What is renewable energy?
Renewable energy is defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.
What is non-renewable energy?
Non-renewable energy comes from sources that are finite or are used quicker than they are replenished. Most non renewable energy sources are fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas.
What is recyclable energy?
Energy where the bi-product can be reused to create the energy again.
What are the 3 groups of energy?
- Renewable
- Non-renewable
- Recyclable.
What is a resource?
A resource is anything that is of use to people. Geographers use the term to refer to the natural resources found on earth.
Geothermal energy description.
Deep underground, the Earth’s rocks are naturally very hot. We can turn their heat energy into electrical energy to use in our homes – we call this ‘geothermal energy’.
- Cold water is pumped below the ground.
- Hot rocks heat the water, turning it into steam.
- The steam is used to generate electricity.
Advantages to geothermal energy.
- This is a renewable energy resource.
- It does not create greenhouse gases because nothing is burned.
Disadvantages to geothermal energy.
- There are very few places in the world where you can do this, so only some regions can use this energy type.
- It is expensive to drill deep into the ground
Hydroelectric energy description.
The water flowing in a river has kinetic energy. We can turn this into electrical energy to use in our homes. We usually need to build a dam and let the water flow through it gradually. This turns a turbine which moves to create electricity.
Advantages to hydroelectric energy.
- It is renewable!
- Countries can build their own dams and therefore do not need to import energy from other countries.
- The electricity created is cheaper than other sources of energy so that local communities can afford it.
Disadvantages to hydroelectric energy.
- To build a dam, you need a lot of space. This leads to people having to move out of the area. Most of the time, these people are poor and live in rural communities.
- Huge areas of land are flooded to create dams, damaging ecosystems such as tropical rain-forests.
Solar energy description.
The Earth gets heat and light energy from the sun all the time. Can we use it – yes, we can! The Sun’s energy can either be:
* 1. Changed into electrical energy to use in homes, using solar cells.
* 2. Or used to heat water for homes, using solar panels.
Advantages to solar energy.
- Renewable
- No pollution because nothing gets burned
Disadvantages to solar energy.
- Solar cells and solar panels are expensive.
- Only works if it’s sunny!
- Can be an eyesore
Wind energy description.
Using wind turbines, we can turn the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy which we can use in our homes. The wind travels through a turbine, making it spin. This movement is then converted into electricity to power homes and businesses.
Advantages to wind energy.
- Renewable
- Wind turbines can be built on land and at sea which means that they are good for lots of different countries.
- Turbines are quite cheap and easy to build, so they can be used even in poor countries
Disadvantages to wind energy.
- Turbines can be ugly and noisy which might upset local communities.
- Only works if it’s quite windy! So not very reliable.
Biomass energy description.
The chemical potential energy stored in things that were once alive (e.g. trees) can be turned into heat energy by burning them. (We can also turn it into electrical energy to use in our homes.)
* 1. Trees absorb the sun’s energy. The trees change this energy into chemical energy, which they store inside themselves.
* 2. When we burn wood, we turn this energy into heat, which is useful for cooking and heating.
Advantages to biomass energy.
- Renewable – as long as we keep planting trees to replace the ones, we cut down.
- Doesn’t need any special equipment, so it can be used very easily, even in poor countries.
Disadvantages to biomass energy.
- Large areas of land are needed to grow enough trees
Oil energy description
Oil is extracted from the earth through large suction pumps which suck it up from deep underneath the earth’s surface. This is often carried out on oil rigs out at sea. Back at the power stations the oil is then burned. As the oil burns, it heats water in a boiler above it. This produces steam which powers a turbine engine. It is this engine which produces electric energy.
Advantages to oil energy.
- Oil is cheap and easy to transport.
- It is still quite abundant. This means there is still quite a lot of it.
Disadvantages to oil energy.
- Oil spills are frequent and have huge impacts on the surrounding environment, particularly when they happen at sea.
- As oil begins to run out it is becoming much more expensive to use.
Coal energy description.
Coal is extracted from the earth through mining. Once the coal has been collected it is then broken down into a fine powder. The powder is then mixed with hot air in a furnace (a large oven). As the coal burns, it heats water in a boiler above it. This produces steam which powers a turbine engine. It is this engine which produces electric energy.
Coal itself doesn’t make electricity; it is the burning of it to heat water that powers an engine which produces energy!
