ER100 PP184 ER200 PP284 Fall 2022 Problem Set 2 Total Points 100 for ER110 PP184 125 for ER200 PP284 Show your work for complete credit Online submissions must be a single PDF document otherwise points will be deducted 1 Soft and Hard Energy Paths Forty years ago Amory Lovins wrote his seminal piece describing hard and soft energy paths In this question we would like you to consider Lovins s arguments in the context of important energy issues today as well as compare the Lovins paper with some of the articles you ve read concerning energy and development 25 points a Describe Lovins s distinction between hard and soft paths in a few sentences using your own language 5 points Hard energy path Technology and policy choices that aim to increase energy supply through centralized complex capital intensive energy systems 2 points Soft energy path Technology and policy choices that aim to reduce energy demands with an emphasis on distributed simple modular energy generation systems 2 points Note that this doesn t necessarily imply fossil vs renewable p 81 A renewable energy technology could be implemented in a large scale centralized manner and thus could be an example of a hard path b Hard and soft are relative terms and the same energy technology can be applied in ways that are consistent with either the hard or soft approach Pick an energy issue or technology and discuss how it might be viewed through a hard and soft energy path 5 points Reasonable description of how the issue or technology can be viewed in a hard way 2 points reasonable description of how the issue or technology can be viewed in a soft way 2 points both examples use the same issue or technology 1 point For example Solar PV can be implemented in a hard path if it is deployed at large scale in a centralized location e g the desert and sends electricity into the transmission system Solar PV can be implemented in a soft way if it is deployed in a modular way in neighborhoods to meet distributed energy demands without needing to upgrade centralized infrastructure c The Lovins piece is focused on energy in the context of the United States What path do you think would be best suited for developing countries as in those countries with average annual per capita energy consumption rates under 1 TOE and why is this the same or different for developed countries 10 points Stating an opinion about which path is best suited for developing countries 2 points Discussion of how that path compares to the path for developed countries 3 points Reasonable integration of Lovins argument into opinion 5 points For example Lovins argues that through thinking about appropriate scale and better fitting to end use soft technologies achieve greater economy than larger centralized hard path systems by reducing infrastructure costs and distribution losses and by avoiding diseconomies of scale This argument holds well in developing countries especially in countries with largely disconnected rural communities where energy service could be better provided in a more distributed manner Much infrastructure in developing economies is yet to be built therefore they have the opportunity to choose a different path than the hard path the US has taken d List the five fallacies in the Mundane Science article by Kammen and Dove and discuss any connection between the points raised by Lovins and the five fallacies 5 points Mundane science refers to scientific research directed at problems that affect the day to day life of ordinary people especially the poor Five fallacies about mundane science 1 it s anti scientific 2 it has lower returns than basic research 3 it s merely an application of basic research 4 it can t possibly be objective 5 it deals with social problems not technological ones 0 5 points for each correctly identified fallacy Here are some of the overarching connections 2 5 points listing any one of the following yields full points We shouldn t just focus on high tech cutting edge capital intensive solutions we need to also consider more practical solutions at the small to medium scale There are many interesting and important technical challenges to be solved at the small scale even though it s not considered glamorous work For example increasing efficiency of a simple cookstove turns out to be a challenging physics problem and it affects a very large population Small scale technologies can empower communities through the use of local resources labor and expertise They can be adapted to local conditions and cultures and don t create dependence on outside experts We must recognize the connections between technological problems and social ones and not behave as though every problem can be solved by the application of more and bigger technology though not every development problem is purely social 2 Combustion 23 points 2 points for significant figures According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy fossil fuels coal oil and natural gas are the dominant about 84 7 energy sources for the world s 13 9 btoe billion tons of oil equivalent primary energy consumption in 2016 Similarly in the United States 84 3 of the 2 30 btoe primary consumption is from fossil fuels In this problem we will examine the energy and carbon emissions from generating electricity using these fuels Assume energy density for coal and natural gas to be 29 8 MJ kg and 50 7 MJ kg respectively i e that is the amount of thermal energy those fuels contain a Based on an approximate formula for coal C10H8O1 and an approximate formula for natural gas CH4 write the balanced combustion equation for each fuel Assume complete combustion in oxygen What are the CO2 emission factors for coal and natural gas in kg GJ 8 points Coal 2C10H8O1 23O2 20CO2 8H2O Natural Gas CH4 2O2 CO2 2H2O Calculate the molar mass of coal 10 12 8 1 1 16 144 Calculate the molar mass of CO2 12 2 16 44 2 Calculate the mass of CO2 generated from combusting 1kg of coal 1 1000 144 20 2 2 44 2 2 1 2 1000 2 3 055 2 Calculate the thermal energy provided by 1 kg of coal 1 29 8 1 1000 0 0298 Calculate the emission factor in kg GJ 3 055 2 2 98 10 2 102 52 103 Repeat the above process for natural gas first calculating the molar mass of CH4 12 4 1 16 4 Calculate the mass of CO2 generated from combusting 1kg of natural gas 1000 1 4 4 16 4 1 2 1 4 44 2 2 1 1000 2 75 2 Calculate the thermal energy provided by 1 kg of natural gas 1 50 7 1 1000 5 07 10 2 Calculate the emission factor in kg GJ 2 75 2 5 07 10 54 24 54 2 Significant