eq3 Flashcards
(16 cards)
define renewable energy
energy from a source that is not depleted when used such as win or solar
define recyclable energy
energy which comes from recyclable sources which can be utilised rather than wasted
describe the costs and benefits for the economic, social and environmental factors regarding solar power
Economic:
costs: initially start-up cost of electricity produced is more expensive than households conventional power stations,
not effective in cloudy climates or polar latitudes,
energy still must be stored which costs $50 million for an area of 175 football pitches
benefits:
sustainable, can be used by poorer countries, can be used on roofs or buildings or developed into a solar power station, UK’s largest solar farm serves 75% of homes in Bournemouth
Social:
costs:
-use lots of space which may have otherwise been used for parts of the population to reside in or consume farmland which may have been used for farming
benefits:
-creates jobs cheaper at times when burning fossil fuels , do not emit harmful gasses so health would not be affected
environmental:
costs: takes up lots of space, farmland may be occupied
benefits: less pollution, does not hold negative impacts on environment when generating energy, no negative emissions
describe the costs and benefits for the economic, social and environmental factors regarding wind power
Economic:
costs: expensive start up ($80/MwH on shore and $120MwH), maintenance costs, occupies land which may have greater economic benefit being used otherwise
benefits: provides jobs whilst maintaining turbines, e.g. Horn-sea project creates 2000+ jobs where turbines provides energy for 2000 homes
Social:
costs:
-Some residents see them as a “blot” on the landscape, potentially harmful to birds and the supply can be intermittent depending on when its windy
benefits: jobs, more energy for people
Environmental:
costs: potentially harmful to birds, may hurt landscape views (subjective), manufacturing turbines + their transportation emits CO2
benefits: does not emit greenhouse gasses, does not directly hurt environment and it is a more beneficial fuel source in the long term
describe the costs and benefits for the economic, social and environmental factors regarding nuclear power
Economic:
costs: large start-up cost $92.5 million in Hinkley point C, Large cost in removing nuclear waste with long half life
benefit: long life span, lots of energy created, provides many high paying jobs which contribute to the economy e.g. Hinkley point C creates 25,000 jobs and generate energy for over 60 years, running costs are lower compared to coal and oil plants
Social:
costs: nuclear waste may be detrimental to health if not properly disposed off, accidents may be devastating, ionising radiation can cause cancers and abnormal mutations
benefits:
cheaper production may mean cheaper prices for consumers
provides high paying jobs for citizens and may increase air quality if it replaces fossil fuel sources
Environmental:
costs: damage done to environment if waste is not properly disposed of
benefits: if all is disposed of well and correctly maintained then there is little (if any) pollution done to the environment
What is the significance of biofuel in Brazil
- sugar cane has grown in Brazil for nearly 500 years and it is now the worlds largest producer of sugar cane ethanol
- Most cars and light vehicles in Brazil use a mix of ethanol and petrol
- bio-refineries produce an equivalent of 930,000 barrels of oil per day worth about $50 billion per year whilst providing 1.34 million direct jobs and about 16% of its domestic energy supply, sugar cane ethanol was encouraged as an alternative to crude oil when prices of it shot up
- sugar cane subsidies were removed in the 1990’s but strong linkages between sugar cane produces and ethanol producers as well as ethanol distributors were set up in place
- ethanol production expanded due to greater efficiency + productivity rather than increased land usage so it does not contribute to deforestation
- electricity is produced from bagasse (plant waste resulting from sugar extraction) accounts for 7.2% of electricity generation capacity in Brazil
- The ethanol industry provides almost 11 workers every barrel tonne of oil equivalent produced, Its workers are better paid and jobs are more formalised compared to the average agricultural worker
how has there been variation in the use of sugar cane ethanol
- 1970’s, crude oil prices were increased dramatically which lead to the government encouraging the use of ethanol
- ethanol struggled to compete when the government reduced taxes on fossil fuels to try control inflation, biofuel plants were returned to growing food crops
- in 2015 the government raised the minimum amount of ethanol in the fuel mix to 26% and removed petrol subsidies , now 6 million flex vehicles and 3 million others can run on hydrous ethanol, biodiesel use is increasing
what are the economic situations and environmental benefits of sugar cane ethanol as a fuel source
- Sugar cane provides between 8 and 10x more energy than the inputs to grow it
- reduces greenhouse gasses by 90%
- 2015 the price of a litre of ethanol in Brasilia the capital was about 50p
- domestic consumption of ethanol in 2016 was 30 billion litres with about 1.35 million litres exported, mainly to the USA and South Korea
What are the strength of biofuels
- renewable (8-10 times more energy output than input) (7.2% of Brazil’s electricity)
- lower emissions than fossil fuels (90% less)
- biodegradable
- easily grown and does not need specialist machinery (1.34 million jobs created)
- reduction in cow farming decreases CH4 emissions
What are the opportunities created by biofuels
- provides rural inward investment and local development projects
- positive multiplies effects in rural regions
- fuel earns export income
- infrastructure improvements (e.g. improved roads, piped water) often provided by growers
- diversifies energy mix
- creates jobs
what are the weaknesses of biofuels
- takes land from food production and
- requires pesticide and fertiliser, which use fossil fuels in their production so they’re not carbon neutral (first gen biomass may provide 150 - 400 % more CO2 than coal)
- Requires large volumes of water
- Clearing forest to grow this crop means the loss of a carbon sink and increased CO2 emissions from the deforestation (35-60 % higher than savings from using biofuels) - again throwing doubt on the crop’s “carbon neutrality”
What are the threats of biofuels
- Takes investment away from food production (can lead to forceful land ownership change which threaten farmers livelihood)
- contaminates water resources with pesticides or the overuse of fertilisers
- Food shortages occur, which lead to high food prices
- weat and rice production fell by 10-20 %
Name the radical technologies involved within mitigating carbon emissions
- Hydrogen Fuel Cells
- Carbon Capture and Storage
- Electric Vehicles
for Hydrogen Fuel Cells explain: what is it, where is it used, how does it reduce carbon emissions, what are the uncertainties
Hydrogen extracted from other compounds used in energy cells as an alternative source of energy. It is high in energy and is more efficient than petrol based fuels
- Highly popular in Japan, especially with car manufacturers
- Hydrogen based engines that burn pure hydrogen produce almost no pollution, only some water vapour
- There is however uncertainty as to how effective this will be in mitigating emissions as it is hard to obtain hydrogen in its pure form. It must be separated from compounds such as ethanol, water, biomass or natural gas which require large amounts of energy which again leads to multiple GHG emissions
for Carbon Capture Storage explain: what is it, where is it used, how does it reduce carbon emissions, what are the uncertainties
Carbon Capture Storage is the process of capturing CO2 when emitted and storing it underground
- This technique promises the greatest saving in emissions where coal is primarily used to generate electricity (e.g. Poland)
- emissions are often taken from fixed places such as industrial plants and are transported and injected in compressed forms into a suitable geological structure (>800m below the ground) it is then monitored to ensure safety
- 2014 in Canada, emissions at a site were reduced by 90% by pumping CO2 underground and selling it to oil companies
- > this however came at a cost of $1.3 billion
- effectiveness of this is however disputed due to high costs and the risks of leakage
- Theoretically it could cut global emissions by 19% but it is not financially available
- only one commercial CSS plant exists
for Electric vehicles explain: what is it, where is it used, how does it reduce carbon emissions, what are the uncertainties
- An electric car is an alternative fuel auto mobile land that uses electric motors and motor controls for propulsion
- Well suited to urban environments where air pollution should be cut
- Zero carbon emissions and virtually no noise pollution, they are also cheap to run and maintain
- Range varies from 62-340 miles depending on capacity of its battery, some communities such as BED-ZED in Sutton have public charging stations
- Almost 4,000 station in the UK charging over 60,000 registered vehicles
- Tesla started manufacturing in 2008, in 2016 it announced Tesla model 4 and received 276,000 order in 3 days, it is not known if the small scale company can cope with this demand
- Rural areas have few charging spots
- Expensive to buy as even cheaper end cars cost upwards of $25,000
- Electricity for the batteries must still somehow be created and charged so often is still involving fossil fuels which depends on the energy profiles of the country it is located in e.g. electric cars are more environmentally friendly in Norway (HEP based) or Iceland (Geo-thermal based) but not so much in India or Australia (coal based)
