Chapter 13 and 19 Flashcards
energy captured from sunlight with advanced technologies
active solar energy
what are the technologies?
solar water heating systems, photovoltaic systems, large-scale concentrating solar thermal systems (CST), photovoltaic solar cell
a system of capturing energy from sunlight and converting it directly into electricity
photovoltaic solar cell
what are the benefits of solar energy?
doesn’t produce CO2/pollution, produces energy on sunny days (demand is high), in peak demand, reduces need for fossil fuel plants, photovoltaic system may be less expensive than electrical transmission lines
what are the drawbacks of solar energy?
expensive, requires energy and water (involves toxic metals and chemicals), environmental costs with storage batteries, end-of-life recycling -> environmental contamination
energy generated from the kinetic energy of moving air, most rapidly growing source
wind energy
a turbine that converts wind energy into electricity in rural locations, “wind farms”, and “wind parks”
wind turbine
what are the benefits of wind energy?
nondepletable and free, after made and installed little energy is needed, no pollution or greenhouse gases, wind farms share land
what are the drawbacks of wind energy?
most off-grid systems need batteries, can be noisy/unattractive, up to 40,000 birds/year are killed by turbine blades, also bats
heat energy that comes from the natural radioactive decay of elements deep within Earth, can be used directly
geothermal energy
a technology that transfers heat from the ground to a building, comes from solar energy
ground source heat pump
an electrical-chemical device that converts fuel (hydrogen), into an electrical current
fuel cell
the application of an electric current to water molecules to split them into hydrogen and oxygen
electrolysis
biomass is
energy from the sun!
liquid fuel created from processed or refined biomass
biofuel
carbon in biomass that was recently in the atmosphere
modern carbon
carbon in fossil fuels
fossil carbon
an activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations
carbon neutral
the process of removing more than is replaced by growth, typically used when referring to carbon
net removal
alcohol made by converting starches and sugars from plant material into alcohol and CO2
ethanol
a diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants
biodiesel
runs on either gasoline or a gasoline/ethanol mixture
flex-fuel vehicle
electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water
hydroelectricity
hydroelectricity generation in which water is retained behind a low dam or no dam
run of the river
the storage of water in a reservoir behind a dam
water impoundment