Carbon EQ2

Question 1

Define energy security?

Answer 1

Energy security is the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at affordable prices

Energy secure countries are those that will be able to meet all or most of their energy demands from within their country

Question 2

What should a secury energy supply look like?

Answer 2

• Reliable
• Domestic rather than imported
• Accessible and available
• Affordable

Question 3

What are some general uses of energy?

Answer 3

Powers most form of transport

Warms and cool our homes

Provides light

Drives manufacturing

Powers appliances

Question 4

Why is energy demand increasing?

Answer 4

• Global population growth
• Development and rising standard of living
• The essential nature of energy to our everyday life

Question 5

What are the top 3 most consumed energy sources worldwide?

Answer 5

1. Oil (Petroleum)

• Share: ~31% of global energy consumption.

2. Coal

• Share: ~27% of global energy consumption.

3. Natural Gas

• Share: ~24% of global energy consumption.

Renewables are just 10%

Question 6

What is energy intensity?

Answer 6

Energy intensity is a measure of how efficiently a country is using its energy

Question 7

What is an energy mix?

Answer 7

The term energy mix is used to describe the combination of different energy sources that are used to meet a country’s total energy demand

Question 8

Country with an energy mix dominated by oil?

Answer 8

Saudi Arabia - 90% oil

Question 9

Country with a energy mix dominated by renewables?

Answer 9

Iceland - 66.6% renewables

Question 10

What is primary energy?

Answer 10

Definition: Raw, natural sources of energy that have not yet been converted or processed.

Primary energy comes directly from nature and can be used for energy production or converted into secondary energy.

Question 11

Describe the energy mix trend alone with development?

Answer 11

• Developing countries usually use natural resources such as firewood for cooking
• Emerging countries will see a rise of oil use as transport and car ownership increases
• As countries develop they tend to start using more gas and nuclear power as technology advances

Question 12

Relationship between energy security and level of imported energy?

Answer 12

Energy security increases as dependence on imported energy sources decreases

Question 13

A country that depends massively on imported energy are at risk from sudden threats such as:

Answer 13

• Artificial and abrupt changes in energy prices
• Energy supplies being cut off by civil unrest or military campaigns

Question 14

What are the core reasons that affect a country’s access and consumption of energy?

Answer 14

Physical availability

Cost

Technology

Public perception

Level of economic development

Climate

Environmental priorities

Question 15

How does physical availbility affect consumption / access to energy?

Answer 15

Domestic energy sources may be available, but they may not be easily accessible

If energy sources are not available within the country, the energy will have to be imported (adding to the overall cost of energy to the consumer)

Question 16

How does Public perception affect consumption / access to energy?

Answer 16

Energy costs can be perceived differently in different countries, for example what may be perceived as expensive in one country may seem reasonable in another

Public perception will usually depend on the level of economic development of a country and the standard of living

Question 17

What are the costs involved in the access and consumption of energy?

Answer 17

1. The cost of the physical exploitation
2. The cost of processing (converting a primary energy into a secondary energy)
3. The cost of delivery to the consumer

Question 18

How does the climate affect access / consumption of energy?

Answer 18

Regions such as North America, the Middle East and Australia have high levels of consumption as a result of the extra energy required to make the extremes of heat and cold more comfortable

Question 19

Country that relies on nuclear energy?

Answer 19

France - 41% of energy is from nuclear

Question 20

What are energy pathways?

Answer 20

The route taken by energy from its source to consumption.

It involves TNCs, governments and pipeline controllers / shipping companies.

There is a major pathway from Russia to Europe which is experiencing disruption

Question 21

Who are the 5 players in the world of energy?

Answer 21

• TNCs
• Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• Energy companies
• Consumers
• Governments

Question 22

Role of OPEC in the world of energy?

Answer 22

OPEC currently has 13 member countries owning around two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves between them

As a result, OPEC is able to control the amount of gas and oil in the global market along with their prices

OPEC have been accused of forcing up the price of oil and gas by withholding/slowing production

Monopoly

Question 23

Who are the two largest consumers of coal?

Answer 23

China and the USA remain the two largest consumers of coal and are also the largest producers of coal

Question 24

4 examples of unconventional fossil fuel energy sources?

Answer 24

Tar sands

Oil shale

Shale gas

Deepwater oil

Question 25

What are tar sands?

Answer 25

Mixture of clay sand and bitumen (**a heavy oil**) It has to be mined then injected with steam to allow it to be extracted. Massively used in Canada - 40% of their oil.

Question 26

What is oil shale?

Answer 26

**Oil-bearing rocks that are permeable enough to allow oil to be pumped out.** Green river formation Wyoming USA.

Question 27

What is shale gas?

Answer 27

**Natural gas that is trapped in fine-grained sedimentary rocks** **Fracking** - pumping in water and chemicals forces out the gas The USA is the leading producer and exporter In 2025, shale gas provided 60% of the USA’s gas supply

Question 28

What is deepwater oil?

Answer 28

**Oil and gas found offshore and at considerable oceanic depths often below the ocean floor.** Drilling takes place from ocean rigs. Huge oil deposits were discovered off the coast of Brazil in 2006 and Brazil are leading the way in this

Question 29

Costs of unconventional fossil fuels?

Answer 29

**Extraction is expensive and requires lots of complex technology, energy and water** **Extraction can cause environmental damage:** * Scars of opencast mines and possible ground subsidence * Contamination of groundwater sources and oil spills * Large quantities of waste are produced * Impacts on the local ecosystem * Fracking can trigger earthquakes by distrubing faults

Question 30

Benefits of unconventional FF sources?

Answer 30

* These unconventional sources of fossil fuels provide countries that currently rely on imported energy with the possibility of greater energy security * May provide a source of fuel whilst renewable energy sources are developed further * Provides jobs and boosts the local economy

Question 31

Two catergories of "clean energy"?

Answer 31

**Alternative sources of ‘clean’ energy can be categorised into:** * Renewable sources such as hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and tidal energy * Recyclable sources such as nuclear power and biofuels

Question 32

What determines whether a country has renewable energy to exploit?

Answer 32

**The physical geography of a country will determine whether they have renewable energies to exploit** * Not all countries will have coasts or ‘hot rocks’ heated by magma for use in geothermal energy * Not all countries have warm climate with long sunshine hours * Not all countries have permanently flowing rivers or strong winds

Question 33

Benefits of renewable energy?

Answer 33

* Renewable energy will not run out and provides many environmental benefits e.g., reduction in greenhouse gases * Will save money in the long term as operation and maintenance costs are lower * Reduces a country’s reliance on importing energy sources from abroad * Creates employment e.g. ,**in the USA, the renewable energy sector employs three times the amount of people that the fossil fuel sector**

Question 34

Challenges of renewable energy?

Answer 34

**Few countries where renewables will be able to replace fossil fuels completely due to the intermittency of renewable energy and limitations associated with the physical geography of the country AND INFRASTRUCTURE ALREADY IN PLACE FOR FOSSIL FUELS.** Also: * Can have negative impacts on the environment e.g., flooding more valleys for HEP dams. * Hard to insure - deters investors * Can be more expensive.

Question 35

What is recyclable energy?

Answer 35

Essentially Nuclear energy. **Countries with high levels of energy consumption will often have no choice but to consider nuclear energy to generate electricity (with low carbon emissions)** An additional benefit to this is that nuclear waste can be reprocessed and reused making it recyclable

Question 36

Costs of nuclear energy?

Answer 36

* **Safety - nuclear incidents such as Chernobyl (Ukraine) and Fukushima (Japan)** * Disposal of highly toxic radioactive waste (which has a long decay life) * Technology used means that nuclear energy is only really open to the **most developed countries** * Costs - despite operational costs being relatively low, the cost of **building and decommissioning are high**

Question 37

What are biofuels?

Answer 37

Biofuels are derived immediately from living matter, such as agricultural crops, forestry or fishing products and various forms of waste

Question 38

What are the two types of biofuels?

Answer 38

* **Primary biofuels** which include fuelwood, wood chips and pellets that are used unprocessed for heating, cooking or electricity * **Secondary biofuels** are derived from the processing of crops (e.g., sugar cane, soybeans and maize) where two type of fuel are extracted (bio-alcohol and biodiesel) which are used to fuel vehicles and generate electricity | In the UK, the two main crops that are used are oilseed rape and sugar b

Question 39

Limitation of biofuels?

Answer 39

For example, a hectare of space used to grow energy crops is a hectare less for growing much needed food.

Question 40

What are the two radical technologies regarding energy?

Answer 40

* Hydrogen fuel cells * Carbon Capture and Storage

Question 41

CCS case study?

Answer 41

Petra Nova (USA): This project, located in Texas, captures CO₂ from a coal-fired power plant

Question 42

What is Carbon Capture and storage?

Answer 42

The capturing and burial of CO2 deep underground - often near power plants that emit lots of CO2. Expensive and carbon could leak from underground.

Question 43

Explain hydrogen fuel cells?

Answer 43

**A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water** **A fuel cell will provide electricity as long as hydrogen is supplied and it will never lose its charge** Fuel cells are a promising technology for use as: * A source of heat and electricity for buildings * A power source for electric vehicles Hydrogen fuel cells are considered to be one of the best strategies for reducing carbon emissions that has very little impact on the carbon cycle