7.2 ESS

Examples of Renewable Energy Sources

1. Wind

2. Solar

3. Tidal

4. Hydropower

Advantages of Renewable Energy

1. Reduce dependence on fossil fuel and foreign energy sources

2. It creates jobs in manifacutring, and installation of renewable energy source

Wind energy

Harness kinetic energy of moving air to generate electricity

Advantage of Wind energy

1. Abundant

2. No air pollutants produced

3. Can be installed off-shore, which minimize land use

4. Installation and operation is not costly

Disadvantage of Wind energy

1. Dependent on wind availability

2. Noise and visual pollution disturb local community

3. High initial investment on wind turbines and infrastructure

4. Harm wildlife (birds/ bats flying into the turbine blades)

Solar energy

Use PV to transfer sunlight to produce electrical current that generates electrical power

Advantages of Solar energy

1. Abundant

2. No greenhouse or air pollutants produced

3. Solar is less expensive

4. Can be integrated into existing buildings

Disadvantages of Solar energy

1. Dependent on sunlight availability

2. Initial high capital investment for night-time

3. Require large area for solar farm

4. People dislike appearence of large solar farms

Tidal energy

Use the energy of rising and falling tides to activate turbine and generate electricity

Advantages of Tidal energy

1. Abundant energy source

2. No greenhouse gas or air pollution emitted

3. Reliable source of energy

4. Produce large electricity in short-period

Disadvantage of Tidal energy

1. High intial costs

2. Limited availability of sites

3. Environmental impact on marine eco-systems and fish migration

4. Maintanance challenges due to location

Biomass (Wood)

use of organic material to produce heat or electricity

Advantages of Biomass

1. Renewable resources & carbon neutral when managed sustainably

2. Readily available in lots of regions

Disadvantages of Biomass

1. Produce air pollution from combustion emissions

2. Deforestation risk and habitat loss if not sustainably managed

Geothermal energy

harness heat from the center of the earth for electricity generation

Advantages of Geothermal energy

1. Sustainable energy source

2. Reliable source of energy

3. Small land footprint

4. Small power stations

Disadvantages of Geothermal energy

1. High exploration costs

2. May emit green house gases from underground

3. Geological risks such as earthquakes

4. Site-specific: limited to regions with near-surface geothermal activity

Hydropower

Use flowing water to generate electricity through turbines in dams

Advantages of Hydropower

1. Reliable and predictable source of energy

2. Low greenhouse gas emission

3. Mult-purpose benefits

4. Generate in large-scale of electricity in short-period

Disadvantage of Hydropower

1. Disruption of river ecosystems and fish migration routes

2. High initial capital cost for dam construction

3. Dam construction may flood habitats and relocate human communities

4. Climate change affects reservoir levels reducing its reliability

Non-renewable energy

Energy sources that run out

Fossil fuels

formed by plants and animals

Examples of Fossil Fuels

1. Coal

2. Oil

3. Natural gas

Advantages of Fossil Fuels

1. Humanity rely heavily on fossil fuel due to transport and electricity

2. reliable for large-scale production industries

3. Efficient bc of its high energy density

Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels

1. Takes a long time to regenerate

2. Insufficient supply for the rapid increase in demand

3. Burning fossil fuel emits air pollutants

4. Oil spills occur during transportation of fossil fuel thus harming marine ecosystems

Nuclear energy

energys stored in nucleus of atomos that can be released when nucleus is broken in two

Advantages of Nuclear energy

1. No pollution released into atmosphere

2. Reduce reliance on fossil fuels

3. Increase energy security

4. reliable energy source due to its large-scale production of electricity

Disadvantages of Nuclear energy

1. Finite supply of uranium ore (non-renewable)

2. Produces radioactive waste

3. Storing radioactive waste is costly

4. radioactive can pollute and spread over large areas

Energy sustainability

meeting current energy demands without compromising future energy needs

Environmental cost of Fossil Fules

1. Extraction: Mining for coal, and drilling for oil and gas cause soil erosion and water contamination

2. Refining crude oil: Release harmful chemicals that cause air and water pollution

3. Liqyefaction of natural gas: turning liquid to gas for easier transportation emit CO2 and other greenhouse gases

Environmental cost of Nuclear energy

1. Mining of Uranium: Its energy intensive and leaves behind radioactive waste

2. Nuclear waste: long-term storage of nuclear waste is hazardous bc it remains that way for long-period of time

Environmental cost of renewable energy

1. Manifacturing: Renewable energy devices require energy and raw materials, leading to environmental damage

2. End-of-life management: Recycling components from solar panels, wind turbines and batteries is often expensive leading to pollution and waste.

Examples of renewable energy devices

1. Wind turbines

2. Solar panels

3. Tidal barrages

Tidal barrages

use the movement of tides to generate energy

Energy-Extensuve extraction

Mining for rare earth elements require large amounts of energy which contributes to greenhouse gases.

Mining impacts

1. Water contamination: Mining processes release harmful chemicals that contaminate water bodies

2. Habitat destruction: Clearing land for mining purposes may diminish ecosystems thus decreasing biodiversity

3. Dust pollution: Dust caused by mining, drilling, and construction work lead to pollution and cause harmful respiratory diseases to local communities

Energy consumption

Total amount of energy used by individuals, countries, and industries

Factors that cause rise in Demand of Energy

1. Population growth (Inc in population → Inc in D)

2. Per capita energy demand (Developing countries use more energy bc of growth)

Reasons for changes in energy use

1. Economic development

2. Environmental concerns

Reducing energy consumption

1. Improving energy efficiency appliances, buildings, and vehicles

2. Encouraging individuals to change their behaviour to becoming more energy sustainable

Energy efficiency

Using less energy for the same task/ how energy is being used & conserved

Reducing energy consumption

Using less energy/ at lower levels

Energy choices

Decisions a country makes about how it generates and consumes energy

Factors that affect energy choices

1. Economic cost

2. Pollution

3. Energy efficiency

4. Availability

5. Energy security

Economic cost

Cost of building and maintaining energy infrastructure

Pollution

Some energy sources cause more pollution compared to others

Availability

Natural resource thats available to a country

Energy security

A country’s ability to meet its energy needs reliably and without being overly dependent on foreign resources

Energy storage

It manages the supply of energy esp renewable sources

Benefit of energy storage

Ensure reliable supply of energy even when unreliable renewable sources are not generating electricity

Energy storage solutions

1. Batteries: Store electricity as chemical energy then released

2. Pumped hydroelectricity storage (PHS): pumps water to a higher reservoir when theres surplus in electricity, and it goes back down when theres surplus in demand.

3. Fuel cells: convert stored chemical energy to electricity

4. Thermal Storage: Store heat energy that is used to generate electricity/ heating

RWE of PHS (Pumped Hydroelectricity Storage)

located in UK, Wales known as “Dinorwif Power station”

Advantages of PHS

1. Large storage: can store excess electricity when theres huge amounts of energy produced

2. Reliable: generate lots of electricity in short-period

3. Long lifespan, low maintanance and sustainable

Disadvantage of PHS

1. Geographic limitations

2. Environmental impact: construction of dam and reservoir may damage ecosystems.

3. Economic cost: High initial cost