Let’s analyze western society’s energy production model and ask ourselves the following question: Does it make economic and engineering sense?
The centralized production model that we have inherited (history and engineering are not always close friends) has to be overcome by a more rational model. A fact: Two thirds of the electricity produced in the United States is lost in the transmission lines. It seems clear we must bring closer the production to the consumption. Here it is where a distributed production model comes onto the stage.
The smooth transition
Thanks to advances in engineering, history is now playing in our favor. We have the possibility of using wind and solar energy in urban and suburban areas. An existing example: Highly efficient, quiet, almost vibration free vertical axis wind turbines can now stand the turbulent conditions typical of urban areas. Full of obstacles these areas are not recommended for traditional horizontal axis wind turbines.
It is unthinkable that we will be able to produce all the energy required just by these means. We will need a wise mixture of both models, the centralized and the distributed, and of as many types of energy production as necessary to satisfy our necessities and to fulfill our compromise with future generations.
We will need wind farms in the Mid West, solar farms in the desert, tidal energy in Florida. I am afraid some nuclear facilities (some safe place, please) but also thousands of small wind and solar installations pumping energy into the grid all around the country.
An effort must be made by all of us. From the Federal Government, establishing the framework, to local authorities, modifying zoning issues in the ordinances. Utility companies play another critical role due to the challenges they face in terms of managing the grid. But the most important ones would be citizens. People, you and I, realizing that we need to have an active role or otherwise nothing will be accomplished.
Through all their professional careers engineers try to find ways to improve the efficiency of different systems. Engineers are professionals that deal with efficiency to remind themselves that it also has to make economical sense; it is mandatory. It is not basic science that they are working on, setting the fundamentals of how our world works, but instead using those already established laws to manipulate reality creating methods, systems, artifacts that will assure better life conditions for us all.
I consider myself one of those engineers fighting for more comprehensive ways of tackling the sustainability of our energy production scheme. The solution is already here. Will you sit and wait or will you be helping our society making engineering sense?
We will go for the other senses along the way.
Roberto Lozano is an aerospace engineer. He read his dissertation last year about “Conceptual design and optimization of large wind turbines”. Currently he is working for Urban Green Energy, a vertical axis wind turbine manufacturer involved in projects worldwide.
