Renewable and non-renewable Flashcards
Name the renewable energy resources
Solar (The sun) Biomass Tidal Wave Wind Geothermal Hydroelectric
Name the non-renewable energy resources
Coal
Oil
Gas
Nuclear
Name 2 other major uses (besides electricity) for the energy resources
heating and transfport
How can renewable energy resources be used for transport?
Vehicles that run on pure bio-fuels or a mix of a bio-fuel and petrol or diesel is renewable
How can non-renewable energy resources be used for transport?
- Petrol and diesel powered vehicles - use fuel created from oil
- Coal is used in some old-fashioned steam trains to boil water to produce steam
How can non-renewable energy resources be used for heating?
- Natural gas - The gas is used to heat water, which is then pumped into radiators throughout the home
- Coal is commonly burnt in fireplaces
- Electric heaters which use electricity generated from non-renewable energy resources
How can renewable energy resources be used for heating?
- A geothermal heat pump uses geothermal energy resources to heat buildings
- Solar water haters work by using the sun to heat water which is then pumped into radiators in the building
- Burning bio-fuel or using electricity generated from renewable resources can also be used for heating
What are the advantages of Wind power?
- No pollution
- renewable
- No permanent damage to landscape
- No fuel costs and minimal running costs
What are the dis-advantages of Wind power?
- Can be unreliable
- Environmental and Visual Impact
- Initial costs are high
- Can be noisy for people living nearby
What are the advantages of solar cells?
- No environmental damage
- No pollution
- renewable
- Energy is free and running costs are very low
What are the dis-advantages of solar cells?
- Initial costs are high
- Only useful in daytime
- Cant increase power output when extra demand
What are the advantages of geothermal power (energy in underground thermal energy stores)?
- free energy
- reliable
- little damage to environment
What are the dis-advantages of geothermal power?
- Not many suitable locations
- Cost of building one is high compared to amount of energy it produces
What are the advantages of Hydro-electric power?
- Immediate response to increased demand for electricity
- No fuel costs and minimal running costs
- No pollution
What are the dis-advantages of Hydro-electric power?
- Initial costs are high
- Big impact on environment due to flooding
- needs falling water
What are the advantages of wave power?
- No pollution
- Very useful on small islands
- No fuel costs and minimal running costs
What are the dis-advantages of wave power?
- Initial costs are high
- Fairly unreliable
- Hazard to boats
- Visual impact (View)
What are the 3 water energy resources?
Tidal
Hydro-electric
Wave power (Wave powered turbines)
What are the advantages of tidal barrages?
- No pollution
- reliable
- no fuel costs and minimal running costs
What are the dis-advantages of tidal barrages?
- initial costs are moderately high
- visual impact (view)
- altering the habitat
- preventing free access by boats
What are the advantages of bio-fuels?
- renewable
- carbon neutral
- reliable
- can be stored for when they’re needed.
What are the dis-advantages of bio-fuels?
- cannot respond to immediate energy demands
- cost to refine bio-fuel is very high
- in some regions, large areas of forest have to be cleared to make room to grow bio-fuels
Why are non-renewable resources currently reliable?
Fossil fuels and nuclear energy are reliable because there’s enough fossil and nuclear fuels to meet current demand. However these fuels are slowly running out and if no new resources are found some fossil fuel stock may run out within a hundred years.
What environmental problems do non-renewable resources create?
Coal, oil and gas release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which adds to the greenhouse effect, and contributes to global warming
Burning coal and oil releases sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain and can be harmful to trees and soils
Oil spillages cause serious environmental problems for birds and mammals that live in or around sea
