Energy Source

How does it work?

Pros

Cons

Solar Power

The power acquired by

harnessing the energy
of the Suns rays. It
works by having
photovoltaic (PV) cells
convert sunlight to
direct current (DC)
electricity. The photons
of sunlight force
electrons off of atoms.
Metal plates collect the
electrons which can
then be used as
electricity.

-renewable
-abundant
-sustainable
-low maintenance
-environmentally friendly
-reduces electricity costs
-many applications
-silent
-technology is improving

-Expensive
-lots of space required
-Exotic materials
-Intermittent

Power acquired by
harnessing the energy
of the wind.The rotor
that the blades turn has
copper loops around it
and has oppositely
charged magnets.
When the rotor spins, it
creates
electromagnetic
induction(a process
that causes electrons in
a conductor to move)
which generates
electricity. This creates
energy.

-Doesnt pollute the air

- sustainable
-cost effective
-can be built on preexisting farms
-creates jobs

-good sites for a turbine are

often remote
-can hurt wildlife(birds)

http://www.think-solarpower.com/How-DoesSolar-Power-Work.html

Wind Power

http://energy.gov/eere/wind
/how-do-wind-turbineswork

Hydro Power

http://fuelcellstore.com/image/data/hy

Dams hold water in a

reservoir. The dam
closes and opens to
control the water flow,
which pushes a turbine.
The turbine spins a
generator that
produces electricity.

-cheapest way to
continually generate
energy (build dam then its
free)
-clean fuel source
-renewable

-disrupt wildlife,
-occasionally destroys
natural resources
-lowers dissolved oxygen
level in water
-fish migration path
-expensive to build the
power plant

Biomass is living or
previously living
organisms that is used
for something other
than food or feed.
Biomass can be
converted to biofuel via
a variety of different
methods. These
methods are thermal,
chemical and
biochemical. Thermal
conversion uses
burning to convert
biomass into energy.
Chemical conversion
uses chemical

-can be renewable
-plants take in carbon
-inexpensive material
-easy to use
-carbon cycle neutral

-takes a lot of energy

-materials not always
available
-deforestation problem
-expensive to make

dro-energy.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia
/commons/thumb/5/57/Hydroelectric_
dam.svg/2000pxHydroelectric_dam.svg.png

Biomass/Biofuel

reactions to convert
biomass into fuel, such
as burning and
compressing biomass
into a combustible gas.
Biochemical conversion
uses microbacteria and
other microorganisms
to convert biomass into
energy. Wood,
sugarcane, and corn
starch derivitives are
frequently used
biofuels. Biomass is
mostly converted into
bioethanols(one of the
most common
biofuels), which is an
alcohol fuel that can be
used to make fuel cells
or as an additive to
gasoline.

Geothermal Energy

Oil/Petroleum (fossil fuel)

Plants pump cold water

into the ground where it
heats up and is forced
to the top as steam that
is captured and used to
drive electric
generators or turbines
that create energy in
three different ways

-very efficient (300-500%

more than heat furnaces)
-environmentally friendly
(no combustion)
-renewable source of
energy
-potential of 2 terawatts of
energy
-can be used in any space
-can meet the energy
base load demand
-small households can
benefit(great for simple
heating and cooling)
-small land footprint

-electricity is still needed

Petroleum is a naturally
occurring liquid found

it is very abundant
easy to use
creates jobs

Emits carbon dioxide (20

pounds/1 gallon of gasoline)

-very expensive
-geothermal energy using
wells uses up lots of water
-discharge into earth could
include sulfur dioxide and
silica

under the earths

surface that can be
refined into different
types of fuels. It is
mostly recovered by oil
drilling. It is then
burned to create
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki energy.
/Petroleum

No new technology
required
Easy to transport in liquid
form

Non renewable
Drilling can lead to spills
Expensive
Dangerous
Endangers/Destroys
environment

Natural Gas (fossil fuel)

cleanest burning fossil fuel

very few byproducts are
released into the
atmosphere
Cheap
non-toxic
safer- don't need to store
gas on site
abundant supply of
domestic natural gases

Non-renewable.
Pollution responsible for
global warming and acid rain
Can have oil spills and
therothe
gives of large amounts of
CO2 when burned
contains 85-90 percent
methane

/convert/advantages.jsp

A gas turbine ignites

gas under pressure
which then produces
high temperature
gases. This gas then
powers a turbine which
powers a generator
which then gives
electricity to
buildings/street
lamps/blocks.

Coal (fossil fuel)+

Coal is pulverized and

burned. The heat
generated by the coal
heats water, turning it
into steam. The steam
then turns a turbine to
produce energy.

Very abundant
a lot cheaper than any
other type of energy
scientists are developing
clean coal. This process
involves stripping the coal
of most of its CO2
has an existing
infrastructure

non-renewable.
Large contribution to global
warming
high levels of radiation
contributes to 31 percent of
all CO2 emitted
Releases a huge amount of
carbon dioxide

https://www.pseg.com/busi
ness/small_large_business

http://www.triplepundit.com/
special/energy-optionspros-and-cons/clean-coalpros-cons/

Nuclear/Uranium

A nuclear fueled power

plant uses fission to
turn water into steam
and then send it past
drive turbines which
spin. The drive turbine
is attached to a
generator, which
produced electricity
Most plants use the
rare uranium-235
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
isotope, which only
/Gundremmingen_Nuclear makes up 0.7% of all
natural uranium.
_Power_Plant
Uranium rods are
produced in a special
factory, where they go
through several
processes to enrich it.
It is then formed into
the rod shape correct
for the reactor it is
being produced for.
Uranium rods are
typically used in a
reactor for 6 years,
then they are moved to
a spent-fuel pool,
http://imgtagram.com/rewto where they stay until
the dangerous isotopes
u2d-uranium-periodic-table/
created by fission
decay. This takes
about 5 years.

http://www.livescience.com/
39773-facts-about-

relatively low cost

(creating the energy)
provide stable source of
energy (can crank up and
lower energy
depending on demand)
It is environmentally
friendly compared to other
methods
Requires less fuel than
other types of power
plants
Energy released by
nuclear fission is 10
million times greater than
burning a fossil fuel (oil,
gas)
Thorium - can be used to
fuel nuclear plants - it is
greener than Uranium

accidents can happen rarely,

but when occur, scale of
accident is major
radioactive waste
dangerous for environment
and humans
releases mass amounts of
carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere
Lol rekt

uranium.html

Why build a house without electricity?

How much energy do humans use? In what forms?
In 2014, the average American used about 41 pounds of coal per day in
energy. The average energy consumption of electricity in California is
116,200,000 BTUs (a BTU the amount of heat needed to raise 1 pint of
water by exactly 1 degree Fahrenheit). This can be compared to the energy
in 129,050 sticks of dynamite or 24,418 burritos.
The world per capita consumption of energy in 2011 was about 75

million Btu.

23,000 TWh per year / 7 billion people/ 365 days =7828 watt hour
per person / day.
How much energy does our global population of nearly 7 billion
use every year? According to the US energy Information
Administration (EIA), total primary energy consumption came to
493 quadrillion thats 493,000,000,000,000,000 BTUs in 2008,
the most recent year for which figures are available. (One BTU, or
British thermal unit, is the amount of energy youd need to heat
up one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.)That counts
energy from all sources: oil, coal, gas, nuclear and renewable. The
worlds largest overall energy consumer in 2008? No surprise
there, its the US, devouring its way through 100.6 quadrillion
BTUs. China was closing in rapidly, though: it consumed 85
quadrillion BTUs in 2008 and will doubtless go even higher when
new figures become available

Cost/Economics of electricity: The average electricity bill cost in California

is $88, compared to the US average of about $107. Californias energy
costs 15.2 cents per kilowatt hour.

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/10/27/141766341/the-price-of-electricity-inyour-state
http://www.electricitylocal.com/states/california/
http://www.electricitylocal.com/states/california/novato/
http://www.triplepundit.com/special/energy-options-pros-and-cons/nuclear-energy-prosand-cons/

Climate change - how does it happen?(greenhouse effect, carbon cycle,

use of suns energy?
The greenhouse effect causes an increase
in temperature.The greenhouse gases include
Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Water Vapor, and
Nitrous Oxide.The gases in the atmosphere
absorbs solar radiation which is trapped inside
the atmosphere, which begins to heat the Earth.
The Carbon Cycle is a biochemical exchange
between the biosphere, pedosphere, hydrosphere,
atmosphere, and geosphere. It heats the Earth by
absorbing infrared energy (heat) and emits it back in
atmosphere.

Only about half of the suns energy actually reaches the

Earth. About 20% of the energy is absorbed by clouds and

the atmosphere, and 30% is reflected by clouds and Earths

surface.

Consequences of Climate Change- what could happen?

Polar ice caps could melt and cause the global sea levels to rise.
Polar bears would go extinct
Could possibly cause an ice age if the ocean currents changed
Europe could freeze over due to the hot water from the equator
ceasing from flowing do to current change
The change in water temperature could cause aquatic life in those
areas to have trouble surviving.
The acidification of z ocean which would devastate coral and shell
fish damaging ecosystems
Another consequence of global warming is intense storms. Due to
the higher water temperatures, hurricanes could get more energy
and do much more damage when they hit land.
Another effect of global warming is fluctuation in rainfall. Areas
that usually get a small amount of rain will receive higher
amounts, and areas that usually receive high amounts of rain will
experience drought.