[3] Economic Activity and Energy - Production, Security & Management

Causes of increased energy demand

population growth, increased wealth, technological advances

How does population growth increase energy demand (4)

more basic energy services for cooking, heating, lighting, infrastructure

How does increased wealth increase energy demand (1)

households have more disposable income to buy appliances like cars that require energy

How do technological advances increase energy demand (1)

data centres and AI models use a lot of electricity

Countries with the highest energy consumption tend to be

developed countries

Main energy source

fossil fuels

Fossil fuels include

oil, gas, coal

Environmental concerns

non-renewable energy sources link to pollution and global warming

Why might some areas produce little energy

lack of natural resources or money to exploit the resources

Energy gap

when a country cannot meet the demand for its energy using its own resources

What do countries have to do when they are met with an energy gap

import energy to meet the demand

To be energy secure a country needs to have

uninterrupted, affordable, accessible energy

Why is the UK not energy secure

renewable energy is not as efficient and cannot fully replace fossil fuels, and is cheaper to import fossil fuels than exploit resources in the UK

Energy security can also be affected by

war, natural hazards, political disputes, costs, environmental concerns

Non-renewable energy sources

finite

Examples of non-renewable energy

gas, oil, coal, nuclear

Advantages of using gas/oil/coal

efficient, easy to produce energy from, cheap, reliable

Disadvantages of using gas/oil/coal

air pollution, releases CO2

Disadvantage of gas

explosions

Disadvantage of oil

oil spills

Disadvantage of coal

hard to transport

Most polluting out of gas/oil//coal

coal

Least polluting out of gas/oil/coal

gas

Renewable energy

infinite

Examples of renewable energy (6)

hydroelectric, wave, wind, solar, geothermal, biomass

Advantages of hydroelectric/wave/wind/solar (1)

no greenhouse gas emissions

Advantage of hydroelectric (2)

controls flooding downstream, often in sparsely populated areas

Disadvantage of hydroelectric (3)

visual pollution, traps sediment, expensive

Advantage of wave (2)

reliable, potential to produce large amounts of energy

Disadvantage of wave (2)

expensive, can affect marine ecosystems

Advantage of wind (2)

can be small or large scale, cheap

Disadvantage of wind (3)

unreliable, visual pollution, noise pollution

Advantage of solar (3)

can be small or large scale, can be used in most locations, can be incorporated into building design

Disadvantages of solar (3)

expensive, unreliable

Advantages of geothermal (2)

reliable, produces large amounts of energy

Disadvantages of geothermal (2)

expensive, emits sulphuric gases

Advantages of biomass (2)

uses waste which regrow, available in most locations

Disadvantages of biomass (2)

produces greenhouse gases, expensive

Why might a country use an energy mix rather than use one source of energy (diversifying) (4)

to reduce risks from over-reliance on a single source, geopolitical tensions, disruptions, and rising demand

Why is sustainable energy management essential (2)

to limit climate change and ensure future generations have energy resources

Ecological footprint

way of measuring impact on environment

Individual energy conservation (5)

reduce car use, insulate walls, buy energy-efficient appliances, install triple-glazing, install solar panels

National energy conservation (4)

invest in renewable technologies, public transport, grant loans to those that install solar panels, educate

UK strategy to conserve energy in the home

Warm Homes Plan provides free insulation, heating upgrades and solar panels for low-income homes

UK strategy to conserve energy in transportation

ULEZ (London's Ultra Low Emission Zone) charges non-compliant vehicles to cut air pollution, enforced by TfL cameras

UK strategy to conserve energy within industry

Climate Change Levy taxes business' use of commodities like electricity, natural gas and coal