Figure 4 U.S. Department of Energy R&D Budget Selected Budget Lines: 1973-1991 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 Source: Congressional Research Service, 1991 Table 1 -OTA Reports That Address Energy Technologies Energy and Materials Program: Energy Efficiency in the Federal Government: Government by Good Example? OTA-E-492 (May 1991). Energy in Developing Countries, OTA-E-486 (January 1991). Replacing Gasoline: Alternative Fuels for Light-Duty Vehicles, OTA-E-364 (September 1990). Energy Use and the U.S. Economy, OTA-BP-E-57 (June 1990). Physical Vulnerability of Electric Power Systems to Natural Disasters and Sabotage, OTA-E-453 (June 1990). High-Temperature Superconductivity in Perspective, OTA-E-440 (April 1990). Electric Power Wheeling and Dealing: Technological Considerations for Increasing Competition, OTA-E-409 (May 1989). Biological Effects of Power Frequency Fields Electric and Magnetic Fields Background Paper, OTA-BP-E-53 (May 1989). Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: The Technology and the Alaskan Oil Context, OTA-E-394 (February 1989). Starpower: The U.S. and the International Quest for Fusion Energy, OTA-E-338 (October 1987). New Electric Power Technologies: Problems and Prospects for the 1990s, OTA-E-246 (July 1985). Nuclear Power in an Age of Uncertainty, OTA-E-216 (February 1984). Industrial Energy Use, OTA-E-198 (June 1983). Industrial and Commercial Cogeneration, OTA-E-192 (February 1983). Increased Automobile Fuel Efficiency and Synthetic Fuels, OTA-E-185 (September 1982). Energy Efficiency of Buildings in Cities, OTA-E-168 (March 1982). Solar Power Satellites, OTA-E-144 (August 1981). Nuclear Powerplant Standardization: Light Water Reactors, OTA-E-134 (April 1981). World Petroleum Availability: 1980-2000, OTA-TM-E-5 (October 1980). Energy from Biological Processes, OTA-E-124 (September 1980). An Assessment of Oil Shale Technologies, OTA-M-118 (June 1980). The Future of Liquefied Natural Gas Imports, OTA-E-110 (March 1980). Residential Energy Conservation, OTA-E-92 (July 1979). The Direct Use of Coal, OTA-E-86 (April 1979). Application of Solar Technology to Today's Energy Neads, OTA-E-66 (September 1978). Gas Potential From Devonian Shales of the Appalachian Basin, OTA-E-57 (November 1977). Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards, OTA-E-48 (June 1977). Oceans and Environment Program: Changing by Degrees: Steps To Reduce Greenhouse Gases, OTA-O-482 (February, 1991). Oil and Gas Technologies for the Arctic and Deepwater, OTA-O-270 (May 1985). Acid Rain and Transported Air Pollutants: Implications for Public Policy, OTA-0-204 (June 1984). International Security and Commerce Program: Energy Technology Transfer to China-A Technical Memorandum, OTA-TM-ISC-30 (September 1985). Technology and Soviet Energy Availability, OTA-ISC-153 (November 1981). Available through the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment, 1991. Very complex process; not well understood although successful for some formations. Key to unlocking unconventional gas reserves. Small-scale units commercial. Utility-scale AFBC in demonstration stage. PFBC is less well developed; pilot-plant stage. Demonstration stage. Primary advantages are its low emissions and high fuel efficiency. Mature technology, considerable environmental advantages. Commercially available control technology. Can remove nitrogen addes up to 90 percent. Has potential to remove up to 80 percent of nitrogen oxides. Incorporates safety and reliability features that could solve past problems; public acceptance uncertain. -Intercooling Steam Injected Gas Turbine (ISTIG) -Fust cells NR Pilot-plant stage. Several types being developed. Fuels cells that use phosphoric acid as ? electrolytes are in demonstration stage. Molten carbonate and solid oxide are alternative electrolytes that are less developed. Late 1990s availability, at the earliest. Difficult technical problems remain, especially for coal-fired MHD systems. Research and development needed in utility-scale batteries to improve lifetime cycles, operations maintenance costs. Promising batteries are advanced lead, zinc-chloride and high-temperature sodium-sulfur.. First U.S.plant (110-MW) to begin operation in 1991; owned and operated by Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc. Use of biomass by utilities is usually uneconomical and impractical. Anaerobic digestion used commercially when biomass costs are low enough. Methane production from biomass not yet competitive with conventional natural gas unless other factors considered. Research being done on wood-to-ethanol/methanol conversion processes. Could be demonstrated by 2000. Single-flashsystemused extensively. Little commercial experience with dual flash. Binary cycle systemmay be available in 40 to 50 MWerange by 1995. Several plants built, including one in California; 30-MW plant in Jordan is major project today. Severalcommercialplantsbuiltin California;additionalcapacityplanned appears to be marketable. Testingbeing conductedinnewmaterialsandengines suchasfree-piston stirling engine. Improvements needed to make photovoltaic cells economic in the bulk power market advances in microelectronics and semiconductors can make photovoltaics competitive with conventional power by 2010. Renewable source closest to achieving economic competitivenessinthe bulk power market. Current average cost is 8 cents/kWh. search focused on closed and open cycle systems; no commercial plantsdesigned. Maybe competitivein10yearsforsmallislands where direct-generation powerisused. Use of OTEC domestically for electric power is unlikely except for coastal areas around Gulf of Mexico and Hawall KEY: C-commercial; N➡ nearly commercial; R-research and development needed. |