12.1 Sustainable Energy Supplies

• Factors affecting the demand of energy

  Size of a country's pop. and level of economic development.

  
  

  Demand increases rapidly in developing NEEs.

  
  

  A country's energy policy can impact demand if it focuses on efficiency and sustainability.
• Factors affecting the supply of energy

  Physical - Deposits of fossil fuels are only found in certain locations.

  
  

  Economic - Poor countries often require FDI to develop energy resources.

  
  

  Political - International agreements (Kyoto Protocol) can have a significant influence on the energy decisions of countries.
• General trends in production and consumption

  Fossil fuels dominate global energy at 88.2%

  
  

  Deindustrialisation and better efficiency in MEDCs has resulted in a small increase in demand compared to NICs.

  
  

  NICs increase energy demand at fastest rate. China accounts for 1/3 of global oil growth since 2000.

  
  

  LEDCs struggle to fund energy requirements.
• Trends in the production and consumption of Oil.

  Asia - Pacific region uses 30.1% of global oil.

  
  

  North America uses 27.4%

  
  

  Africa consumes 3.4%.

  
  

  There is a correlation between economic development stage and oil consumption.
• Trends in the production and consumption of other energy sources.

  35% rise in natural gas production. (Dominated by Russia)

  
  

  49% increase in coal production. (China mines 42% of world coal)

  
  

  13% increase in Nuclear energy (mostly USA and France.)

  
  

  22% rise in hydroelectricity (dominated by China, Canada, Brazil and USA which account for 50% of total)
• Extending the life of fossil fuels.

  Coal Gasification - Coal is oxidated in air, steam or CO2 to produce a fuel gas.

  
  

  Clean coal technologies - Tech advances to reduce emissions of coal.
• Renewable Energy


  A resource that has a theoretically unlimited supply and is not depleted when used by humans.
• Hydroelectric Power


  Dams and power plants (PP) have negative visual impacts.

  
  

  Obstruction of river affects aquatic life.

  
  

  Deterioration in water quality is common.

  
  

  Large areas of land often flooded for resevoir.

  
  

  Large forests can be flooded before being cleared, resulting in methane emissions.
• Wind Power

  Dominated by USA, Germany, China and UK.

  
  

  Turbines could impact property prices and blight areas.

  
  

  Noise pollution from turbines disturb both people and wildlife.

  
  

  Skylines can be ruined.

  
  

  Turbines kill birds - especially problematic for migrating birds.
• Repowering


  Replacing the first-generation wind turbines with modern multi-megawatt turbines which give a much better performance
• Biofuels


  Made from agri-crop material and other biomass.

  
  

  Initially was seen as revolutionary.

  
  

  Has environment - damaging consequences.

  
  

  Land used to grow food is used for fuel, could worsen existing food security issues.
• Geothermal Energy


  Natural heat found in Earth's crust heats percolated surface water, steam then turns turbine.

  
  

  Iceland is 100% geothermal and world leader.

  
  

  Totally emission-less.
• Solar Power


  China leads this sector.

  
  

  Photovoltaic systems (solar panels) or concentrated solar power (concentrated sunlight heating water) are used.

  
  

  Suggested that solar has most room for improvement.
• Tidal Power

  Newish tech.

  
  

  Only one major PP using tidal in France.

  
  

  UK, US and Canada have great tidal potential should it be developed further.
• Fuelwood (LEDCs)

  2.5bn rely on fuelwood.

  
  

  Accounts for half of global wood production.

  
  

  Popular in sub-saharan Africa and in parts of Asia.

  
  

  Energy ladders are important, highlights transitional steps from fuelwood to 'high level' energy sources.
• Environmental impact of energy

  Fossil fuel impact can be dire. (Global Warming)

  
  

  Renewable sectors can also have significant impacts, like HEP schemes.
• Niger Delta


  Contains 75% of Africa remaining Mangrove.

  
  

  1.5mn tonnes of oil spilt in delta in 50yrs.

  
  

  Pollution is destroying livelihoods of 20mn locals.

  
  

  Crops and fish are killed, causing food issues.

  
  

  Flaring is an issue in Niger - there are no pipelines to take natural gas so it is burned on the spot. (One of worlds largest single sources of greenhouse gas)

  
  

  WWF say one of most polluted areas on planet.
• Oil Sands


  Present in Canada and Venezuela.

  
  

  2 tonnes of sand required for 1 barrel of oil.

  
  

  3x energy is required for a barrel of tar sand oil compared to conventional.
• Energy Pathways

  Supply routes between energy producers and consumers.

  
  

  Trans-Alaskan Pipeline - through Alaska to the US crossing 3 mountain ranges.

  
  

  Engineers fly along the pipeline checking for leaks and issues daily - added pollution.

  
  

  Pipeline is above ground to avoid melting permafrost.
• Non-Renewable Resources


  A resource that is either finite or through it's continued use will eventually lead to exhaustion.
• Non-Renewable Resources Examples


  Coal, Oil, Natural Gas, Peat
• Renewable Resources


  A resource that can be continually used and replenished without it running out.
• Renewable Resources Examples

  Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Tidal, Wave, Hydroelectric
• What do countries consider when buying energy

  -Storage

  -Cost

  -Landlocked/coastal

  -Sustainability

  -Geopolitics

  -Efficiency

  -Infrastructure

  -Transport

  -Climate
• What are the needs for energy

  -Communication

  -Construction

  -Clean water

  -Fuel cars/vehicles

  -Cook food

  -Education

  -Electricity
• Challenges in the energy industry at the moment

  -Price of supply (cost of living)

  -Conflict (e.g Russia/Ukraine)

  -Reliability

  -Sustainability
• Natural Gas


  -Cleaner for burning hydrocarbons

  -Partner with renewable

  -Smaller carbon footprint

  -More efficient ($1,100 per Kw, compared to $3,700 for coal)
• OECD

  Organisation for Economic Cooperation + Development

  -38 member countries

  -Aims to promote a better quality of life, sustainable growth and prosperity
• How does energy consumption differ between OECD + Non OECD

  OECD-still using energy but efficiency has increased

  Non OECD-biggest growth in terms of energy use, will be driving global energy use, huge users of coal as it is reliable

  Both-use of electric vehicles grow massively (by 2050, electric vehicles will make up 1/3rd of all vehicles)
• End Use Sectors


  Consume the primary energy and electricity by the user (residential, commercial, industrial, transport)
• OPEC

  Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

  -Formed in 1960

  -Restricts the amount of oil produced and exported

  -13 member countries
• OPEC-Affect on supply (2022)

  -Reduced global oil supply by 100,000 barrels per day, crude oil prices had gone from $120 to $95.

  -Dropped supply as fears of economic slowdown/recession

  -Has huge amounts of control on global markets
• Distribution of oil and gas pipelines

  -2,381 operational oil and gas pipelines world wide

  -Majority in N.Hemisphere

  -Over past 50 years, world energy consumption has nearly tripled
• Main Oil and Gas Pipelines

  Keystone Oil Pipeline-N.America, 3,462 KM long, 700,000 barrels per day

  Trans-Mediterranean Gas Pipeline-2,475 KM long, 92M cubic metres

  West-East Gas Pipeline-China, 18,854 KM long, 82M cubic metres

  Nord Stream Pipeline-connects Russia to mainland Europe
• Factors affecting supply and demand for energy-

  Levels of developmentHICs-highest energy use, together with 'oil rich' states such as Saudi Arabia

  MICs-medium but rapidly growing energy use

  LICs-minimal energy use

  HICs-can afford high levels of energy as well as the technology to exploit their domestic energy resources and import
• Factors affecting supply and demand for energy-

  Resource Endowment-Energy resources are not evenly distributed, some nations have large amounts some have few.

  Oil and Gas-Russia

  Coal-China

  Uranium-Australia and Canada

  Hydro-electric-countries with a rainy climate and high relief

  Solar-Spain
• Factors affecting supply and demand for energy-

  Climate-Affects supply of energy, e.g Denmark has a windy climate so invested in wind power

  -Also affects demand, e.g Canada and Scandinavia use more energy than any other HICs dues to long, cold winters
• Factors affecting supply and demand for energy-

  World Energy Prices-Energy prices tended to increase over time, as demand outweighs supply

  -Technology to produce oil from 'Tar Sands' of Canada has existed for many years but until recently been too expensive to trade on work market, however now able to charge these prices
• Factors affecting supply and demand for energy-

  Capital-Most energy resources require investment of large amounts of money, e.g finding and developing oil fields, power stations, infrastructure are all very costly.

  -HICs usually have the capital but MICs and LICs rely on TNCs to make investments.
• Factors affecting supply and demand for energy-

  Technology-Technology involved in the production and use of energy changes over time, e.g power station and nuclear technology not available until 20th century

  -Demand is also affected e.g invention of the internal combustion engine reduced the demand for coal and increased the demand for petroleum.

  -Technological advancements in fracking has led to a drop in prices and an increase in demand