energy pack 5 - problems with extracting, transporting and consumption

oil extraction

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (April 20 2010)

Largest marine oil spill in history

Oil rig exploded and subsequently sank

Located in Gulf of Mexico (offshore drilling)

Leased by BP, owned by Transcorp

Killed 11 and injured 17 workers

60,000 barrels were lost per day, total of 4.9mil lost

1.8mil gallons of dispersants used for cleanup

1170km of shoreline contaminated/polluted

1/3 of waters closed due to flooding and drilling moratorium left 8000 - 12000 unemployed

BP fined $4.5mil in 2012

Canadian Tar Sands

Extreme water use (reached legal limits of water extraction from Athabasca River)

High levels of contamination

Ecosystems and top soil destroyed

Energy intensive

oil transport

Exon Valdez Oil Spill

March 4, 1989, Prince William Sound in Alaska

Oil supertanker hit the Bligh reef

10mil gallons of oil spilt

Affected 210km of coastline

Only 10% of oil cleaned up, oil remains in sea

£507.5mil in punitive damages

HOWEVER doesn't happen that often

Double hulling technology manages this.

oil consumption

Greenhouse Effect

Combustion of oil releases co2

Leads to enhanced greenhouse effect

Diesel emissions - nitrous oxides

High temps lead to nitrogen reacting with oxygen to form NO and NO2

Contribute to enhanced greenhouse effect

Nitrous oxides react with water to form acid rain

Particulates cause poor air quality and health issues

gas extraction

North Sea Tight Extraction

More expensive

Requires expensive technologies to access gas

Complex infrastructure required

High operational costs

North Sea associated with harsh weather conditions (storms, rough seas and deep water) making extraction difficult.

gas transport

Gas pipelines

Explosion at a processing faculty in Austria which is the main point of entry for Russian gas into Europe.

North Sea site "Morecambe Field" was then only supplied with 2mcm of gas per day not 5mcm

gas consumption

Greenhouse effect

Combustion produces co2 and water vapor

Methane leaks

Contributes to enhanced greenhouse effect.

coal extraction

Strip mining

Removes trees, top soil and blasts apart mountains

Destroys landscapes and habitats, causes soil erosion and destruction of agricultural land

Disturbed sediment is washed away by water and pollutes waterways, killing fish and plant life

Chemical contamination of groundwater by minerals and heavy metals

Washing coal produces toxic waste slurry which may leak into water

Lowers groundwater levels, increasing erosion and affecting local wells

Underground mining

Brings waste earth and rock to the surface, which can become toxic

Exposes locals/workers to health hazards

coal transport

Coal transport in China

Uneven distribution of coal reserves with major reserves in Northern and Western China yet high demand in the East and South

Long distance transport required

Overburdened and congested railway networks with frequent delays and bottlenecks

High transport costs

Limited alternative transport routes

Weather can disrupt transport

Rising demand

Wealthier regions can outbid poorer regions for coal delivery.

coal consumption

Bulgaria

Bobov Dol coal fired power plant

Major discharge of ash into Razmetanitza river

Health endangering air pollution detected

Wastewaters contain high concentrations of metals and metaloids which are released into the environment

EV and WHO standards for PM10 and SO2 are exceeded, with elevated NO2 concentrations

Greenhouse effect

Combustion releases co2

Enhanced greenhouse effect

Acid Rain

Happening in South/Southeast regions of China

Appalachian region of USA

nuclear energy environmental problems

Impacts

Forests went red due to chloroplast mutations

Pripyat in Ukraine was abandoned as highly radioactive

Exclusion Zone

30km circular area around the plant

Sarcophagus now keeps radiation in

modern nuclear energy environmental problems

Nuclear waste storage issues

Plutonium is the waste product, which remains radioactive for thousands of years

Countries such as the UK & Germany have been storing plutonium in warehouses for decades until geological storage can be implemented

Only Finland is going ahead with geological storage

Economic/social/political problems nuclear

Death toll

28 died in a few weeks

Increased birth defects

Cancer rates

Increase in thyroid cancer among those who were children at the time (5,000 cases across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus)

Public opinion of nuclear industry

Turned against nuclear energy

2 decades before any new power stations were opened across the world

modern economic/social/political problems nuclear

Public Opinion                          

Since 1987, most countries have avoided new nuclear power stations                        Countries like the UK have lost the expertise to make them                        

Terrorism

Risk that terrorists could obtain plutonium and use it to make a dirty bomb                                                             

Economics                                                    

If the cost of decommissioning is included, it is 4x more expensive than using fossil fuels.     

wind range and reliability

Inefficient

UK turbines produce less than 25% of installed capacity

Intermittent and unreliable power

Best wind sites are far from major demand centers

economic problems of wind power

Fear of nearby property being devalued

High initial costs

Requires regular maintenance

environmental problems of wind power

Turbines can be harmful to bats and birds (609 birds and 1270 bats were killed in Wolfe Island, Canada in 2009)

Landscape disruption

Noise pollution may cause health impacts like headaches

solar range and reliability

Regional variations in sunlight

Intermittent and unavailable at night

Requires large scale batteries

Seasonal variability in sunlight

Lots of space required (A 1MW form typically requires 2.5 to 3 acres of land)

economics of solar

High initial costs

Solar panels have to be replaced/decommissioned after

Competition with agricultural land

 

environmental problems of solar

Displace habitats

Improper disposal of old panels can lead to the leaching of toxic materials like cadmium or silicon

Visual impact

hep range and reliability

Limited to specific areas which are often protected sites

Development requires flooding of land therefore locals and ecosystems are displaced

(1.3 million people displaced when the 3 gorges dam was built)

economics of hep

High initial costs

Requires regular maintenance

Cost of relocating displaced communities (Chinese gov spent $30bn USD)

environmental problems of hep

Ecosystem disruption

Stagnant water in reservoirs can lead to water quality issues, algal blooms and reduced O2 levels

Sedimentation reduces the capacity of the reservoir and the natural flow of nutrients impacting downstream agriculture

Affect local microclimates by increasing humidity (5-10% increase for 3 Gorges Dam)

Loss of agricultural land

Loss of biodiversity

Risk of catastrophic flooding

tidal range and relibaility

Severn Estuary is a special protection area

Tidal power is intermittent

tidal economic problems

High initial costs

Requires regular maintenance

tidal env problems

Permanently disrupts wetlands and mud flats

Reduce range between high and low tides by 50%

Impact migratory fish and bird populations

wave range and reliability

Limited to coastal locations

Can be intermittent due to seasonal variation/weather

wave economic problems

High initial costs

Requires regular maintenance

wave environmental problems

Disrupts marine ecosystems

Noise pollution can impact species reliant on echolocation

Alter natural water flow/currents

Visual impacts

Alter fish migration routes

geothermal range and reliability

Limited to specific areas (often near plate boundaries)         

 Plants are vulnerable to tectonic activity

geothermal economic problems

High initial costs

Requires regular maintenance

geothermal env problems

Releases co2 and hs2

 (Nesjavellir plant releases 7500 tons of CO2 annually and 1700 tons of HS2)     

High water demand              

Visual and noise pollution