Questions+for+Workshop

__Biofilms Questions__

1) Why did you pick solar power to compare to biofilms? 2) The photo bioreactors are very expensive to set up. Do they pay off, and if so how long do they take to do so? - algae are very efficient, no actual number though 3) Is the expensive hydrolysis process mentioned in the biofuels dossier also required to process the products of the algae? No

__Biofuels Questions__ 1) Why did you choose not to mention the context of your dossier within the global energy crisis? 2) Why did you go into detail about hydrolysis but not fermentation? 3) How much does the resources cost (ie sufficiently large crop of sugarcane, corn, wheat, ect.)? 4) What was the purpose of measuring temperature during the lab?

__Geothermal Questions__

1) What is "operating capacity"? - how much energy the geothermal plant can provide for a certain number of houses, sim. to carrying capacity 2) Why didn't you mention anything about direct thermal heating (i.e. buildings (typically residential) that don't convert the energy into electricity, but rather use it to heat the building directly)? 3) How long would it take for a geothermal power plant to "pay off"? 4) Why is there an extra random page about Yellowstone?

__Water Questions__

1) What is the convergence effect and why/how does it increase the amplitude of the tidal waves near landmasses? 2) Why is tidal power so much better/more effiecient than hydroelectric and tidal stream power? 3) You mentioned that the "tidal stream system utilizes the kinetic energy of water to power turbines." However, this is true for most water power systems. What exactly is the tidal stream system and how does it differ from hydroelectric power?

__Solar Questions__

1) Why did you choose to compare solar, wind, and nuclear power on campus? What are the relative costs of these technologies? 2) In the nuclear reactor annual energy calculation, what does the "106" represent? 3) They said that the solar farm in Sarnia was expected to "supply over 12800 households". How big is that? (i.e. would that power all of Southern Ontario? Or all of Toronto? Or just power Sarnia?) 4) They said that the production of silicon "produces about 100-170 grams of carbon dioxide per kWh of energy produced." How does this compare to oil and coal power plants? 5) What can you tell us about converting DC to AC electricity?