Abstract
Nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, ALTA is a multi-generational city that offers a clean environment and advanced technology in a breathtaking setting. A verdant forest and a crystal-clear lake make ALTA the perfect backdrop for the XXXIV Winter Olympics in the year 2062. Throughout the world, ALTA is known as an extraordinary place to live, work, and play.
An enforceable, comprehensive growth plan encourages orderly expansion and redevelopment. Incorporating mixed-use developments and live-work units, it presents employment opportunities while minimizing traffic impact. The stadiums and housing constructed for the Winter Olympics will be utilized afterward for special events and public use. The Olympic Village will be converted into affordable housing for service industry workers. Olympic acclaim and varied recreational activities attract tourism, which provides a stable cash flow to the community. This plan equips ALTA for future generations.
Transportation in ALTA is a vital issue due to tourism and environmental preservation. All vehicles are fuel cell powered. To keep the permeable concrete roadways free of ice, a geothermal de-icing system is employed. The comprehensive bus system and electro-magnetic, main-line subway system connects hotels, ski resorts, restaurants, and housing, which enables the public to reach their destination safely and efficiently. Drawn by ALTA’s wide range of career opportunities, many valley commuters utilize the electro-magnetic gondola. In addition, tourists appreciate the automatic luggage transfer system that allows a hands-free journey to ALTA.
ALTA offers utilities including hydrogen fuel, electricity, water, garbage disposal and recycling. Hydrogen is safely conveyed throughout the city as non-flammable slurry and converted back to hydrogen on-site. Geothermal power, Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells, and Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells supply clean, efficient energy throughout the community. Using breakthrough technology, ALTA’s wastewater is resourcefully reclaimed. Dependable energy, innovative technology, and renewable resources qualified ALTA for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Awareness Award.
Citizens are provided with exceptional communication services including free wireless internet service. Utilizing World Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology, citizens use their wireless devises to place calls, access GPS applications, and surf the Internet from anywhere in the city.
ALTA is committed to the safety, health, and education of its citizens and guests. An experienced police force trained by the Department of Homeland Security will protect ALTA and ensure a fail-safe Olympics. Fire protection on inaccessible hillsides is provided by high-powered, heat-sensored sprinklers and smart GPS-navigated borate bombs. Additionally, ALTA provides strategically placed urgent-care facilities and award-winning elderly care homes. Diverse recreational activities ranging from adventuresome to leisurely provide a premium physical fitness outlet. Schools emphasize classic, formal education, and community colleges offer specialized training in renewable energy research and resort management. Citizens that work, play, and learn together enhance their community.
Mark Twain depicted Lake Tahoe as, “A noble sheet of blue water... walled in by a rim of snow clad mountain peaks... it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”ALTA is state-of-the-art living, harmonizing with the lush surroundings of Tahoe, which is evergreen, evergrowing, and everlasting.
Essay
Alpine Living Tahoe Adventure
ALTA’s pioneering energy plan, depicted below, has allowed an end to fossil fuel dependency and created an enduring, environmentally friendly community. Throughout ALTA, geothermal power and fuels cells are utilized. Fuel cells provide an excellent energy source because of their high reliability and zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Clean, renewable electricity is produced by a 30 megawatt geothermal power plant that operates via the binary system. Sustaining ALTA’s natural environment, all utilities run underground including the high-voltage, hydrogen-cooled electrical cables.
Hydrogen is used for power throughout ALTA. Hydrogen sulfide is recovered directly from geothermal gas vents and converted into useable hydrogen. In addition, a production plant employing the electrolysis method produces hydrogen. Combining water with lithium hydrate and a light mineral oil, hydrogen is safely transported in the
form of a nonflammable slurry from the hydrogen storage tanks. Fiber-reinforced polymer pipelines convey the hydrogen slurry throughout the community. As needed, the hydrogen is extracted by simply adding water into the small to large scale hydrogen generators. The remnant slurry material is then recycled back to the plant to be added to newly created hydrogen, which continues the cycle. Homes are equipped with small scale hydrogen fueling stations to fill the residents’ cars. Additionally, hydrogen is used for residential appliances and for the heating and cooling of homes.
The Industrial/Utility zone is comprised of a wastewater treatment plant and approximately thirty small, clean, high-tech industries. The wastewater treatment plant serves approximately 11,500 homes along with the commercial, industrial and tourist sites of the community. During the apex of the tourist season, the peak electrical demand of this plant is 1.7 megawatts. In addition, approximately four hundred workers are employed by the surrounding high-tech industries. The peak electrical demand of theses industries is 0.3 megawatts. On average, the electrical peak demand for high-tech industries in ALTA has been shown to be approximately 75 kilowatts per one hundred employees. Therefore, the total peak electrical demand of the Industrial/Utility zone is 2.0 megawatts.
Three sources power the Industrial/Utility zone. The first is a 1.0 megawatt Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) system, which operates on reformed methane gas, a by-product of the wastewater treatment process. Because wastewater is inevitable, methane gas will always be available for energy production in ALTA. The methane gas is reformed on-site to produce hydrogen for the MCFC. A local business combines the carbon dioxide by-product with limonene oxide, which is extracted from selected crops, to produce plastic polymer. Because the wastewater treatment plant is in continuous operation, large facilities are not needed for methane containment. However on-site, polymer-lined storage spheres are available for temporary methane storage. The second source of electricity is the geothermal power plant. Finally, for backup, four on-site Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells can produce up to 1.0 megawatts of power making use of the piped hydrogen fuel. The MCFC and PEM fuel cell systems are located on-site at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and assure that the Industrial/Utility zone remains perpetually powered.
The advantage of the MCFC is its flexibility in using a variety of fuels and catalysts, plus its high efficiency rating. Due to it’s higher operating temperatures, the exhaust heat powers a turbine to generate more electricity. The efficiency of the MCFC is approximately 50%, but with the waste heat cogeneration, the total efficiency increases to 83%. The other by-products are also utilized, including the leftover wastewater which is put in a centrifuge to produce a semi-solid fertilizer cake. Nearby valley farms utilize this fertilizer due to its high concentration of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. A disadvantage of the MCFC is the increased corrosion associated with the high operating temperatures which can exceed 10000F. Ongoing maintenance and testing of the MCFC is essential.
Energy is a top priority in ALTA. Based on the reliability, ecological design and redundancy of the energy systems, ALTA is confident its standards of zero blackouts and environmental protection will continue to be upheld. ALTA will forever flourish.
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