Earth Science- Energy Resources

Energy is the ability to do work.

How can we do work? What do we need?
SOURCES OF ENERGY ACCORDING TO Republic Act 9513 - Renewable Act of 2008
Renewable Energy Sources NON-RENEWABLE
• SOLAR • COAL
• WIND • OIL
• HYDROELECTRIC • NATURAL GAS
• BIOMASS • NUCLEAR
• GEOTHERMAL

USES OF ENERGY
1. AGRICULTURAL
2. TRANSPORTATION
3. RESIDENTIAL
4. COMMERCIAL
5. INDUSTRIAL

FOSSIL FUELS
Q: What are fossil fuels and what are the different kinds?
- Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The
age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million
years. Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include coal, petroleum and natural gas. Other more
commonly used derivatives of fossil fuels include kerosene and propane.

Q: What is coal and how is it formed?

- Like oil and natural gas, coal is a fossil fuel. It started forming over 350 million years ago, through the
transformation of organic plant matter.

• Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins
called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock
because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with
variable quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
• Coalification is the formation of coal from plant material by the processes of diagenesis and metamorphism. Also
known as bituminization or carbonification. It all starts with a swamp on the edge of a sedimentary basin, such as a
lagoon or a lake.

Geological Time For The Formation of Coal

• The most favorable conditions for the formation of coal occurred 360 million to 290 million years ago, during the
Carboniferous (“coal-bearing”) Period. However, lesser amounts continued to form in some parts of the Earth during
all subsequent periods, in particular the Permian (290 million to 250 million years ago), and throughout the Mesozoic
Era (250 million to 65 million years ago).

• The accumulated plant matter buried during the Tertiary Era — less than 65 million years ago — is generally less
mature. It is often in the form of lignite, which still contains a high content of volatile matter (bitumen and decayed
wood) and has a lower carbon content. However, there is also some higher rank coal from the Tertiary Era, coal that
matured early, heated by plate tectonics. Examples of this include Paleocene coal (65 to 55 million years ago), found in
Columbia and Venezuela, and Miocene coal (20 million years ago), found in Indonesia. In Indonesia, where the
geothermal gradient is very high, anthracite lies close to the surface.

• However, the deposits in the Moscow Basin have never gone beyond the lignite stage as it is too cold. Finally, recent
accumulations (from 10,000 years ago to today) are very rich in fibrous debris known as peat, in which the shapes of
branches and roots can still be discerned. This material was not buried deep enough to contain elemental carbon.

The Different Types of Coal

• There are several different types of coal. They are ranked according to their carbon and volatile matter content.
 - Anthracite is 86 to 98% pure carbon and 8 to 3% volatile matter. It is an excellent fuel that is still used to heat
homes.
- Bituminous coal contains 70 to 86% carbon and 46 to 31% volatile matter. It is used to make coke, used in
metallurgy.
- Sub-bituminous coal is 70 to 76% carbon and 53 to 42% volatile matter. It is burned in industrial boilers.
- Lignite is 65 to 70% carbon and 63 to 53% volatile matter. It is a low-grade fuel with a high moisture content that is
used in industrial boilers.
- Peat consists of partially decomposed vegetation. Technically speaking, it isn’t coal. It has a carbon content of less
than 60% and is composed entirely of volatile matter. A poor fuel that was once used throughout Europe in the form
of dried briquettes for heating, today it is used only in a few regions, such as Ireland.

How Oil and Gas Deposits are Formed

• Deep in the Earth, oil and natural gas are formed from organic matter from dead plants and animals. These
hydrocarbons take millions of years to form under very specific pressure and temperature conditions.

• When a living organism dies, it is generally recycled in one of two ways:

- It is eaten by predators, scavengers or bacteria.

- Through exposure to ambient air or oxygen-rich water, it oxidizes. That means that the hydrogen, carbon,
nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus contained in the matter combine with oxygen atoms present in the air. The organic
matter breaks down into water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrates, sulfates and phosphates that nourish new
plants.

How Oil and Gas Forms

• At a depth of 2,000 meters, when the temperature reaches 100°C, kerogen starts to release hydrocarbons:
• Between 2,000 and 3,800 meters, it turns into oil. This depth interval is known as the oil window.
• When the source rock sinks further, to between 3,800 and 5,000 meters, production of liquid hydrocarbons peaks.
The liquids produced become increasingly lighter and gradually turn into methane gas, the lightest hydrocarbon. This
depth interval is known as the gas window.
• There are no hydrocarbons below a depth of 8 to 10 kilometers, because they are destroyed by the high
temperature.
• The proportion of liquids and gas generated in this way depends on the type of source rock. If the organic debris is
composed mostly of animal origin, it will produce more oil than gas. If it is composed mainly of plant debris, the
source rock will produce mostly gas.
• With an estimated average sedimentation of 50 meters every million years, it takes 60 million years for dead
animals to become liquid hydrocarbons. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that oil is classified as a non-renewable
energy source.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
• As you descend deeper into the Earth's crust, underground rock and water become hotter. This heat can be
recovered using different geothermal technologies depending on the temperature. But the heat resources in
geothermal reservoirs are not inexhaustible.

Thermal Gradient
• The adjective geothermal comes from the Greek words ge (earth) and thermos (heat). It covers all techniques used
to recover the heat that is naturally present in the Earth’s subsurface, particularly in aquifers, the rock reservoirs that
contain groundwater. About half this thermal (or “heat”) energy comes from the residual heat produced when the
planet was formed 4.5 billion years ago and about half from natural radioactivity.
• The temperature of geothermal water increases with depth, depending on the thermal gradient — the average
rate at which the temperature rises with depth — of the region where it is found. The average value of the gradient
worldwide is 3°C per 100 meters of depth, but it varies between 1°C and 10°C per 100 meters depending on the
physical conditions and geology of the region.

The Different Types of Geothermal Energy

• Geothermal technologies differ with the temperature of geothermal water, which determines what can be done
with it:
- At 20°C to 90°C, geothermal heat and water are used for geothermal heating. This is called low-temperature
geothermal energy (see Close-Up – "Low-Temperature Geothermal Energy: Heating”).
- At 90°C to 160°C, the water is used on the surface in liquid form. It transfers its heat to another fluid, which
vaporizes at low temperature and drives a turbine to generate power. This is called medium-temperature
geothermal energy (see Close-up – "High-Temperature Geothermal Energy: Power”).
- At temperatures above 160°C, the water turns into steam when it reaches the Earth’s surface. It drives
turbines to generate power. This is called high-temperature geothermal energy.
• The different temperature ranges are general, and practices may vary according to the economic conditions of the
particular location.

Availability of Geothermal Resources

• This heat varies in different areas. The average geothermal heat flow — the energy available for any given surface
area and period — on the surface is low. It averages 0.06 watts per square meter per year, or 3,500 times less than
the solar energy flow received in a single year by the same surface area. This is why priority is given to using heat
resources in those areas that are most likely to provide significant amounts of energy. These “geothermal reservoirs”
are found in all the Earth’s sedimentary basins, but high-temperature geothermal energy is most likely to be found
near volcanoes. In volcanic areas, geothermal heat flow can reach 1 watt per square meter.
• Geothermal reservoirs tend to be depleted with use, some faster than others. Their replenishment capacity
depends on: - Heat sources within the Earth’s crust, mainly radioactivity and residual heat. - Energy from outside the
reservoir (solar heat) for very low-temperature applications using heat pumps. Ensuring that these reservoirs will be
reheated is especially crucial for geothermal heat pumps: external factors, such as low winter temperatures, cool the
subsurface, meaning that less heat is available to be harnessed.

How is heat from inside the earth tapped as a source of energy for human use?
• Thermal energy, contained in the earth, can be used directly to supply heat or can be converted to mechanical or
electrical energy.

High-Temperature Geothermal Energy: Power

• Medium and high-temperature geothermal energy harnesses extremely hot water and steam from beneath the
Earth to generate electricity in dedicated power plants.

HYDROELECTRIC POWER
Hydropower, the Leading Renewable Energy
• Water energy encompasses both plants installed on land — on rivers and lakes — and ocean energy, which is still
being developed and harnesses the force of waves, tides and currents. Widely used for decades, hydropower plants
are the world’s leading renewable energy source, producing 83% of renewable power.
• The kinetic energy generated by moving water has been used by humankind for centuries, to drive watermills that
produce mechanical energy. Modern hydropower, sometimes referred to as “white coal," is harnessed in plants
where electricity is generated. Around 40 countries use hydropower to produce more than a fifth of their
electricity1. Hydropower accounts for 16% of electricity worldwide, behind coal and gas, but ahead of nuclear.

From Dams to Plants

• A hydroelectric power plant has three main components:
- A dam that creates a large waterfall and stores enough water to supply the plant at all times. As well as producing
and storing energy, a dam also helps to regulate flooding.
- A penstock that channels water from its natural environment (river or lake) to supply the dam reservoir. It may be
an open channel, a tunnel or pipeline.
- A powerhouse that houses the turbines driven by the waterfall and the generator driven by the turbines.

Types of Hydropower Plant

• The type of plant varies with the site's configuration, the waterway and the intended use. Run-of-river plants
produce energy using the flow of the river. With dams less than 25 meters high, these “small hydro” plants generate
power continuously to meet daily needs.
• Off-stream plants are modular, meaning that energy can be produced on demand, with dams used to create
reservoirs that can be released as required. On lakes, water falls from a significant height (over 300 meters); on
locks, from between 20 and 300 meters.
• Pumped storage power plants are specifically designed for modular operation. They have two reservoirs at
different heights. When demand requires, water is released from the higher reservoir to the lower reservoir. When
there is excess production — for example, from wind or solar sources — the surplus electricity is used to pump water
into the higher reservoir.

Site Selection and Financing

• First, the right topographical, geological and hydrographical conditions are required. The biggest hydropower
producers are countries crossed by fast-flowing rivers and mountainous countries. Gorges in rivers are good places
for building dams. Similarly, a large flat valley is ideal for holding water. There must be sufficient rainfall in the
catchment area (all upstream water).
• Large and medium-size dams are very expensive to build. Governments are increasingly trying to obtain funding
from private sources or large international organizations such as the World Bank for these projects. But because the
payback period is seen as too long, hydropower projects have difficulty attracting investors. The future of
hydropower depends to a large extent on the persuasiveness of states and potential public-private partnerships.

The Advantages of Hydropower

• The water used to generate hydropower is renewable and storable, meaning it can be used at peak consumption
times and then reused. This way of storing potential energy is particularly efficient as a hydro plant can reach its
maximum rated capacity in just a few minutes. By way of comparison, a thermal energy plant takes around 10 hours
to reach full capacity and a nuclear reactor takes four times longer than that.
• Hydropower is extremely efficient, with 90% of the water’s energy converted into electricity. In addition,
hydropower plants do not generate greenhouse gases and other emissions.
• While construction is a capital intensive, operating and maintenance costs are low. Plants have an extremely long
life and the technology is highly reliable. In France alone, of the 60- odd large dams still in use, many were built
before 1960. The oldest, located in the Nièvre region, began operating in 1858.
• With all these advantages, developing hydropower can only be beneficial. However, it still presents difficulties.

DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS RELATED TO THE USE OF THE DIFFERENT ENERGY RESOURCES
• A successful energy future will depend on managing environmental impacts while keeping energy affordable. And
this can only be achieved by formulating and implementing comprehensive energy and environmental policies with
the cooperation of the international community in the form of treaties like the Kyoto Protocol.
• The following are considered priority solutions advocated by international communities, led by the United States of
America, that are addressed in these international treaties:

• The following are considered priority solutions advocated by international communities, led by the United States of
America, that are addressed in these international treaties:
1. Curbing Global Warming

Climate change is the single biggest environmental and humanitarian crisis of our time. We must act now to
spur the adoption of cleaner energy sources at home and abroad.

Climate change is the single biggest environmental and humanitarian crisis of our time. The Earth's
atmosphere is overloaded with heat-trapping carbon dioxide, which threatens large- scale disruptions in
climate with disastrous consequences. We must act now to spur the adoption of cleaner energy sources at
home and abroad.
2. Creating the Clean Energy Future

Dependence on fossil fuels threatens our national security and is a major contributor to global warming and
toxic air pollution. By investing in renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind and biomass, we can help
solve the energy and climate crises.

Our best weapon against global climate change is clean energy. Renewable power, conservation, energy
efficiency in buildings and elsewhere, more efficient vehicles and clean fuels -- these are the solutions that
will reduce the impacts on our climate, revive our economy, and create jobs.

3. Reviving the World's Oceans

The world's oceans are on the brink of ecological collapse. We can restore marine vitality by ending
overfishing, creating marine protected areas and improving the way we govern our oceans.

Powerful forces have pushed the world's oceans to the brink of ecological collapse. Marine vitality can be
restored by ending overfishing, creating marine protected areas, improving oceans governance, and
combating emerging threats like ocean acidification. By focusing on these solutions, we can achieve the
broadest, most long-lasting benefits for our oceans and those who rely on oceans-related jobs.

4. Defending Endangered Wildlife and Wild Places

The destruction of our last remaining wildlands means the loss of vast troves of biological diversity, critical
regulators of global climate, and irreplaceable sanctuaries.
Our government joins forces with NGOs and other environment activists to defend some of our country's
most imperiled species and their habitats.
 5. Protecting Our Health By Preventing Pollution
We must reduce or eliminate the dangerous chemicals in the products we buy, the food we eat and the air
we breathe. Toxic chemicals in our environment, such as mercury, lead, and certain manmade chemicals,
have been linked to cancer, birth defects and brain impairments. Reducing or eliminating the load of these
dangerous chemicals in the products we buy, the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink
can help reduce the toll of human disease and suffering.

6. Ensuring Safe and Sufficient Water

Clean and plentiful water is the cornerstone of prosperous communities. Yet as we enter the 21st century,
swelling demand and changing climate patterns are draining rivers and aquifers and pollution is threatening
the quality of what remains. Our government is integrating our expertise in pollution prevention, water
efficiency and climate change to sustain Philippines' precious water resources, working to advance smart
water efficiency policies to ensure that communities get the water they need while keeping our lakes, rivers,
and streams full and healthy.

7. Fostering Sustainable Communities

The choices we make for where and how we live have enormous impacts on our well- being, economy, and
natural environment. The government develops and advocates sustainable solutions for our communities.

The Philippines, through the Department of Energy, will work on ensuring the implementation of the following
plans and programs to contribute to the attainment of these broad policy and program frameworks. These plans
and programs are embodied in DOE's Energy Reform Agenda (ERA).

A. Power Sector Development

• The development plans on power systems, transmission highways, distribution facilities and missionary
electrification provide the platform to put in place long-term reliable power supply, improve the country’s
transmission and distribution systems and attain nationwide electrification. Specifically, the PEP highlights
the implementation of critical power infrastructures to address possible power outages. Based on the Plan,
the government will concentrate its efforts on the completion of committed power projects, as well as
attract local and foreign investors to venture into indicative and potential power projects to include
electrification projects.

B. Fueling Sustainable Transport Program

• As one of the biggest user of energy, the energy sector is mainly concerned on other alternative options to
fuel the transport sector. Thus, the PEP will pursue the implementation of the Fueling Sustainable Transport
Program (FSTP) which seeks to convert public and private vehicles from diesel and gasoline to compressed
natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electric power. Under the program, CNG buses are
envisioned to ply throughout the country. It also includes the promotion of electric vehicles for public
transport and the increase in biofuels blends to 20.0 percent. With the FSTP, the government hopes to
reduce the carbon footprint from road transport in the Philippines. It has been estimated that road
transportation accounts for around 50.0 percent of the total air pollutants in the country.

C. Indigenous Energy Development Program

• As energy demand is anticipated to grow significantly over the indicated planning period, it is incumbent
for the energy sector to pursue all means to develop the country’s indigenous resources. In view of this, the
Plan looks into a highly diverse energy mix to fuel the Philippine economy within the planning period. Even
with the dawning of renewable energy development, the DOE recognizes the fact that the country will
remain dependent on conventional fuels for many years to come to address its growing energy
requirements. The Plan programs the conduct of energy contracting rounds as an effective strategy to bring
in critical investments for the exploration, development and production of local energy resources
D. National Renewable Energy Plan
• With the global trend towards a clean energy future, the Renewable Energy Act was passed in 2008 to fully
harness the country’s renewable energy potential such as geothermal, hydro, wind, solar, biomass and ocean. To
guide the full implementation of the law, the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) was launched on 14 June
2011 by President Aquino. The PEP includes the targets set under the NREP to strengthen its energy security plan.
Specifically, the NREP seeks to increase the country’s renewable energy-based capacity by 2030.

E. Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program

• With the escalating prices of imported fuels, the call for energy efficiency and conservation has graduated from
merely just a personal virtue to that of a national commitment. The PEP includes the National Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Program (NEECP) as one of the centerpiece strategies in pursuing energy security of the country and
looks into it as a major solution to the energy challenges of the future. To lay the groundwork for a national energy
efficiency plan, the PEP recognizes the need for an energy conservation law as a critical measure in managing the
country’s energy demand. The proposed legislation aims to incorporate policies and measures to develop local
energy auditors and energy managers, establish the ESCO industry, encourage the development of energy efficient
technologies and provide incentives for the effective promotion of efficiency initiatives in the energy market sector.

F. Natural Gas Master plan

• A complementary initiative to ensure the country’s energy security is the review and update of the Master Plan
Study for the Development of the Natural Gas Industry in the Philippines. Said update includes an evaluation of the
natural gas infrastructure requirements in the Visayas and Mindanao regions in view of the DOE’s plan to implement
a Natural Gas Infrastructure Development Plan in these regions. The Masterplan, with technical assistance from
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and World Bank, evaluates the opportunities, critical infrastructures
and required investments for the development of the natural gas industry.