Energy
By: Francisco Flores, Suzy Queen, Kyla Tucci
Canada’s Energy Use Today
Uses a great deal of energy
for transportation
Industrial economy uses a
large amount of energy
Energy is cheap in Canada
Energy is divided into 2 categories:
Conventional energy sources: oil, natural gas, hydroelectricity,
and nuclear electricity
Alternative energy sources: solar, wind, biomass energy
Energy Terminology
The metric unit used to measure energy:
“Joule” (J)-Tiny amount of energy
1 Gigajoule (GJ) = 1 billion Joules (J)
1 Petajoule (PJ) = 1 billion Gigajoules
Formation of Coal Deposits
Formed from the remains of
trees and plants that grew in
swampy 300-600 million years
ago
Layer upon layer of undecayed
vegetation formed deep deposits
of organic matter
Different amounts of
compression formed different
types of coal
Anthracite coal- formed under
great pressure; hard
Bituminous Coal-formed under
less pressure; softer
Canada’s Coal Industry
Used primarily for fuel in
the generation of
electricity
In 2004, 93% of coal
consumed in Canada was
used in electrical power
generation
Remaining 7% went to
steel plants in Ont. &
Quebec
Creation of Oil and Gas
Millions of years ago
Seas were covered by shallow oceans
Immense weight of layers
compressed lower layers into
sedimentary rock
Bacteria; heat & pressure- converted
remains of animals and plants into oil
and gas
Oil and gas are found in geological
structures. They act as traps;
preventing oil and gas from rising to
the surface
Characteristics:
•
•
Layer of porous
rock
Upper & lower
layers of nonporous rock;
form traps for oil
and gas
Recovering oil and Gas
Flowing wells- controlled by a
series of valves called a
“Christmas tree”
Non-flowing wells- run on
electric/gas powered pumps
Secondary Recovery- As oil is
removed from a deposit, the
recovery of the soil that remains
becomes more difficult. Scientists
have created a variety of methods
to remove more of the remaining
oil from deposits, increasing the
total percentage taken from
deposits.
Sources of Canada’s oil and gas
Boreal plains and prairie
Ecozones
Production concentrated
in Alberta
Adjoining parts of:
Saskatchewan
British Columbia
Northwest Territories
Electricity
Produced by generators
Generator can range from size of holding it in
your hand (bicycle light) to the size of 1 large
house (power station)
They work the same – converts mechanical
energy into electrical energy
With the bicycle light, the turning of the
wheel provides the mechanical energy
With the power station, rotating turbines
provide the mechanical energy
Power companies in Canada make huge
amounts of electricity as cheap as possible by
using any 3 methods to turn turbines that
supply mechanical energy to generators;
Moving water
in a
hydroelectric
generating
station
Expanding
steam is
produced by
burning coal,
oil, or natural
gas in a
thermal-electric
generating
station
Expanding
steam
produced from
nuclear fusion
in a nuclearelectric
generating
station
Thermoelectricity
Steam, rather than moving
water, turns the turbines
Steam produced by burning
fuel such as; coal, oil, natural
gas, wood & even garbage
Advantages
Plants can be built near
population centers where the
electricity is needed. This
means shorter transmission
lines built, keeping the cost of
transmission relatively low.
Plants built near where fuel is
already available. If cost of
transporting fuel is lower, cost
of producing energy will be
lower.
Plants are less expensive to
build than hydro or hydro or
nuclear – electric plants.
Disadvantages
Fuel costs-especially for oil and
natural gas- are high and are
increasing rapidly
Oil, natural gas and coal are nonrenewable resources and will run
out eventually
Coal burning thermal-electric
plants produce a lot of pollution
and the burning of 3 fuels
contributes to global warming.
Coal and oil produce the gases that
are responsible for acid
precipitation.
Electrical production in Canada
Wide variation in the kind of
electrical generation used in
different parts of Canada
Ontario uses large amounts of
electricity generated by all types of
plants, including Canada’s only large
nuclear plants
No longer any large undeveloped
hydroelectric sites in the provinces
Future increases in demand will have
to be by building thermal-electric or
nuclear-electric plants, importing
energy from other provinces or
developing other energy sources
such as wind power.