World Energy Consumption

Increase over the years

MEDC used more energy than LEDC, due to

population growth and economic development

 Improve Standard of Living Electricity makes daily household tasks easier - it provides heat, light in the evenings, television and computers Modern transport system uses oil/petroleum to transport people worldwide for work and pleasure Allows goods to move great distance easily and quickly Industry requires energy to make it work. Without it economy cannot grow, wealth cannot be increased and peoples lives will not be improved

 Non- renewable energy sources

might run out too quickly Consumption of fuel will lead to air pollution Increase rate of global warming Interdependence of countries on each other for energy supplies can lead to conflicts Safety issue for nuclear power

Types on non-renewable energy (fossil fuel)

Advantages Disadvantages Coal is finite so will eventually run out. Many existing reserves are becoming harder to extract or are in environmentally sensitive areas Coal releases large amounts of greenhouses gases when burnt Mining deep underground coal is very dangerous Coal is very bulky and expensive to transport around the world

Coal

Energy production using coal can be increased or decreased according to demand The technology to burn coal to generate electricity already exists

Types on non-renewable energy (fossil fuel)

Advantages Disadvantages Burning oil produces greenhouse gases and can lead to inreased global warming Oil spills from leaking tankers and pipelines can cause pollution which kills wildlife World oil production is concentrated in a small number of countries, which control both the supply and price Work on board oil rigs, especially those offshore, can be dangerous

Oil

It is easy to transport by pipeline and bulk tanker. It is the only fuel in mass use for motor vehicles It is less polluting than coal when burned It is also a raw material in the chemical industry

Types on non-renewable energy (fossil fuel)

Advantages Disadvantages Gas is finite so will eventually run out A lot of gas is located in politically unstable countries or environmentally sensitive areas. Gas is vulnerable to leaks and explosions

Gas

Energy production using gas can be increased or decreased according to demand The technology to burn gas to generate electricity already exists Burning gas releases less greenhouses gases then coal and oil It is now possible to compress gas and transport it more easily.

Geothermal energy in Iceland

Iceland lies on the divergent plate margin of the Mid -

Atlantic Ridge, an area with abundant hot rocks. It is the worlds leading producer of geothermal energy In Iceland, 5 major geothermal power stations. 24% produced by geothermal energy 75% produced by hydroelectricity 1% produced by fossil fuels

Reykjanes Power Station - Geothermal Power Station

Krafla Geothermal Power Station - Open in 1978, reduce seismic and volanic hazards

Svartsengi Geothermal Power Station - It extracts hot watcer at 90 Deg Cel and surplus mineral-rich water from the plant is used to fill up the Blue Lagoon

Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station -Opend in 1990; 2nd largest in Iceland -Produces approximately 120MW of electrical power and around 1800L of hot water per second -Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Station --Largest in the world

Renewable energy : Wind Energy

Advantages
Does not cause air pollution, global warming or acid rain It has little effect on the local ecosystem After the initial capital input, production is cheap because fuel is free Wind farms can provide small source of income for the farmers

Disadvantages
It cannot be used during calm periods or storms. Visual pollution Relatively new technology and large numbers of turbines are needed to generate modest amount of electricity.

Renewable energy : Solar Energy

Advantages
Safe and pollution free It has little effect on the local ecosystem After the initial capital input, production is cheap because fuel is free Good for warm and sunny countries Can be used for low- power uses such as heating of swimming pools or central heating

Disadvantages
Initial Capital is high Not effective in cloudy countries Less effective for high-latitude countries, where more power is needed in winter but days are shorter and sun is lower in the sky- giving less light Less effective for high-output uses, such as powering colour TV

Renewable energy : BioFuels

Advantages
Prices could be more stable than world oil prices Supplies can be more secure and reduce reliance on imported fuels Fewer pollutants are produced than by than fossils fuels They are carbon-neutral, because the growing source crops absorb carbon dioxide from the air which balance the emissions from the burning fuel

Disadvantages
Some of the land used for crops production was change to biofuel production instead. This lead to increase in food prices and decrease in the food supply

Renewable energy : Hydroelectric

Advantages
Once a dam is built, electricity can be produced at a constant rate No fuel Cost Reservoir forms behind the dam can be used for sports and leisure activities Stored water can used for irrigation No atmospheric polltion

Disadvantages
Extremely expensive Some natural environment is destroyed Some villages and town must move Causes geographical damage Alters the level of water in the ground

Renewable energy : Nuclear

Advantages
The technology to make nuclear power already exists. There is a plentiful supply of uranium, enough to last hundreds of years. Nuclear energy releases very low amounts of greenhouse gases. It reduces the dependency on oil, coal and gas producing countries Nuclear waste can be safely stored underground The supply of electricity can be altered depending on the demand.

Disadvantages
Risk of nuclear accidents (Chernobyl accident in the Ukraine Risk that nuclear power stations will become terrorist targets or that nuclear material will fall into the hands of terrorists. Transporting nuclear material and nuclear waste is risky and expensive. Nuclear power stations only have a limited life period and the cost of decommissioning them is expensive. People don't want nuclear power stations built near where they live i.e. NIMBY Mining for uranium is dangerous and can be polluting. Nuclear waste remains radioactive for thousands of years (it has a very long half life)

European MEDC
Germany is the largest consumer of electricity in

Europe It mainly depends on coal, nuclear and gas

Thermal Power Station - Coal

Use two types of coals lignite and bituminous coal
Lignite(brown coal) contains less carbon, gives out less

heat when burnt, produces more ash, and causes more air pollution. It is extracted in Nordrhein- Westfalen and Sachsen(in western Germany) and Brandenburg (in eastern Germany) Bituminous coal is more carbon-rich and generally of better quality. It is mined in Nordrhein-Westfalen( the Ruhr Coalfield) and Saarland

Reduce Pollution
Schwarze Pupe Power Station
The lignite fuel is burned in the presence of pure

oxygen releasing water vapour and carbon dioxide. It condense the water in a pipe, captures and isolates nearly 95 percent of the carbon dioxide which is then compressed into a liquid and solid (Fizzy Drinks)

Nuclear Power station

Nuclear power stations are distributed throughout the

country. Many of them are located near large rivers to supply cooling water.
Problem: Ways and place to safetly store and dispose

its nuclear waste

Solution: Stored on the surface at the nuclear power

station, former iron ore mine and underground disposal site at Morsleben

Move to renewable energy sources

Germany intends to phase out nuclear power

production and continue to reduce its carbon emission. However, it will mean that Germany has to depend on its neighbours like France, Netherlands, Poland and Czech.

The end