Copy of Lab 11 Energy Resources
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University of Wisconsin, Madison *
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106
Subject
Geology
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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5
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GEOSCI/ENVIR ST-106: Environmental Geology
Lab 11: Fossil Fuels & Renewable Energy
Assignment Overview:
In this lab, you will read about fossil fuel resources and perform basic
computations to assess the feasibility and cost of transitioning to fully renewable energy in the
US.
Submission:
To submit the assignment on Canvas, use the following steps:
1.
In Google Docs, generate a PDF: File → Download as → PDF Document
2.
In Google Docs, use Share → Get Shareable Link, and copy the link address
3.
In Canvas, upload your PDF to the assignment, and paste the link address to your
Google Doc in the assignment comments.
1
Assignment Questions and Responses
Instructions:
Fill out each red highlighted field (_________)
Part 1: Fossil Fuels - Methane
Background
Read the article from National Geographic Magazine, “Good Gas, Bad Gas” about natural gas
and methane emissions posted on Canvas, and complete the following questions. In all cases,
your answers should consist of complete sentences, and should be 1 paragraph or less. Fill in
all highlighted fields.
1.
According to the article, how much of a greenhouse effect does methane have on the
earth, relative to the same amount of CO2? (1 point)
____25 times as much as CO2_____
2.
Describe two ways in which humans actions contribute to methane in the atmosphere,
and two other methane sources that do not involve human actions. (2 points)
____One source of methane from humans is fracking and the release of natural gas, some also
comes from leaking of pipes and wells. Methane is also benign released naturally from bubbling
out of lakes and from swamps and marshes. It can also come naturally from cows. _____
3.
Describe two benefits and two negative impacts that hydraulic fracturing has had in
Pennsylvania. (2 points)
____Two benefits of hydraulic fracturing are its cheap and created 18000 jobs. Two impacts are
contamination of water and effects on the miners like black lung disease. _____
4.
Describe the trends observed in the arctic, and how these trends could contribute to
positive feedback loops for the climate. (2 points)
____Emissions cause temperatures to rise, causing ice to melt, the melted ice releases
methane which causes temperatures to rise, causing more ice to melt causing more methane to
be released increasing the temperature more. _____
2
Part 2: Renewable Energy Computations
Background
Energy consumption is commonly measured as a product of power (in watts) and the
amount of time that power is used. For example, a microwave with a power of one kilowatt (1
kW), running for 1 hour, uses 1 kilowatt-hour (1kWh) of electricity. (
Recall: If it’s been a while
since you’ve taken a math or physics class, quantities with units that are multiplied result in
multiplied units. For example, 1 [meter/second] * 15 [seconds] = 15 [meters*second/second] =
15 [meter]. Similarly, 1 kW * 1 hour = 1 [kW*hour])
The U.S. electricity usage, according to the latest statistics, is roughly 13,000 kWh per person
per year (World bank, 2014:
Electric power consumption in kWh per capita
).
Using multiplication, we can estimate that total electricity use in the U.S. is:
13, 000
𝑘𝑊ℎ
?????? 𝑦?𝑎?
× 330, 000, 000 ??????? = 4, 290, 000, 000, 000
𝑘𝑊ℎ
𝑦?𝑎?
That is, a total of approximately 4.3 Trillion kWh per year for the entire country
(
or 4,300,000,000,000 kWh per year)
4. 3 × 10
12
Solar Energy in Wisconsin?
Important Facts & Figures: Commodity solar panels commonly are rated to produce 300 W (0.3
kW) of power under full sunlight, and commonly have an area of about
per panel (e.g.,
1. 5 ?
2
see the example from
this vendor
). If purchased at retail price, these solar panels cost about
$300. On average, simple solar arrays in Wisconsin could be expected to receive roughly 5
hours per day of sunlight (
Solar Power Information in Madison
)
1.
How many kWh would a commodity panel produce over a year in Madison, WI? Show
the formula you used to calculate this number! (1 point)
___0.3kW*5h/day*365 days/yr=547.5 kWh in a year______
2.
How much area would be required to produce the entire country’s electricity demand via
solar panels in Wisconsin, given the numbers you calculated above? Show your
calculations and give the number in square miles. (You may look up conversions
between units in Google or another resource. (1 point)
Hint: 1
= 1,000,000
, and 2.59
= 1
)
𝑘?
2
?
2
𝑘?
2
?𝑖
2
____4.3*10^12 kWh/yr / 547.5 kWh/yr = 7.85*10^9 panels *1.5m^2/panel= 1.18*10^10 m^2(
1km^2/ 1000000 m^2)~ 11800km^2(1mi^2/2.59km^2)=4548.8mi^2_____
3
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