11-CS-3 Engineering Management · May 2015
Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
National Exams — May 2015 — 11-CS-3 Sustainability, Engineering and the Environment. Closed book; approved calculator permitted. Any four questions constitute a complete paper; all questions are of equal value (25 marks each).
Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.
Rating convention: each cell rates the magnitude of the heading as worded — H for geographic availability means the resource is widely available (favourable); H for land requirement, life-cycle emissions, cost or safety concerns means a large requirement, emission, cost or concern (unfavourable). Where a technology genuinely spans two bands (e.g. wind: small physical footprint but wide turbine spacing) both are shown.
| Technology | Geographic availability | Land requirement | Life-cycle emissions | Cost | Safety concerns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-head hydro | L (needs terrain) | H (reservoir) | L | L (after build) | M–H (dam failure) |
| Geothermal (electricity) | L (needs hot resource) | L | L | M–H | L (gas, seismicity) |
| Solar PV | H (sunlight widespread) | M–H | L–M (manufacturing) | M | L (electrical) |
| Wind | M (needs windy sites) | L footprint / H spacing | L | L–M | M (blade/ice, birds) |
| Biofuel (wood pellets) | M (needs biomass) | H (forestry) | M | M | M (combustion, dust/fire) |
High-head hydro: restricted to mountainous river sites; floods large reservoirs; low life-cycle emissions; cheap once built; dam-failure risk. Geothermal electricity: limited to high-temperature resource areas; compact; low emissions; costly deep drilling; minor gas/seismicity concerns. Solar PV: sunlight widely available; needs panel area; low emissions with some manufacturing footprint; medium cost; low electrical risk. Wind: needs windy sites; small footprint but wide spacing; low emissions; low–medium cost; blade/ice and wildlife risks. Biofuel pellets: depends on biomass supply; large forestry land; combustion emits CO₂ and particulates (nominally offset by regrowth); medium cost; combustion, dust-explosion, and fire hazards. Hydro and geothermal are geographically constrained; solar and wind are widely available but diffuse and intermittent. In a Canadian setting the pattern is visible directly: large high-head hydro dominates in B.C. and Québec where the terrain allows it, high-temperature geothermal is confined to a few volcanic-belt prospects in western B.C. and the Yukon, and wood-pellet heating is most attractive in forested regions with sawmill residue. Overall, wind and solar PV score best across the five headings (low emissions, low safety concern, falling cost), hydro is excellent where sites exist but carries the largest land and dam-safety burden, and biomass heating is the weakest on land use and local air quality.
