
the cost of manufacturing a silicon cell. Another enormous benefit of a DSSC is that they can be
printed on to flexible substrates, allowing the solar cell to be applied to curved surfaces, unlike
the heavy and fragile silicon based cells. The main drawback right now, aside from slightly
lower efficiency, is that these cells have a limited lifespan given the nature of the organic dyes.
More funding into this type of technology could make this a reality, and create a boom in cheap
solar energy production.

Solar thermal power is another alterative way to make power from solar radiation. This
method usually employs an array of mirrors to focus the sun onto a column of molten salt, heated
to a few thousand degrees by reflected solar radiation, which boils water and spins a generator.
This method is moderately new; there is a station currently operating in California with a
capacity of almost 400 MW, 80% the capacity of a typical nuclear plant. Research could be
implemented to improve the efficiency of the thermal transfers and cooling systems and make
this powerful dream into a reality.

The large initial investment and long time for return on investment is what is driving
Investors away from renewable energy. Currently, tax breaks are the main incentive for
corporations and families to invest in renewable energy. The main benefit of such an investment
is to lower their businesses operating costs in the long run. This methodology relies on the rising
cost of fossil fuels to scare people into investing in underdeveloped technologies. With more
funding and awareness for alternative approaches to harnessing untapped clean and renewable
energy sources these technologies could gain a competitive advantage.

As we deplete the earths most accessible natural resources, we will need to find
renewable sources of energy to fill our growing demand. We need a vision of the future to work
towards. How would things be different without gasoline or other fossil fuels to provide cheap
energy? This is what we need to prepare for in the long run. The most prominent change in
peoples daily life would be the phasing out of Gasoline powered cars, but a lot still has to go on
behind the scenes for us to move away from fossil fuels in other areas of energy production.
Household electricity will likely be generated mainly by means of clean nuclear fusion or even
nuclear fission, alongside the many different sources of renewable sources we see today, but on a
massive scale.

What can we do to make this dream a reality? Unfortunately, an increasingly large
portion of society is unaware of the progress made in modern scientific fields. Without
awareness for new breakthroughs in renewable technology, needed funding for these projects
may be allocated elsewhere. Currently, Industry invests twice as much in research as the Federal
government, or about 120 billion dollars more. Industry sponsored projects are motivated by the
perspective of a large return on their investments. If we can focus federal spending on pure
research on renewable energy topics, we can potentially have a breakthrough that would warrant
massive amounts of funding from Industry. From here, the free market would take over and
develop these new technologies.

It is difficult to understand where the funding should be directed to make these projects
into realities. If I were talking about the development of clean nuclear fusion reactors, funding
for pure research in plasma physics might seem as unrelated, while in reality they are extremely
intertwined. Understanding that decisions for direct applications of these funds should be left to
experts in these fields, however we can still collectively advocate for an increase in the funds
appropriated to renewable energy research. It is our job as taxpayers and as voters to make the
government work for the people and our future well-being. It is our job to help fund the scientists
who work tirelessly to make our lives better.

In the end, we have little control over the allocation of government funding, only over the
delegates we elect to the federal house, senate and of course the presidency. We need to make
research funding a campaign platform for representatives, and support or at least give extra
consideration to candidates who support increased research funding. Remember that these
candidates are responsible to the people. This is our future; it is our responsibility to make it the
best that we can. We need to adopt energy policies that are geared for long term success and are
also feasible in the immediate future.








Sources:
"The Sources and Uses of U.S. Science Funding - The New Atlantis." The New Atlantis. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. <http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-sources-and-
uses-of-us-science-funding>.
"U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA). N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.eia.gov/>.

Audience:
Average Pennsylvanians, or other eligible voters in their own respective states. They
could be readers of Popular science or scientific American, magazines targeted at
generally educated people with an interest in science but no dedicated education on the
topics covered.

Purpose:
To make research funding a talking point and a campaign platform, also to raise
awareness and suggest a course of action for people who care about the future prosperity
of the nation.

Exigence/Kairos:
Topics such as Global warming, rising energy costs (gasoline in particular), and the
eventual depletion of oil, that have been raised in recent years. Campaign candidates have
supported renewable energy as a way to get elected. Solyndra received a 500 million
dollar government loan and proceeded to go bankrupt.

Context:
The average person that I am targeting in my demographic group is a voter who is
concerned about our dependence on oil or other nonrenewable sources. They are familiar
with the main sources of renewable energy such as solar or wind. They support replacing
the fossil fuels, but do not necessarily agree on how or when to implement which
technologies. They are familiar with campaign candidates discussing energy related
topics.