Energy Book 2

• Natural resources that can generate electricity

  • Solar power
  • Wind power
  • Nuclear reaction
  • Fossil fuels
  • Hydroelectric power
  • Geothermal energy
  • Tidal energy
  • Biomass
• Solar power


  1. Conversion of the Sun's energy into electricity

  2. Ideal in hot, cloudless conditions

  3. Less effective in areas with a lot of cloudy days or high latitudes

  4. Mid-latitudes are more suitable
• Wind power


  1. Wind turns large turbine blades to generate electricity

  2. Turbines need to be located in areas with regular strong winds

  3. Only generates electricity when there is wind

  4. Wind farms are expensive to build and have a negative visual impact
• Nuclear reaction


  1. Atoms of uranium are split creating heat energy

  2. Heat turns water to steam and drives turbines to create electricity

  3. Expensive to build and risks of radioactive leaks
• Fossil fuels


  1. Burning fuel to produce steam that drives turbines

  2. Can generate huge amounts of electricity in a single location

  3. Efficient and cheap

  4. Can keep generating all the time

  5. Pollutes the atmosphere

  6. Reserves are running out
• Hydroelectric power


  1. Fast-flowing water turns generators to produce electricity

  2. Reliable supply of fast-flowing water is needed

  3. Dams are expensive to build and can lead to flooding of farmland

  4. Limited choice of locations
• Geothermal energy


  1. Heat from Earth's crust heats up water to produce steam

  2. Steam turns turbines to generate electricity

  3. Limited locations where this is possible

  4. Power stations are expensive to build and maintain

  5. Prone to volcanoes and earthquakes
• Tidal energy


  1. Rise and fall of tides is converted into electrical energy

  2. Barrages have to be built across coastal estuaries

  3. Expensive, disruptive for shipping and damaging to the environment

  4. Limited coastal locations with wide enough tidal range
• Biomass


  1. Burning plants, trees and organic matter to heat steam to drive turbines

  2. Releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
• Oil and coal are fossil fuels formed from the fossils of plants and sea creatures
• Geologists search the planet to find traps of oil and gas to drill into and bring to the surface
• Not all countries produce oil as the deposits are unevenly spread globally
• Crude oil


  The term used to describe unrefined oil as it comes out of the ground
• 97 per cent of the Earth's water is saltwater and only 2.5 per cent is freshwater
• 79 per cent of freshwater is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps
• Only 0.01 per cent of Earth's water is freshwater that is accessible to us, in rivers and lakes
• About 2 billion people actually suffer water shortages