Renewable Energy Systems Flashcards
6 cards from real Environmental Science practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Renewable Energy Systems flashcards as text
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) differs from photovoltaic (PV) solar in that CSP:
Answer: Uses mirrors or lenses to concentrate sunlight as heat to drive a conventional steam turbine
CSP concentrates sunlight to produce high-temperature heat used in a conventional thermodynamic power cycle (steam or Stirling engine), and can incorporate thermal storage to dispatch power after sunset.
An offshore wind farm generally produces more electricity per unit of installed capacity than an onshore wind farm because:
Answer: Offshore wind speeds are higher and more consistent due to reduced surface friction and fewer obstructions
Oceans have low surface roughness, fewer turbulence-causing obstacles, and higher average wind speeds - improving capacity factors from ~25-40% onshore to ~40-55% offshore.
Lithium-ion batteries are currently the dominant technology for grid-scale and electric vehicle energy storage primarily because:
Answer: They offer high energy density, long cycle life, and rapidly declining costs driven by manufacturing scale
Li-ion batteries have high gravimetric/volumetric energy density, high round-trip efficiency (~90-95%), long cycle life, and costs that have fallen ~97% since 1991 due to manufacturing scale from the consumer electronics and EV industries.
Green hydrogen is produced through:
Answer: Electrolysis of water powered by renewable electricity, producing zero lifecycle emissions
Green hydrogen uses renewable electricity to power an electrolyzer that splits water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen, with no greenhouse gas emissions when the electricity comes from solar/wind.
The primary disadvantage of biomass combustion as a renewable energy source compared to solar or wind is:
Answer: Combustion emits CO2 and air pollutants, and large-scale biomass demand can drive deforestation and land use change
While biomass is considered carbon-neutral in theory (re-growing plants reabsorbs CO2), combustion still emits particulates and NOx, and demand for biomass at scale risks deforestation, habitat loss, and food security impacts.
The net metering policy allows solar PV owners to:
Answer: Export excess electricity to the grid and receive credit against their electricity bill at the retail rate
Net metering lets customers with rooftop solar offset their consumption: excess generation exported to the grid spins the meter backward (or is credited), with the utility billing only the net consumption.