Fossil Fuels & Renewable Energy Review

Fossil Fuels & Renewable Energy: Quick Review for Exam 3

1. Coal

✅ Advantages:

• Abundant & cheap (easy to mine and transport).

• Reliable for baseload power (always-on).

• High energy density (but lower than oil/gas).

❌ Disadvantages:

• Worst CO₂ emitter (climate change).

• Air pollution (SOₓ, NOₓ, mercury, particulate matter).

• Mining impacts (habitat destruction, water contamination).

• High water use for cooling.

2. Oil

✅ Advantages:

• High energy density (ideal for transport fuels).

• Versatile (gasoline, diesel, plastics, chemicals).

• Easier to transport (pipelines, tankers).

❌ Disadvantages:

• Geopolitical conflicts (OPEC dependence).

• Air pollution (CO, NOₓ, VOCs) and spills (Exxon Valdez, Deepwater Horizon).

• Price volatility (speculation, supply disruptions).

3. Natural Gas

✅ Advantages:

• Cleanest fossil fuel (50% less CO₂ than coal).

• Flexible (peaker plants, combined-cycle efficiency).

• Abundant (shale gas/fracking boosted U.S. supply).

❌ Disadvantages:

• Methane leaks (25x worse than CO₂ for climate).

• Fracking risks (water contamination, earthquakes).

• Still a GHG emitter (not zero-carbon).

4. Nuclear

✅ Advantages:

• Zero CO₂ emissions during operation.

• Extremely energy-dense (1 uranium pellet = 1 ton of coal).

• Reliable baseload power (24/7, unaffected by weather).

❌ Disadvantages:

• Radioactive waste (long-term storage unsolved).

• Meltdown risk (Chernobyl, Fukushima).

• High upfront costs and slow construction.

5. Hydropower

✅ Advantages:

• Renewable & zero emissions (no fuel burned).

• Reliable (storage dams provide baseload power).

• Multi-use reservoirs (flood control, irrigation, recreation).

❌ Disadvantages:

• Ecosystem disruption (fish migration, sediment blockage).

• Methane from reservoirs (decaying organic matter).

• Limited sites (geographically constrained).