Energy choices and security Flashcards
What is energy security?
The ability to secure affordable, reliable + sufficient energy supplies for the needs of a particular country
Give an example of a backlash against nuclear power generation
Being phased out in Germany when people felt it was too dangerous after the Fukushima accident
Ukraine-Russia gas disputes
- After break-up of USSR, Russia exported gas to Ukraine at below market prices
- 80% of Russian gas flows through Ukraine to European destinations
- In 2006, Russia cut off supplies to Ukraine as they hadn’t paid their debts + were using gas intended for the rest of Europe
- Dispute continued until 2010 when an agreement was signed
USA tight oil and shale oil
- Tight oil = oil that has been discovered but not previously extracted as not economic to extract
- But w new technologies (fracking) + high oil prices, its become economic to extract
- Since 2008, US tight oil production has increased from 600,000 to 3.5million barrels a day
- Shale gas+oil is now also extracted in USA
- Some think USA will go from biggest importer to biggest exporter by 2020
Wind turbines in Denmark
- 30% of energy requirements from wind
- in 1970s, government wanted to reduce carbon emissions
- there are shallow waters offshore where turbines can be sited + linked to national grid onshore
- Denmark linked to electricity grid of neighbouring countries + can buy energy from them if wind drops, or sell if they have surplus
What are fossil fuels?
- stored solar energy
- compressed, decomposed remains of organic life from millions of years ago
- combustion of fossil fuels releases co2 that was locked up in photosynthesis when they were formed
How long do we have until fossil fuels run out?
coal in 230 years
gas in 170 years
oil in 100 years
Is coal’s use growing faster than that of oil and gas?
Yes
eg. in 2007, China was building 2 coal-fired power stations a week
Coal is the dirtiest energy source, releasing co2 and sulphur dioxide when burned. How can we make it clean?
We can build power stations with carbon capture and storage technology
How much energy does the EU produce from renewable sources?
The EU produces less than 7% of its energy from renewable sources, but there is a proposal to increase this to 20% by 2020
Investment in research on making renewable energy sources more efficient is small compared with research into finding more oil or gas. Why is this?
- TNCs are committed to carbon economy // all machines are made to run on fossil fuels
- Cheaper to produce electricity from fossil fuels than from most renewable resources
- Countries are locked into resource they currently use (by trade agreements)
- All renewable resources are location dependent
How responsible is co2 for the enhanced greenhouse effect?
Carbon dioxide is responsible for 2/3 of the enhanced greenhouse effect
The Athabasca oil sands
- lots of oil in tar sands in Alberta, Canada
- only economic to extract if oil prices high
- growing on the land = boreal forest + musket ecosystems
- habitat to beavers, reindeer + mosses
- amount of oil in these tar sands is equal to rest of world’s reserves put together
- mined by open-pit mining which destroys vegetation + shape of landscape
- takes 1 barrel natural gas + 2 barrels water to extract 2 barrels of crude oil
- carbon emissions of Canada increasing
Why biofuels?
- in theory, greener (fewer carbon emissions) as they’re carbon neutral
- all co2 emissions made from burning them are fixed by growing plants to replace them
biofuels // what crops are used?
- sugar cane has been used for decades in Brazil to make ethanol by fermentation
- 80% cars in Brazil have hybrid engines // running on mixture of petrol + alcohol
