Print this page Alternative and Renewable Energy
Sources
Jim
Newton, P.E., BCEE
Course Outline
The water and wastewater industry relies heavily on electricity
and other fossil fuels to provide the energy necessary to treat drinking water
and wastewater. Fossil fuels are limited in the available quantities and
non-renewable and at some time will be depleted. This course will look at
the issue of fossil fuels and provide an understanding of the alternative,
renewable energy sources that are available for use at water and wastewater
facilities. It will also include a discussion of key engineering
and other factors needed to adopt some or all of these alternatives as energy
sources.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the
basics facts of energy;
- Understand
basic energy metrics;
- Understand the
real cost of power;
- Understand the
basic fuels from the fossil fuel era and beyond;
- Understand
basic energy consumption trends;
- Understand
current energy availability and cost;
- Understand
global warming concepts;
- Understand
other pollution problems associated with energy;
- Understand the
basics of nuclear energy;
- Understand how
to turn sunlight into energy;
- Understand the
economics of solar power;
- Understand the
future of photvoltaics;
- Understand the
basics of hydropower;
- Understand
small scale hydropower generation;
- Understand the
growing market for wind energy;
- Understand
wind farms;
- Understand
small scale wind power concepts;
- Understand
geothermal energy basics;
- Understand
geothermal heat pumps;
- Understand biomass
basics;
- Understand
small scale biomass systems;
- Understand
anaerobic digestion;
- Understand
EPA’s Combined heat and power program; and
- Understand the
ten myths about energy.
The intended audience for this course is any professional who is interested in alternative or renewable energy sources.
Benefit to Attendees
Attendees of this course will under stand the basic concepts of alternative and renewable energy sources.
Course Introduction
For the planners of the 1964/65 New York World’s Fair, a key element in the plan for a successful fair; one that would meet or exceed its predecessor a generation earlier (the 1939/40 NYWF), there had to be a “Theme Center” that would be instantly recognizable and symbolically represent the overall theme of the fair: Peace Through Understanding in a Shrinking World and an Expanding Universe. That alone was not an easy task to resolve, but add to it the burden of one of the most successful and well-remembered theme centers of any previous world’s fair – the Trylon and Perisphere, theme center of the very fair being emulated (and in the very same spot to boot) and the task seemed insurmountable. When Robert Moses became fair president in 1960, he made the selection of an appropriate theme center his top priority. Designs by prominent figures such as Walter Dorwin Teague and architect Paul Rudolph were considered but rejected by Moses. In the end, it would be an old, reliable colleague – in fact the landscape architect for the 1939/40 fair; Gilmore D. Clarke, who would come up with a simple but elegant design for a large scale structural sculpture representative of the earth, its land masses (with mountain ranges in exaggerated relief) and orbit rings (representing early space flights) that won the day. Though the idea was simple and true to the “space age” ideals of the fair, engineering and erecting a “Unisphere” would be a monumental task since nothing like it had ever been built before. With the United States Steel Company acting as sponsor, designer, fabricator and erector, the task was made easier than it would otherwise have been. Their vast experience and engineering expertise made possible – with the help of computers, the “Biggest World on Earth’ – Unisphere.
Course Content
This webinar is based upon the following book:
Alternative Energy For
Dummies by Rik DeGunther
Although it is not required, it is highly recommended for you to have a copy of this book. If you do not have a copy, you can purchase one from Amazon.com. It may also be available in your local library. You may also be able to find an electronic version from e-bookstores on the Internet (enter search phrase "Alternative Energy for Dummies PDF" in Google) or as a Kindle version from Amazon.
You may download the following webinar handout for your reference:
Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources (PDF, 3.2 MB)
Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.
Because this course is offered as a "live" course, you are required to attend the webinar at the scheduled time and date. Please check the Webinar Schedule under course description on our website for currently scheduled meeting date and time. We will send you an invitation to the webinar through email approximately 24 hours before the webinar (confirmation of the receipt of the invitation is required). The certificate of completion will not be issued unless you attend the webinar and pass a quiz. Thank you for your cooperation.
Course Summary
This course discusses basic alternative or renewable energy sources and concepts with basic design criteria.
Related Links
For additional information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:
Quiz
Before you attend the webinar, you need to print the quiz questions from your browser for your study during the webinar. At the end of the webinar, you need to complete the quiz and submit your answers to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
