Introduction
The concept of sustainable development was first introduced in 1987 by the United Nations as part of the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, in which it was stated that sustainable development implies “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations General Assembly, 1987).
The World Conservation Strategy published in 1980 served as prelude to the conception of this notion, as the UN recognized the importance of minimizing the impact of human activity over the earth’s ecosystems and adopting models inclined towards sustainability as the rule rather than the exception. This strategy set guidelines to achieve conservation objectives, which included the maintenance of ecological processes, preservation of genetic diversity, sustainable use of resources, among others (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 1980, p. 18-19).
Sustainable development depends on the dynamic balance of its four fundamental and interdependent pillars or dimensions: environmental, economic, social and political (UNESCO Education, 2016). Considering these dimensions, the United Nations has set 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which are to be achieved by the year 2030 and include ending poverty in all its forms, ending hunger and achieve food security, ensuring access to affordable, sustainable and modern energy, ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation, taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, among others (United Nations, 2015).
This paper will focus on the sustainability issues related to power generation, particularly on the achievements and challenges of environmentally-friendly methods for power generation. Moreover, the responsibilities and ethical obligations of engineers working on development projects will also be discussed.
The Need for Sustainable Power Generation
Global warming is defined as the long-term trend of increasing average temperature of the lower atmosphere (Lineman, Do, Kim and Joo, 2015). The main cause of this phenomena relates to the overconcentration of greenhouse gases which trap heat in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane.
This relates to power generation, as conventional methods which are based on the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, play a major role in greenhouse gases emissions. In fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency indicates traditional power generation accounts for approximately 25% of all global greenhouse gases emissions. Moreover, resource depletion is a major concern regarding fossil fuel power generation, and is one of the main factors motivating the shift towards other forms of electricity generation as well as the efficient use of energy.
In consideration, research and technological advances have achieved to develop alternate methods for power generation, which are more environmentally-friendly as they utilize renewable primary energy sources. In the Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, it is explained that renewable energy has the potential of mitigating climate change and also provide wider benefits, such as promoting social and economic development, energy access and reduce impacts on the environment and human health (IPCC, 2012, p. 7).
It has become evident that shifting towards renewable power generation is paramount for balancing the harm human activity has caused to the environment. Dr. Jin Jiang, who was interviewed for the development of this paper, coincides with me. Dr. Jiang, when asked which methods should be stopped due to their effects on the environment, points out that power generation methods that use coal, petroleum and natural gas as energy source should be stopped. However, he recognized that several factors influence and limit the widespread adoption of renewable energy, such as costs, access to technology and location. Among the renewable sources and technologies for power generation are bioenergy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean energy and wind energy. The following section will briefly explain the basic principle of each of these methods.
Renewable Energy Generation
Bioenergy
Bioenergy is energy obtained through the conversion of organic matter (derived from plants or animals), such as agricultural crops or manure, that can be used directly as fuel or processed as liquids and gases (International Energy Agency, 2016).
Solar Energy
Solar Power Generation is the conversion of the energy contained in sunlight into electricity. Two different methods are used to perform this conversion: Photovoltaic Cells (PV) and Concentrating Solar Power Systems (CSP). Through the use of PV cells, sunlight is directly converted into electricity by taking advantage of the physical nature of semiconductor materials, which constitute solar panels or cells. Conversely, CSP systems use mirrors or lenses to concentrate sunrays. The thermal energy obtained through this process is used to raise the temperature of transfer fluids which are subsequently converted to steam, and drives a turbine effectively converting thermal into mechanical energy. To complete the process, the turbine drives a generator that converts the mechanical energy into electric power. Basically, after steam is produced, the process is a typical thermal-to-electric power conversion cycle such as the one used in conventional fossil fuel methods, but changing the primary energy source.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is derived from the earth’s interior. Through the use of wells that are drilled approximately 1 or 2 miles into the Earth, steam or hot water is pumped to the surface and used to drive a turbine to continue a process similar to the one previously explained. After the steam has been utilized, it is condensed in cooling towers and pumped back underground to restart the process (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2016).
Hydropower
Hydroelectric power, commonly referred to as hydropower, uses the energy of water descending from higher to lower elevations to generate electricity. Common hydroelectric power plants use dams to store water, and canals to channel it to flow through a turbine, which drives an electrical generator.
Ocean Energy
Ocean energy is described as the one derived from the potential, kinetic, thermal and chemical energy of seawater (IPCC, 2012, p. 9). Several technologies are used to take advantage of this energy, including submarine turbines driven by ocean currents, heat exchangers, devices which seize the energy of waves, among others.
Wind Power
Turbines harness kinetic energy from the wind by being driven by it. Turbines can be located on land or off-shore. This method is undoubtedly one of the cleanest means for power generation as it does not produce toxic emissions, and wind is one of the most abundant resources, making the technique cost-competitive. In Canada, particularly, the progress achieved by the wind energy sector by 2012 assures a strong foundation for the future (Global Wind Energy Council, 2013, p. 28).
Renewable Energy in Canada
Dr. Jiang assures that the Canadian province that generates most power from renewable sources is Quebec, presumably given that the location of the province allows for the construction of several hydroelectric power plants. His impression is correct, as the Canadian Government assures that by 2014, the country had 78,359 MW of installed capacity in hydroelectric facilities, with over 40,000 MW generated in the province of Quebec (Natural Resources Canada, 2013). In addition, hydroelectric power accounts for approximately 59.3% of Canada’s renewable energy generation, followed by wind power.
The province of Ontario has established the objective of completely eliminating coal as a source for power generation, and intends to do so by replacing generation of this type of generation for nuclear, hydroelectric power, and natural gas.
In this regard, the efforts of the Ontario Ministry of Energy of reducing greenhouse gases emissions by eliminating power generation through the burning of coal should be applauded. However, it is worth noting that this initiative does not necessarily aim towards complete sustainability or elimination of emissions. By 2012, only 4% of Ontario’s electricity was generated through coal, while 33% is attributed to oil generation, 25% to natural gas, 7% to renewable energy and 31% to nuclear energy (Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, 2016, p. 9). Nuclear energy, though much cleaner than conventional power generation methods, is not considered sustainable as its primary source cannot be replenished within the span of a human life time. Uranium, which is subject to the process of fission for nuclear power generation, is a nonrenewable fuel (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2015), and thus nuclear power is not considered renewable energy. Moreover, the Ontario plan involves continuing power generation through natural gas. In terms of environmental impact, the EIA indicated that pounds of CO2 emitted per million Btu through coal burning can reach up to 228.6, while for natural gas the amount approximates 117.0. Therefore, replacing coal power for natural gas will certainly reduce greenhouse gases emissions, but it is far from an ideal solution.
Nonetheless, it is reasonable that a short-term complete shift towards renewable energy comes with great difficulty, as there are certain cost and location factors which play part, and it is recognized that the Ontario province also plans to increase hydroelectric, wind and solar power generation in future years. Dr. Jiang sets as example how generating significant energy from solar or wind sources requires a large amount of turbines or solar panels, as their individual generation potential is rather limited. On the contrary, nuclear power plants are known for generating large amounts of power.
Professional Engineering in Ontario and Sustainable Development
Professional Engineers of Ontario recognizes the influence of a healthy environment over public welfare. In consideration, engineers are expected to assimilate environmental protection and sustainability principles and practices into their projects. PEO have established a group of guidelines that engineers must follow to safeguard the environment and public welfare. These guidelines include the responsibility of engineers to be aware and in sufficient understanding of environmental issues related to their field of work or seek advice otherwise by recognizing the interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues, use their professional judgment when involved in decision making as to stand for environmental preservation, and in other ways incorporate the environment as a primordial aspect in their projects, such ad by integrating environmental protection in planning and management stages. Moreover, engineers should evaluate the economic cost of environmental protection in their projects and adopt it as an integral part of its development. In addition, pollution prevention and waste management initiatives must be taken and flowing communication channels with public authorities should be established (Professional Engineers of Ontario, 1994).
The enforceability of these guidelines is a complicated subject, as it is not clearly illegal to perform actions contrary to them. In certain situations, employers are not aware of the environmental repercussions of their requests, and need only to be informed and subsequently comply with recommendations. In other cases, however, employers purposely intend to violate the environmental guidelines and in these cases, engineers have the responsibility of insisting on ethical practices that comply with the aforementioned guidelines.
Besides the environmental guidelines, there are certain Canadian acts and regulations that are legally enforceable instruments and therefore pose certain restrictions on engineering projects, aimed at preserving environmental balance. For instance, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, which indicates a series of environmental regulations, is enforced through warnings, tickets, orders (prohibition orders, recall orders, etc.), injunctions and prosecution. There are also specific sector regulations such as the Energy and Transportation Sectors Regulations, Wildlife Area Regulations, Disposal at Sea Regulations, and many others. Although these do not necessarily mention engineering, it is implied that all commercial or industrial activity must abide them (Government of Canada – Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2016). The Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Act establishes the monetary penalties for failing to comply with these regulations.
The desire to avoid fines or penalties is typically sufficient for companies to comply with environmental laws, as fines can be substantial and negatively affect the company’s finances. For instance, in February 2016 Teck Metals Ltd. Was fined for $3,000,000 after pleading guilty to contamination of the Columbia River, directly violating the Fisheries Act.
Though it is not ideal that engineers follow guidelines due to fear of the monetary consequences, it is clear that the conservation of the environment cannot be placed solely on the moral or ethical principles of practitioners. Nevertheless, the importance or role of the code of ethics will be further analyzed.
Role of the Code of Ethics
The Professional Engineers of Ontario Act clearly indicates: “Professional misconduct means – failure to make responsible provision for complying with applicable statutes, regulations, standards, codes, by-laws and rules in connection with work being undertaken by or under the responsibility of the practitioner” (Professional Engineers of Ontario). Moreover, the code of ethics indicates that practitioners shall regard public welfare as paramount. In consideration, it is implied that engineers must abide by the established environmental guidelines, and have a moral responsibility of concerning themselves with environmental preservation as it plays a crucial role in public welfare. Dr. Jiang contends that besides the obligation to abide by the code of ethics, personal ethics and integrity influence the approach engineers take in their professional practices, and assures that while some engineers do genuinely work towards their projects’ sustainability, others are driven by profit and disregard environmental concerns.
It is clear that human kind must consider environmental protection and sustainable development crucial in maintaining the earth’s balance. Over the years, human activities such as power generation, industrial processes, cattle raising and others have had severe consequences over our planet’s climate and temperature patterns. Engineers work on high-scale projects that have the potential of significantly affecting local environments, and therefore it is an inherent responsibility engineers to minimize the impact of their practices, not only as workers but as inhabitants of this planet. Regarding power generation, constant technological developments have increased the efficiency of renewable power generation methods as well as reduced their costs. In consideration, even if they still may not seem as the most economic means for power generation, the environmental and resource exhaustion factor must be taken into account and engineers must promote the increase of renewable energy usage. As Dr. Stuart Smith states: “we should not be living high at the expense of the ability of future generations” (Aitken and Wei, 2002).
Impact of Sustainable Development on Society – Power Generation
The notion of sustainable development establishes a direct relation between social welfare and nature, as environmental phenomenon can threaten social and economic stability. The environmental pillar of sustainability, mostly aimed towards the fight against climate change, which particularly poses serious issues on certain vulnerable regions due to the rise of sea levels, intense heat waves, and other consequences, is primordial. Moreover, the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources for human activities leads to potentially irreversible environmental degradation, endangerment of flora and fauna species.
In this matter, renewable energy sources not only generate reduced GHG emissions as has been previously mentioned, but also provide wider environmental benefits, including GHG mitigation. Moreover, renewable energy are beneficial in terms of reduced air pollution and health concerns (IPCC, 2012, p. 19).
Sustainability also entails social and economic dimensions, which can also benefit from the use of renewable energy. Alternate energy sources can provide access to electricity to those regions that, due to geographical or other limitations do not have access to large power grids, thus contributing to social and economic development. Moreover, the diversification of energy sources contributes in the establishment of more secure and reliable energy supplies.
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