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Question 1

Key concept: Energy security

Answer 1

Energy security refers to the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price. It has many aspects, for example:
* long-term energy security mainly deals with timely investments to supply energy in line with economic developments and environmental needs
* short-term energy security focuses on the ability of the energy system to react promptly to sudden changes in the balance between energy demand and energy supply.

Question 2

the following aspects of energy security need to be stressed:

Answer 2

• It is usually evaluated at a national level; that is, countries are either energy secure or they are not.
• There are four important aspects to the supply side: availability, accessibility, affordability and reliability (see Figure 5.1).
• It requires an accurate prediction of future energy demands.
• Those countries that are likely to be most energy secure will be those that are able to meet all or most of their energy needs from within their boundaries.

Question 3

Energy security is vital to the functioning of a country, particularly its economy and the well-being of its people. Just pause for a moment and think about the various ways in which energy is essential:

Answer 3

• It powers most forms of transport.
• It lights our settlements.
• It warms or cools our homes and powers a whole host of domestic appliances.
• It is vital to modern communications.
• It drives most forms of manufacturing.
  The consumption of energy (demand) is constantly increasing as a result of development, rising living standards and population growth. Figure 5.2 shows how spectacularly the global consumption of energy has increased since the middle of the twentieth century

Question 4

Energy mix:

Answer 4

The combination of different available energy sources used to meet a country’s total energy demand. The exact proportions or mix vary from country to country. It is an important component of energy security.

Question 5

Energy consumption

Answer 5

The consumption of energy is usually expressed in per capita terms using one of the following measures:
* kilograms of oil equivalent per year (kgoe/yr)
* gigajoules (10% joules) per year (GJ/yr) or exajoules
(1018 joules) per year (E)/year)
* megawatt hours per year (MWh/yr).
It is also important to know how efficiently energy is being used. One possible measure here is energy intensity.

Question 6

Key concept: Energy intensity

Answer 6

A measure of how efficiently a country is using its energy.
It is calculated as units of energy used per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). A high energy intensity indicates a high price or cost of converting energy into GDP. It is generally recognised that energy intensity decreases with economic development: energy is used more efficiently and so the cost per unit of GDP becomes less.

Question 7

Energy mix

Answer 7

Every country satisfies its energy needs in a particular way, referred to as its energy mix. A critical aspect is the mix of primary energy sources used to generare electricity (the form in which most energy is consumed). These sources include:

Question 8

These sources include:

Answer 8

• non-renewable fossil or carbon fuels, such as oil, natural gas and coal
• recyclable fuels such as nuclear energy, general waste and biomass
• many types of renewable energy, such as wind, geothermal, water and solar.

Question 9

globally - energy mix

Answer 9

While all countries have their own particular energy mix, globally fossil fuels account for over 80 per cent of the energy mix. The major challenge facing the world today is to lessen reliance on non-renewables. The future of the Earth depends on it, not so much because the non-renewables will run out one day, but rather due to the damage done to the global system by the continued burning of carbon fuels.

Question 10

An important dimension of the energy mix is the balance between

Answer 10

the amount of energy that comes from domestic sources and that which is imported Energy security increases as dependence on imported sources of energy decreases. A high dependence on imported energy puts a country at risk from sudden threats, for example:
* artificial and abrupt hikes in energy prices
* supplies cut off by military campaigns or civil unrest.
Importing countries can all too easily become the victims of various forms of blackmail.

Question 11

The consumption of energy

Answer 11

Remember that consumption is a function of demand: the greater the demand, the higher the consumption. But there are other factors at work,

Question 12

Physical availability

Answer 12

This is perhaps the most fundamental of all the factors.
Critical questions here include: are the energy resources available within the country concerned, or do they have to be imported? If the latter, then transport costs are likely to add to the overall cost of energy to the consumer. Rising costs are likely to be a downward pressure on energy consumption.
Even if there are domestic energy resources, another potential issue is their accessibility. Is their exploitation going to be technically difficult and expensive? These questions lead to the next significant factor.

Question 13

Technology

Answer 13

Modern technology can certainly help in the exploitation of energy resources that are not so readily accessible, for example deposits of oil and gas that require deep drilling through a contorted geology.
There are two sides to technology. It can help tap energy resources that are not so readily accessible. This in itself is likely to encourage energy consumption. At the same time, much of the modern technology that is now part of everyday living is energy thirsty.

Question 14

Cost

Answer 14

The factors above are two of the three main determinants of access to energy resources. The third is cost. This includes a number of separate costs, for example:
* physical exploitation
* processing (converting a primary into a secondary resource)
* delivery to the consumer.
Clearly, relatively low energy costs may be expected boost energy consumption.

Question 15

Economic development

Answer 15

Costs are, of course, relative. The same energy costs may be perceived as expensive in one country and acceptable in another. The public perception will depend very much on the level of economic development and the standard of living. The higher these are, the less the sensitivity to energy costs.
Figure 5.5 clearly shows that developed countries have relatively high levels of energy consumption.
A critical factor here is the energy needs of all the domestic appliances that help make everyday living more comfortable and those forms of transport that allow us to travel more easily. There is certainly a broad correlation between economic development (GDP per capita) and energy consumption.

Question 16

Climate

Answer 16

Climate is another factor affecting energy consumption. Very high levels of consumption in North America, the Middle East and Australia reflect the extra energy required to make the extremes of heat and cold more comfortable, not only in the home but also at work and in public places.
The low energy consumption in much of Africa, a continent of considerable heat, reflects its relatively low levels of economic development.

Question 17

Environmental priorities

Answer 17

It might be that, out of concern for the environment in general, and about carbon emissions in particular, a government does not take the cheapest route to meeting its energy needs. Remember, however, that renewables such as wind turbines and solar panels are not necessarily environmentally friendly. Also, the cost of a ‘green’ energy policy could have a slightly depressing impact on consumption, as would any government’s drive to raise energy efficiency and energy saving.

Question 18

Energy players

Answer 18

Meeting the demand for energy involves energy pathways from producer to consumer. At both ends of such pathways, there are influential players (organisations, groups or individuals) with particular involvements in the energy business. At the supply end, there are energy companies and the governments
of energy-producing countries (Figure 5.7, page 98).
There are governments at the demand end also, as well as a range of consumers. There are also players involved at various points along the pathways, such as the companies responsible for the movement and processing of energy (Figure 5.6). The five major players are described in Table 5.2 on page 99.

Question 19

Energy pathway:

Answer 19

The route taken by any form of energy from its source to its point of consumption. The routes involve different forms of transport, such as tanker ships, pipelines and electricity transmission grids.

Question 20

Energy portraits of the USA and France p1

Answer 20

• Table 5.1 shows the top ten energy consuming countries in the world.
• The USA and France are shown to rank second and tenth, respectively, but total consumption in France is seen to be only one-tenth of that of the USA.
• This big difference is explained mainly by differences in population: 318.9 million compared with 64.6 million.
• Climate is another contributory factor.
• The higher US consumption reflects the fact that quite large areas of this huge country experience great extremes of heat and cold.
• Counteracting these extremes requires large inputs of energy into heating and lighting on the one hand and air conditioning on the other.
• Carbon fuels produce 82 per cent of the energy consumed in the USA (Figure 5.8).

Question 21

Energy portraits of the USA and France p2

Answer 21

• Only ten per cent comes from renewables and eight per cent from nuclear energy.
• The French energy mix is rather different, with 50 per cent of its energy coming from fossil fuels, nearly ten per cent from renewables and 41 per cent from nuclear energy.
• France is, in fact, a major player in the nuclear power industry.
• It has over 50 nuclear reactors in operation currently.
• When it comes to dependency on imported supplies, the figure for France is surprisingly high at 46 per cent.
• This reflects the fact that all of its natural gas and oil are imported, plus the uranium needed for its large number of nuclear power stations.
• In contrast, the USA imports only fifteen per cent of its primary energy - a difference that makes the USA altogether more energy secure.

Question 22

Major players in the world of energy

Answer 22

Transnational corporations(TNCs)

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Energy companies

Consumers

Governments

Question 23

Transnational corporations

Answer 23

The big names in the oil and gas business are shown in Figure 5.9. Nearly half of these companies are state-owned (all or in part) and, therefore, very much under government control.
Because of this, strictly speaking they are not TNCs. Most are involved in a range of operations: exploring, extracting, transporting, refining and producing petrochemicals.

Question 24

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Answer 24

OPEC has twelve member countries and between them owns around two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves. Because of this, it is in a position to control the amount of oil and gas entering the global market, as well the prices of both commodities. OPEC has been accused of holding back production in order to drive up oil and gas prices.

Question 25

Energy companies

Answer 25

Important here are the companies that convert primary energy (oil, gas, water and nuclear) into electricity and then distribute it. Most companies are involved in the distribution of both gas and electricity. They have considerable influence when it comes to setting consumer prices and tariffs.

Question 26

Consumers

Answer 26

An all-embracing term but probably the most influential consumers are transport, industry and domestic users. Consumers are largely passive players when it comes to fixing energy prices.

Question 27

Governments

Answer 27

They can play a number of different roles; they are the guardians of national energy security and can influence the sourcing of energy for geopolitical reasons.