HNEE 5: Explore potential renewable energy resources, Including Current Storage and Generation Technologies: Renewable Energy Systems Assignment, UK

Assignment Title: 5: Renewable Energy Systems

Unit Learning Outcomes

LO1 Explore potential renewable energy resources, including current storage and generation technologies

LO2 Determine the optimum combination and efficiencies of renewable energy technologies for a particular location

LO3 Conduct a cost-benefit analysis between renewable and conventional energy sources to determine the most viable option

LO4 Explain socioeconomic, legislative, and environmental factors involved in the consideration and selection of other approaches to renewable energy resources and technologies.Scenario:

Modern society is energy-hungry. Our use of technology demands a huge supply of energy and we have devised many ways to supply this energy. There is a limited supply of fossil fuels and we will eventually run out of them. A lot of research is being undertaken to develop sustainable sources of energy namely renewable energy sources such as Hydroelectric, solar, wind, and tidal power. The major energy providers are planning to diversify the production of renewable energy resources. The use of renewable energy has been on the increase in the last two decades and a lot of investments have been put in this sector by governments all over the world. You are employed as an engineering to explore the pros and cons of introducing potential renewable energy resources.

The following tasks will clearly show the rate of adoption of these sources and the different technologies including storage technologies of renewable energy sources. They will also show the social, economical, and environmental factors which affect the use of these sources. As an engineer, you need to tackle these issues and provide strong recommendations and justifications for the use of these sources. The tasks will also expose you to the new technologies which have been recently developed and future planning for the increased use of renewable energy sources as the world is running out of non-renewable energy sources. These tasks will also prepare you for a job in this sector and will increase your interest in the protection of the environment and the health of people in general.

LO1 Explore potential renewable energy resources, including current storage and generation technologies

Task 1

a. Discuss and create a schematic diagram that illustrates how the following energy sources are obtained and transformed. Discuss also the advantages and disadvantages of these renewable sources. The renewable sources which should be analysed are as follows:
i. Solar energy
ii. Wind Energy
iii. Hydro power and
iv. Tidal Energy

b. Explore the rates of adoption of two of the above energy resources. Justify
recommendations for the adoption of the chosen renewable energy resources.

c. Discuss the efficiency of the types mentioned above and the storing technologies which have been developed and utilised for these sources.

d. Provide evidence and recommendations for the most widely used conventional and nonconventional renewable energy resources. You must also justify any given answers.