Fossil Fuel Alternatives Flashcards
(9 cards)
Renewable energy sources (generic information)
Globally, 30% of all electricity is generated by renewable sources as of 2023. Of which:
* 47% is from hydroelectric
* 26% is from wind
* 18% is from solar
* 8% is from biomass
* 1% is from geothermal
China produces 32% of all renewable energy generated. In 2023, China installed 6749 MW of new installed hydroelectric capacity
Iceland generates 82% of its energy from renewable sources and 100% of all of its electricity from renewable sources (70% geothermal, 30% hydroelectric).
In 2022, renewables generated 30% of all electricity used.
What holds wind and solar power back
Electricity generation from wind and solar power cannot be as easily controlled as other energy sources. Therefore it is unable to act as a baseline since periods of high production (sunny and windy conditions) may not match with periods of high demand.
Furthermore electricity needs to be transported from where it is generated (typically in sparsely populated areas) to areas where it is needed. Construction of grids to transport such electricity is expensive. For example Sued Link in Germany aims too connect solar generation in the South to the North and wind generation in the North to the South. This is estimated to cost €10 bn and to be completed by 2028. the other problem with transporting electricity long distances is that energy is lost.
To solve this issue, electricity generated from solar or wind power can be stored using a battery which can be discharged in periods of high demand.
Nuclear power
1Kg of Uranium 235 will produce 24,000,000kWh compared to 8kWh produced by 1kg of coal. The energy released is controllable and it is cost competitive with fossil fuels. It produces no carbon emission and the waste produced can be recycled.
However they are expensive to build - Hinkley point C is estimated to cost £46 bn when completed. Nuclear reactors also have a limited lifespan and they are expensive to decommission at the end of their lifespan. Nuclear reactors are potentially incredibly dangerous with events such as the 2011 Fukushima unit 1 meltdown, 1986 Chernobyl reactor 4 meltdown and 1979 Three Mile Island reactor reactor 2 meltdown.
Between 1932 and 2009 nuclear accidents cost the US $20.5 bn. The waste produced needs to be properly disposed off or recycled
and there are fears over the development of nuclear weapons
Germany’s response to the Fukushima disaster
Immediately closed 8 of its older reactors and closed the remaining 9 in April 2023. This has forced Germany to increase reliance on coal which has made imports from Russia invaluable. In 2021, Germany imported 63.7% of all of its energy.
Between 2000 and 2015, the percentage of domestic electricity produced from renewables increased from 4% to 33%. In May 2017, solar, wind, biomass and hydroelectric power supplied 90% the country’s total electricity demand.
Germany plans to cut carbon emissions by 80-95% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. However as the electricity produced from renewables is unreliable, Germany struggles to generate a baseload and thus has been forced to reopen when production from renewables isn’t sufficient.
The continued importance of nuclear power in the UK’s energy mix.
In July 2016, the plans for Hinkley point C nuclear power plant in Somerset were approved. This is a 3.2GW plant that is scheduled to begin electricity generation in 2026. EDF estimates that the plant could generate 7% of the UK’s electricity at any given time and construction created 5600 jobs (which could be as high as 25,000 by the end of construction). This will add £2-£4 bn to the regional economy and contribute to a positive multiplier effect. However, nuclear power in the UK has a high cost of subsidies. UK government pay operators £92.50 per MWh. In 2013 subsidies for renewables totalled $70 bn compared to the $550 bn in nuclear power subsidies.
Biofuels
Primary biofuels - this includes firewood, wood chips and pellets as well as other organic matter that are used in their unprocessed form to release energy, primarily through heating, cooking and generating electiricty.
Secondary biofuels - derived from processing biomass. This includes liquid biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel which an be used to power motor vehicles and in some industries.
Biofuels represent 22% of transport energy in Brazil. Bioethanol is the most important biofuel in Brazil as it accounts for almost 40% of energy of combined gasoline and ethanol use. Biodiesel in Brazil represented 9.3% by energy of diesel use in 2022, this is expeted to reach 30% by 2030. 90% of passenger vehicles sold in the country have flex-fuel engines.
Brazil has become a major producer of biofuels due tocultivation of sugar cane used to produce ethanol. However this has displaced other forms of agriculture, notably cattle ranching, leading to deforestation in the mazon nullifying the reduction in carbon emissions from sing biofuels.
Carbon capture and storage - radical technology
This involves s capturing the carbon dioxide emissions released from fossil fuel combustion and pumping it deep underground. This reduces carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and creates many jobs which may help to reverse the effect of deindustrialisation in some areas. It is most effective for trapping emissions fro coal, this makes it attractive to countries like China as well as developing countries who heavily rely on coal as part of their energy mix.
However injecting carbon dioxide into the ground may cause tremors or acidify groundwater. It is expensive, energy intensive and requires complex technology so is therefore inaccessible to developing countries which are more reliant on coal. It also currently is dependent on subsidies.
Hydrogen fuel cell - radical technology
Hydrogen fuel cells combine hydrogen gas and oxygen to generate electricity, heat and water (the only waste product). As long as hydrogen is supplied, the cell will never lose charge. In the future it may see increasing importance due to its lack of emissions. They are more energy dense than typical batteries .
However, whilst hydrogen is very abundant, it rarely exists as hydrogen gas. Therefore producing hydrogen gas requires energy through steam reforming or electrolysis. Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas produced from renewables whilst blue hydrogen is hydrogen gas produced from fossil fuels. Furthermore, hydrogen gas is highly flammable and thus complex to store. It is expensive to build refuelling stations for hydrogen fuel cell cars and is also expensive to revert old technology.
Whilst it may not be viable for electricity production for domestic use, it could be an important energy source for heavy industry.
Electric vehicles - radical technology
in 2023, roughly 60% of new electric car registrations were in China. Roughly 1 in 3 cars sold in China in 2023 was electric compared to 1 in 10 in the US.
China dominates the EV market for 3 main reasons:
* Government support - between 2009 and 2022, the Chinese government provided $29 bn in subsidies tax breaks and research spending to the EV industry. Consumers of EVs are offered subsidies, charging discounts and favourable parking. Fopreign car companies are required to use Chinese made batteries to qualify for customer subsidies. Together this contributed to the fact that in 2024, almost half of all new car sales in China were electric.
*Supply Chain - The Chinese government has acquired stakes in mines for lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. this emans they control a considerable percent of the supply chain for the minerals required to make batteries. Additionally China produces between 70% and 92% of the world’s supply of each component of EV battery as well as 78% of batteries themselves.
- Technological innovation - In the last 2 years, Chinese battery manufacturers have managed to avoid using nickel and cobalt - the most expensive minerals in typical batteries. This heabvily reduces the cost of Chinese-produced batteries. in 2023 CATL announced a new battery which can power a car for 370 miles on 10 minutes of charge. CATL have now built plants producing such batteries in Hungary and plans to in Germany. tehy also supply batteries for Ford manufacturing site in Michigan.
Electric vehicles in the US are not attractive due to the high average cost $55,000. 40$ of the cost of production is due to the battery.
