Energy Supply And Demand Globally 🌍⚡️ Flashcards
What does energy security depend on?
Production and consumption
What is energy security?
Means having a reliable, uninterrupted and affordable supply of energy
What does a country’s energy security depend on?
Supplies available (produced or imported)
Size of population
Amount of energy used per person
What is an energy surplus?
When a country produces more energy than its population requires
Extra energy is exported
Surplus = security :)
E.g. Saudi Arabia produces lots of oil and exports it
What is energy deficit?
Have less energy then required
Deficit = insecurity :(
Which countries produce the most energy?
(200+ million tonnes oil equivalent)
Russia, China, Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia, USA
(In 2012)
Why are some countries unable to produce lots of energy?
Few resources to exploit, political reasons, poor (little money)
E.g. Ireland - few resources
Sudan - politically unstable, little money
These countries produce 2-19 million tonnes oil equivalent
Why is energy important?
Use it daily for pretty much everything
Fill the gaps:
The ______ for energy keeps __________ as people get _________.
Demand
Increasing
Wealthier
Which countries have the most energy consumption per person?
(4.5-6+ tonnes oil equiv.)
USA, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Australia, Russia
Which countries use the least energy consumption per person?
(0-1.5 tonnes of oil equiv.)
Burkina Faso, Mongolia, Algeria (most of Africa)
Relationship between wealth and consumption in HICs?
Consume lots of energy per person
People expect a higher standard of living and they can afford it
Most people have access to electricity and heating and use energy-intensive devices (cars)
Relationship between wealth and consumption in LICs?
Consume less energy per person
Less energy available
Less dependant on high energy consumption
The global demand for energy is…?
Increasing as population increases, countries develop (economically) and technological advancement
How does rising population cause demand for energy to increase?
- global population projected to reach 9 billion by 2040!
- more people = more energy needed (heat homes, charge phones, etc)
How does economic development cause demand for energy to increase?
- NEEs
- people use wealth to buy material objects, lots use energy (e.g. cars, phones, etc)
- industry expands as country develops. Industry uses lots of energy, so demand increases
How do technological advances cause demand for energy to increase?
- new devices that need energy (computers, phones, etc) more popular = more energy needed to power them
- made energy more affordable - wind energy in Texas prevented consumers’ costs from rising. However, this means people can afford to use more energy, so demand increases
What is energy supply affected by?
- technological factors
- physical factors
- economic factors
- political factors
How do technological factors affect energy supply?
- possible to exploit new resources (e.g. fracking)
- makes it easier to exploit existing resources (autonomous machines need no people, use in risky areas)
- some countries are unable to exploit existing resources as it is too expensive or being tested
How do physical factors affect energy supply?
- global distribution of fossil fuels is unequal
- non-renewable so will run out eventually
- location of FF reserves affect the cost and ease of extraction
- area’s climate/geography affects its potential to generate renewable energy
- natural disasters likelihood can damage infrastructure
How do economic factors affect energy supply?
- remaining non-renewable energy sources are becoming harder to extract and more costly
- prices of FFs are very volatile - they can fluctuate due to economic and political factors
- some LICs have potential energy sources but not enough money to exploit them
- building new infrastructure is very expensive
How do political factors affect energy supply?
- political instability with large energy stores affects their ability to export resources
- climate change linked with burning fossil fuels has resulted in international agreements to reduce concentration of greenhouse gases in atmosphere
- concerns over safety of nuclear power and waste disposal have resulted in stricter regulations - harder to build nuclear power stations
Impacts of energy insecurity
- industrial output
- environmental and economic impacts
- food production
- potential for conflict
How does energy insecurity impact industrial development?
- energy shortages and higher energy costs reduce industrial output (factories produce less or relocate - threatens jobs)
- higher costs are often passed on to the consumer, as producers are forced to raise prices
How does energy insecurity impact environmental and economic costs?
- as more fossil fuels are used up, reserves in less accessible and more environmentally sensitive areas are exploited
- increases costs of producing energy and risks environmental damage
How does energy insecurity impact food production?
- limited how many agriculture machines can be used
- demand for cleaner and cheaper energy sources increases demand for biofuel
- growing biofuel crops takes up land that could be used to grow food - lead to shortages and increased prices
How does energy insecurity impact political conflict?
- potential for conflict when demand exceeds supply
- conflict between countries with energy surplus and those with deficit
Name the 7 types of renewable energy
Solar, hydro, geothermal, tidal, wave, wind, biomass
Advantages and disadvantages of solar power:
:) solar cookers and water heaters are cheap
:) excess energy can be sold, making extra money
:( photovoltaic cells are expensive
:( depend of sunlight —> unreliable
Advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectric power:
:) HEP is flexible and efficient —> water flow and electrical output can be adjusted to match demand and limit waste
:( building dams can destroy habitats and communities
:( expensive to build the dams and turbines
Advantages and disadvantages of geothermal energy:
:) cheap and reliable —> little construction needed to harness energy
:( works best in tectonically active areas, aren’t found everywhere
Advantages and disadvantages of tidal power:
:) can be reliably predicted —> tidal cycles are very regular
:( can’t generate constantly
:( turbines are expensive
Advantages and disadvantages of wave power:
:) usable during the winter, works well with solar power
:( expensive to build and install small turbines
Advantages and disadvantages of wind power:
:) no greenhouse gases emitted once turbines have been built
:( wind is unreliable —> won’t generate electricity all the time
Advantages and disadvantages of biomass:
:) doesn’t require much technology —> good for LICs
:( only renewable if managed sustainably
What’s the problem with fossil fuels?
- They’re gonna run out eventually
- Traditionally supplied most of the world’s energy, but are running out and becoming difficult to extract
- Use of nuclear energy has been increasing since the 1950s, but uses uranium and will also run out
How can we increase the supplies from non-renewables?
FFs:
- search for new reserves
- exploiting current reserves more
- as tech develops, it’s become possible to extract hard and expensive materials
Nuclear
- generates a large amount of energy from a small amount of fuel
- expensive to build and decommission (waste must be stored for 1000s of years)
- accidents (rare) can be disastrous and cause global panic (Chernobyl)
- new breeder reactors generate more fuel -more renewable
What is fracking?
Way of extracting shale gas - natural gas trapped underground in shale rock
How does fracking work?
Liquid is pumped into shale rock at high pressure. This causes rock to crack (fracture) releasing the gas, which is then collected as it comes back out of the well
Advantages of fracking?
:) lots of shale gas is available in the UK (5 million m^3 in Lancashire)
:) increases UK’s energy security
:) gas is less polluting (reduces half as much CO2 as coal when burned)
:) cheaper than some renewable energy sources, but it can cost more to extract than gas from other sources
:) technology has already been tested and is shown to work
Disadvantages of fracking?
:( gas isn’t sustainable - non-renewable, releases CO2 when burned (global warming)
:( risks polluting ground water, drinking water and air
:( uses lots of water (limited resource)
:( cause small earthquakes (2.9 magnitude in Lancashire in 2019)
:( issue people feel strongly about (protests and arrests made)
:( investment in fracking slows down investment in renewable energy
What does sustainable energy provide?
- provides energy today without preventing further generations from meeting their needs
- demand for energy is increasing as population increases, but non-renewables are running out
- humans need to exploit existing resources better, find new sources and use energy efficiently
What is a carbon footprint?
Measure of the amount of greenhouse gases an individual’s activities produce
Both direct and indirect emissions
What are direct emissions?
Those produced from things that use energy (e.g. cars, heating, etc)
What are indirect emissions?
Those produced when making the things we buy (e.g. clothes, food, etc)
How can we conserve energy? (Sustainable design)
Designing builds like this:
- insulation - less energy is needed to heat homes and well-insulted places
- modern boilers - more efficient, less wasted energy
- solar panels - provide renewable energy with low carbon footprint
Transport:
- electric - more efficient than petrol
- biofuel - waste products are recycled and reused
How can we conserve energy? (Demand reduction)
- reduced by giving people incentives to lower their energy use
- improving public transport and encouraging walking and cycling reduces demand for cars (energy)
- fitting smart meters in homes helps people to be aware of how much energy they’re using daily and encourages them to find new ways of reducing energy usage (and their bills)
How can we conserve energy? (Using technology to increase efficiency)
- energy saving light-bulbs: last 10 times longer and are 4 times more efficient
- hybrid vehicles: increase efficiency
- regenerative braking: vehicles fitted with devices to store energy lost when braking
- energy efficient engines
- power stations are switching to gas and using combined cycle gas turbines
