Comparative Analysis of Wind, Solar, and Landfill Gases as Alternative Sources of Energy for Electricity Generation

摘要

This paper reviews the current and projected electricity demand until the year 2030 for the United States along with the fuel mix. Several projections based on different agencies were studied in order to understand the trend of projected fuel mix. Current electricity demand stands at 3.87 billion MWh in 2008, with an average annual increase of 1% projected to reach 5.01 billion MWh in 2030. From the predictions, it appears that coal dominates the current and future fuel mix in the United States (accounting for 49% in 2008 and 44% in 2030). From the percentage values, it seems that there is a decrease in usage of coal, but the 25% increase in electricity demand should not be forgotten. From the EPA's Emission Factor database, coal has the potential to emit 2,249 1bs/MWh of carbon dioxide, 13 1bs/MWh of sulfur dioxide, and 6 1bs/MWh of nitrogen oxides with controls in place. Clearly, the fuel mix being used or projected is unsustainable in causing a tremendous burden in terms of GHG emissions as well as emissions of criteria pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and particulates. Depletion of fossil fuels, increasing demand, and environmental impacts are some of the factors that call for the use of alternative sources of electricity such as hydroelectric, wind, solar, and biomass. Three of the upcoming alternative sources - solar, wind, and landfill gases - are discussed and compared in this paper. Based on the comparison, landfill gas projects seem to be very favorable for certain applications, despite the higher costs of such projects; several advantages over the other two alternative sources are discussed in the paper. Important benefits of landfill gas projects such as GHG emission reduction, better power quality, reduction in transmission losses, and several others are discussed.