|
Energy uses: 1.5
Quick comparison summary of advantages and disadvantages of energy resources
Doc Brown's GCSE level Physics exam study revision notes
INDEX physics notes: Energy 1.
Comparing resources, uses, issues, trends, renewables, non-renewables
1.5
A brief summary
comparison of advantages and disadvantages of energy resources
(mainly for
electricity production)
Summarises many of the energy resource uses
described e.g.
Stage 1 includes fossil fuels, wind, tidal,
geothermal, biomass, sunlight, nuclear, hydroelectric.
Stage 2 is often kinetic energy e.g. from very hot
moving steam, or cold water/wind flow.
Stage 3 is often a turbine driven by steam of wind.
Stage 4 is usually an electrical generator.
|
ENERGY RESOURCE for heat or electricity |
Examples of
ADVANTAGES |
Examples of
DISADVANTAGES |
|
COAL from the remains of buried and decayed plant remains |
relatively cheap, suitable for big power big stations |
very polluting from smog and acid rain, non-renewable fossil fuel (115 years left?), carbon dioxide produced |
|
BIOMASS from plant growth e.g. oils, sugar, wood or from animal dung |
renewable from plant and animal resources, can use waste material, less demand on non-renewable resources |
pollution can be high but does recycle carbon dioxide, no good for big power stations |
|
WIND,
the heat from Sun warms air, causes movement |
renewable, no fuel costs, little pollution, less demand on non-renewable sources, no carbon dioxide produced |
unreliable due to variable wind speed, no good large scale |
|
SUNLIGHT infrared radiation
for heat |
renewable, no fuel costs, little pollution, less demand on non-renewable resources, no carbon dioxide produced |
unreliable due to variable sunlight intensity |
|
ENERGY RESOURCE for heat or electricity |
Examples of ADVANTAGES |
Examples of
DISADVANTAGES |
|
NATURAL GAS
from the remains of buried and decayed marine organisms |
reasonably cheap for medium to large scale power stations, quick start up, efficient, convenient to pipe |
medium
pollution, carbon dioxide adds to global warming, non-renewable
(90 years left?) |
|
SUNLIGHT for
electricity directly using visible light sensitive solar
cells |
renewable, no fuel costs, no pollution, less demand on non-renewable resources, good for remote locations |
unreliable, no good for large scale power |
|
NUCLEAR power from unstable atoms disintegrating |
suitable for large scale power stations, no carbon dioxide to add to global warming |
toxic
radioactive waste, accidents potentially very serious, very
costly to build and dismantle, non-renewable |
|
HYDROELECTRIC power from rainwater stored behind dam |
renewable, no fuel costs, no pollution, no demand on non-renewable resources, fast start up and increase power, no carbon dioxide produced |
very
costly to build, disruption or removal of wildlife habitat or
farmland, limited suitable valley locations |
|
ENERGY RESOURCE for heat or electricity |
Examples of
ADVANTAGES |
Examples of
DISADVANTAGES |
|
WAVE POWER from the up-down movement due to wind |
renewable, no fuel costs, no pollution, no demand on non-renewable resources |
unreliable, storm damage |
|
CRUDE OIL from the remains of buried and decayed marine
organisms | lots of it at the moment, relatively cheap, ok for big power big stations, easy to pipe around |
polluting from smog and acid rain, non-renewable fossil fuel (80 years left?), adds to global warming |
|
TIDAL BARRAGE from the mass movement of water due to gravity pull of the moon |
renewable, no fuel costs, little pollution, less demand on non-renewable resources, no carbon dioxide produced |
very costly to build, disruption of wildlife habitat, limited suitable estuary locations, cannot generate power when tides are turning (about 10 useful hours?) |
|
GEOTHERMAL from hot rocks underground in active/recent volcanic regions |
renewable energy resource, no fuel costs, little pollution, no carbon dioxide |
limited suitable locations |
INDEX physics notes: Energy 1.
Comparing resources, uses, issues, trends, renewables, non-renewables
Keywords, phrases and learning objectives
on energy resources
Be able to compare the advantages and disadvantages
of different energy resources, renewable and non-renewable, and be
able to discuss issues with their uses including coal, biomass,
crude oil, wave power, wind, sunlight, natural gas, sunlight,
nuclear, hydroelectric, tidal barrage and geothermal energy
resources
SITEMAP
Website content © Dr
Phil Brown 2000+. All copyrights reserved on Doc Brown's physics revision notes, images,
quizzes, worksheets etc. Copying of website material is NOT
permitted. Exam revision summaries and references to GCSE science course specifications
are unofficial.
Using SEARCH some initial results may be ad links you
can ignore - look for docbrown
INDEX physics notes: Energy 1.
Comparing resources, uses, issues, trends, renewables, non-renewables
|
