Chapter 1|Power and Energy Sources
Intended Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, the students should be
able to:
1. Identify potential power and energy sources in
the Philippines
2. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of
available power and energy sources.
3. Show how these power and energy sources are
extracted and converted to electricity.
01|What is Energy?
This is something which you have heard a hundred times
from your teacher but have you ever asked what kind of
work has to be accomplished to define energy? Work is
said to be done when an object is moved against a force,
like gravity.
Energy is a scalar quantity whose SI unit is Joule. Energy
is found in many things and thus there are different types
of energy. All forms of energy are either kinetic or
potential.
02|Types of Energy
1. Kinetic Energy:
The energy in motion is known as Kinetic Energy. For
example, a moving ball, flowing water etc.
2. Potential Energy:
This is the energy stored in an object and is
measured by the amount of work done. For example:
pen on a table, water in a lake etc.
3. Mechanical Energy
It is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy
that is the energy associated with the motion & the
position of an object.
4. Chemical Energy
Chemical energy is stored in a chemical substance
in between the bonds of atoms in compounds. In a
same given temperature and environment, energy
can be released (or absorbed) because of a reaction
between a set of chemical substances is equal to the
difference between the energy content of the
products and the reactants.
5. Electrical Energy
Electrical energy is the power an atom's charged
particles have to cause an action or move an object.
The movement of electrons from one atom to another
is what results in electrical energy. Examples of this
kind of energy are also seen in electric eels, lightning,
and batteries.
Some other types of energy are Magnetic, Radiant,
Ionization, Elastic, Gravitational, Thermal, Heat.
03|Energy Sources
There are many different sources of energy nature gave
us unconditionally, so we can use them to generate
power. It sounds unbelievable, but those forces are so
strong and constant, that with the help of them, we can
provide everything we need in this modern-day life.
Thanks to the sun, wind, earth, and water, we can
generate electricity that will run our cars, lighten up our
lights, provide heat for our homes, etc. Here are the top
ten energy sources all of us can use.
Generally, there are two major categories of energy
sources: Renewable and Non – Renewable.
What Is a Renewable Resource?
A renewable resource is one that can be used
repeatedly and does not run out because it is naturally
replaced. The renewable energy resources are:
1. Solar Energy
Solar energy is the energy of the sun that’s collected
by solar panels and then generated into electricity.
We know that the number of house owners who
decided to use solar systems in order to power up
their homes is getting bigger and bigger every day.
They can be integrated into the cladding, roof tiles or
glazing of a building. This is a free and unlimited
source of energy, but there is also a possibility of
using power from small substations that are supplied
by solar energy through huge panel fields placed in
deserts, for example.

There is, however, one problem with solar energy. It
is not available to everyone with the same capacity.
How much solar light you will get depends on where
you live, the precise location. Its effectiveness is
determined by the number of hours of daylight, cloud
and poor weather.
2. Wind Energy
The whole idea around this phenomenon is to use the
power of the wind to launch and turn large wind
turbines that will power up the generator and create
electricity.
The wind farms are very popular and widespread, but
there are some questions regarding the environment
that created some concerns and needed to be
asked. For example, how do they affect our
environment? They have a large visual impact on
landscape and residents often oppose plans to install
them. It is also proven that wind farms could be
dangerous to wildlife, especially birds, and there is
also a matter of noise produced by turbines.
3. Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is sustainable power created
inside the ground we are walking on. Radioactive
partials beneath the earth’s crust are raising the
temperature in the ground. Because of that, hot
rocks are turning water inside the core into the
steam, and steam is making the ground turbines
work and generate electricity. As the core of the
earth is hot, we can use its geothermal energy as a
renewable heat source or to generate electricity. This
heat is accessible just a few kilometers below the
earth's surface.
This natural source is usually used for residential or
industrial needs for space and water heating, but the
greatest problem with it is the fact that it is not
available all around the world. Geothermal energy
can be produced only at specific spots.
4. Hydrogen Energy
When we talk about hydrogen energy, we actually
talk about waterpower, because two-thirds of water’s
chemical construction is this element. It can be used
as a fuel that will generate electricity if it gets
separated from other elements. Hydrogen is another
source that can be used to provide our homes with
lights and heat, but it can also power rockets, ships,
cars, and other vehicles. The best thing is that it is a
renewable source that can be created on-demand,
and it will not leave any harmful traces in the
atmosphere.
5. Tidal and Wave Energy
The energy created by the tide is quite unbelievable.
It is based on kinetic energy that follows incoming
and outgoing tides that are converted into electrical
energy. Coastal areas are known as the best ones to
use this sort of natural source. That’s one of the
greatest advantages of tidal energy if you look at it
from a perspective of coastal people, but it is also its
huge disadvantage, given that it’s therefore limited to
certain areas. Another thing that’s a downside is that
it seeks for great investments in order to be used.
Tidal energy is a renewable source of power, and it
has the ability to produce a significant amount of
energy, even in situations where tides are at the
lowest speeds.
The ocean turns out to be tremendous and a multiple
source of energy. Besides tidal, there is also wave
energy that is based on the movement under the
water surface. It is one of the greatest sources of
energy since it is environmental-friendly, renewable,
and safe for the atmosphere. Same as tidal, it can be
used in coastal places, so those countries don’t have
to be trapped by the dependence of fuel that is
purchased from foreign countries. However, there
are some downsides of wave energy – it can be
harmful to the marine ecosystem, it can disturb water
vehicles, and it is very much dependent on
wavelength.
6. Hydroelectric Energy
Hydroelectric energy generates electricity from
flowing water using turbines and other devices. It's
renewable and can be generated from rivers or
manmade installations.
This source has excellent power. Every damn work
on the strength of water because it is used to turn the
generators, which then produce electricity. That way
hydroelectric energy supplies electrical stations with
electricity everyone can use to power up their homes,
machines, vehicles, etc. The biggest problem this
type of energy faces is the fact that most dams are
old and technologically outdated, and it takes a lot of
work and money to make them more safe,
productive, and current.
7. Biomass or Biofuel Energy
Organic materials can be transformed into biomass
energy that can be used in many ways. We are
talking about crops, trees, plants, wood chips, yard
clippings, and animal waste. All those things can
generate power adequate for home heating, cooking,
or they can be used for fuel in industrial production.
The whole process is based on burning biomass
materials in a combustor or furnace, which will
produce hot gas. Then, that gas goes into a boiler
that will generate steam, which will be expanded by
the steam engine in order to produce usable energy.
The disadvantage of this source is that it can create
a big amount of carbon dioxide, which is released
into the atmosphere.
What are Non – Renewable Resource?
A nonrenewable resource is a natural substance that is
not replenished with the speed at which it is consumed.
It is a finite resource. Example of Non – renewable
energy sources are as follows:
1. Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are non-renewable. This means that they
will run out eventually, which is why the cost of
 energy is increasing. If we are talking about fossil An Impoundment facility typically uses a store of
fuels, we are referring to the coal, natural gas, and river water from a dam in a reservoir. When
oil. These are the main sources of power in most water is released from the reservoir, it flows
parts of the world. Oil can be transformed into through a turbine which generates motion. This
several products, but the most popular is gasoline, turning motion activates a generator to produce
while the natural gas, which is not so popular as coal electricity.
and oil, is presented in the form of heating source and
power. They're burnt to generate electricity -
however, carbon dioxide is released during this
process. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which
means it enhances the greenhouse effect and
contributes to global warming. Using oil as an energy
source has other environmental consequences, as
oil spillages frequently occur which destroys marine
life. Oil is currently refined to produce fuels such as
petrol and diesel for transport. This again releases
carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
b. Diversion Power Plants
2. Nuclear Energy
A Diversion is fairly similar to an Impoundment
This energy source uses naturally occurring
facility, but may not need the use of a dam, but
radioactive material. Usually, uranium is
works by channeling a portion of a river through
manufactured into fuel rods for nuclear reactors.
a canal or a penstock.
Neutron particles collide with the fuel rods and
generate heat. This turns water into steam with
drives turbines to generate electricity. Like fossil
fuels, this is non-renewable. However, supplies are
plentiful and this process does not produce
greenhouse gases.

The type of energy we use to power things like electricity

and heating can have an impact on the environment. It
is important to consider what energy source your
supplier relies on in order to make environmentally
friendly choices. Historically, we have relied mostly on
fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas for energy.
However, this is a non-renewable energy source, which
means it will eventually run out. Renewable energy is
power that is generated from natural resources that are
constantly replenished. By opting for renewable energy
sources, we can help promote environmental
sustainability.
c. Pumped Storage Power Plants
The last type of Hydroelectric Power Plant is
Pumped Storage. Pumped Storage stores its
energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir at
a higher elevation. When there is a demand for
power, the water is released from the high
elevated reservoir into a lower reservoir. This
generates electricity when it flows through a
turbine generating motion, and electricity.

04|Classification of Power Plants Based

on the Energy Sources

1. Hydroelectric Power Plants

Hydroelectric Power Plants generate power by
converting the force of water to turn large
generators. Hydropower extracts mechanical energy
from water, transforming it into electrical energy to
generate electricity. Water in the environment often
has both gravitational potential energy and kinetic
energy, which can generate electricity using a 2. Thermal Power Plants
generator. The amount of potential energy stored in Thermal Power Plants generate electricity by
a body of water at a hydroelectric dam is measured converting heat into electricity, essentially by burning
using the height difference between the head race a fuel.
and tail race, known as the elevation head (part of
the hydraulic head). Thermal Power Plants fall into the following
categories:
Hydroelectric Power Plants fall into three different a. Nuclear Power Plants
categories: Nuclear power plants use reactors heat to turn
a. Impoundment Power Plants water into steam. The steam is then sent
 through a turbine, which, as we’ve already
learned, generates movement of a generator,
which in turn generates electricity.
The simple cycle stops here, however, the
combined cycle extends beyond this to use more
of the energy created in the combustion. The
exhaust gases are made to flow towards the next
unit, called the heat recovery steam generator
(HRSG). The HRSG is essentially a heat
exchanger, in which the hot gases boil pre-heated
water into steam. The steam then expands
through a turbine, generating electricity. Once
the steam has passed through, it condenses and
is recycled through.

3. Solar Power Plants

b. Coal Power Plants
A coal power plant works in much the same
way, but instead of a nuclear reactor heating
water to make steam, the heat from the
burning coal powers a steam turbine.
The next type of power plant we will look at is a solar
power plant. This type of plant uses the suns energy
to convert into electricity. This is achieved by using
Photovoltaic, or PV panels, made up from a number
of semiconductor cells that release electrons when
they are warmed by the thermal energy of the sun.
Solar energy is one of the cleanest ways of
generating electricity. The solar panels get
connected to the grid and can be used to supplement
a thermal power plant resources. They can be used
in domestic environments too, and with the aid of
batteries, can reduce households energy
consumption drastically, without burning any fossil
fuels.

c. Natural Gas Power Plant

Natural gas power plants generate electricity by
burning natural gas as their fuel. All natural gas
plants use a gas turbine; natural gas is added,
along with a stream of air, which combusts and
expands through this turbine causing a generator
to spin a magnet, making electricity.

There are two types of natural gas power plants:

Although solar power makes up a small percentage of
Simple cycle gas plants and combined cycle gas
global energy production, some countries use significant
plants. The former consists of a gas turbine
amounts of solar power. China and the United States
connected to a generator and the latter consists
lead the world in total solar energy capacity, whereas
of a simple cycle plant, combined with another
Germany is a country which obtains a large percentage
external combustion engine, operating on the
of their electricity from solar energy.
Rankine cycle—hence its name "combined
cycle".
4. Wind Power Plants

Natural gas turbines are theoretically simple and

have three main parts:
a. Compressor: Takes in air from outside of the
turbine and increases its pressure.
b. Combustor: Burns the fuel and produces high Wind Power Plants, or Wind Turbines, get their
pressure and high velocity gas. energy from the wind by connecting a generator to
c. Turbine: Extracts the energy from the gas the blades. The rotational movement of the blades
coming from the combustor. caused by the wind, powers a generator. Like solar
 power, they are a clean source of energy, but require
much more hardware to work effectively, and with
many more parts, are more likely to fail.
5. Diesel Power Plant
Using diesel as the fuel, this type of power plant is
used for small-scale production of electric power.
Basically, there are two main types of diesel power
plants combustion engines categorized by the type
of fuel used: gasoline or diesel. They are installed in
places where there is no easy availability of
alternative power sources and are mainly used as a
backup for uninterrupted power supply whenever
there are outages. Diesel plants require only a small
area to be installed and offer higher thermal
efficiency compared to coal-fired power plants. Due
to high maintenance costs and diesel prices, the
power plants have not gained popularity at the same
rate as other types of power generation plants such
as steam and hydro.
6. Geothermal Power Plants
Geothermal power plants are used in order to
generate electricity by the use of geothermal energy
(the Earth's internal thermal energy). They essentially
work the same as a coal or nuclear power plant, the
main difference being the heat source. With
geothermal, the Earth's heat replaces the boiler of a
coal plant or the reactor of a nuclear plant.
Hot water or steam is extracted from the Earth
through a series of wells and feeds the power plant.
In most geothermal plants the water pulled up from
the ground is returned to the subsurface. The rate of
water used is often larger than the rate of water
returned, so make-up water supplies are generally
needed.
There are 3 main types of geothermal power plants,
with the flash cycle being the most common. The
choice of plant depends on how much geothermal
energy is available, and how hot the resource is. The
hotter the resource, the less fluid needs to flow from
the ground to take advantage of it, the more useful it
is.
05|2020 Power Situation Report
Based on DOE power situation report last August 16,
2020, the Philippines' total non-coincidental peak
demand reached 15,282 MW, which is 299 MW or -
1.9% lower than the peak demand in 2019. This decline
in demand can be greatly attributed to the effect of
COVID-19 pandemic, which put the country under
different levels of community quarantine beginning 15
March 2020.
The declaration of community quarantine caused huge
economic losses in a number of businesses and
commercial establishments, resulting in an evident
slowdown in the operations of the commercial and
industrial sectors. Additionally, the travel restrictions put
in place by the Philippine Government across the entire
country limited the movement of the people which
further hindered the otherwise expected demand
growth.
Among the three main island groups, Luzon had the
highest decrease (241 MW) in peak demand.
The numerous unforeseeable events have greatly
affected the nation’s electricity consumption patterns.
Despite these challenges, the power sector continued to
be steadfast in providing the much-needed electricity for
the country especially in light of
these critical times.
Gross Energy Generation
The Luzon grid’s
gross generation in
2020 reached
72,419 GWh,
which is equivalent
to a -4.9% drop
from last year. Oil-
based power
generation was
significantly
reduced by -
32.5%, from 2,674 GWh in 2019 to 1,804 GWh in 2020.
Similarly, natural gas production also declined by -
12.8% due to lower demand requirements and natural
gas restrictions. On the other hand, power generation
from coal in 2020 (40,575 GWh) remained steady with
only a 0.2% growth, while biomass and solar
production increased by 31.7% and 19.2%,
respectively. Over the past years, the power generation
mix followed a similar trend, with coal and natural gas as
the consistent top source of energy in Luzon.

Power plants in
Visayas generated a
total of 15,485 GWh
of electricity in 2020.
As a result of the
lower demand due
to the pandemic,
there has been a -
3.6% year-on-year
reduction in gross
power generation
from 2019. Most of the plants, including major energy
sources (coal, geothermal) experienced a decline, while
several renewable plants (hydro, biomass, solar)
increased in gross generation. Notably, oil-based
electricity production massively dropped by 43.2% from
524 GWh in 2019 to 298 GWh in 2020 due to the
subsequent lower peaking requirements. Among the
three grids, Visayas had the largest share of power
generation from RE at 48.4%.

The Mindanao gross generation amounted to 13,852

GWh in 2020, slightly increasing by 0.3% from 2019.
Coal further increased its share at 71.5% from a 68.2%
share in the previous year. The largest decline in the mix
is from oil-based sources as the peaking requirements
further declined due to the impact of the pandemic and
the oversupply of registered capacities in the grid.
Furthermore, renewable energy sources also declined
by 6.6% but still
contributed a
hefty share of
25.8% in the
gross generation
mix, comprising of
geothermal
(5.4%), hydro
(18.9%), biomass
(0.8%), and solar
(0.8%).