ECE 333

Green Electric Energy

Lecture 13
Wave/Tidal Power, Fuel Cells, Economics

Professor Tom Overbye

Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering
 Announcements

• Be reading Chapter 4, test covers through Section 4.5

• First exam is Oct 8 in class (as specified on syllabus). Note that the old Exam 1
from last semester is on Compass.
• After test be reading Chapter 5
• Homework 6 is due Oct 15. It is 4.9, 5.2, 5.4, 5.6, 5.11
In the News: Prof. Chapman,
Harnessing Human Power
 Wave Power

The potential energy available waves is quite high, with

• some estimates up to 2 TW (2000 GW) worldwide.
The potential wave power per meter varies with the square of the wave height and linearly with the period.
•
– A 3 meter wave with an 8 second period produces about 36 kW/m, while a 15 meter wave with a 15 second period
produces about 1.7 MW/m.
World’s largest wave park” is
• in Portugal, with capacity of
2.25 MW; each of three devices is
142m long, and has a diameter of
3.5 m, and uses 700 metric tons of steel
Pelamis Wave Power

Source: www.pelamiswave.com
Tidal Power

• There is tremendous potential energy in harnessing the

earth’s tides and is predictable, but like wave energy it
is very difficult to economically achieve.
• The largest tidal power plant in the world is the 240
MW (max) La Rance in France, built in the 1960’s.
– Average power generation is 68 MW
– A 330m dam contains a 22 square km basin, with average
tides of 8m.
 Tidal Power

• No new tidal plants have been constructed since 1960’s

• The two main approaches to tidal power are 1) dams (barrages) across a tidal
estuary (harnessing a height difference like conventional hydro), 2) tidal stream
systems which work similar to wind turbines
• Tidal stream systems are seen as
more viable since they do not
require construction of a dam.
Verdant Power has recently
installed such a system in the
NYC East River

Each turbine has about 35 kW Max Capacity

 Fuel Cells

• Convert chemical energy contained in a fuel directly

into electrical power
• Skip conversion to mechanical energy, not
constrained by Carnot limits
Conventional Chemical energy Chemical energy Fuel Cells
Combustion

Heat Electrical energy

Mechanical energy

Electrical energy
 Fuel Cells

• Up to ~65% efficiencies
• No combustion products (SOX,CO) although there may
be NOX at high temperatures
• Vibration free, almost silent – can be located close to the
load
• Waste heat can be used for cogeneration
• Byproduct is water
• Modular in nature
 Fuel Cells - History

• Developed more than 150 years ago

• Used in NASA’s Gemini earth-orbiting missions,
1960s

For more information on the

history of fuel cells, see the
Smithsonian project-

http://americanhistory.si.edu
/fuelcells/

ttp://scienceservice.si.edu/pages/059017.htm http://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/pem/pem3.htm
Fuel Cells - History

http://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/pem/pem5.htm

http://www.fuelcells.org/basics/apps.html
 Fuel Cells- Basic Operation

Electrical Load

2H +

Anode Electrolyte Cathode

H 2 → 2 H + + 2e − Catalyst
1
O2 + 2 H + + 2e − → H 2O
2
Protons diffuse though electrolyte so cathode is positive with respect to anode
 Fuel Cells- Basic Operation

• Combined anode and cathode reactions:

H 2 → 2 H + + 2e −
1
O2 + 2 H + + 2e− → H 2O
2
1
H 2 + O2 → H 2 O (4.20)
2
• This reaction is exothermic- it releases heat
• A single cell only produces ~0.5V under normal operating
conditions, so multiple cells are stacked to build up the voltage
 Fuel Cells

• How much energy is liberated and how much can be converted to

electricity?
• Need to talk about enthalpy, entropy, and free energy
• Enthalpy - Sum of internal energy U and its volume V and
pressure P

• U = internal energy, microscopic properties

= U + PVenergies
• PV = observable,Hmacroscopic
• Units – kJ/mole
 Enthalpy

• A measure of the energy it takes to form the substance out

of its constituent elements
• For fuel cells, changes in chemical energy are of interest
and those are best described in terms of enthalpy changes
• As with potential energy, we describe enthalpy with respect
to a reference (it is the change that matters)
• At Standard Temperature and Pressure (STP)= 25˚C, 1 atm,
stable form of element has zero enthalpy
 Enthalpy of Formation

• Enthalpy of formation - difference between enthalpy of the

substance and enthalpies of its constituent elements
• Exothermic – heat is liberated, enthalpy in final products is
less than reactants, enthalpy of formation is negative,
chemical energy of substance is less than that of its
constituents
• Endothermic – heat is absorbed
• Depends on state (liquid, solid, gas), see Table 4.6
 Enthalpy of Formation

• Liquid Water
1
H 2 + O2 → H 2 O ( l)
2
∆H = −285.8 kJ/mol

• Water Vapor
1
H 2 + O2 → H 2 O ( g )
2
∆H = −241.8 kJ/mol
• Latent heat of vaporization of water

44 kJ/mol
 Entropy and Fuel Cells

• How much of the energy can be converted directly

into electricity?
• We’ll use entropy concepts to develop the
maximum efficiency of a fuel cell
Enthalpy in
H

Fuel Cell
Enthalpy out
We
Rejected heat
Q
Fig. 4.28- Energy Balance for a Fuel Cell
 Entropy and Fuel Cells

• Assume isothermal Enthalpy in

Q H
∆S =
T
1 Fuel Cell
Enthalpy out
H 2 + O2 → H 2 O + Q
2 We
Rejected heat
• Q = heat released Q
• Net entropy must increase
Entropy gain ≥ Entropy loss
Q
+ ∑ S products ≥∑ Sreactants
T
 Entropy and Fuel Cells

• From Enthalpy in
Q heat we can release is
the minimum
+ ∑ S products ≥∑ Sreactants (4.28) H
T
Fuel Cell
Enthalpy out
Qmin = T ( ∑ S reactants − ∑ S products ) We
• Now find maximum efficiency
Rejected heat
Q

H = We + Q (4.30)
We Q Theoretical maximum
η= =1− (4.31)
H H can be quite high
Qmin
ηmax = 1 − (> 80%)
H
 Gibbs Free Energy and Fuel Cells

• Consider the chemical energy released in a reaction as having

two parts:
– 1) entropy-free part (the work) called free energy ΔG
– 2) heat Q
• G = H-Q=H-TΔS
• ΔG is the maximum entropy-free output (work) from a chemical
reaction

• Then ∆G = ∑ Gproducts − ∑ Greactants

We ∆G
η= ηmax =
H ∆H
 Output of an Ideal Fuel Cell
Equal to the magnitude of ΔG
• From Table 4.6,
•

1
H 2 + O2 → H 2 O ∆G = −237.2 kJ/mol
•
2 at STP is
Maximum electrical output

We = ∆G = 237.2 kJ/mol

P [ W ] = 237.2 [ kJ/mol] ⋅ n[ mol/sec] ⋅1000[ J/kJ] = 237, 200 n

n = rate of hydrogen flow into the cell, mol/sec
•
 Electrical Characteristics

• Activation losses

• Fuel crossover
losses

• Mass transport
losses
 Types of Fuel Cells

• Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC)

• Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC)
• Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells (PAFC)
• Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFC)
• Molten-Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFC)
• Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC)
Types of Fuel Cells
 Hydrogen Production

• Obtaining a supply of hydrogen of sufficient quality and at a

reasonable cost is difficult
• Critical to solve this before fuel cells can become widely
deployed
• Main technologies are steam reforming of methane (SMR) and
partial oxidation (POX)
• Generation IV nuclear reactors could be used as well (when
they become available)
 Energy Economic Concepts
(From Prof. Gross)
• The economic evaluation of a renewable energy resource
requires a meaningful quantification of cost elements
– fixed costs
– variable costs
• We use engineering economics notions for this purpose
since they provide the means to compare on a consistent
basis
– two different projects; or,
– the costs with and without a given project
 Time Value of Money

• Basic notion: a dollar today is not the same as a

dollar in a year
• We represent the time value of money by the
standard approach of discounted cash flows
• The notation is
P = principal
i = interest value
• The convention we use is that payments occur at the
end of each period
Simple Example

loan P for 1 year

repay P + iP = P ( 1 + i ) at the end of 1 year
year 0 P
year 1 P (1 + i)
loan P for n years
year 0 P
year 1 ( 1 + i ) P repay/reborrow
year 2 ( 1 + i )2 P repay/reborrow
year 3 ( 1 + i )3 P repay/reborrow
.M M M
year n ( 1 + i )n P repay
 Compound Interest
e.o.p. amount owed interest for amount owed for next period
next period
0 P Pi P + Pi = P(1+i )

1 P(1+i ) P(1+i ) i P(1+i ) + P(1+i ) i = P(1+i ) 2

2 P(1+i ) 2 P(1+i ) 2 i P(1+i ) 2 + P(1+i ) 2 i = P(1+i ) 3

3 P(1+i ) 3 P(1+i ) 3 i P(1+i ) 3 + P(1+i ) 3 i = P(1+i ) 4

M M
n-1 P(1+i ) n-1 P(1+i ) n-1 i P(1+i ) n-1 + P(1+i ) n-1 i = P(1+i ) n

n P(1+i ) n

The value in the last column for the e.o.p. (k-1) provides the value in
the first column for the e.o.p. k (e.o.p. is end of period)
 Terminology

F = P ( 1 + i)
n

compound
interest

Lump sum repayment at the

end of n periods. F is
called the future worth, while Need not be integer-valued
P is called the present worth
 Terminology

• We call (1 + i) n the single payment compound amount

factor
We define β @( 1 + i )
−1
•
= ( 1+ i)
−n
and β n

is the single payment present worth factor

• F is called the future worth; P is called the present worth
or present value at interest i of a future sum F
 Example 1

• Consider a loan of $4,000 at 8% interest to be repaid in

two installments
– $ 1,000 and interest at the e.o.y. (end of year) 1
– $ 3,000 and interest at the e.o.y. 4
• The cash flows are
– e.o.y. 1: 1000 + 4000 (.08) = $ 1,320
– e.o.y. 2: 3000 (1 + .08 ) 3 = $ 3,779.14
• Note that the loan is made in year 0 present dollars,
but the repayments are in year 1 and
year 4 future dollars
 Example 2

• Given that
P = $1,000 and i = .12

• Then we say that for the cost of money of 12%, P

and F are equivalent in the sense that $1,000 today
has the same worth as $1,762.34 in 5 years

P ( 1 + i) = $1,000( 1 + .12)
5 5
= $1,762.34 = F
 Example 3

• Consider an investment that returns

$1,000 at the e.o.y. 1
rate at which
$2,000 at the e.o.y. 2 money can be
freely lent or
i = 10%
borrowed
• We evaluate P
P = $ 1,000 ( 1 + .1) + $ 2,000( 1 + .1)
−1 −2

142 43 142 43
β β 2

= $ 909.9 + $ 1,652.09 = $ 2,561.98

 Cash Flow Diagram for Example 3

• We can illustrate this with a cash flow diagram

$ 2,000
$ 1,000
0 1 2
year

$ 2,561.98
 Net Present Value (NPV) for Example 3

• Next, suppose that this investment requires $ 2,400

now. So at 10% we say that the investment has a net
present value (NPV ) of
NPV = $ 2,561.98 – $ 2,400 = $ 161.98

NPV $ 2,000
$ 161.98 $ 1,000
0 1 2
year

$ 2,561.98
 Cash Flows

• A cash flow is a transfer of an amount A t from one

entity to another at e.o.p. t
• We consider a cash-flow set { A0 , A1 , A2 ,..., An}
corresponding to the set of times { 0 ,1, 2,..., n}
• The convention for cash flows is
+ inflow
− outflow
• Each cash flow requires the specification of:
– amount;
– time; and,
– sign
 Cash Flows, cont.

• Given a cash-flow set { A , A , A ,..., A }

0 1 2 n we
define the future worth F n of the cash flow set at e.o.y.
n as n

∑ A ( 1 + i)
n− t
Fn = t
t =0

A0 A1 A2 At A n-2 A n-1 An

... ...
0 1 2 t n–2 n–2 n
 Cash Flows, cont.

• Note that each cash flow A t in the set contributes

differently to F n
A0 ( 1 + i )
n
A0 →
A1 ( 1 + i )
n−1
A1 →
A2 ( 1 + i )
n− 2
A2 →
M M
At ( 1 + i )
n− t
At →
M M
An → An
 Cash Flows, cont.

• We define the present worth P of the cash flow set as

n n

∑A β ∑ A ( 1 + i)
−t
P = t
t
= t
t =0 t =0
• Note that n

∑ A ( 1 + i)
−t
P = t
t =0

∑ A ( 1 + i ) (11 4+ i4) 2( 14+4i) 3

−t n −n
= t
t =0
1
Cash Flows, cont.

n
= ( 1 + i ) ∑ At ( 1 + i )
−n n −t

142 43 t =0
1 4 42 4 43
β n
Fn

= β Fn
n

or equivalently
Fn = ( 1 + i ) P
n
 Uniform Cash Flow Set

• Consider the cash-flow set { A0 , A1 , A2 ,..., An} with

At = A t = 1, 2,..., n
• Such a set is called an equal payment cash flow set
• We compute the present worth

n n
P = ∑ t
A
t =1
β t
= A ∑ β t
=
t =1
A β 
 1 + β + β 2
+ ... + β n− 1

 Uniform Cash Flow Set, cont.

• Now, for 0 < β < 1 , we have the identity

∞
1
∑β j
=
1−β
∞
∑β
j
j =0
• It follows that j=0
∞
1 + β + ... + β n−1 = ∑ β
j =0
j
− β n

 1 + β + β 2
+... + β n −1
+...
∞
= ( 1−β n ) ∑ β j

j =0
1− β n
=
1− β
 Uniform Cash Flow Set, cont.

• Therefore

1− β n
P = Aβ
1−β
• But

β = (1 + d)
−1

and so
 Uniform Cash Flow Set, cont.

1 d
1−β = 1− = = βd
1+ d 1+d
• We write

1−β n
P = A
d
and we call the equal payment series present
1− β n

value function d
Present Value Function (PVF)

1−β n
1 − (1 + d ) −n
(1 + d ) − 1
n
= =
d d d (1 + d )n
 Equivalence

• We consider two cash-flow sets

{ A : t = 0,1, 2,..., n}
a
t and { A : t = 0,1, 2,..., n}
b
t

under a given discount rate d

• We say are equivalent cash-flow sets if
{A }a
t and { A } b
t
their future worths are identical.
 Equivalence, Example

• Consider the two cash-flow sets 8,200.40

under d = 7%

2000 2000 2000 2000 2000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2
a b
 Equivalence, cont.
7
• We compute P a = 2000 ∑β
t =3
t
= 7162.33

and P b = 8200.40 β 2 = 7162.33

• Therefore, A a and A b are equivalent cash flow sets
{ t} { t}
under d = 7%
 Example

• Consider the set of cash flows illustrated below

$ 400
$ 300
$ 200 $ 200

3
0 1 2 4 5 6 7 8

d = 6%
$ 300
 Example, cont.

• We compute F 8 at t = 8 for d = 6%
F8 = 300 ( 1 + .06) − 300( 1 + .06)
7 5
+
200 ( 1 + .06) + 400( 1 + .06)
4 2
+ 200
= $ 951.56

• We next compute P
P = 300 ( 1 + .06) − 300( 1 + .06)
−1 −3

+ 200 ( 1 + .06 ) + 400( 1 + .06) + 200( 1 + .06)

−4 −6 −8

= $ 597.04
• We check that for d = 6%
F8 = 597.04 ( 1 + .06) = $ 951.56
8
 Discount Rate

• The interest rate i is typically referred to as the

discount rate and is denoted by d
• In converting a future amount F to a present worth
P we can view the discount rate as the interest rate
that can be earned from the best investment
alternative
• A postulated savings of $ 10,000 in a project in 5
years is worth at present

= 10,000 ( 1 + d )
−5
P = F5 β 5
 Discount Rate

• For d = 0.1, P = $ 6,201,

while for d = 0.2, P = $ 4,019
• In general, the lower the discount factor, the
higher the present worth
• The present worth of a set of costs under a given
discount rate is called the life-cycle costs
 Motor Purchase Example

• We consider the purchase of two 100-hp motors – a

and b – to be used over a 20-year period; the discount
rate is 10%
• The relative merits of a and b are
motor costs ( $ ) load ( kW )

a 2,400 79.0

b 2,900 77.5

• The motor is used 1,600 hours per year and electricity

costs are constant at 0.08 $/kWh
 Motor Purchase Example, cont.

• We evaluate yearly energy costs for a and b

A at = ( 79.0 kW ) ( 1600 h) ( .08 $ / kWh) = $ 10,112

t = 1, 2, ... , 20

A bt = ( 77.5 kW ) ( 1600 h) ( .08 $ / kWh) = $ 9,920

• We next evaluate the present worth of a and b

20
= 2,400 + 10,112 ∑ ( 1.1)
a −t
P
t =1

= $ 88,489
 Motor Purchase Example, cont.

20
= 2,900 + 9,920 ∑ ( 1.1)
b −t
P
t =1
= $ 87, 354
• Now, we evaluate
P a − P b = 88, 489 − 87, 354 = $ 1,135
• Therefore, the purchase of motor b results in the
savings of $ 1,135 due to the use of the smaller load
motor under the specified 10% discount rate
 Infinite Horizon Cash-Flow Sets

• Consider a uniform cash-flow set with n → ∞

{ At = A : t = 0, 1, 2, ... }
• Then,
P = A
( 1 − β n
) A
1
d n →∞ d
For an infinite horizon uniform cash-flow set

A
= d
P
 Infinite Horizon Cash-Flow Sets, cont.

• We may view d as the capital recovery factor with the

following interpretation:

For an initial investment of P,

dP = A
is the annual amount recovered in terms of
returns on investment
 Internal Rate of Return

• We consider a cash-flow set

{A t = A : t = 0, 1, 2, ... }
• The value of d for which
n
P = ∑ t =0
A β
t =0
t

is called the internal rate of return (IRR)

• The IRR is a measure of how fast we recover an
investment or stated differently, the speed with which
the returns recover an investment
 Internal Rate of Return Example

• Consider the following cash-flow set

$6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000
0

1 2 3 4 8

$30,000
 Internal Rate of Return

• The present value

1− β 8
P = − 30,000 + 6,000 =0
d
has the (non-obvious) solution of d equal to about 12%.
• The interpretation is that under a 12% discount rate, the present
value of the cash flow set is 0 and so 12% is the IRR for the given
cash- flow set
– The investment makes sense as long as other investments yield less than
12%.
 Internal Rate of Return

• Consider an infinite horizon simple investment

A A A
...
0 1 2 n
I
A ratio of annual return to
• Therefore d = I initial investment
• For I = $ 1,000 and A = $ 200, d = 20% and we
interpret that the returns capture 20% of the investment
each year or equivalently that we have a simple
payback period of 5 years
 Efficient Refrigerator Example

• A more efficient refrigerator incurs an investment of

additional $ 1,000 but provides $ 200 of energy savings
annually
• For a lifetime of 10 years, the IRR is computed from the
solution of
1− β 10
0 = − 1,000 + 200
d
or The solution of this equation
1− β 10
= 5 requires either an iterative
d approach or a value looked
up from a table
 Efficient Refrigerator Example, cont.

•IRR tables show that 1 − β 10

= 5.02
d d = 15%
and so the IRR is approximately 15%
If the refrigerator has an expected lifetime of 15 years this
value becomes

1 − β 15
= 5.00
d d = 18.4%

As was mentioned earlier, the value is 20% if it lasts forever

Impacts of Inflation

• Inflation is a general increase in the level of prices in an

economy; equivalently, we may view inflation as a general
decline in the value of the purchasing power of money
• Inflation is measured using prices: different products may
have distinct escalation rates
• Typically, indices such as the CPI – the consumer price index
– use a market basket of goods and services as a proxy for the
entire U.S. economy
– reference basis is the year 1967 with the price of $ 100 for the basket
(L 0); in the year 1990, the same basket cost $ 374 (L 23 )
 Figuring Average Rate of Inflation

• Calculate average inflation rate e from 1967 to 1990

374
( 1 + e) =
23
= 3.74
100 Current
ln ( 3.74 )
ln ( 1 + e ) = → e = 0.059% (1/2009)
23 basket
value is
about 632.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Historical_Inflation.svg