To create a hydro plant, a running water source
must be dammed. This prevents fish from
Advantages
Renewable
Hydropower is completely renewable, which
means it will never run out unless the water
stops flowing. As a result, hydro plants are built
to last.
Emission Free
The creation of hydroelectricity does not
release emissions into the atmosphere. This is,
of course, the biggest appeal of any renewable
energy source.
Reliable
Hydropower is, by far, the most reliable
renewable energy available in the world. Unlike
when the sun goes down or when the wind dies
down, water usually has a constant and steady
flow 24/7.
Adjustable
Since hydropower is so reliable, hydro plants
can actually adjust the flow of water. This
allows the plant to produce more energy when
it is required or reduce the energy output when
it is not needed. This is something that no other
renewable energy source can do.
Create Lakes
Lakes can be used for recreational purposes and
can even help draw in tourists.
Faster Developed Land
Since hydro dams can only be built in specific
locations, they can help develop the land for
nearby towns and cities. This is because it takes
a lot of equipment to build a dam. To transport
it, highways and roads must be built, which
helps open new paths for rural towns.
Disadvantages
Impact on Fish
reaching their breeding ground, which in turn
affects any animal that relies on those fish for
food.
As the water stops flowing, riverside habitats
begin to disappear. This can even remove
animals from accessing water.
Limited Plant Locations
While hydropower is renewable, there are
limited places in the world that are suitable for
plant construction. On top of this, some of
these places are not close to major cities that
could fully benefit from the energy.
Higher initial Costs
While no power plant is easy to build, hydro
plants do require you to build a dam to stop
running water. As a result, they cost more than
similarly sized fossil fuel plants.
Although, they will not need to worry about
purchasing fuel later on. So, it does even out
over the long-term.
Carbon and Methane Emissions
While the actual electricity generation in the
plant does not produce emissions, there are
emissions from the reservoirs they create.
Plants that are at the bottom of a reservoir
begin to decompose. And when plants die, they
release large quantities of carbon and methane.
Susceptible to Droughts
While Hydropower is the most reliable
renewable energy available, it is dependent on
the amount of water in any given location.
Thus, the performance of a hydro plant could
be significantly affected by a drought. And as
climate change continues to heat up or planet,
this could become more common.
Flood Risk
When dams are built at higher elevations, they
pose a serious risk to any town nearby that is
below it. While these dams are built very
strong, there are still risks. The biggest dam
failure in history is the Banqiao Dam failure.
Due to excess rainfall from a typhoon, the dam
collapsed. This resulted in the deaths of 171,000
people.
Advantages of Wind Energy
Wind energy is clean and renewable
Unlike coal, natural gas, or oil, generating electricity
from wind doesn't result in greenhouse gas
emissions. While there are some environmental
considerations that come with building large wind
farms, once operational, wind turbines themselves
don't require burning any fossil fuels to operate.
Unlike coal, natural gas, or oil, generating electricity
from wind doesn't result in greenhouse gas
emissions. While there are some environmental
considerations that come with building large wind
farms, once operational, wind turbines themselves
don't require burning any fossil fuels to operate.
Additionally, wind energy is entirely renewable and
will never run out. In opposition to traditional fossil
fuel resources that replenish very slowly, wind
naturally occurs in our atmosphere, and we don't
have to worry about supply issues in the future.
Wind energy is a job creator
In terms of job creation, the wind energy sector is
the fastest-growing in the United States. There are
more than 100,000 workers in the field, with the
potential to support more than 600,000 in the
coming years.
Wind energy has low operating costs
Regarding upfront costs, wind farms or individual
turbines can be expensive to install. However, once
up and running, operating costs are relatively low;
their fuel (wind) is free, and the turbines don't
require too much maintenance over the course of
their lifetime.
Wind energy is space-efficient
Cumulatively, wind farms can take up a lot of land
space; however, the actual turbines and equipment
don't use up much real estate. This means that land
used for wind turbines can often also be used for
other purposes, such as farming.
Disadvantages
Wind energy is intermittent
A wind turbine's effectiveness in generating
electricity depends on the weather; thus, it can be
difficult to predict exactly how much electricity a
wind turbine will generate over time. If wind speeds
are too low on any given day, the turbine's rotor
won't spin.
This means wind energy isn't always available for
dispatch in times of peak electricity demand. In
order to use wind energy exclusively, wind turbines
need to be paired with some sort of energy storage
technology.
Wind energy causes noise and visual pollution
One of the biggest downsides of wind energy is the
noise and visual pollution. Wind turbines can be
noisy when operating due to both the mechanical
operation and the wind vortex created when the
blades are rotating. Additionally, because wind
turbines need to be built up high enough to capture
a good amount of wind, the turbines can often
interrupt otherwise scenic landscapes, such as
mountain ranges, lakes, oceans, and more.
Wind turbines have some negative impacts on their
surrounding environment
A wind turbine's blades are very large and rotate at
very high speeds. Unfortunately, their blades can
harm and kill species that fly into them, like birds
and bats. The construction of wind farms can also
disrupt the natural habitats of local species if not
conducted sustainably. However, these problems
can be solved to some extent with technological
advancements and properly-siting wind farms.
Wind energy is remote
Wind energy requires transmission. In many cases,
turbines and generation sites may be located quite
far from the population centers where electricity is
needed. Therefore, transmission lines are an
additional piece of infrastructure that must be built
for this form of energy generation to be successful.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Biomass Energy
Advantages
It’s a renewable source
The first benefit of using Biomass is that we can
renew it when needed in future and hence, can save
our fossil fuels for future generations. These are all
waste products which should not be deficient in
anyways.
Carbon Neutral
Biomasses are said to be carbon neutral as the
carbon dioxide released by these are neutralized by
the autotrophs in the process of photosynthesis.
That means, these discharge the same amount of
CO2 as taken by the green plants for their
metabolism.
Improves water quality
As many industrial wastes will mix with our extensive
water bodies, that much water quality suffers. This
may result in aquatic ecosystem loss and various
other effects. But for the production of biomass
energy, we need those trashes, and therefore,
oceans, rivers and other water reservoirs will remain
cleaned.
A great alternative to fossil fuels
The most significant advantage of biomass utilization is
less dependency on non-renewable sources, i.e., fossil
fuels. Therefore, to fulfill our unavoidable power need like
electricity, we can use biomass’s rather than coals,
petroleum or natural gases.
Versatile
Biomass is readily available product we can get
everywhere. Therefore, it is versatile and does not need
any complex process or labor to extract.
It reduces waste in landfills.
The increased population leads to the production of more
domestic wastes which ultimately deposited in the
landfills.
Organic wastes in landfills cause the production of
methane gas which is a primary greenhouse gas and thus
take part in global warming and climate change like issues.
Hence, the application of Biomass for power production
can save us from the adverse effect of such greenhouse
gases.
Disadvantages
Costly
Application of biomass’s for energy generation is usually
costly than that of fossil fuels.
Deforestation may occur
Usually, Biomasses are plant extracts, and for a large
extent of wood biomasses, trees are needed to be
chopped down, which will result in deforestation soon.
Needs lots of space to work.
For the proper functioning, we need a massive and
suitable space.
Requires a significant amount of water
It’s dependent on water for the production of electrical
energy and other energy sources. Thus, it can’t replace the
usage of water which is needed to conserve for the future.
It has Inefficiencies than fossil fuels.
Biomass is not that much efficient as fossil fuels and more
costly as well. So, this is the most significant disadvantages
of biomass energy.
Not fully commercial now
Although biomass energy production is a good option for
the future, still we want lots of research and advancement.
Therefore, it is not fully commercial now.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy
Renewable energy source
Among all the benefits of solar panels, the most important
thing is that solar energy is a truly renewable energy
source. It can be harnessed in all areas of the world and is
available every day. We cannot run out of solar energy,
unlike some of the other sources of energy.
Solar energy will be accessible as long as we have the sun,
therefore sunlight will be available to us for at least 5
billion years when according to scientists the sun is going
to die.
Reduces electricity bills
Since you will be meeting some of your energy needs with
the electricity your solar system has generated, your
energy bills will drop. How much you save on your bill will
be dependent on the size of the solar system and your
electricity or heat usage.
Diverse applications
Solar energy can be used for diverse purposes. You can
generate electricity (photovoltaics) or heat (solar thermal).
Solar energy can be used to produce electricity in areas
without access to the energy grid, to distil water in regions
with limited clean water supplies and to power satellites in
space.
Low maintenance costs
Solar energy systems generally don’t require a lot of
maintenance. You only need to keep them relatively clean,
so cleaning them a couple of times per year will do the job.
Technology development
Technology in the solar power industry is constantly
advancing and improvements will intensify in the future.
Innovations in quantum physics and nanotechnology can
potentially increase the effectiveness of solar panels and
double, or even triple, the electrical input of the solar
power systems.
Disadvantages
Cost
The initial cost of solar panels is fairly high. This includes
paying for solar panels, inverter, batteries, wiring, and the
installation. Nevertheless, solar technologies are
constantly developing, so it is safe to assume that prices
will go down in the future.
Weather-dependent
Although solar energy can still be collected during cloudy
and rainy days, the efficiency of the solar system drops.
Solar panels are dependent on sunlight to effectively
gather solar energy. Therefore, a few cloudy, rainy days
can have a noticeable effect on the energy system. You
should also take into account that solar energy cannot be
collected during the night.
Solar energy storage is expensive
Solar energy has to be used right away, or it can be stored
in large batteries. These batteries, used in off-the-grid
solar systems, can be charged during the day so that the
energy is used at night. This is a good solution for using
solar energy all day long but it is also quite expensive.
Uses a lot of space
The more electricity you want to produce, the more solar
panels you will need, as you want to collect as much
sunlight as possible. Solar PV panels require a lot of space
and some roofs are not big enough to fit the number of
solar panels that you would like to have.
Associated with pollution
Although pollution related to solar energy systems is far
less compared to other sources of energy, solar energy can
be associated with pollution. Transportation and
installation of solar systems have been associated with the
emission of greenhouse gases.
There are also some toxic materials and hazardous
products used during the manufacturing process of solar
photovoltaic systems, which can indirectly affect the
environment.
Comes from the Latin words:
petra – rock
oleum – oil
 Derived from large quantities of microscopic aquatic
organisms such as Algae and Planktons.
 Formed in the sea and lake beds millions of years ago.
 With increasing temperature and pressure due to
continuous burial, these organisms transform into
waxy material called kerogen through the process of
catagenesis.
NATURAL GAS

Nevertheless, solar energy pollutes far less than other
alternative energy sources.
ENERGY SOURCES
Petroleum is one of the main energy sources at present.
Transportation accounts for about 25% of the energy used
worldwide, as well as 14% of the Global Greenhouse Gas
(GHG) emissions.
 Natural Gas is a Hydrocarbon made up of Methane
(CH4).
 This gas is lighter than air and is highly flammable.
NUCLEAR ENERGY
Nuclear reactions occur when atoms of one species of a
chemical element are transformed into atoms of another
by nuclear change.

THE SUN: Inexhaustible Energy Source
About 13.8 billion years ago, at the time of Big Bang, there
was only pure energy from which the universe, as it is
now, existed
That energy is also the same energy that drives the Earth
and its subsystems up until today.
Solar Energy > Chemical Energy > Mechanical Energy
Nuclear reactions are processes in which one or more
atoms are produced from the collisions between two
atomic nuclei or one atomic nucleus and a subatomic
particle.
NUCLEAR FISSION – the splitting of heavy atoms into
lighter atoms
NUCLEAR FUSION – the combination of light atoms into
heavier atoms

Energy is simply the capacity to do work, while Resource is
the general term referring to any item used for a specific
purpose.
Nuclear, Fossil fuels, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, Wind,
Solar, Biomass
FOSSIL FUELS
Fossil Fuels are presently the world’s primary energy
source. It provides most of the energy that supports
transportation, electricity production, heating and cooling
of buildings, and various industrial activities.
 Both Fission and Fusion create heat energy called
Nuclear Energy. It occurs when an atom is hit by a
neutron, causing it to release heat and fragments that
form new and lighter elements. These neutrons strike
another atoms, creating a chain reaction.
 If a nuclear reaction occurs in a controlled manner, it
could provide usable energy, such as Nuclear Power
Plants. However, if it becomes out of control..
ATOMIC EXPLOSION!

Fossil Fuels include coal, oil or petroleum, and gas which

are non-renewable sources of energy.

They are derived from the remains of prehistoric plants

and animals that died millions of years ago and were
buried to form fossils.

COAL

 Coal is a black combustible rock made up of elements

carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur.
 Formed from the remains of plants in swamps and
forests.
 Continuous burial and compaction transforms
decaying vegetation (plants) into peat, the parent of a
coal.
 Among the types of coal, the lowest rank is the soft,
dark-brown Lignite.
 Highest rank: shiny, black Anthracite.

PETROLEUM