Renewable Energy-National Renewable Lab- Colorado

While staying at Rocky Mountain National Park we visited the National Renewable Lab in Golden, Colorado on June 9.

Now this building looks official.

Photo Credit: David Smalley

Seventy percent of the United States energy is oil and coal. The burning of these fossil fuels is toxic to our environment. These fuels when burned release sulfuric and nitric acids into the atmosphere which leads to acid rain. The extraction of the fuels is not sustainable. The way we extract coal is strip mining- removing the tops of mountains. The process disrupts wildlife, pollutes air near homes, rivers are polluted by runoff, and the ecology of the mountain is never truly the same. Oil can be drilled on land or by sea and in the news tar sands have be discussed as well. A topic of concern is the offshore drilling. The most recent disaster surrounding offshore drilling is the BP or Deep Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico that went on for more than 100 days. The fishing industry in the Gulf will be feeling the effects of the spill for years to come.

The Lab is working with the Department of Energy, the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Defense to continue research with renewable energy options. Lesile Macmillan  was our tour guide at the National Renewable Lab-Golden Colorado. The major types of energy they are working with include wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass.

Wind:
North and South Dakota could supply forty-eight percent of our energy needs in the United States. Unfortunately, there is no grid system out there that can handle that much power. Plus private companies own the mineral and water rights where the wind turbines would be placed in these states. It would be a great feat if the Great Plains could supply the Unites States with power because the United States is basically a wind tunnel from east to west. The NREL works with small residential turbines to 2.3 megawatt Siemen’s utility size turbine with a 100 diameter. By 2030, the lab would like 20% of the nation’s energy to come from wind.

Biomass: 

This type of enrgy is from plants. By far, wood is the largest biomass fuel  but other types of biomass are being used as well. These include food crops, leftover material from agriculture and forestry, algae, and organic material from municipal and industrial wastes. The first type of biofuel that comes to mind is ethanol made from corn grains. Soo NREL hopes to use the corn stover to make fuel too that includes the stalks, leaves and husks of the corn plantThe goal in the United States is that by 2030 we will replace 50 to 60 billion gallons of imported oil each year with biomass.

Solar:
It is a race to get a photovoltaic cell that is fifty percent efficient. It is a long way away the most efficient cell today is about 15% efficient. Right now the lab has a solar concentrator that is 42% efficient.

Geothermal:
NREL is working on Low-temperature geothermal energy. It  is defined as heat obtained from the geothermal fluid in the ground at temperatures of 300°F (150°C) or less. These resources are typically used in direct-use applications - like the heating of commerial buildings- however the lab is trying to harness the low-temperature resources to generate electricity.