Smart and modern sources of energy in Future Cities (Research Paper Sample)

Smart and modern sources of energy in Future Cities Authors Company Address ABSTRACT Future cities are the cities of tomorrow. Energy is essential in their development. Modern and smart energy is energy that is sustainable, commercial, engineering sound and which benefit a large section of society. The government is mandated to initialize such energy-producing infrastructure both in large and small scale for tomorrow’s needs. Sustainable development is key to the future. The whole being of the planet depends on the kind of waste and exploitation measures undertaken by each one of us. The production of this sort of energy will need engineering expertise and the sharing of information between different sectors and regions. Capacity building is key to the transfer of knowledge. Developed nations should assist in influencing training on renewable sources of energy production to developing countries. Private firms, which control current energy sources, should revolutionize their manufacturing process although costly in the short term. In the long run, though, the benefits of green energy will be realized. Keywords: sustainable development, smart energy, future cities, renewable energy INTRODUCTION Modern energy is the energy of the present times. Every developed economy has relied on new energy to propagate its growth and development. Current energy is fundamental to enhancing the life of the poor, increasing productivity and improving competitive economic growth. Current power is necessary for opening up new opportunities and extending set boundaries.1 Smart energy sources are practical, affordable and meet the electricity needs. Renewable energy is quick energy. Renewable energy reduces air pollution thus cutting global warming. It also creates new jobs and industries while diversifying the power supply. Smart power decreases dependence on fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. Smart energy moves the globe towards a healthier, cleaner tomorrow2. Future cities will require high-energy supply for advanced technology. High-energy demand will affect the environment unless proper solutions are put in place to help curtail global warming and environmental degradation. Since energy is the driving force of advancements, modern and smart energy solutions need to be endorsed, researched on and implemented to effect the future cities of the world3. This essay aims to discuss this front on the sustainable environmental needs, possible economic needs, real and implementable engineering requirement and advantages of the implementation. The paper seeks to propose a modern and smart energy source solution to the cities of the future. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their needs. The world is a system. This system connects space and combines time. Sustainable development teaches us that the decisions we make today will affect our future4. In light of sustainable development, one must think about sustainable energy sources. Sustainable energy is using energy wisely and energy from clean technologies and sources. Therefore, the energy choice of our future cities should be able to meet demand, take care of our environment and be able to be used without depletion of natural resources5. Figure 1: Diagrammatic Representation of Sustainable Development Pillars Figure 2: 4 Major Sustainable Energy Access Objectives Future cities will require undoubtedly large amounts of electricity. For sustainable development, the development and dissemination of alternative energy technologies should aim to increase the global share of renewables. Diversification of energy supply is achieved by development of cleaner, advanced, cost-effective, efficient energy technologies. One of Un General Assembly’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls to ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all6. Therefore, the energy sources of the future cities that are a viable need to focus on environmental, economic and social-cultural sound energy sources. Therefore, energy efficiency is a crucial factor in maintaining the energy that meets the needs of the future and the generation to come7. Sustainable energy is thus regarded as a system of power processing, transportation, distribution, and consumption, in methods that contribute to an overwhelming, constant reduction in usage of non-renewable resources and environmental degradation while availing global access to energy at socially satisfactory prices8. ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY Economic viability is a study that establishes the net gain of a proposed development as compared to the costs incurred in adopting the development. Modern and smart energy sources development have a cost associated with development. Engineering looks into the economy for justification of events. Construction of new plants got to take place while old energy processing plants decommissioned. The overall benefit should be analyzed for development justification9. An objective of modern and smart energy in future cities is to increase the electricity distribution system’s capacity. Efficient, economically sound management of the energy sector. Energy storage will be crucial in the following cities. Due to uncontrollable renewable resources increase together with the growth in demand for energy, there will need to be a security of supply in the distribution chain10. The importance of ensuring demand and supply ratio maintains relatively constant is an economic principle in price control. Energy efficiency must be a firm guideline since it is an essential approach to reducing energy cost in industrial processes and enhancing competitiveness into economic and industrial growth11. It is possible to achieve economically feasible modern and smart energy by practical implementation of the proposed development. For such a system, ICT, application modeling, infrastructure and understanding consumerism should be integrated and understood12. Energy security for future cities needs to be strengthened. Governments should invest in critical energy infrastructure ahead of demand. States should lead the development, as some of the development may not meet the cost-benefit analysis for the short-term hence private industries may be reluctant to make a change13. ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES Future cities call for a reduction in carbon emissions. One of the largest emitters of carbon is the motor vehicle. As most people in both the industrialized and developing nations are in the urban areas, the urban population has increased significantly, and the transportation has become a vital core of society. Engineers are working on a possibility to build a zero-emission membrane piston engine system. In this model, the fuel is burnt up, but the carbon dioxide exhaust is stored on board and discharged in a large tank on filling station14. For future cities, energy supply infrastructure has to undergo a change from high central units to decentralized units. Examples of such units, which will constitute the energy for future cities, are units like, solar panels, wind generators on roofs, fuel cells, heat pumps and cogeneration units powered by biomass15 which calls for re-engineering of supply units of energy. Figure 3: Carbon Dioxide Emission cycle for energy producing processes16. Energy for future cities has to be sustainable as mentioned in the previous section. One way of ensuring sustainable energy sources is by integrating the exploitation of these resources with engineering principle. Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of the total global energy consumption. This energy is used for the provision of light, heat, air conditioning, and cooling. Building physics is an integral part of engineering for future cities as it looks into ways of reducing energy consumption and instead providing natural alternatives that can be sustained17. Electrification organization based on renewable energy sources are worth for providing electricity, especially to isolated communities without the need for external control. For effective implementation of this principle, formal education is necessary to transfer knowledge and impart training18. Figure4: Renewable energy capacity build by technology19. ADVANTAGES OF MODERN AND SMART ENERGY Renewable sources pf energy are high as compared to that of coal, oil, and gas. However, when we factor in the cost incurred for controlling carbon emission, the cost of renewables is much lower20. Energy tariffs with tight market regulation will be affordable for everyone. Great deals on energy alternatives will be possible, as the consumer will have information on the product offered in the market. Suppliers will ensure sufficient power all the right time because of technologies such as energy storage21. Little or zero global warming emissions will result from the use of renewable energy sources as compared to fossil fuels. Since electricity accounts for almost a third of global warming emissions, reduction of the rate of global warming by reinstituting electricity production plants will help reduce the greenhouse effect22. Figure 5: Benefits of Renewable Energy Sources use23. CONCLUSION Smart and modern energy is essential for future cities. Electricity is a major component of development and advancement in the energy production sector is vital to keep pace with the future cities’ needs24. Sustainable energy results to sustainable development leading to sustainable cities. The three aspects of sustainability: environment, social and economy are all preserved in sustainable cities 25. Governments should look into financing and support green initiatives and the production of modern and smart energy to driv...