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Earth's Energy Systems
Dr Liam Herringshaw lgh865_at_hotmail.com
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Water
Hydroelectric Power
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Hydroelectric Power
90 energypower conversion efficiency
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Hydroelectric Power

• Three types
• 1. Conventional storage
• 1 Reservoir Dam with turbine/s
• 2. Pumped storage
• 2 reservoirs water pumped back to upper basin
  during low demand
• 3. Run-of-river
• Use natural flow of river

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UK Hydroelectric
1.5 of UK electricity from hydroelectric power
(2011)
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1. The Hollow Mountain
Cruachan Dam, nr Oban
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(No Transcript)
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Scotland's World-First

• World's first pumped storage scheme
• Begun in 1959, opened in 1965
• Utilized 'spare' nuclear power
• 90 pumped storage
• 10 conventional hydro (rain)
• 440 MW capacity
• 2014 could expand to 1 GW

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2. Welsh Water
Dinorwig Hydroelectric Power Station, Snowdonia
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The Electric Mountain
Opened in 1984
16km of tunnels
Europe's largest man- made cavern
1m tonnes of concrete, 200k tonnes of cement,
4.5k tonnes of steel
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Rapid Response

• 1.8 GW Pumped Storage
• Used for sudden power demand
• 16-second response time!

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3. The Loch Ness Monster
Glendoe Dam
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Glendoe geology
Caledonian Mountain belt Deformed sandstones and
mudstones
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A Modern Marvel
900m dam

• 600m head is UK's largest
• 15km2 natural catchment
• 60 km2 artificial (tunnel) catchment
• 8km tunnel from turbine to Loch Ness

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Your Thoughts...

• Hydro Power
• Pros Cons

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Limited expansion capacity
(especially outside Scotland!)
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Raw materials
Vidal et al. - Nature Geoscience (2013)
Especially concrete!
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Induced Seismicity

• Sichuan earthquake 2008, M7.9
• 80,000 people killed

Zipingpu Dam, completed late 2006
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Could micro-hydro make it big?

• Small-scale (lt5 MW) hydro projects take off in
  UK
• Mostly run-of-river

Image from Strathclyde University
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British Sea Power?
"The UK is currently the undisputed global leader
in marine energy, with more wave and tidal stream
devices installed than the rest of the world
combined." (Renewable UK)
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Wave Tidal Power
Currently 9 MW installed 200 MW by 2020? Tidal
potential 25-30 GW (DECC) 12 of electricity
demand Wave Tidal potential 60 GW
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Tidal Potential

• Pentland Firth
• 4.2GW potential 1.9GW feasible
• (gt40 of Scottish elec. demand)

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Tides to the Power Severn?
2013 Case unproven
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A watery future for the UK?

• VOTE!

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Next week Wind Sun
Truly renewable?