Conference Session

Sustainable Energy Education

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faruk Yildiz, Sam Houston State University; Keith Coogler, Sam Houston State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

into a system that provides a continuous and uninterrupted powerstream.1. IntroductionRenewable energy related courses are becoming an essential part of engineering andengineering/industrial technology curricula. Many schools are integrating renewable energyprograms or courses to their core curriculum to support existing programs to expose students toenergy systems [1-7]. The nature of renewable energy courses differs depending on the program ofstudies in various departments. For example, construction and civil engineeringtechnology/science programs usually adopt green building and geothermal related classes andprojects [8], engineering programs adopt thermal systems, solar, wind, human power, energyconversions systems, and biomass classes

Conference Session

Energy Education and Industry Needs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jai Agrawal, Purdue University, Calumet; Omer Farook, Purdue University, Calumet; Chandra Sekhar, Purdue University, Calumet

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

/manager/professional who hold baccalaureate in other technology fields. Thecertificate courses introduce the concepts and technology of harvesting energy from sun, windand other alternative sources, thermoelectric, electrochemical, bio-photosynthetic and hydrogenbased energy systems. The certificate consists of 12 credit hours, equivalent of four courses: 1)Solar Engineering Systems, 2) Wind and Alternative Energy Technology, 3) Energy Networkingand 4) Energy Neutral Living.Courses in the certificate can be delivered in traditional classroom/distance learning formats.Each course comprises of three components: a) content, b) critical review of current researchpapers and c) project. The course content consists of study of sources of energy and

Conference Session

Project-based Education in Energy Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faruk Yildiz, Sam Houston State University; Keith Coogler, Sam Houston State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

activities which provide opportunities for students to engage in experiments that willreinforce the material covered. The safety of the unit was confirmed after several tests indifferent conditions on campus.1. IntroductionWe live in an age of environmental awareness, and alternative energy education is present inmost of our daily conversations in engineering, technology, and science education. Renewableenergy today provides about 9% of the world’s energy and 8 to 10% of the U.S. needs [1].However, in many parts of the world these percentages are increasing significantly. Based oncurrent data on global warming, as well as the current U.S. dependence on overseas oil, there isan interest and urgency in utilizing alternative energy sources. In order to

Conference Session

Experiences in Teaching Energy Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dale Litwhiler, Pennsylvania State University, Berks; Thomas Gavigan, Penn State Berks; Brittany Farrell, Penn State Berks

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

topics that challenged their neophyticunderstanding of pertinent engineering principles. The students had access to facilities andequipment not usually available in their first year. In some cases, as with that presented here, thestudents also benefited from work being performed by more senior student researchers. Ideasput forth by team members were evaluated and tried in near-real-time to determine their meritand effectiveness. Thus a “sandbox” environment was created.The team investigation presented in this paper involved energy harvesting techniques. Previouswork in this area has been presented.1 In the work presented here, the students investigated theefficiency of human-powered flashlight devices. These devices are becoming quite popular

Conference Session

Energy Education and Industry Needs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Frank Falcone, Argonne National Laboratory; Terrence Davidovits, A123 Systems; Eric Schacht, The Ohio State Univeristy; Michael Wahlstrom, Argonne National Laboratory

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

will need to solve if they chose to work in the automotive industry. In thecompetition’s early years, most of the engineering was performed by mechanical engineeringstudents. Students modified engines to run on various alternative fuels such as propane,methanol, and ethanol. As technology evolved, so did the competitions as hybrid powertrainarchitectures entered the field. This expanded the required engineering skill sets to includeelectrical and electro-mechanical engineering experience to the program. In 2004, Challenge Xbegan which expanded the competition series time frame from 1 year to 3. Argonne, the US Page 15.783.2DOE, and General

Conference Session

Project-based Education in Energy Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adrian Ieta, State University of New York, Oswego

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

the last 20 years have contributed to the development of third world countries become morecompetitive [1] and their development contributes to an even more acute need for energy. Studies indicatethat US high school graduates tend to be less prepared for college studies in STEM areas than many otherWestern or Asian countries [2]. Science and engineering skills are essential for maintaining the UnitedStates’ competitiveness in the increasingly knowledge-based global economy [3]. However, studentsoften lack those skills [1] and are unaware and unable to assemble the impact of common activitiesaround in a larger picture and have appropriate reactions to them. Physics is at the core of understandingenergy concepts which are often difficult [4

Conference Session

Project-based Education in Energy Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carl Spezia, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Jason Buchanan, Southern Illinois Universaity, Carbondale

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

harmoniccontent of CLF’s from three manufacturers. It also proposes a voltage-controlled harmonicmodel for studying the impact of harmonics in the secondary circuits of power distributionsystems. In particular, the model focuses on how the number of CFL’s affects voltage totalharmonic distortion (THD). The paper examines the educational benefits of the researchexperience through a student report and personal interview. These methods examine how thestudent researcher applied concepts and skills learned during the research experience to currentcoursework.Experimental MethodThe project examined the harmonic current distribution of CFL’s produced by threemanufacturers. Table 1 lists the ratings and manufacturers tested. The experiments used 26 wattCLF’s

Conference Session

Sustainable Energy Education

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Shepard, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Camille George, University of St. Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Page 15.1073.3The project was open-ended and the performance of the design was minimally weightedin the grading to allow students to be as creative as they liked. The instructor wasavailable for questions and to help recognize potential issues but refrained from offeringsuggestions during the design phase. As the students had yet to take a heat transfercourse the project was not intended to be a capstone, but did provide a qualitativeintroduction to the different forms of heat transfer and how they occur. The finalproducts can be seen in Figure 1; note the use of shaded glasses for protection from thebrightness of the collected and focused light. Figure 1. Solar cookers in actionUpon completion, the solar cookers

Conference Session

Energy Education and Industry Needs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

G. Marshall Molen, Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at Mississippi State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

serves as the team leader whohas overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the various activities. A teamorganization chart is shown in Fig. 1. The major faculty advisor, who is the author of this paper,has the primary responsibility for interfacing with the university administration, providingresources as required, and technical leadership as may be required. Overall, however, the team ismanaged by the students themselves and they have proven that they are capable of rising to thislevel of responsibility. Students from throughout the university are invited to participateregardless of major or classification. The leadership has proven effective in mentoring theyounger students and on occasion removing students from responsible

Conference Session

Curricular Developments in Energy Education

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lynn Albers, North Carolina State University; Karen Lindsay, Wake County Public School System; Janice Hemric, Wake County Public School System; Laura Bottomley, North Carolina State University; Jade Tucker, Wake County Public School System; Karen Hollebrands, North Carolina State University; Elizabeth Parry, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Energy Clubs to one club at threedifferent elementary schools by the 2008-2009 academic year. For the 2009-2010academic year, the program installed two clubs, one for fifth graders and one for thirdand fourth graders combined, at two elementary schools. These clubs are unique for thisage group and were created through the collaboration between the RAMP-UP GraduateFellow and a third grade RAMP-UP teacher.The focus of the club is to use hands-on activities to teach math, science and engineeringconcepts related to renewable energy. This is in line with Dr. John Dewey, one of thefounders of pragmatism in education who believed that learning was active and that mathcould be learned through everyday activities such as cooking.1 Building upon

Conference Session

Experiences in Teaching Energy Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth Garcia, Miami Dade College; Jonathan Andrechik, U.S. Coast Guard

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

information sources on renewable ocean energy, as well as many of the seminarpresentations, were posted.The syllabus provided the following course description:This is a cross-disciplinary, 1-credit seminar course being offered for the first time this Spring Page 15.1285.22009. The key focus is on renewable ocean energy and its many tie-ins to the various U.S. CoastGuard Academy majors. Cross-disciplinary communication will be encouraged, while variousquestions will be investigated, such as:  What types of and how much energy is available in the oceans?  Who is responsible for overseeing the design and functioning of ocean energy

Conference Session

Sustainable Energy Education

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Simon, University of Nevada, Reno; Ted Batchman, University of Nevada-Reno; Christine Taylor, Lewis and Clark University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

interdisciplinary course impacts in the way done here isintended to inform future programmatic and curricular development and inform similarinstitutional efforts elsewhere in higher education.Pedagogical ModelCurrently, the introductory renewable energy course is the only course in which engineering andnon-engineering students are required to enroll in a joint course offering. The course is designedto inform students of four major dimensions of renewable energy development (See Figure 1),with particular emphasis being placed on ―bottom up‖ community-based energy production anddemand-related choices. The four major actors studied are: a) citizens; b) political andadministrative institutions; c) private businesses; and d) researchers. In a bottom up

Conference Session

Learning about Power Systems and Power Consumption

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Justin Reed, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Daniel Ludois, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Maria Hamlin, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

) Page 15.965.2Figure 1: Solid state Tesla coil. (a) Actual Tesla coil used in this paper, (b-c) examples of plasma effects seenduring operation (photography by Tim Obermann).This paper first discusses the educational aspects of the proposed course structure in theEducational Theory section, which motivates the general integration of power converter sampleapplications in suggested curricula. Motivation for choosing the SSTC specifically, from studentinterest and instructor perspectives, is provided by the survey-based research discussed in theApplication Influence and Choice section. The inner workings of the SSTC are then outlined inthe SSTC Circuits and Curriculum section. The lecture content and proposed 16-week SSTC-based curriculum complete

Conference Session

Energy Education and Industry Needs

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faruk Yildiz, Sam Houston State University; Recayi 'Reg' Pecen; Soner Tarim

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

energy frontier through unique projects. The mission ofI-SWEEEP is to create a collaborative yet competitive environment in which students canpresent their innovative ideas/projects to solve today’s challenges in energy, engineering, andenvironment, which will ensure a sustainable world for tomorrow. All the judges for the projectevaluations are selected from academia and industrial professionals. The judging process gives agood opportunity to engineering professionals and academicians to review and evaluate whatprospective engineers have developed for a sustainable future. The I-SWEEEP promotesengineering inventions and energy efficiency/management discoveries, which nurture eco-friendly technology concepts in K-12 STEM education.1

Conference Session

Experiences in Teaching Energy Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Riddell, Baker College Of Flint; Anca Sala, Baker College Of Flint

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

inquiry.1. IntroductionAlternative energy (AE) has continued to be a hot-button topic for a number of years. Manycolleges and universities have consequently introduced courses on this topic, having a variety offormats: with1,2 or without3 experimental laboratories, project based4, or based on amultidisciplinary approach5. One issue when covering such a broad field is that many studentsnever get a complete picture on all that is involved or related to a given technology. To that end,with the support of our institution’s curriculum committee, it was decided to develop and offeran overview or introductory class for Mechanical Engineering students. The course must be insupport of the Program Outcomes adopted by our program (included in the Appendix

Conference Session

Energy Conservation and Conversions for Green Buildings

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Masoud Fathizadeh P.E., Purdue University Calumet (College of Technology)

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

number of national and state policies that encourage theuse of traditional energy sources. These policies range from royalty relief to the provision of taxincentives, direct payments, and other forms of support to the non-renewable energy industry.“The combination of subsidies—or ‘perverse incentives’— to develop fossil fuel energy sources,and a lack of sufficient incentives to develop renewable energy and promote energy efficiency,distorts energy policy in ways that have helped cause, and continue to exacerbate, our climatechange problem12.Learning Outcomes and Methods of Evaluations or AssessmentStudents after successfully completing of this course should be able to perform the followingtasks as shown in Table-1

Conference Session

Electrical Energy Courses - Labs and Projects

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tan Ma, Florida International University; Osama A. Mohammed, Florida International University; Brandy Louie Serrano, Florida International University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

hybridelectric vehicles (PHEV) are growing in popularity, increasing the demand for efficientand reliable power flow control systems that can monitor and regulate power flow inhybrid AC-DC power systems [1]-[2]. Control of power flow in hybrid AC-DC powersystems is done by controlling the multiple bidirectional DC-DC and AC-DC convertersused in these grids [3]-[4]. It is of the utmost importance to teach power systemsengineering students how to communicate with devices, such as converters and batterymanagement systems, to monitor and control the power flow across a micro grid [5]. Thegrowing implementation of smart grids and wireless communications emphasizes theneed to teach students how to implement wireless communication devices withapplications to

Conference Session

Energy Conservation and Conversions for Green Buildings

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert W. Fletcher, Lawrence Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

as corn,wheat and other grains, dry beans and edible soya beans. Rising utility costs and fixedcommodities prices necessitated the need for a concerted effort by the MAC to reduce theirenergy costs. DTE Energy was also interested in balancing the electric power utility distributionload in the predominantly rural area the MAC facility is located. For this project students servedas part-time paid employees of the university working directly under the supervision ofuniversity faculty.There were two major phases for this project. Phase 1 concentrated on establishing a reliable anduseful power and energy usage data acquisition capability, and testing grain hopper aeration anddrying fan systems both with and without the use of variable frequency

Conference Session

Energy Conservation and Conversions for Green Buildings

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jimmy Antoine Chahine; Minh Nguyen Ha, Forum Energy Technology; Vong Hem, Lectrus Corporation - Applications Engineer; Vassilios Tzouanas, University of Houston, Downtown

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

. IntroductionSolar energy offers consumers the ability to generate electricity in a clean, quiet, and reliablemanner. In the United States, solar usage is growing at the industrial level but residential usage isstill staggering behind other countries in Europe and Asia. This can be attributed to the cost ofproducing solar energy. The initial cost for a solar energy system is usually what discouragesconsumers from choosing it. Because of it, the residential usage in the United States is onlyaccount for 1 percent of the world's use1. Countries in Europe have set incentives for residentswho adopt the use of solar panels and have a fixed price for utility companies to buy back theexcess electricity. The United States is gradually introducing such incentives. So

Conference Session

Miscellaneous Topics in Energy Education

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faruk Yildiz, Sam Houston State University; Keith L. Coogler, Sam Houston State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

different locations. Adetailed map is shown in Figure 1. The SITN is a five-year effort which started in 2009 toestablish a geographic blanket of training opportunities in solar installation across the UnitedStates. The SITN promotes high-quality training in the installation of solar technologies. Nineregional resource and training providers support the professional development of trainers andinstructors of solar photovoltaic (SPV) technologies across the country. The goals of SolarInstructor Training are to accelerate market adoption of solar technologies by ensuring that high- Page 24.364.2quality installations are standard and to create

Conference Session

Innovative Projects in Energy Education

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Salahuddin Qazi, State University of New York, Institute of Tech.; Farhan Qazi

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

provideelectricity in the aftermath of disasters for emergency relief and to remote areas having no accessto the grid. It will also discuss the advantages of community solar and solar microgrid fordisaster resilience. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of these technologies inengineering education and integrating them in programs related to solar energy and disaster &emergency management.IntroductionAccording to recent reports, 1, 2 the number of natural disasters worldwide has steadily increasedsince 1970s. It is also reported that the number of natural disasters is the highest in NorthAmerica with tornadoes, hurricanes, severe heat, floods and even drought. When a disasterstrikes, the whole infrastructure including electricity shuts

Conference Session

Renewable Energy in Classroom

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Herbert L. Hess, University of Idaho, Moscow; Brian K. Johnson, University of Idaho, Moscow; Rishabh Jain; Amrit Dahal

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

will be reduced by morethan half.Introduction The director of a YMCA camp in Cascade, Idaho, is considering a commitment toappropriate forms of on-site renewable energy as its primary source. The load is stronglysummer peaking. The camp’s main multipurpose building, named The Barn, has the heaviest, butrepresentative load. Water heating is the most significant load of the building. Therefore, makingThe Barn “green” was selected as a pilot project. Figure 1 shows the power usage both at thecampsite for The Barn and for the total campsite. Reducing the electrical energy draw from thepublic utility creates significant savings, not just for the energy bill, but also by reducing thedemand charge. It lays the groundwork for creating a

Conference Session

Innovative Projects in Energy Education

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vladimir Gurau P.E., Kent State University at Tuscarawas

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Membrane Fuel Cells Vladimir Gurau Kent State University at Tuscarawas, 330 University Drive N.E., New Philadelphia, OH 44663 1. IntroductionThe proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an alternative, clean power source forportable, automotive and stationary applications having the potential to reduce our energy useand the nation’s dependence on imported oil. It delivers high-power density and offers theadvantages of high gravimetric and volumetric power density, rapid start-up and better durabilitycompared with other fuel cells. As identified by the U.S. Department of Energy, one of theobstacles that remain to be resolved on the road to hydrogen

Conference Session

Renewable Energy in Classroom

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Muhittin Yilmaz, Texas A&M University, Kingsville; Naren Reddy Dhansri, TAMUK

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

analysis per group is sufficient, individual pop-quizzes may be given at the beginning of the lab session to test the pre-lab problems. ¾ Staple this cover page to your solution set. ¾ Study the problems with your group members and turn in your group work!... The pre-lab technical questions and open-ended research assignments included the items,listed as, 1. Conduct research on renewable energy resources and o List all alternative sources and write a short article about one of them in a very creative existing application (Points will be assigned according to the originality of the application), o Explain different wind turbine structures, implementations, and efficiency ratings

Conference Session

Curriculum and Facility Developments for Innovative Energy Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ali Zilouchian, Florida Atlantic University; Amir Abtahi, Florida Atlantic University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Smart Grid  Renewable Distributed Generation & Energy Storage  Cyber Security for Smart GridIn this section the detailed description of each of the above courses are presented.IV.1 Engineering, Sustainability and Green Leadership:This course offers an overview of leadership and innovation for engineers within thecontext of a planet in distress. This field is rapidly garnering attention around the worldfrom academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, private citizens, corporations, nonprofitorganizations, communities, and governments that have understood that business-as-usualhas ceased to offer a viable framework for society. Given their profound impact, thisimperative “to create a healthy, just, and sustainable society” is

Conference Session

Sustainable Energy Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lakshmi Munukutla, Arizona State University, Polytechnic campus

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

change in Page 22.857.2temperatures due to seasons, exposure to humidity and prolonged outside exposure arestill to be explored. The DSSC sealing system including sealing material and sealingprocedure need to be further investigated.DSSC Operation Principle: A DSSC comprises of a working electrode made of dye-sensitized TiO2nanoparticles fabricated on a transparent conducting oxide (TCO), a Pt counter electrode,and an electrolyte containing iodide/triidode (I-/I3-) redox couple. The photo conversionefficiency of DSSC is significantly dependent on the quality of TiO2 electrodes. Theschematic representation of the DSSC is shown in Figure 1. A

Conference Session

Outreach Projects: Promoting Energy Efficiency and Education in General

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ahmed Cherif Megri, University of Wyoming

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

, integration, and methodology and also in written and oralcommunication skills. Methodology used to evaluate the effectiveness of this integratedcourse in terms of learning outcomes is also described. 1. Introduction:A typical building is a complex system in which each discipline’s design proposals havean impact on all of the other disciplines in a cascading fashion. Also, integration is aconcern at different levels of the design process. In particular, an integrated designbetween the functionality of the mechanical systems and the desirability of thearchitectural design has been recently considered comprehensively in the development ofcommercial buildings; although this integration has always been a concern in the airplaneand automobile industry

Conference Session

Curricular Developments in Energy Education II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Abed El Hameed El Madwar, University of Northern Iowa; Kenan Baltaci, University of Northern Iowa; Reg Recayi Pecen, University of Northern Iowa

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

increasing air pollution are leading to the research anddevelopment of alternate energy generation. Hydrogen fuel cells are one of the most promisingalternate energy supplies. The Hampden Fuel Cell Technology Trainer H-FCTT-1 allowsstudents to create a grid independent power supply that uses only hydrogen as its fuel. Thesystem introduces students to the fuel cell power supply technology as an environmentallyfriendly method of generating power directly from a hydrogen reaction. This paper describes theintegration of the H-FCTT-1 hydrogen fuel cell trainer in the undergraduate class titled“Introduction to Circuits” in the Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) program at theUniversity of Northern Iowa. The learning objectives are to run three

Conference Session

New Concepts for Alternative and Renewable Energy Courses

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig J. Hoff, Kettering University; Jennifer Aurandt, Kettering University; Matthew R. O'Toole, Kettering University; Gregory W. Davis, Kettering University; Steven Nartker, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

opportunities and challenges associated with producing andutilizing biofuels. This paper provides a summary how biofuel learning activities have beenintegrated into the educational program.IntroductionLearning experiences are greatly improved when students are intrinsically motivated by thesubject matter. An intrinsically motivated student will undertake an activity "for its own sake, forthe enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes.1”An extrinsically motivated student performs "in order to obtain some reward or avoid somepunishment external to the activity itself.1" Studies show that intrinsically motivated studentstend to employ strategies that demand more effort and that enable them to process

Conference Session

Curriculum and Facility Developments for Innovative Energy Education

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sarma V. Pisupati, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Yaw D. Yeboah, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

consumption both continue to grow significantly. Also, dueto global uncertainties, energy is becoming increasingly important. The United States, forexample, increasingly relies on imported energy (32.9 % in 2006)1. Projections from DOE’s Page 25.295.2Annual Energy Outlook indicate that primary energy use in the United States will climb to 134Quadrillion Btu in 2030 from 98 in 20102. Despite increases in electricity generation efficiencies,total electricity consumption is also predicted to increase. President Obama has called for energyinitiative based on the development of clean coal technologies, renewable energy (solar, wind,geothermal, biomass etc