Energy

Source

How does it work?

Pros

Cons

Solar Power

Solar panels work by

allowing photons, particles
of light from the sun, to
knock free electrons from
their atoms creating direct
current electricity, a
current flowing in one
direction. This current is
run through an inverter,
and the direct current
electricity is converted to
alternating current
electricity, energy that
switches directions at a
constant interval. This
energy is used then used
to power your home
appliances.

Helps
the
environment
by using
natural light
instead of
fossil fuel
Quiet
Can
be used
anywhere
with sunlight
Can
be installed
in efficient
locations
Reduc
es electricity
costs

Expen
sive

Does
not work 24 hours
a day because of
darkness

Even
though it is less
polluting than
fossil fuels, it still
causes pollution.

Some
cells used in solar
power are
expensive
because of how
rare/ exotic they
are in nature.

Requir
es more space
than any other
renewable energy
source.

Wind Power

WInd power works

through wind pushing on a
turbine that then spins a
shaft connected to a
generator to create
electricity. They are
usually mounted atop a
tower to get the most
efficiency from the wind.

Does
not cause
pollution
Rene
wable
Can
never run out
of it
Can
produce a
ton of
electricity
Afford
able

Noisy
The making
and building of wind
turbines requires a
big investment.
Threat to
animals like birds.
Aesthetics
are concerning.
Only
produces energy
when the wind is
blowing.
Alters lighting

Hydro Power

By Tomia - Own work, CC BY 2.5,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.
php?curid=3302749

Water is held back by a

dam. When released, the
water flows through a dam
and spins turbines. Those
turbines provide energy
for power generators that
produce electricity.

Prices
are
decreasing
Preve
nts power
outages

because of the
blades casting
shadows.
Radar
interference from
wind turbines
happens very rarely.

Doesn
t pollute
Safe
Can
be regulated
for different
amounts of
energy
Dams
are very
durable
Rene
wable
Very
few
fluctuations
in the power
Water
is a free
resource
Provid
e better
water quality

Ecosystems
and wildlife are
greatly impacted
because dam has to
be made to produce
hydro power. Dams
causes flooding in
certain areas and
roads and power
also have to be build
leading up to the
hydro plant.
When a large
dam is build all near
by residence usually
have to leave.
Sometimes whole
towns must leave
Building a
dam requires lots of
money.
Dam breaks
leads to flooding
and sometimes
death.
During
droughts there is
little water to create
hydro energy.

Biomass/Biofu
el

https://www.renewableenergyhub.co.uk/
commercial-and-industrial-biomass.html

All plants contain energy

absorbed through the sun
by photosynthesis. When
plants are burned, they let
off energy in the form of
heat. This heat is used to
boil water, creating steam
that pushes turbines.
Some resources include
dead trees, branches,
yard clippings, leftover
crops, manure, and
recycled paper.
----------------------------------Biomass can also be
converted into biofuels for
transportation
examples:
-Biodiesel (methanol,
vegetable oil, animal
fat/cooking grease)
- ethanol
- charcoal

Geothermal
Energy

Hot water and steam is

pumped up from the
ground where the crust is
thin. The water is used to
power a turbine which
turns a generator which
creates electricity. The
excess water which has
been cooled down is then
injected back into the
earth where it is heated up
again.

Rene
wable
Low
costs
Part of
the carbon
cycle = clean

Can
convert
waste into
energy
Large
amounts of
biomass is
available
Biofuels:
Can
be mixed
with other
fuels
Better
for car
engines
contai
ns 50,000
times more
energy than
all the oil and
natural gas
resources on
earth
Limitle
ss supply
No
fuel required

These
process can lead to
deforestation
A lot of space
is required
A lot of water
is also required
Sometime
there is little or no
net gain.
Some
materials used are
only seasonal like
crops.
Biofuel
Plants for
biofuel might
become more
prioritized that food
crops causing
reduced growing of
food plants.
More land is
needed to grow
plants for biofuel.
Some
vehicles can not use
biofuels. Engine
modification would
be needed or those
vehicles would
become out of date.
In extreme
cases, the plants
can cause major
earthquakes
building
plants are very
expensive
Sulfur dioxide
and silica emissions
Prime sites
are very locationspecific
cant be near

(no mining or
transportatio
n)
Can
be built
underGround
Almos
t entirely
emission free
It is a
renewable
energy
source that
supplies a
continuous
baseload
power (is the
minimum
level of
demand on
an electrical
supply
system over
24 hours.)
Oil/Petroleum
(fossil fuel)

Used
as fuel
Easy
to transport
Abund
ant Supply
Create
s jobs
Use in
cars, convert
into
electricity,
plastics, wax,
sulfur,
asphalt.
It is
easy to

major metropolitan
areas
seismic
activity may follow
after hot dry rock
drilling and
development
Drilling into
heated rock is very
difficult

Gives off a lot

of pollution; is the
main contributor to
global warming
Nonrenewable; supply
will run out
accidents
happen regularly;
which leads to mass
pollution, killing
many animals, and it
takes year
enhanced
greenhouse effect
prices are
rising

distribute and
cheaper to
transport

Natural Gas
(fossil fuel)

These generators use a

compressor to draw in air,
pressurize the air, and
deliver it to the internal
combustion chamber.
There, ignitable fuels such
as natural gases or oil are
mixed with the pressurized
air, then heated up to
temperatures of 2000F,
creating a high
temperature, rapidly
expanding stream of gas.
Finally, the gas flows
towards the turbine, where
the turbine rotates,
causing the compressor to
draw more air into the
system and the generator
to spin, generating energy.

Burns
efficiently
Contri
butes 21% of
the worlds
energy
cleane
st of the
fossil fuels
the
fossil fuel
industry
employs 1.2
million
people
no
waste left
over
can be
stored safely
emits
60-90% less
smogproducing
pollutants

Coal (fossil
fuel)

The coal is first pulverized,

then mixed with hot air

Relati
vely

Emits carbon
dioxide
contains 8090% methane
Explosive,
maybe dangerous
Not
renewable
Fracking
uses a lot of water
microearthquakes are
side effects of
fracking
explosive
burning of
natural gas can
cause carbon
monoxide poisoning
water
pollution (proximity
of oil mining to water
sources)
air pollution
(release of carbon
monoxide)

Nonrenewabl
e

Nuclear/Urani
um

and then sent to the boiler,

where it is used to boil the
water. The water turns into
steam, and is directed
through pipes towards the
turbines. There, the steam
causes the turbines to
rotate, causing the
generator shaft to spin
and generate electricity.
Afterwards, the steam is
cooled down by a system
of pipes carrying the
coolant, typically water,
turned into water, and then
the process is repeated.

inexpensive
Very
plentiful
Can
be converted
into gas or
liquid, which
burns
cleaner
Contin
uous power
It has
a very
mature
industry

Coal
emissions are linked
to asthma and lung
cancer
High levels of
radiation
The greatest
contributor to global
warming
Contains the
most amount of CO2
per BTU, or about
1055 Joules.
Severe harm
caused to the
environment due to
to coal mining
Coal mining
is the second
highest cause of the
emission of
methane, a major
greenhouse gas
Emits trace
amounts of mercury
and heavy metals,
as well as chemical
compounds that can
contribute to acid
rain

Nuclear fission is a
process in which a
nucleus of an atom splits
or a nucleus hits another
particle, both resulting in
the release of energy.

Low
amounts of
carbon
dioxide and
other
greenhouse
gasses are
released
while
generating
power.
The
cost to
operate is
low

Numerous
accidents have
happened:
Chernobyl,
Fukushima, Threemile Island, etc.
https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/List_of_nucl
ear_power_accident
s_by_country
Waste might
not be greenhouse
gases, but is
radioactive and can
last for hundreds of

There are two different

kinds of nuclear plants:

Pressurized Water
Reactors (PWR), and
Boiling Water reactors
(BWR).
In a PWR, pressure is
applied so that the water
is heated, but not boiled.
The heated water is
moved through pipes in a
steam generator,
converting it to steam. The
steam then rotates a
turbine connected to a
generator, which
generates electricity.

In a BWR, the water is

heated to boiling point
through nuclear fission,
and the steam moves
through the turbine and
generates electricity.

compared to
other energy
sources.
It can
put out a lot
of energy
meaning it is
capable of
powering
large cities
and
industries.
nuclea
r waste
(current and
future) can
be cut down
by waste
recycling and
reprocessing
(which is
chemically
removing the
plutonium
from the
fuel).
The
production of
power is not
affected by
the weather.
The
water used in
the process
can be
reused.

thousands of years.
The waste also
needs to be stored
in a special manner
or risk catastrophic
leaks
Generating
the power might not
release much CO2,
but mining and
processing uranium
release CO2.
Huge costs
for construction
Uranium is as
finite as fossil fuels,
but even more
dangerous and
expensive to obtain
Power plants
and waste storage
facilities are targets
for terrorism

Why build a house without electricity?

How much energy do humans use? In what forms?
Americans use 9,500 kWh (Kilowatt Hour) or
Year
Energy Percentages (USA)- 2014
35.4% Petroleum
28.0% Gas
18.2% Coal
9.8% Renewables
8.5% Nuclear
Renewables (USA) - 2014
26% Hydroelectric
23% Wood
22% Biofuels
18% Wind
5% Biomass Waste
4% Solar
2% Geothermal

Cost/Economics of electricity
California - Cent/kWh - 2015
17.30 Residential
13.77 Commercial
10.66 Industrial
9.07 Transportation
14.48 Average

3.6 megajoules per

Climate change - how does it happen?(greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, use of suns
energy):
Climate change happens on a global scale. Climate change is caused by the way
heat travels. The reason we have climate change is because the heat is trapped in our
atmosphere, and cant easily escape. This is also known as the greenhouse effect.
This causes the earth to warm over time. Energy cant escape, but it can get in
because it is in a different form. Most solar energy come in the form of light, which can
easily enter the atmosphere, but after it has been absorbed, the energy is released in
the form of infrared, which is more easily trapped by these greenhouse gasses.
Humans have a big impact on why the earth cant get rid of the heat. Burning fossil
fuels is one of the main reasons for the greenhouse effect. The carbon cycle is also a
big cause for climate change. The Carbon cycle basically explains that almost
everything on the face of the Earth uses Carbon in some way, and with the increase in
population and fossil fuel use, it makes us release more carbon based gases such as
methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). These gases are greenhouse gases that
trap the infrared radiation which makes the heat bunch up in the atmosphere instead of
leaving the atmosphere like it usually does. :)

Climate Change - Consequences - what could happen as a result of the changing

climate?

of the earth's species could be extinct by 2050!!!!!

Shifting seasons
raising temperatures
raising sea levels
warmer earth leads to warmer water(warmer water takes up
more space(thermal expansion) and melting glaciers add more water as
well
can flood low lying areas and islands
can erode coastlines and threaten coastal populations
could raise 36 inches which would swamp every city in the east
from Miami to Boston
about 100 million people worldwide live within 3 feet of sea
level
sea level rising could displace tens of millions of people
stronger storms
hurricanes get more energy from hotter water
storms will cause damage to homes
damage to homes results to losing money in fixing it
economic problems
more diseases and illness
increase risk of drought fire and floods

 plants and animal species are struggling to cope