Energy Production Mr. Hanz SPH 3U1 November 25, 2009

Fossil Fuels - Oil - Gasoline - Natural Gas - Coal

Coal What do you know about coal (Pros/Cons as an energy source) ?

Coal Pros ◦ Large domestic reserves ◦ Extremely cheap (initial cost) ◦ Can ramp up energy production quickly to meet peak demand

Coal Cons ◦ Extremely dirty ◦ Large emitter of CO 2 and NO x emissions ◦ Environmentally damaging  Acid rain

Coal/Fossil Fuel Energy Production How exactly do we produce energy from coal (and fossil fuels in general)? How exactly do we produce energy from coal (and fossil fuels in general)?

Oil and Gas

Pros ◦ Cleaner than coal ◦ Affordable for the time being ◦ Infrastructure already in place

Oil and Gas Cons ◦ Oil and Gasoline are largely imported  Socio-Political Consequences (terrorism, etc)(terrorism, etc) ◦ Prices fluctuate greatly ◦ Large contributors of greenhouse emissions ◦ Production reaching a peak?

Peak Oil? For any geographic region, oil production will follow a bell-shaped curve - M.K Hubbert

Hydroelectric

Hydroelectric Renewable energy source Produces no greenhouse gas emissions Canada has vast, untapped hydroelectric resources How Hydroelectricity works

Hydroelectric In most cases, must flood large swaths of land, destroying ecosystems and displacing large amounts of people

Three Gorges Dam – P.R China $39 Billion U.S (180 billion yuan) 2.35km wide! 22,500 MW Energy Production 1.2 million people displaced - 10x the population of Kingston

Nuclear Power

Utilizes uranium as a fuel source ◦ Can be either enriched or un-enriched, depending on reactor type ◦ Canada, along with Australia have the largest reserves of uranium in the world! ◦ Three Nuclear generating stations in Ontario alone – Bruce, Pickering and Darlington

How does it work? Fission ◦ Controlled chain reaction involving collision between a neutron and uranium atom (Link)(Link)

Nuclear Power in Ontario

Issues? Uranium is non-renewable (especially without reprocessing) Spent Fuel Storage ◦ Some fission byproducts are highly radioactive for thousands of years Accidents ◦ Radioactive contamination ◦ Meltdown

Past Accidents Three Mile Island (Pennsylvania, 1979) Chernobyl (Ukrainian SSR, USSR, 1986)

Renewables

Renewables Wind Solar Geothermal Tidal

Wind Resource intensive – iron and other raw materials Intermittent energy production – require a storage medium

Solar Sun radiates 10,000x more energy onto the earth than we use every day The most common cost effective cells are only 8% efficient, however this is improving with every year Size of Cells and thus amount of material used in their production and their cost is also decreasing with every year

Geothermal Obtains heat from the Earth Heat used to generate electricity Or used directly to heat houses

Biofuel ◦ 1 st Generation  From food sources: vegetable oil, sugar cane, corn (ethanol)  Energy vs. Food  Ethanol – EROEI (Energy Return on Energy Invested) = ~1.34 (34%) ◦ 2 nd Generation  Cellulose – byproduct of agricultural production: switch grass, plant stock (LINK)(LINK)

The Future? Tidal Hydrogen Fusion

Global Energy Consumption Trends

Energy Consumption Per Capita Why do you think Canada’s energy consumption per capita is so high, even when compared to other western nations (Germany, France, etc)? Do you find any of these values/figures unexpected?