ENERGY – 2

ELECTRICITY GENERATION

FOSSIL FUELS – OIL / NATURAL GAS / COAL

 Created by decomposition of organic matter
 Takes millions of years to form
 Non-renewable resources

 Moderate efficiency of electricity generation

 Provide chemicals for manufacturing different products

 Burning fossil fuels => Greenhouse Gas CO2

(COAL – most CO2 / NATURAL GAS least – CO2)
 Increase in CO2 => Global Warming

 Burning COAL and OIL => Toxic Sulphur Dioxide SO2

 In atmosphere SO2 + H2O => acid rain
(damage to the environment and people)
 ENERGY – 2

NUCLEAR POWER
 Nuclear Fission reactors
 Use Uranium Isotope – limited supply
 Non-Renewable resource

 High efficiency of electricity generation

 Low cost electricity
 High cost of building the plant

 No emission of greenhouse / polluting gases

 Safety Risks – possibility of accidents / disposal of radioactive waste
 Nuclear Fusion Reactors – safer but challenging to build

WATER RESOURCES – RENEWABLE

Hydroelectric Power
 Gravitational potential energy (GPE) store
(water in high reservoirs built in mountains)
 GPE store is transferred to kinetic energy (KE) store
 Natural cycle: water evaporation into the atmosphere
vapor condensation => rainfall collected in reservoirs
 High efficiency (low cost electricity / low cost maintenance)
 Very clean renewable resource
 Reservoirs may interfere with natural habitat for wildlife

Tidal Power (+ wave energy)

 Gravitational pull of the Moon => tidal movement of water
 Rising / Falling tides => continual waterflow (water current)
 Kinetic energy of tidal current => turning the turbine
 Mechanical transfer of Kinetic Energy into Electrical Energy
 May affect the natural habitat for wildlife in the estuary
 Not very common
 ENERGY – 2

WIND RESOURCES – RENEWABLE

 Wind is powered by the energy of the Sun (heat)
 Wind turbines generate electrical energy
 Very clean energy
 Limited by weather conditions
 Moderate efficiency (30-40%)
 Wind farms can cause environmental damage
(appearance of the landscape / noise pollution / killing birds)

SOLAR POWER – RENEWABLE

Photovoltaic (PV) cells – solar cells
 Transfer light energy directly to electrical energy
(=>> light absorption)
 Low energy efficiency (15%) / Lowcost electricity
Solar heating
 Solar heating panels absorb heat energy to heat water
 Solar reflectors focus heat radiation on a boiler to heat water
 Moderate efficiency (40-60%)
 Very clean energy
 Solar farms require large open area
 Limited by weather conditions

GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES – RENEWABLE

 Geothermally heated water from springs and geysers
 Used to drive the turbines to generate electricity
 Very clean energy
 Lowcost electricity
 Low efficiency (10-15%)
 ENERGY – 2

Practice Test questions

June 2019 (R) QP2
 ENERGY – 2

June 2020 (R) QP2

ENERGY – 2