6.6a renewable and recyclable energy

Question 1

CHALLENGES OF RENEWABLES

Answer 1

• not all countries have renewable energies to exploit
  - landlocked countries have no access to tidal energy
  - not all countries have ‘hot rocks’
  - need warm climates with long sunshine hours
• as oil prices fell in 2015, renewables became a less attractive alternative
• NIMBYism
• an increase in renewables will have a significant impact on the environment
  
  • more valleys drowned to create HEP reservoirs
  • large areas of land and offshore zones covered by wind and solar farms
• privatised energy market –> energy companies prefer income over risk = new investments in renewables come when the government guarantees a strike price
  e. g. Hickley Point C was only agreed when the strike price was increased

EVEN ‘CLEAN’ TECHNOLOGIES contribute some CO2 to the atmospheric store
- construction, operation, decommissioning, transportation

Question 2

IPCC 2014 about renewables

Answer 2

IPCC 2014 concluded that the share of energy production accounted for by renewable energy needs to be trebled and must dominate world energy supplies by 2050

Question 3

nuclear energy

Answer 3

nuclear energy can be reprocessed and reused –> recyclable energy source

emits relatively low level of CO2

BUT
the costs of building and decommissioning are high

need to dispose of highly toxic radioactive waste with a very long decay life

safety! incidents at Chernobyl (Ukraine) and Fukushima (Japan)