Chapter 18 Renewable Science

IM ACTUALLY SO COOKED HELPP

Renewable Energy

energy from sources that are constantly being formed.

Biomass fuel

plant material, manure, or any other organic matter that is used as an energy source.

Passive solar heating

the use of sunlight to heat buildings directly.

active solar heating

the gathering of solar energy by collectors that are used to heat water or heat a building.

Alternate energy

energy from sources that are still in development.

Geothermal energy

the energy produced by heat within Earth.

Hydroelectric energy

electrical energy produced by the flow of water.

Energy conservation

is the process of saving energy by reducing energy use and waste.

Disadvantages of biomass fuel

Habitat loss, soil erosion, and air pollution.

Biomass fuel

biogas digesters ferment manure and produce methane, dung-fired power stations produce electricity, and ethanol from fermenting corn is added to gasoline.

geothermal power plant

used to generate electricity in areas where deposits of water are heated inside Earth from rock formations.

Hybrid Car

uses an efficient gasoline engine and an electric motor.

Washing clothes in cold water

requires much less energy than washing them in warm water.

Hydrogen

can be used as a fuel source in the future because it is abundant, is used in fuel cells and can be burned as fuel.

Cogeneration

the production of two useful forms of energy from the same fuel source.

Corn and Wood

a major source of biomass fuel in developing countries.

Increases energy efficiency in the United States

using public transportation and developing more efficient engines for vehicles.

Fuel Cell Cars

the most energy-efficient vehicles.

Heat exchanger

used in active solar heating.

energy effeciency

the percentage of energy put into a system that does useful work.

Disadvantage of wind energy

the difficulty of transporting the energy from its source to where it is needed.

Solar energy

The fastest growing source of energy in the world.

Hydroelectric energy

electricity generated from moving water.

Methane gas

can be burned to generate heat and is a by-product that is produced when bacteria decompose organic wastes.

tidal power plant

plant that works a lot like a hydroelectric power plant.

ocean thermal energy conversion

an alternative energy technology that uses the temperature difference between layers of water to generate electricity.

Fuel Cell

hydrogen and oxygen are combined in this and results in the chemical production of electricity.

solar cells

are called photovoltaic cells.

passive solar heating

uses the sun's energy to heat something directly, and requires no moving parts.

active solar heating

requires moving parts for heating.

Equation for energy efficiency

percent of energy efficiency = energy out/energy in 100

energy conservation

saving energy

Types of Alternate energy

Tidal power, hydrogen fuel cells and ocean thermal energy conservation.

Sun

powers the wind, plant growth and the water cycle.

Hydrogen gas

produced by using electricity to split molecules of

ethanol

made from corn and renewable fuel alternative to gasoline

What renewable sources are indirectly affected by the sun?

Wind, water, and biomass

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC)

A method of generating electricity by using the temperature difference between warmer surface ocean water and colder deep water.

Example of OTEC (ocean thermal energy conversion)

Surface water circulates around pipes that contain a substance that boils lower than the boiling point of water. The heat turns the substance into steam, running through a turbine, etc. Cold water from the deep ocean condenses the gases and the cycle repeats.

Costs of biomass energy

take up land, deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, inefficient, indoor air pollution

Costs of geothermal energy

may not be truly sustainable, hot spring chemical water damages equipment and add to pollution, trigger earthquakes, limited to easily tappable heated groundwater

Costs of hydropower

can disrupt aquatic ecosystems, require large reservoirs, impact water quality, damage landscapes (erosion/landslides), may displace communities, present important nutrients/sediments

Costs of tidal energy

cam harm ecology and few places to harness effectively

Costs of OTEC

Very expensive and new alternative energy source

Costs of solar energy

Manufacturing devices create some pollution, some regions not sunny enough, equipment is EXPENSIVE (most expensive way to produce electricity today)

Costs of wind power

unpredictable wind, impact on wildlife, loud/noisy, clutter the landscape, windy areas far away from communities

Benefits of hydrogen

Abundant, may produce few greenhouse gasses/pollutants, water and heat may be only waste products, can be stored/transported, no more dangerous than gasoline

Costs of hydrogen

Hydrogen gas can catch fire, expensive to produce, to be useful in motor vehicles means that it much be compressed