Topic:

Energy Resources
Energy from the sun:

• Most of our energy resources on the Earth come from the Sun:
o The Sun heats up the atmosphere, creating wind and producing waves
o Water evaporated by the Sun falls as rain, filling up reservoirs
o Plants grown using sunlight form the basis for fuels – both biofuels and fossil fuels
• Some forms of energy, however, do not come from the Sun . These include:
o Geothermal – this comes from heat produced in the Earth’s core
o Nuclear – this comes from elements which make up a small proportion of the Earth’s crust
o Tidal – this comes (mainly) from the gravitational attraction of the Moon.

Solar Cells:

• The energy from the Sun that falls on the Earth is transferred by radiation
o Mostly visible light and infrared radiation
• The amount of energy transferred from the Sun to the Earth each hour is equal to the energy use of the
world for one year!
• Therefore, scientists are working hard to find methods of harnessing this energy
o Solar energy has a low energy density, which means large collecting devices are required
o Collecting solar energy is expensive (due to the equipment required) and inefficient

• Solar cells transfer energy from sunlight electrically producing a current, and therefore
generating electrical power
o Solar cells, sometimes called photovoltaic cells, are made of semiconducting materials
o A number of cells connected together can supply electricity to homes, small-scale businesses,
communication devices and satellites
o Energy generated can be stored in batteries for later use

Advantages:

• Solar energy is a renewable resource

• In many places on Earth sunlight is a reliable energy resource (this means that the sun shines most of the
time)
• Solar farms produce no greenhouse gases or pollution
• Solar energy can be generated in remote places where they don't have electricity
o For example to power solar street signs in rural areas

Disadvantages:

• Solar farms need to be large scale to produce large amounts of electricity

o This is expensive to set up
o People often don't like the appearance of large solar farms, this is known as visual pollution
• In many places on Earth sunlight is not a reliable energy resource (there are not enough sunshine-hours to
justify the set-up costs)

Solar Panels

• Solar panels transfer energy from sunlight to the thermal store of the solar panels which is used to heat
water in the pipes
o Solar panels can be used to warm domestic water supplies
▪ This can reduce the cost of producing hot water since it is heated partially by the solar panels
 o Solar furnaces consist of large curved mirrors that focus the sun's rays on to a small area
▪ These can be used to boil water, generating enough steam to turn turbines and generate
electricity in a power station

Solar panels use energy from sunlight to heat water

Advantages:

• Solar energy is a renewable resource

• In many places on Earth sunlight is a reliable energy resource (this means that the sun shines most of the
time)
• Solar panels produce no greenhouse gases or pollution once they are operating
• Solar panels can cut the cost of energy bills for households

Disadvantages:

• Solar furnaces need to be large scale to produce high temperatures

• Energy is still needed to heat water to a higher temperature in domestic households
• In many places on Earth sunlight is not a reliable energy resource (the sun doesn't shine regularly enough
to justify the set-up costs)

Energy From Fuels

Fossil Fuels

• Fossil fuels are:

o Coal
o Natural gas (mostly methane) which is used in domestic boilers and cookers
o Crude oil which is refined into petrol, diesel, and other fuels
• Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of plants and animals
• Chemical energy stored in fossil fuels originally came from sunlight
o Energy from the sun was transferred to the chemical energy store of plants by photosynthesis (plants
use energy from sunlight to make food)
o Animals ate the plants and the energy was transferred to their chemical store
Advantages:

• The current systems of transport and electricity generation rely heavily on fossil fuels which are generally
readily available on a daily basis
• In the past fossil fuels have been reliable for large scale energy production although this is changing as
supplies deplete and prices rise

Disadvantages:

• It takes millions of years for fossil fuels to form

o This is why they are considered to be a non-renewable energy resource
o The increasing demand for a decreasing supply causes prices to increase
o Fossil fuels are predicted to completely run out within the next 200 years
• Burning fossil fuels pollutes the atmosphere with harmful gases such as:
o Carbon dioxide which contributes to the greenhouse effect
o Sulphur dioxide which produces acid rain
o Both carbon and sulphur can be captured upon burning preventing it from being released into the
atmosphere but this is expensive to do

Uses of fossil fuels :

• Fossil fuels are used for:

o Transport
o Generating electricity
o Heating

Transport:

• The majority of vehicles in the world are powered by petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and
kerosene
o These resources all originate from crude oil, which is a fossil fuel
• A growing number of vehicles are now being powered by electricity
o The advantage of this is that while the vehicle is being driven, it produces zero carbon emissions
o The disadvantage is that when the vehicle is being charged, it is connected to the National Grid,
which currently uses a combination of renewable and non-renewable energy sources

Electricity generation:

• Fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are used to produce energy on-demand when energy is needed
o This is done by burning the materials when the energy is required
o When coil is burned, it produces thermal energy
• This is used to boil water creating steam
• Steam is forced around the system and this turns a turbine
• The turbine turns coils in a magnetic field in the generator
o This generates electricity
• The electricity is transferred through a step-up transformer and is carried out of the system
by electrical lines

• The steam within the turbine will cool and condense and then be pumped back into the boiler to repeat
the process
 Electricity generation of coal through a power station

• Electricity plays a bigger role in people's lives than ever before

o With almost 8 billion people in the world, this means the demand for electricity is extremely high
o To keep up with this demand, a combination of all the energy resources available is needed
• On the downside, the majority (84%) of the world's energy is still produced by non-renewable, carbon-
emitting sources
o This has an enormous negative impact on the environment
o Currently, scientists are working hard to develop more and more efficient ways to produce electricity
using more carbon-neutral energy resources

Pie chart of global energy consumption

Heating:

• Most homes in cold countries are fitted with central heating systems
o These utilise natural gas in order to heat up water which can be pumped around radiators
throughout the home
 Biofuels

• Biofuels are made from plant matter

o Energy from sunlight is transferred to the chemical store of plants
• Ethanol or methane can be produced and used in place of fossil fuels
o However, they have only half the energy density of fossil fuels

Advantages:

• Biofuel is a renewable resource

• Some vehicles can be powered by biofuel rather than using fossil fuels
• Biofuel is considered to be carbon neutral
• No sulphur dioxide is produced

Disadvantages:

• Crops of biofuel producing plants must be grown which takes time

o Growing the crops takes a lot of land, and takes resources needed for food production
• Burning biofuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
o It is considered carbon neutral because plants take in carbon dioxide when they photosynthesise

Plants take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, but carbon dioxide is released back into
the atmosphere when biofuels are burned

Nuclear Fuels

• Energy stored in the nucleus of atoms can be released when the nucleus is broken in two
o This is known as nuclear fission
• Nuclear power stations use fission reactions to heat water, to turn turbines to generate electricity

Advantages:

• No pollution released into atmosphere

• Nuclear reactors are perfectly safe as long as they are functioning properly
o Stringent checks must be routinely carried out and rigorous safety procedures followed
• Nuclear power stations can generate electricity reliably on a large scale which is available as needed
 Disadvantages:

• Uranium ore found in the ground is used for fission reactions and since there is a finite supply
o Nuclear power is a non-renewable resource
• Nuclear fuels produce radioactive waste
o
▪ Radioactive waste needs to be stored for thousands of years
▪ Safe ways of storing radioactive waste is expensive
• If an accident occurs at a nuclear reactor, radioactive waste can leak out and spread over large areas

Energy from water

Wave And Tide Power

• The rise and fall of waves or the tide can be used to turn a turbine and generate electricity

Underwater turbines generate electricity

Tidal Barrage

Advantages:

• No pollution
• Reliable and can produce a large amount of electricity at short notice
• Renewable energy resource
• Small systems are being developed to provide electricity for small islands
 Disadvantages:

• Expensive to build
• Damages fragile habitats
• Very few suitable locations
• The technology is not advanced enough for large scale electricity production

Hydroelectric Dams

• When water is stored above ground level it has energy in its gravitational potential store
• This energy can be transferred to kinetic energy if the water is allowed to flow down the slope
• Flowing water turns the turbine to generate electricity

A hydroelectric dam transfers energy from the gravitational potential energy store of the
water to its kinetic energy store mechanically to generate electricity

Advantages:

• Can respond to demand so is reliable and available

• Can generate large scale amounts of electricity

Disadvantages:

• Need to flood valleys to build which destroys habitats, towns and villages
• The pumping systems can release large amounts of greenhouse gases

Geothermal Energy

• Radioactive elements deep in the Earth release energy as they decay, this geothermal energy heats up the
rocks, sometimes to a high temperature
• Water can be poured into shafts below the Earth's surface which is heated by the rocks and returned via
another shaft as steam or hot water
• Steam can be used to turn a turbine and generate electricity, and hot water can be used to heat homes
 Cold water is heated by the rocks and returned as hot water or steam which can be used to
generate electricity

Advantages:

• Renewable resource
• Reliable source of energy
• Geothermal power stations are usually small compared to nuclear or fossil fuel power stations

Disadvantages:

• Few suitable locations on Earth so small scale production of electricity

• Can result in the release of greenhouse gases from underground
• Expensive to build

Nuclear Fusion

• The Sun’s energy is produced by through the process of nuclear fusion in its core
o Nuclear fusion involves the collision (and bonding) of hydrogen nuclei to form helium nuclei,
releasing nuclear energy in the process
• It is theoretically possible to produce a fusion reactor that could be used to generate electricity

o This technology could potentially solve the world's energy crisis

• Fusion requires extremely high temperatures, like in the centre of a star
• Scientists are currently researching how to sustain a fusion reaction at lower temperatures
o International research projects funded by some of the worlds largest businesses are making progress
with some promising results
• Currently, the fusion reactions require nearly as much energy than they produce, but progress is being made
toward net energy production
o If they succeed, virtually limitless amounts of energy could be produced, with large scale, carbon-
free electricity generation