A Rational Vision for a Sustainable Energy Future
Dr. Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani
As the world continues to seek reliable, economical and environmentally-acceptable supplies of energy, a realistic and balanced vision is needed that suitably incorporates the traditional and emerging sources of energy. Such a vision should capitalize on the many virtues of the traditional, proven sources of energy that have helped increase the wealth and living standards of humanity, with concurrent emphasis on lightening the environmental footprint of these energy sources. While suitably taking advantage of the emerging sources of energy that promise to reduce or even eliminate carbon emissions over the long-term and fall in the renewable category in some cases. However, to be prudent, it is essential that we do not view the sustainable energy quest as an either-or proposition, pitting the traditional and emerging sources against each other, but as a complementary mix that will evolve over time, appropriately taking into consideration the economic, technological, feasibility, environmental and public acceptance factors.
Hard Truths and Opportunities: Meeting the World's Energy Challenge
Dr. Rob J. Routs Over the next half century society's need for energy will double, conventional supplies of energy will struggle to meet demand, and the stress on the climate from CO2 emissions will become more acute. The challenge for companies like Shell will be to develop new and innovative sources of energy, from hard-to-reach oil and gas, to 'unconventionals' like oil sands, to alternatives and renewables like biomass and wind.
At the same time we need to lead in developing technologies and encouraging policies that limit CO2 emissions to manageable levels.
And we have an important role to play in improving energy efficiency -- our own as well as our customers'.
In short, for the next few decades our industry offers huge opportunities for scientists and engineers to tackle society's greatest challenges.
Energy Literacy Pays Dividends
Mr. Red Cavaney
API president and CEO Red Cavaney will discuss the crucial linkages between “literacy,” effective energy policy, and the investment climate necessary for companies to meet future U.S. energy needs. He will explain how a better informed public and policymakers can shape the policies required for the climate that companies require to attract the investment they must have to ensure future U.S. energy security.
Energy and Climate: Flip sides of the Same Crisis
Dr. Richard Allmendinger '75
The global climate crisis and rapidly approaching energy challenges are inexorably linked and must be treated as a single problem if we are to solve either one. Humans' voracious demand for energy means that hydrocarbons will continue to be our primary energy source through mid-century. Burning hydrocarbons produces atmospheric carbon dioxide, a well known and understood greenhouse gas. Prior to the industrial age and going back at least 650,000 years, atmospheric CO2 was never higher than 300 ppm. In just the last 50 years it has increased from ~315 to 380 ppm; even the most optimistic projections suggest that the concentration will increase to at least 500 - 700 ppm by the end of this century. The warming associated with such a rise in CO2 is difficult to quantify because of positive feedbacks and lag times. The results of significant warming could be profound just as the impact of failing to meet global energy needs would be enormous. A variety of immediate and longer term solutions will be mentioned.
A Really Inconvenient Truth: Why Climate Change is Much Worse Than You’ve Been Told
Mr. Dan Miller '78
Mr. Miller's presentation will focus on why the UN IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports are actually best case scenarios. He will present a more realistic (and scary) outlook on what will happen if we don’t start to reduce greenhouse gas emissions soon. He will then lay out what steps we need to take to address this critical situation and he will also lay out a plan for what Cornell should be doing.
The Carbon Problem: What CAN We Do About It?
Dr. Robert W. Shaw, Jr. '63
Dr. Shaw will discuss options for filling the 17 TW carbon-free "energy gap" by 2050 and offer arguments for what appears to be the most compelling solution, based on technology readiness, cost effectiveness, and long term sustainability.
Energy Engineering and Meeting the Needs of the Near Tomorrow
Mr. Andrew Hunter
There is a glimmer of profound change within the next ten years – the near tomorrow - in an important sector of the energy market and it will have a substantial effect on the other sectors. While training engineers in discreet disciplines worked well in the past to serve discrete users, the engineers of the near tomorrow must be able to evaluate and integrate across technology boundaries. They must have the management skills to be able to adjust quickly to a market that is changing fundamentally. They must also be capable of providing sound cross discipline advice to policy makers who will shape the regulations and tax regimes that will influence energy use strategies. The challenges that must be addressed and how Cornell contributes to supplying energy literate engineers to help meet these challenges are the subjects of this presentation.
Is Coal an Answer to Climate Change - New Approaches to an Old Fuel
Mr. Daniel P. Goldman '87
Mr. Goldman will discuss how coal gasification can create the bridge from oil fossil to new clean energy economy. He will review the state of gasification technologies and specifically present GreatPoint Energy’s solution, which provides clean, pipeline quality natural gas using low cost domestic coal resources while capturing and sequestering CO2.
Power from the sun; molecular photovoltaic cells mimic photosynthesis
Dr. Michael Graetzel
The field of photovoltaic cells has been dominated so far by crystalline silicon, profiting from the experience and material availability of the semiconductor industry. However there is an increasing awareness of the possible advantages of devices based on mesoscopic three-dimensional structures. It is now possible to depart completely from the classical solid-state cells, replacing them by nano-crystalline systems which offer the prospect of low cost fabrication without expensive and energy intensive high temperature and high vacuum processes. They can feasibly be produced employing flexible substrates and are compatible with a variety of embodiments and appearances to facilitate market entry, both for use in domestic devices as well as in architectural or decorative applications. The prototype of this new PV family is the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC), which accomplishes the separation of the optical absorption and the charge separation processes mimicking the natural photosynthetic process that occurs since over a billion years in the green leaf. The DSC reaches today over 11 percent conversion efficiency and excellent stability rendering it a credible alternative to conventional p-n junction photovoltaic devices.
Catalyzing the Development of a Domestic Biofuels Sector
Dr. Larry Walker
Professor Larry Walker is into anything that is “green and slimy.” The greener and the slimier the better! This is because nature has engineered a diversity of green and slimy organisms that are important to the evolving green energy and product industry. It is very much about exploring the diversity in nature to identify novel microorganisms and enzymes to convert the abundance plant base resources of our biosphere to generate green energy and materials that we use in everyday life. This is the evolving paradigm of agriculture as a provider of energy and industrial chemicals.
Wind Power - the First Viable Alternative
Dr. James Lyons '84 Development of renewable energy sources will be a significant economic driver in the 21st century – the market success of wind power can serve as a blueprint. The talk will address market factors and technology driving the rapid evolution of wind power and preview a US DOE, NREL and AWEA roadmap to generate 20% of the US electrical energy from wind power.
Solar Power: Sustaining our rising global energy demands
Dr. Danielle Merfeld
This talk will provide an overview of the Solar power landscape and how it fits into the bigger picture of renewable energy. Technical descriptions of conventional crystalline Si and thin film PV technologies will be given and put into context for providing an affordable solution to our rising energy demands.
The Future of Geothermal Energy - Can it become a major supplier of electrical power in the U.S.?
Dr. Jeff Tester '66 MS '67
Recent national focus on the value of increasing our supply of indigenous, renewable energy underscores the need to re-evaluate all alternatives, particularly those that are large and well-distributed nationally. To transition from our current hydrocarbon-based energy system, we will need to expand and diversify the portfolio of options we currently have. Although geothermal energy from conventional hydrothermal resources is used extensively for both electric and non-electric applications worldwide, it is perceived by many as being “too small and too local” a resource to have a large impact. This interpretation ignores the real potential for deployment of geothermal on a national scale by engineering reservoirs in hot rock that emulate the characteristics of natural hydrothermal systems. A recent MIT-led assessment of engineered geothermal systems (EGS) evaluated the potential and pathways for geothermal to become a major primary energy supply for the U.S. to provide 100,000 MWe of base-load electric generating capacity in the U.S. by 2050.
Next Generation Biofuels: Oil from Algae
Mr. Dan Miller '78
Mr. Miller will talk about the promise and problems of biofuels and focus on how one company, Solazyme, is developing a next generation biofuel that can address environmental concerns and be cost competitive with fossil fuels.
Nuclear Energy...What is its Future Role?
Dr. Theodore Marston
Dr. Marston will present the status of commercial nuclear power in the U.S. and global electricity generation picture. He will then discuss the safety and security of the current installations. He will present the options for dealing with the nuclear waste and discuss the pros and cons. Next, he will cover the status of the proposed new commercial nuclear plants in the US, including where, what and how many. He will then shift to the potential next generation of nuclear plants that can not only generate electricity, but can supply process heat to refineries and chemical plants, produce hydrogen by splitting water and help develop indigenous, nonconventional hydrocarbon sources. Finally, Dr. Marston will present what will happen if we elect to not build new nuclear plants.
The Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future (CCSF)
Dr. Frank DiSalvo
CCSF is a new center whose main function is to nucleate broad team efforts to address challenges in energy, environment, and economic development. It will function as an "Academic Venture Fund" to seed teams that have significant potential for real world impact by working with external partners in government, industry, foundations, NGOs, and other organizations. We present an update on building this organization, its mission and goals, the modes of funding, and the metrics for success.
