Energy: POWERING OUR NATION

CANADA AND ENERGY Largest users of energy in the world (per capita) Northern climate requires the use of energy for heat Small population is spread thin and energy is required for transportation Industrial economy uses a lot of energy We tend to waste energy as it is cheap in Canada

CREATION OF OIL AND GAS Oil and gas were formed hundreds of millions of years ago The remains of plants and animals fell to the sea floor and were covered by sand and silt The weight of all these layers compressed the lower layers into sedimentary rock Bacterial action, heat and pressure converted the remains into oil and gas

ANTICLINAL TRAP For oil and gas to develop there must be: Geologic history (time) Porous rock layer where fuel can exist Layer of non porous rock where fuel can be trapped Anticlinal Trap: Dome shaped structure of rock layers created by folding

DRILLING FOR OIL AND GAS IN CANADA Oil and gas production has been centered in Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan and NWT The presence of oil and gas can be determined only by drilling (costly and time consuming) Flowing Wells: enough pressure to force oil to the surface Non-Flowing Wells: require pumps to bring oil to surface

ENERGY CAN BE DIVDED INTO TWO TYPES Conventional Energy Sources: well established source of energy Oil, natural gas, coal, hydro, nuclear energy Alternative Energy Sources: recently developed sources of energy; alternatives to conventional energy sources Solar, wind, biomass energy

ELECTRICITY Most electricity is produced with a generator In Canada, there are three different means by which energy is produced: Hydro-electric generating station Thermal-electric generating station Nuclear-electric generating station Hydro-electric generating station: generates electricity by the movement of falling water Thermal-electric generating station: generates electricity from energy produced by burning fuels such as oil, coal and gas Nuclear-electric generating station: energy is generated in the form of heat by splitting the atoms of radioactive materials Generating Electricity Chart