• Early humans had modest

energy requirements, mostly

food and fuel for fires to cook
and keep warm.
• In today's society, humans
consume as much as 110 times
as much energy per person as
early humans. Most of the
energy we use today come from
fossil fuels
About three-quarters of the
world’s commercial energy
comes from nonrenewable
fossil fuels, and the rest
comes from nonrenewable
nuclear fuel and renewable
sources.
Net energy is the amount of
high-quality energy available
from a resource minus the
amount of energy needed to
make it available.
• Renewable energy uses energy Solar Energy
sources that are continually
replenished by nature—the sun,

Major Renewable Energy

Wind Energy
the wind, water, the Earth’s
heat, and plants. Renewable
energy technologies turn these Biomass Energy

Sources
fuels into usable forms of
energy—most often electricity,
but also heat, chemicals, or Wave Energy
mechanical power
Geothermal
Energy

Tidal Energy
Coal, oil, and natural gas are convenient energy sources but are limited in supply and being
used up faster than they are being created.

renewable energy technologies “clean” or “green” because they produce few if any pollutants.

Burning fossil fuels, however, sends greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, trapping the sun’s
heat and contributing to global warming.

Nuclear energy is being retired due to safety concerns and waste disposal problems.

The Global' energy needs are expected to increase by 33% in the next 20 years.

Renewable energy sources can help fill the gap created by the limited supply of fossil fuels and
the retirement of nuclear energy.
• can be used to generate electricity
from sunlight.
• It is a device that converts
light energy into electrical energy.
• Solar electricity or photovoltaic (PV)
technology converts sunlight directly
into electricity
Renewable energy: Solar energy
• can be used to generate electricity from sunlight.
• It is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy.

Advantages Disadvantages
• Energy from the sun • Solar power stations
is free. are expensive to build
• Solar energy does not at the moment.
create greenhouse • Only certain places
gases. are right for solar
power.
• Solar energy cannot
be made at night
 describes the process by which
wind is used to generate
electricity. Wind turbines
convert the kinetic energy in the
wind into mechanical power. A
generator can convert
mechanical power into
electricity
Renewable energy: wind energy
Advantages
• free of cost and reliable,
• clean and produces no
environmental pollution,
• no harmful by-products are
left over as in case of burning
of fossil fuels,
• will never run out of it,
• can be built offshore.
• can even be tourist
attractions.
Disadvantages
• We need a lot of turbines to
make electricity.
• Wind turbines can only be
used where it is windy. On
days where there is little
wind, less energy will be
made
• unsightly, noisy and generate
a lot of opposition.
 Renewable energy: hydroelectric
energy
Hydropower plants capture the energy of falling
water to generate electricity. A turbine converts
the kinetic energy of falling water into
mechanical energy. Then a generator converts
the mechanical energy from the turbine into
electrical energy.

The power output of the hydroelectric source is

determined by the difference in height between
the source and the outflow. This height
difference is known as the head and the greater
the head, the larger the output. For this
purpose, very big dams are made on the rivers
and other water flows.
Renewable energy: hydroelectric energy
Advantages
• creates no greenhouse gases.
• Energy from water is free and
will not run out.
• more reliable than wind or solar
power.
• produces no waste or pollution
since no chemicals are involved.
• can be reused for other
purposes/like irrigation
Disadvantages
• needs enough water to turn the
turbines.
• Dams are expensive to build.
• Building large dams can cause
damage to water courses which
affects people and wildlife and
it can be difficult to find the
right site.
• Small dams for local buildings
on weirs do not have these
problems
 Renewable energy: geothermal energy
Geothermal power plants, which use heat from
deep inside the Earth to generate steam to make
electricity. Geothermal heat pumps, which tap into
heat close to the Earth's surface to heat water or
provide heat for buildings.

Geothermal energy is obtained from the internal

heat of the earth. In fact it is one of the oldest
types of natural sources of heat. It dates back to
Roman times, when the heat from the earth was
used instead of fire, to heat rooms and/or warm
water for baths. Presently it is being used as a
source for producing electricity, mainly in regions
of tectonic plate movement.
 Renewable energy: geothermal
energy
Geothermal power plants, which use heat from deep inside the Earth to
generate steam to make electricity. Geothermal heat pumps, which tap
into heat close to the Earth's surface to heat water or provide heat for
buildings.
Advantages Disadvantages
• No greenhouse gases • Not many places to build power
• Energy is fire and wont run out stations
• Geothermal energy reduces • Harmful gases and minerals
acid rain 97% occasionally come up control
• Renewable • Proper cites for plants are not
• Powerplants don’t have to be common
large • Sites are usually in areas where
• can be used to produce electricity there are volcanoes or
24 hours a day. earthquakes so investors don’t
• have very low running costs. want to invest their money
Because they require energy to run
a water pump
 There are three types of
geothermal power plants:

binary-cycle plants transfer

Flash steam plants typically
Dry steam plants draw from
use water at temperatures
reservoirs of steam,
greater than 360°F.
heat from the water to what’s
called a working fluid. using
water at lower temperatures
of about 225° to 360°F
Renewable energy: Biomass energy
Biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called biofuels.

biofuels are easy to transport and possess high energy density, they are favored to fuel
vehicles and sometimes stationary power generation.

The most common biofuel is ethanol, an alcohol made from the fermentation of biomass
high in carbohydrates.

The current largest source of ethanol is corn.

Flex-fuel vehicles are also now on the market, which can use a mixture of gasoline and
ethanol, such as E85—a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline
Renewable energy: Biomass energy
Advantages
• cheap and could use rubbish
that we might otherwise
throw away.
• will not run out.
• Biomass crops that are grown
absorb the same amount of
pollution whilst they are
growing as they release when
they are burned, so do not
create extra greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere
• easily available throughout the
world.
• from biomass plants can be
used as manure
Disadvantages
• Growing biomass crops needs
a lot of space and could
replace growing valuable food
crops.
• not as energy efficient as
petrol
• Biomass fuels that are not
grown (such as waste
products) create greenhouse
gases when burned.
• The main ingredient of biofuel
i.e. methane is harmful to the
environment.
 What is Non-Renewable energy?
• “A nonrenewable resource is a natural Coal
resource that cannot be re-made or

Major Renewable Energy

re-grown at a scale comparable to its
consumption” Gas

Sources
Petroleum

Nuclear

Oil
Nonrenewable energy: Nuclear
Nuclear energy is the energy released
by splitting atoms, which is harnessed
to produce electricity in nuclear
power plants.

Nuclear energy is produced by

splitting the nuclei of certain atoms,
such as uranium or plutonium, in a
process called nuclear fission. The
energy released during this process is
harnessed to produce electricity in
nuclear power plants.
How nuclear energy is made?
 Nonrenewable energy: Nuclear
Nuclear energy is the energy released by splitting atoms, which
is harnessed to produce electricity in nuclear power plants.
Advantages
• Energy produced in a nuclear reactor can be
harnessed to produce electricity.
• Nuclear energy is also being used to power
submarines and ship. Vessels driven by nuclear
energy can sail for long periods without having to
refuel.
• Radioisotopes obtained as by-products in nuclear
reactions are used in medicine, agriculture and
research.
• Unlike fossil fuels, the nuclear fuel used in nuclear
power stations, do not burn. Hence no waste gases
are produced.
• Small amounts fuel materials, yield huge amount of
energy
Disadvantages
• Nuclear accidents, like those at Chernobyl and
Fukushima, can release harmful radiation and have
devastating environmental and health impacts.
• The disposal of nuclear waste is a major challenge,
as it remains radioactive for thousands of years and
must be stored securely to prevent contamination.
• The production of nuclear fuel requires the mining
and processing of uranium, which can have negative
environmental impacts and is a non-renewable
resource.
• Nuclear power plants are expensive to build and
maintain, and the cost of decommissioning a plant at
the end of its life cycle is also high.
• Nuclear power plants require significant security
measures to prevent accidents or attacks that could
release harmful radiation.
 Nonrenewable energy: Gas & Oil
Crude oil, or petroleum , is a liquid fossil fuel made up mostly of
hydrocarbons (hydrogen and carbon compounds). Oil can be found in
underground reservoirs; in the cracks, crevices, and pores of sedimentary
rock; or in tar sands near the earth’s surface. It’s accessed by drilling, on
land or at sea, or by strip mining in the case of tar sands oil and oil shale

Advantages
• Oil and natural gas are found in lots
of places around the world.
• Oil and gas can be easily
• transported by pipes or ships.
• Natural gas is the “cleanest” of the
fossil fuels, releasing half the
greenhouse gases of coal.
Disadvantages
• Supplies of oil and gas are running
out and once they are gone, they are
gone forever.
• Working on oil and gas rigs can be
dangerous for people (explosions,
fires etc) and the environment (oil
spills).
• Burning oil and gas releases pollution
which increases global warming.
 Nonrenewable energy: Coal
Coal is made of decomposed plant matter in conditions
of high temperature and pressure, though it takes a
relatively shorter amount of time to form.
Bituminous coal is the best quality of coal. It. is jet black,
very dense and brittle. This type of coal has high calorific
value.

Advantages
• Coal is a relatively cheap
form of energy.
• There are still several places
where
• coal can be found in the UK
and the rest of the world.
• Coal is easily transported to
power stations.
Disadvantages
• Supplies of coal will run out
in about 100 years.
• When burned, coal releases
lots of greenhouse gases.
• Coal is dug up from big holes
(mines) in
• the ground which can be
dangerous and affect the
countryside.
How Long Will Crude
Oil Supplies Last?
• Crude oil is the single largest
source of commercial energy in
world and U.S.
• Proven oil reserves
• Can be extracted profitably at
today’s prices with today’s
technology
• 80% depleted between 2050 and
2100