DESIRABLE
CHARACTERISTICS
OF ENERGY
SOURCES
Energy is the capacity to do work or to produce heat.
Energy is an integral part of our daily lives. Without energy our
society would decay into pre-historic savagery.
Our current energy source is mainly from fossil fuels, but new
means of energy production and innovative ways to use less
energy must be discovered.
The forms of energy that are used in industry frequently are:
Electricity
Biomass energy- energy from plants (renewable)
Geothermal energy (renewable)
Fossil fuels-Coal, oil and natural gas
Hydro Power and Ocean Energy (renewable)
Nuclear Energy (renewable)
Solar Energy (renewable)
Wind Energy (renewable)
Transportation Energy (renewable)
All energy sources have some desirable characteristics
for different purposes.
Desirable characteristics of energy resources are simply
as follows :
•Many sources release energy by taking part in reactions which
move to lower energy states.
•Many sources release energy at reasonable rates (neither too
fast nor too small)
•They should be easily accessible.
•If possible, their use should be detrimental to the environment.
•They should be cheap and plentiful.
ELECTRICITY
Is one of the basic forms of energy. Electricity is associated
with electric charge, a property of certain elementary particles
such as electrons and protons , two of the basic particles that
make up the atoms of all ordinary matter. Electric charges can
be stationary, as in static electricity, or moving, as in an
electric current.
Electricity is an extremely versatile form of energy. It can be
generated in many ways and from many different sources.It can be
sent almost instantaneously over long distances.
Electricity can also be converted efficiently into other forms of
energy,and it can be stored. Because of this versatility, electricity
plays a part in nearly every aspect of modern technology. Electricity
provides light, heat, and mechanical power. It makes telephones,
computers, televisions, and countless other necessities and luxuries
possible.
BIOMASS ENERGY
Biomass, defined as all land and water based vegetation as well
as all organic wastes, fulfilled almost all of humankind's energy
needs prior to the industrial revolution. All biomass is produced
by green plants converting sunlight into plant material through
photosynthesis.
Since the industrial revolution, the majority of the developed
world's energy requirements have been met by the combustion of
fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Biomass, however, is
still the predominant form of energy used by people in the less
developed countries, accounting for 14% of world energy use.
Biomass currently supplies 14% of the world's energy needs, but
has the theoretical potential to supply 100%. Most present day
production and use of biomass for energy is carried out in a very
unsustainable manner with a great many negative environmental
consequences. If biomass is to supply a greater proportion of the
world's energy needs in the future, the challenge will be to
produce biomass sustainably and to convert and use it
without harming the natural environment. Technologies and
processes exist today which, if used properly, make biomass
based fuels less harmful to the environment than fossil fuels.
Applying these technologies and processes on a site specific
basis in order to minimize negative environmental impacts is a
prerequisite for sustainable use of biomass energy in the future.
FOSSIL FUELS
•We'll probably run out of fossil fuels first.
•During the 20th century, energy has become more easily
available, especially from fossil fuels. Not only do countries
depend on burning fossil fuels to generate electricity but they
are used in vehicles. Each year, more oil, coal and natural gas
are found.
• In 1960, 40 billion tons of oil and gas were known to exist. At
that rate they were being used across the world, the reserve
was estimated to last about 40 years. By 1990, more gas and
oil had been discovered (estimated about 142 billion tons of
known reserves), but the rate at which it was used had also
increased. Estimates of reserves are said to last between 40 and
70 years at the rate of current use.
The developed nations of the world use fossil fuels at an
incredible rate, mostly for transportation and to generate electricity.
Nuclear power is being used in increasing amounts to help satisfy
the huge demand for energy. The nuclear fuels could last many
hundreds of years, even if demand increases.
There are disadvantages and advantages to both types of fuel:
 Fossil fuels are cheap and they are relatively easy to obtain.
Once burned, however, fossil fuels cannot be used again, and
they release gases such as carbon dioxide into the air.
After fission occurs, the "spent" fuel stays dangerously
radioactive for thousands of years and must be buried deep
underground or at sea. This nuclear waste is a health risk and
problem. It's expensive and it can also be the cause of harmful
accidents.
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
The center of the earth is made up of rock so hot that it's melted.
This heat sometimes makes underground water boil. When this
hot water of steam comes up through a crack in the earth, we call
it a geyser. When the steam is used to generate electricity,it's
called geothermal energy.
It is one of the major alternative sources.
Although this energy type is not frequently used,in the last few
years some cities are started to be heated with this underground
energy. Only disadvantage of it is that it is hard to use this
underground water as it contains limestone.
Producing geothermal electricity from the earth's crust tends to be
localized. That means facilities have to be built where geothermal
energy is abundant.
In the course of geothermal production, steam coming from the
ground becomes very caustic at times, causing pipes to corrode
and fall apart.
Geothermal power plants sometimes cost a little bit more than a
gas-fired power plant because they have to include the cost to
drill.
HYDRO POWER& OCEAN ENERGY
Moving or falling water can be used to make electricity,
called hydro power. The water turns wheels that run
machines called turbines and generators. These machines use
the moving water to make electricity.
Hydroelectric power (dams) provide a lot of electricity for
the world, however you can't dam all the rivers because that
causes environmental problems. Also renewable resources
such as wind and geothermal are limited to certain regions of
world. They're not found everywhere and even though wind
does blow everywhere but it's not at the constant speed you
need to make it worthwhile to build wind turbines.
NUCLEAR ENERGY
A nuclear power plant produces the energy for 20% of our
homes.
Nuclear power plants do not release dangerous fumes (like
CO2, smoke or other gases) during normal operation, however
after fission occurs, the "spent" fuel stays dangerously
radioactive for thousands of years and must be buried deep
underground or at sea. This nuclear waste is a health risk and
problem. It's expensive and it can also be the cause of harmful
accidents. California's law prohibits construction of any new
nuclear power plants until the radioactive wastes are
eliminated.
WIND ENERGY
Wind turbines capture the wind's energy with two or three
propeller-like blades, which are mounted on a rotor, to generate
electricity. The turbines sit high atop towers, taking advantage of
the stronger and less turbulent wind at 100 feet (30 meters) or
more aboveground.
Wind energy uses the energy in the wind for practical purposes
like generating electricity, charging batteries, pumping water, or
grinding grain. Large, modern wind turbines operate together in
wind farms to produce electricity for utilities. Small turbines are
used by homeowners and remote villages to help meet energy
needs.
Wind power development too, has its downside, mostly involving
land use. The average wind farm requires 17 acres of land to
produce one megawatt of electricity, about enough electricity for
750 to 1,000 homes. However, farms and cattle grazing can use
the same land under the wind turbines.
Wind farms could cause erosion in desert areas. Most often, winds
farms affect the natural view because they tend to be located on or
just below ridgelines. Bird deaths also occur due to collisions with
wind turbines and associated wires.
SOLAR ENERGY
The sun warms the earth and gives us light. The sun's energy
can be captured and used directly in a solar cell, or changed into
steam for making electricity, heating homes or heating water.
Solar thermal energy involving the collection of solar rays
through collectors (often times huge mirrors) need large tracts of
land as a collection site. This impacts the natural habitat,
meaning the plants and animals that live there. The environment
is also impacted when the buildings, roads, transmission lines
and transformers are built. The fluid most often used with solar
thermal electric generation is very toxic and spills can happen.
There are several reasons why these renewable resources are not
being used to their full potential. The main reason is money.
Solar, wind, geothermal and tidal cost more than fossil fuels. It's
not the fuel that costs more since that's almost free. It's the cost to
build the equipment such as the wind turbines or solar panels that
cost more.
Natural gas, coal and oil are cheap and in most cases, the power
plants that generate the electricity are already paid for. Most
utilities don't want to invest in the extra costs because the rate
payers don't want to pay more for their electricity or for the
products they get that are made by factories that buy the
electricity from the utilities.