RENEWABLE ENERGY-GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES List of Written Evidence
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RENEWABLE ENERGY-GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES List of written evidence Page 1 Institute of Physics 1 2 David Milborrow - independent consultant 7 3 Fuel Cells UK 14 4 University of Liverpool 26 5 20C 33 6 One NorthEast 39 7 Marine Institute for Innovation 42 8 Supergen Energy Storage Consortium 49 9 Alan Shaw - Retired Chartered Engineer 52 10 Professor Stephen Salter - University of Edinburgh 57 11 EDF Energy 61 12 Rolls Royce Fuel Systems 66 13 The Royal Society of Edinburgh 74 14 Advantage West Midlands 85 15 South West RDA 88 16 East of England Development Agency 94 17 RWE npower 97 18 E.ON UK 106 19 Renewable Energy Association 129 20 Association of Electricity Producers 138 21 Institution of Mechanical Engineers 142 22 British Geological Survey 146 23 London Climate Change Agency and the London Development Agency 152 24 Swanbarton Limited 160 25 Yorkshire Forward 166 26 Shanks Waste Management Limited 170 27 Energy Saving Trust 172 28 Energy Networks Association 176 29 Environmental Services Association 178 30 Greenpeace UK 180 31 National Farmers' Union of England and Wales 186 32 Centre for Management Under Regulation - Warwick Business School 189 33 Environment Agency 193 34 East Midlands Development Agency 199 35 Bristol Spaceplanes Limited 203 36 Royal Society of Chemistry 215 37 Durham University 223 38 Research Councils UK 240 39 Institution of Engineering & Technology 281 40 Sustainable Development Commission 289 41 Royal Academy of Engineering 295 42 UK Energy Research Centre 304 43 British Wind Energy Association 315 44 Ofgem 322 45 Plymouth Marine Laboratory 324 46 Dept of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 332 47 Professor Ian Fells 350 Memorandum 1 Submission from the Institute of Physics (IoP) The challenge for renewables The Institute supports R&D into new renewable energy technologies. As well as being low carbon energy sources, renewables have a number of other advantages. They can enhance diversity in energy supply markets, secure long-term sustainable energy supplies, reduce dependency on imported energy supplies, and reduce emissions of local air pollutants. Their stand-alone nature also makes them particularly suited for use in remote locations with relatively low demand, which are isolated from national networks. Hence, renewables are an essential part of the future energy mix, but there is a need for increased research and innovation in the relevant R&D sectors in order for the UK to be in a position to respond to the challenges of the medium to long-term future. The Institute noted that the recent Energy White Paper, Meeting the Energy Challenge, re- emphasised the government’s aspiration to see renewables grow as a proportion of the UK’s electricity supplies to 10% by 2010, with an aspiration for this level to double by 2020. These targets represent a significant challenge given that, in the UK, only around 4% of electricity was being generated from renewables in 2006. The Institute is of the view that the current target of 10% itself is somewhat unrealistic, as renewables presently suffer from various barriers to exploitation. However, analyses carried out to support the 2003 Energy White Paper, Our energy future: creating a low carbon economy, suggested that about a third of electricity might be supplied by renewables by 2040 although this could be substantially higher if some of the other options for low carbon energy supply were not adopted. For example, renewables might be required to supply up to two thirds of electricity demand if no new nuclear plants were built and carbon capture and storage for fossil fuel fired plant were not implemented. The modelling work suggested that wind, in particular offshore wind, and biomass would account for a significant proportion of renewable energy generation. In addition, technologies with a higher cost but sizable potential resource, such as photovoltaics, could also contribute significantly if other low- carbon options are not available in the future. Renewable energy-generation technologies In October 2005, the Institute published its report, The Role of Physics in Renewable Energy RD&D1, which was prepared by Future Energy Solutions, AEA Technology Environment. The report set out the challenges facing renewable-energy technologies, the important role of research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in meeting this challenge, and areas where physicists contribute to this RD&D. Section 3 of the enclosed report (pages 6-20), highlights in detail the progress made in a number of key technologies, including photovoltaics; marine energy; fuel cells; hydrogen infrastructure; electricity transmission and distribution; energy storage; and mature technologies. The report provides a robust review of these technologies, citing case studies from UK university departments, and offering commentary on the barriers to progression towards RD&D. Furthermore, the report emphasises the technologies that are likely to be deployed in the UK, or where there may be significant export opportunities for the UK. 1 http://www.iop.org/activity/policy/Publications/file_4145.pdf 1 According to the report, the two key areas where the UK has an opportunity to take a research lead on are: • the new generation of photovoltaic energy technologies, although this would require a strong RD&D effort; and • wave and tidal energy, where there are a number of universities with significant research capability. Ensuring that these RD&D strengths are developed could bring substantial benefits to the UK, both in terms of enabling deployment of these technologies, with subsequent environmental benefits in terms of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and in terms of financial benefits from export earnings as technologies are deployed globally. This will require support of RD&D and the availability of suitably qualified personnel to work in these areas. Photovoltaics The Institute’s report revealed that the most obvious area where physicists are contributing to RD&D is in photovoltaics, where they are carrying out much of the fundamental research required to develop novel types of cell that may result in step changes in the cost of photovoltaic generation. Photovoltaics can readily be adapted to suit the diffuse light conditions found in northern climes as evidenced by their widespread use in Germany. There is a strong research effort in the UK but to benefit fully from this vitally important technology, investment in the underpinning science needs to improve considerably. Currently, over 95% of photovoltaic modules are made of silicon in all its forms, of which about 5% is non-crystalline silicon (such as amorphous silicon). They convert sunlight into electricity with an efficiency ranging between 13 to 17%.The maximum potential efficiency is only about 25% because only the light with the right energy to generate the charge carriers (the bandgap) is absorbed. The vast majority of solar cells on the market today are so-called ‘first-generation’ cells made from monocrystalline silicon. However, they are expensive to produce because of the high costs of purifying, crystallizing and sawing electronic-grade crystalline silicon, which is rather fragile and in shortage. Furthermore, a POSTnote entitled Carbon footprint of electricity generation2 reported that, “The silicon required for photovoltaic modules is extracted from quartz sand at high temperatures, which is the most energy intensive phase of module production, accounting for 60% of the total energy requirement. However, future reductions in the carbon footprint of photovoltaic cells are expected to be achieved in thin film technologies which use thinner layers of silicon, and with the development new semi-conducting materials (organic cells and nano-rods) which are less energy intensive.” As detailed in the Institute’s report, most physicists are now working on ‘second-generation’ solar cells, which are near market, with the aim of reducing high costs by using thin films of silicon and other semiconductors, such as amorphous silicon, gallium arsenide, copper indium diselenide and cadmium telluride, which are mounted on glass substrates. For the future, physicists are also working on ‘third-generation’ cells, such as dye-sensitised photochemical, and quantum/nanotechnology solar cells, which, if practicable, would yield extremely high efficiencies and be as cheap as thin-film devices. 2 http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/postpn268.pdf 2 However, the article, ‘Bright outlook for solar cells’, published in the July 2007 issue of the Institute’s membership magazine Physics World3, whilst commenting on how future research efforts could transform solar cells from niche products to devices that provide a significant fraction of the world’s energy, offers some caution by reporting that building cheap and efficient cheap photovoltaic cells does not guarantee that solar power will become a major part of the world's energy mix. Even if these devices can be converted into high-performance commercial products there still remains the problem of actually building and installing the enormous number of panels that would be required. Mankind currently consumes energy at a rate of 13 terawatts, and many experts predict that population growth and economic expansion will increase this figure to around 45 terawatts by 2050. Generating 20 terawatts of that with panels that are 10% efficient would, according to the 2005 report, Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization4, sponsored by the US Department of Energy, mean installing such panels over 0.16% of the Earth's land surface. Given that only a fraction of this will be met by installing panels on people's houses, vast ‘farms’ will have to be built in areas with significant amounts of sunshine. Attempting to build such farms in Western countries could, ironically, be opposed on environmental grounds. Furthermore, the article reports that another hurdle is the infrastructure needed to deliver the solar electricity to where it is needed (when the cells are built in farms). Perhaps the biggest challenge, however, is how to store solar electricity, given that the Sun does not shine all the time.