3.4.5 Problems and Limitations with Energy Supply Flashcards
(38 cards)
1
Q
What was the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?
A
- Largest marine oil spill in history on April 20 2010
- Explosion of oil rig and subsequent sinking
- Offshore drilling located in Gulf of Mexico
- Leased by BP, owned by Transocean
- Killed 11 and injured 17 workers
- 60,000 barrels lost per day
- Total of 4.9 million barrels
- Only 800,000 barrels were collected
- 1.8 million gallons of dispersants used for cleanup
2
Q
What were the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?
A
- 1170km of shoreline was contaminated/polluted
- 1/3 of waters closed due to flooding and drilling moratorium left 8000-12000 unemployed
- BP fined $4.5 billion in 2012
- 1400 whales and dolphins stranded
- Decreased dolphin fertility
- Marine creatures plastered in oil
- 800,000 birds died and 65,000 turtles
3
Q
What are the impacts of the Canadian Tar Sands?
A
- Extreme water use and contamination
- Reached legal limits of water extraction from Athabasca)
- Ecosystems and top soil destroyed
- Energy intensive
4
Q
What was the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill?
A
- March 4 1989 in Prince William Sound, Alaska
- Oil supertanker hit the Bligh Reed
- 10 million gallons of oil spilled
- Only 10% of total oil was completely cleaned so oil remains
- Used booms, skimmers and dispersant, although this missed the target area on application
5
Q
What are the impacts of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill?
A
- Affected 2100km of coastline
- 100,000 to 250,000 seabirds, 2800 sea otters and 300 seals died immediately
- £507.5 million in punitive damages, originally £5 billion
- Cleanup workers became ill
- 11,000 residents helped to restore the environment
6
Q
What are problems with the consumption of oil?
A
Greenhouse effect:
- Combustion releases CO2
- Leads to enhanced greenhouse effect
Diesel emissions:
- High temperatures lead to nitrogen reacting with oxygen to form NO and NO2
- Contribute to enhanced greenhouse effect
- Nitrous oxides react with water to form acid rain
- Particulates cause poor air quality and health issues
7
Q
What are the problems with the North Sea tight extraction of gas?
A
- More expensive
- Requires technologies to access gas
- Complex infrastructure required
- High operational costs
- Harsh weather conditions (e.g. storms, rough seas, deep waters)
8
Q
What are examples of problems with gas pipelines?
A
- Explosion at a processing facility in Austria (main point of entry for Russian gas into Europe)
- North Sea site Morecombe field only supplied 2mcm per day not 5mcm
- BBL restricted gas to the UK due to a problem with a compression station
- Statoil reduced output due to a power outage in Troll
- Drives prices up
9
Q
What are the problems with consumption of gas?
A
- Combustion produces CO2 and water vapour
- Methane leaks
- Contributes to enhanced greenhouse effect
10
Q
What are the problems with the extraction of coal?
A
- Strip mining removes trees, plants and topsoil and blasts apart mountain
- Destroys forests, landscapes and habitats
- Causes soil erosion and destruction of agricultural land
- Distrubed sediment is washed away by water and pollutes waterways (kills fish and plant life)
- Can disfigure river chnnels, leading to flooding
- Noise pollution and dust
- Chemical contamination of groundwater by minerals and heavy metals
- Lowers ground water levels, increasing erosion and affecting local wells
- Washing coal produces toxic waste slurry, which can leak
- Leaves land barren which remains contaminated
- Ground subsidence
- Brings waste earth and rock to the surface which can become toxic
- Releases methane
- Acid mine drainage
- Exposes workers and locals to health hazards
11
Q
What happened in Bob White, West Virginia?
A
- Mountain-top removal scheme was successfully challenged
12
Q
What is the problem with transporting coal in China?
A
- Uneven distribution of coal reserves with major reserves in N and W China and high demand in the E and S
- Long distance transport required
- Overburdened and congested railway network with frequent delays and bottlenecks
- High transport costs
- Limited transport alternatives
- Weather can disrupt China
- Rising demand
- Wealthier regions can outbid poorer areas for coal delivery
13
Q
What are the problems with coal consumption?
A
- Combustion releases CO2
- Causes the enhanced greenhouse effect
- Causes acid rain (e.g. S and SE China, Appalachian region of USA)
14
Q
What was the problem with coal consumption in Bulgaria?
A
- Bobov coal-fired power plant
- Major discharge of coal ash in Rezmetanitza river
- Health-endangering air pollution detected
- Wastewaters contain high concentrations of metals and metalloids which are released into the environment
- EU and WHO standards for PM10 and So2 re exceeded, with elevated NO2 concentrations
15
Q
What are the problems with the extraction of biofuels?
A
- Takes agricultural land that was used for food production and switches to crops for bioenergy
- Heightened in developing countries where there are already food shortages/malnourishment
- Land clearance is linked to deforestation
- Soil erosion
- Biodiversity loss
- Nutrient leaching
- Large-scale land conversion for biofuels may push up global food prices
- Grain required for ethanol could be used to feed people (food vs fuel debate)
16
Q
Where and when was the Chernobyl disaster?
A
- USSR
- Ukraine
- 1987
17
Q
What were the environmental impacts of the Chernobyl disaster?
A
- Forests went red due to chloroplast mutation
- Pripyat was abandoned
- 30km radius circular area surrounding the plant was designated an exclusion zone for 50,000 years
- Sarcophagus now keeps radiation in
18
Q
What were the economic, social and political impacts of the Chernobyl disaster?
A
- 28 died a few weeks after
- Increased birth defects
- Increase in thyroid cancer among those who were children at the time (5,000 cases across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus)
- Public opinion turned against nuclear energy
- 2 decades before any new power stations were built across the world
19
Q
What are the environmental impacts of the modern nuclear industry?
A
- Plutonium is the waste product, which remains radioactive/harmful for thousands of years
- Countries such as the UK and Germany have been storing plutonium in warehouses for decades until geological storage can be implemented
- Only Finland is going ahead with geological storage
20
Q
What are the social, political and economic impacts of the modern nuclear industry?
A
- Since 1987, most countries have avoided new nuclear power stations
- So countries like the UK have lose the expertise to make them
- Risk that terrorists could obtain plutonium and use it to make a dirty bomb
- Including the cost of decommissioning, it is 4x more expensive than using fossil fuels
21
Q
What are the problems with the geographic range and reliability of wind?
A
- Inefficient (e.g. UK turbines produce <25% of installed capacity but it is higher for offshore turbines)
- Intermittent and unreliable power
- Best wind sites are far from major demand centres
22
Q
What are the problems with the economics of wind?
A
- Fear of nearby property being devalued
- High initial costs
- Require regular maintenance (cost and labour)
23
Q
What are the are environmental impacts o wind?
A
- Turbines can be harmful to bats and birds
- 609 birds and 1270 bats were killed in Wolfe Island, Canada in 2009
- Landscape disruption
- Noise pollution may cause health impacts (e.g. headaches)
24
Q
What are the problems with the geographic range and reliability of solar?
A
- Regional variations in sunlight
- Intermittent and unavailable at night
- Requires large-scale batteries
- Seasonal variability in sunlight
- Lots of space required (a 1MW farm typically requires 2.5-3 acres)
25
What are the problems with the economics of solar?
- High initial costs
- Solar panels have to be replaced/decommissioned after 25-30 years
- Competition with agricultural land
26
What are the environmental impacts of solar?
- Displace habitats
- Improper disposal of old panels can lead to the leaching of toxic materials like cadmium or silicon
- Visual impact
27
What are the problems with the geographic range and reliability of HEP?
- Limited to specific areas, which are often protected sites
- Development requires flooding of land which displaces locals and ecosystems (e.g. 3.1 million people displaced when the TGD was built)
28
What are the problems with the economics of HEP?
- High initial costs
- Requires regular maintenance (cost and labour)
- Cost of relocating displaced communities (e.g. Chinese government spent $30 billion)
29
What are the environmental impacts of HEP?
- Ecosystem disruption
- Stagnant water in reservoirs can lead to water quality issues, algal blooms and reduced O2 levels
- Sedimentation reduces the capacity of the reservoir and the natural flow of nutrients which impacts agriculture downstream (dredging is required)
- Affects local microclimates by increasing humidity (e.g. 5-10% for TGD)
- Loss of agricultural land
- Loss of biodiversity
- Risk of catastrophic flooding
30
What are the problems with the geographic range and reliability of the Severn Tidal Barrage scheme?
- Severn Estuary is a Special Protection Area
- Tidal power is intermittent
31
What are the problems with the economics of tidal?
- High initial costs
- Regular maintenance required
32
What are the environmental impacts of the Severn Tidal Barrage scheme?
- Permanently disrupts wetlands and mud flats
- Reduce range between high and low tides by 50%
- Impact migratory fish and bird populations
33
What are the problems with the geographic range and reliability of wave power?
- Limited to coastal locations
- Can be intermittent due to seasonal variation/weather
34
What are the problems with the economics of wave power?
- High initial costs
- Require regular maintenance
35
What are the environmental impacts of wave power?
- Disrupts marine ecosystems
- Noise pollution can impact species reliant on echolocation
- Alter natural water flow and currents
- Visual impact
- Alter fish migration routes
36
What are the problems with the geographic range and reliability of geothermal?
- Limited to specific areas (often near plate boundaries)
- Plants are vulnerable to tectonic activity
37
What are the problems with the economics of geothermal?
- High initial costs
- Require regular maintenance
38
What are the environmental impacts of geothermal?
- Releases CO2 and H2S (e.g. Nesjavellir plant releases 7500 tonnes of CO2 annually and 1700 tonnes of H2S)
- High water demand
- Can cause small earthquakes
- Visual and noise pollution
