Environmental management

• Reliability


  Consistent and dependable delivery of high quality power
• Flexibility


  The ability to accommodate changing supply and demand patterns and new technology
• Efficiency


  Low losses in electricity delivery and more optimal use of system assets
• Resiliency


  The ability to withstand and quickly recover from disruptions and maintain critical function
• Fossil fuels


  - form over millions of years from organisms that die and are buried.

  - They can be burnt in power plants to generate electricity, or oil can be refined to produce petrol for vehicles.
• Renewable energy


  - comes from various sources, e.g. wind and water can be used to turn turbines and generate electricity, solar power can be converted to electricity using solar panels, and geothermal energy can be used to boil water to produce steam

  - this can be used for heating or to turn turbines to generate electricity.
• Primary energy


  - released from a direct source as it naturally occurs, e.g. burning coal generates heat.

  - When primary energy is converted, it becomes secondary energy, e.g. a thermal power station may use coal to generate heat that is then used to generate electrical energy (a secondary energy source).
• Key areas of energy usage


  - residential

  - industry

  - agriculture

  - services

  - transport
• Non renewable sources


  - also termed finite, capital or stock resources

  - those that have been built up over time, so they cannot be used without depleting their stock.

  - Because their rate of formation is very slow - geologically formed over millions of years - they are finite.

  - If they are heavily exploited, this puts pressure on the source of supply.

  - Emit green house gasses and degrade the environment

  - Prices subject to variation on international energy markets

  - Non-renewable resources include hydrocarbons (the fossil fuels - coal, natural gas and oil) and uranium ore used to generate nuclear power.
• Renewable sources


  - flow or income resources

  - have a 'natural rate of availability'.

  - They yield a continuous flow that can be consumed in any given period of time, without endangering future usage, provided current use does not exceed net renewal rates during the same period.

  - A renewable resource is one that naturally restores or replenishes itself. It is constantly available without human or other outside influences

  - Theoretically, non-polluting

  - May have implications for the land/environment e.g., biofuels requiring lots of land
• 2 types of renewables


  Recyclable renewables:

  •Biomass energy from forests

  •Plants or animal waste

  •Nuclear power produced by recycling spent rods of uranium from existing nuclear power stations

  
  

  Everlasting renewable resources:

  •Tides

  •Waves

  •Wind

  •Running water

  •Sunshine
• Recoverable reserves


  - The amount of an energy resource likely to be extracted for commercial use, i.e., proved resources that are economically viable with current levels of technology.
• Speculative reserves


  - Deposits where geological conditions parallel to existing operations suggest a likelihood of occurrence, but because of high technological costs they are currently not economically viable or have not yet been explored.

  - This makes it difficult to provide accurate predictions, for example for future oil and natural gas supplies.
• Why is global energy consumption increasing?


  • Populations getting richer. More money - people have more consumer goods which demand energy (China and India = growing middle class and combined, account for 2.5billion people

  • Advances in technology means prices of consumer goods start to decrease become more accessible to people - require more energy

  • Rapidly developing nations, like India are lifting millions of people out of poverty. This sheer increase in the number of people demanding access to affordable and reliable energy will drive energy demand in the decades to come.

  • A growing world economy further increases energy demand - GDP globally is expected to double by 2035, with non-OECD Asia contributing nearly 60% to that growth. Increasing economic productivity requires more energy.

  • Increasing urbanisation also means more energy demand: the world's population is concentrating in cities and towns, pushing the urbanisation rate up from 35% in 2013 to 63% by 2040 - meaning the absolute number of people in rural areas falls. Urbanisation increases demand for modern energy.

  • Growth in vehicle demand - the BP energy outlook 2035 forecasts that global vehicle fleet more than doubles from 1.2 billion today to 2.4 billion by 2035.
• Factors that affect source of energy used by a country


  - Availability, quality, lifetime and sustainability of the resource.

  - Cost of harnessing, as well as transporting (importing or within the country), the source of energy: some types of energy, such as oil, may be too expensive for less wealthy countries; while others, such as tides, may as yet be uneconomical to use.

  - Technology needed to harness a source of energy: like costs, this may be beyond some of the lower income countries

  - Demands of the end user: in low income countries, energy may be needed mainly for domestic purposes; in higher income countries it is needed for transport, agriculture and industry.

  - Political decisions: for example which type of energy to utilise or to develop (nuclear), or whether to deny its sale to rival countries

  - Environment: this may be adversely affected by the use of specific types of energy, such as coal and nuclear; it may only be protected if there are strongly organised local or international conservation pressure groups
• How climate affects energy supply


  • Wind - wind energy can only be generated in locations with an average annual wind speed above about 5.5 m/s. However, very high winds can damage wind turbines, so most turbines stop working automatically if winds exceed about 25 m/s.

  • HEP - Hydroelectric Power relies on large flows of water to generate electricity. In areas with low rainfall or frequent droughts, it cannot produce reliable power.

  • Solar - solar power is generated using sunlight, so it is most effective in places with little cloud cover. The amount of energy that can be produced varies with time of year - in many areas, days are longer in the summer, so more energy can be generated.
• How geology affects energy supply


  • Coal is a sedimentary rock - it forms when plant material undergoes specific geological processes which as burial and heating. Coal that has undergone the most change is the highest quality (anthracite), while coal that has been changed least is the lowest quality (lignite).

  • Oil and Natural gas need specific geological conditions to form and be stored = when organic rich rocks are buried, they are heated and compressed, and begin to break down into oil and gas. Gas forms at higher temperatures, often deeper underground, than oil.

  • Oil and natural gas can also form in shale - shale is impermeable, so it is difficult to extract oil and gas from it. A process called hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can be used to extract the fuel.

  - Geology is also important for geothermal energy production - many geothermal power stations are located in places where the Earth's crust is thin, so molten rock is close to the surface.
• How drainage affects energy supply


  • The Drainage Network of a country (e.g., the number of rivers and the size and shape of the drainage basins) affects the volume of energy that can be generated using HEP.

  - To generate HEP, a dam is built across a river. Water flows through tunnels in the dam, turning turbines to produce electricity.

  • HEP generation is most effective if there a large volume of water flowing consistently down the river, and a large drop in elevation from the reservoir to the water outlet.

  - It therefore works best in drainage basins with large rivers ad fairly steep terrain. However, steep terrain can make dam construction more difficult or expensive.
• Mega trends in energy demand and consumption


  - renewable on the rise

  - decarbonisation underway

  - oil stays resilient

  - gas fastest growth among fossil fuels
• Megatrend 1: renewable energy on the rise


  - The global weighted average cost of electricity for solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind fell by 77% and 35% respectively between 2010 and 2018.

  - Global electricity generation from renewables also grew by 7% in 2018.

  - Most of the growth was led by China, which accounted for nearly 37% of growth in offshore wind and for 44% of the increase in solar PV

  - Demand for renewable energy is projected to increase globally by 64% between 2018 and 2030
• Megatrend 2: decarbonisation is underway


  - Oil Prices collapsed by around 66% between January and April 2020, reaching an all-time low of US$23.34/b and US$16.5/b for Brent and WTI crude oil respectively in April.

  - global oil demand was lower by 9.3 mb/d in 2020 compared with 2019
• Megatrend 3: oil proves resilient


  - Global oil demand is expected to account for 30% of global energy demand by 2030, followed by coal (24%) and natural gas (24%).

  - The growth in gas demand should be led by Asian countries, in particular China, which could witness 89% growth between 2018 and 2030, as well as Africa (40%), whereas it is expected to decline in the EU (-8%).

  - natural gas production, it is expected to grow by 20% between 2018 and 2030.
• Megatrend 4: gas witnessing the fastest growth among fossil fuels


  - Global natural gas demand is expected to grow more than twice as fast as oil demand.

  - It is expected to reach 4,720 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2030, a level almost 20% higher than today.

  - This is in stark contrast to the growth in oil (9%) and coal (1%) demand during the same period.
• How much energy comes from low carbon sources in global energy mix


  - 16% of global primary energy came from low-carbon sources in 2019

  - 11.4% came from renewables; and 4.3% came from nuclear.

  - 84% of global energy mix - come from fossil fuels
• Energy ladder


  - describes the change in energy-use and demand patterns in accordance with the variations in economic status of the household.

  - The lower the income of the households, the more they rely on biomass fuels, such as wood and dung.

  - When incomes start rising, a transition occurs where the households start shifting towards cleaner and more expensive fuels (LPG & electricity), hence, climbing the ladder.

  
• Local impacts of energy


  - Gasses and particles never mix with water NOx, SO2, CO2 cause the air to become acidic - absorbed by plants and trees

  - Larger particles deposit directly onto the ground or in bodies of water, causing acidic effects on limestone

  - Nuclear disaster: see Chernobyl
• Global impacts of energy production and usage


  - Gasses and particles mix with water vapour in the sky

  NOx, SO2, CO2 cause the precipitation to become acidic - causing erosion of alkaline rocks and structures such as Limestone

  - Carried by wind - eg. UK greenhouse gasses cause acid rains in Germany and The Netherlands

  - Ocean acidity increased by 0.05pH over 40 years

  - Global warming- Burning fossil fuels causes an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gasses (methane, CO2, SO2 etc...) Cause the enhanced greenhouse effect.

  - Temperature has risen by 0.5°C over the last 40 years

  - Increased CO2 (340ppm to 410ppm over 40 years) increases ocean acidity

  - Ozone destroyed by CFCs, that react with O3 causing it to decrease - Reached a maximum size of 28.4km2 in 2000, now decreased to 9.3km2
• Environmental impacts of solar energy production


  - photovoltaic cells use silicon (unlikely to run out)

  - silent and no moving parts so low operating costs
• Environmental impacts of solar usage


  - visual impact of passive solar

  - no CO2 produced so doesn't contribute to EGE
• Environmental impacts of tidal energy production


  - estuarine barrier blocks fish movement to spawning grounds

  - Flushing times mean pollutants stagnate in estuary

  - behind barrier level of water at low tide is permanently higher so changes habitat
• Nuclear energy environmental impacts of production


  - produces low level waste such as contaminated mops, filters etc

  - high level waste such as spent fuel cylinders
• Environmental impacts of nuclear energy usage


  - no international ban on dumping nuclear waste until 1993 into oceans

  - Japan - 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from Fukushima entered the sea

  - Caesium detected over 600km offshore in Zooplankton due to Fukushima in 2011
• Environmental impact of Hydro electric energy production


  - dams casue water to heat up and encourage algal bloom and siltation

  - reduce fertility of water

  - huge areas of land have to be flooded

  - large scale relocation of property common
• Case study 1 - Evaluate the success of the overall electrical energy strategy of one country.

  - UK

  Definition of sustainability and success:

  - The avoidance of the depletion of natural resources while managing to provide energy for the demands of the population

  - Success criteria = reliable and secure energy supply to meet demand, sustainable electrical energy for the environment and at an affordable cost.
• 3 paragraphs

  - Reliability and Security

  - Environmental impact/sustainability

  - Cost
• What is key in this essay

  - link back to electrical energy supply (not generate generally)
• reliability and security

  - Since 2010 26 power stations have closed, which equates to 20% of the UK's generation capacity.

  - By 2030 a further 35% of existing generation capacity will close down

  - EDF Energy spent £150 million to prepare Dungeness for a 10-year licence extension, to 2028.

  - However, in January 2022 EDF announced that it planned to close Heysham II and Torness 1&2 in 2028.

  - Age-related cracking of graphite bricks comprising the moderator has been carefully monitored at Hinkley Point and Hunterston (now shutdown).

  - While the Uk gets only 5-6% of it's gas imports from Russia, only 3-4% of UK consumption, as we are tied to international markets, the supply may not be affected but the price paid for it will be.

  - With regard to the source of our energy imports, Russia accounted for only 6% of our gas imports and 8% of our oil imports in 2019. But Russia is a major producer in global energy markets, accounting for 17 per cent of gas and 12% of oil production globally in 2019.

  - Both the UK's domestic and foreign supplies of oil and gas are purchased at market prices which have risen sharply following the Russian invasion and international response
• environmental impact/sustainability

  - While renewables are being increasingly used to produce electrical energy, Investment in renewable energy products has decreased over recent years

  - £1 billion of future investment in renewable energy projects disappeared over the course of 2016

  - Investment in wind, solar, biomass power and waste-to-energy projects will decline by 95% between 2017 and 2020

  - 2021 - Renewable energy developers will compete for a share in a £265m subsidy pot

  - £200 million funding pot for offshore windfarms

  - £55 million available to emerging renewable technologies

  - £24 million set aside for floating offshore wind farms

  - Despite offering less than the £325m and £290m offered in 2015 and 2017, the falling cost of renewables means it may secure more renewable energy capacity
• Cost

  - In the last 12 months more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent reserves have been deemed unrecoverable due to high costs

  - Safety and environmental costs are also far greater than they were a decade ago

  - Lack of networking / supply economies of scale, supply chains are not streamlined and are inefficient due to the number of contractors across the supply chain.

  - Hinkley Point C - has been approved and will provide 7% of the country's electricity at a cost of $18 billion - it will provide electricity to over 6 million homes for the next 60 years

  - The National Grid is investing £1.3bn every year into upgrading its infrastructure to help meet the Net Zero targets

  - However, this is a huge sum of money and comes with an opportunity cost

  - British households were the worst hit in western Europe because of the high dependence on gas (gas for generating about 40% of its electricity and for heating 85% of its homes)

  lt.

  - Rising energy and thus electricity prices triggered by the war may push an additional 141 million into poverty globally

  - However, the sharp rise in gas prices in 2021 sent 29 suppliers bust and left the remaining firms offering customers fixed deals at or just below the price cap
• Case study 2 - one named located scheme to produce electricity (e.g. a power station)

  - The Three Gorges Damn