Sustainable Technology Can Hydro-Electric Power Replace Non Renewable Energy Sources? Simon Richardson

Why Do We Need Sustainable Technology? These graphs show the energy consumption since This trend will mean that when non renewable sources start to run out, there will be a need for renewable sources which can place the demand. These sources must also meet future demands, if the trend continues.

Should We Continue to Build Hydro-electric Power Stations? The Itaipu Dam is one of the newest hydro-electric power stations in Brazil and the largest. It provides 57% of Brazil’s hydro-electric power and 20% of Brazils total energy. But why hydro-electric power, isn’t there other renewable options? The trend in the last 40 years has seen a big increase, as shown by the graph, of power stations being built. This is due to a number of reasons, including the need for more energy by increasing demands and to built permanent renewable sources to use in the future.

Why Hydro-electric Power? To decide which type of renewable energy to look into, I compared the different types of renewable energy. The graph shows that hydro-electric power is the most efficient of all the renewable energy sources, with the second most efficient is geothermal. Choosing hydro-electric power would therefore be the best choice to replace non renewable energy sources. I also have found that hydro-electric power produces 22 times more energy than the other renewable resources put together. It is also the choice of developing countries, in which the potential for hydro-electric power is greatest.

Can Hydro-Electric Power Replace Non Renewable Energy Sources? In Brazil Hydro-electric power is used for about 35% of the countries energy needs. With oil, coal and natural gas supplies running out and consumption increasing more renewable energy sources are needed. To investigate into whether hydro-electric power can replace non- renewable energy sources, I can look at its potential. Here I am going to look into Brazil, one of the five biggest producers of hydro-electricity.

This chart show that South America has still yet to use about 81% of the potential hydro-electric sources. If new dams were built then less non- renewable sources would have to be used. The building of the Itaipu Dam proved that hydro-electric power could match electricity needs, providing 93% of Paraguay’s energy. The potential is over four times as big as the power already developed, so in theory if its potential is reached South America, and Brazil could meet their energy needs without having to use non renewable energy sources. Brazil’s Potential for Hydro-electric Power

Questionnaire- Hydro-electric Dams Do you consider hydro-electric power sustainable? YesNoDon’t know Do you think hydro-electric power will become the main replacement for non-renewable sources? YesNoDon’t know What sources of renewable energy do you think are the most efficient? WindHydro-electricSolar I created questionnaire to give to 30 random people to see what there opinions were of hydro-electric Dams. These Three questions stood out.

Conclusions Looking at the data I collected on hydro-electric dams, other renewable and non renewable sources of energy in Brazil and other countries I have come to the conclusion that: Hydro-electric power could be used as a replacement for non renewable energy. This depends on the available resources. Countries should try to use all the available potential before the non renewable sources start to run out. If the potential is low, so no resources for hydro- electric power are found, then using other renewable sources like wind power, or solar power will have to be considered.

Type of Source Reference Structure Citation Example Books New Scientist 3rd June 2000 No citation New Scientist 24th February 2005 No citation Websites ‘Not sufficient", "unreliable", "not feasable", are common bias. ITAIPU shows they…’ (Paragraph 2) (D) ground.html No citation /page/hydroelec/hydroelec.html ‘Hydroelectric plants operate where suitable waterways are available; many of the best of these sites...’ (Paragraph 1) (D) No citation No citation (D) yId=6848&contentId= No citation (D) Sources Used (D) Data collected and analysed from these sources