Research on energy sources

Hydroelectricity

How does it work? - How is it generated?

Answer: A common hydroelectric power plant uses a dam to store water. Water is then released
from the dam and flows through a turbine, thus spinning it and activating a generator to produce
electricity.

Benefits from using it

Answer: There are many benefits from using hydroelectricity. Some of the benefits include:
Hydroelectricity is a clean fuel as it is powered by water which
means that it will not pollute the environment.
Hydroelectricity is a domestic fuel because each state of a
country will be able to create their own energy without relying
on fuel sources that come from abroad.
It is a renewable source of energy due to the fact that it is
dependent on the water cycle which in turn is derived from the
sun.
It also provides us with flood control, irrigation and a water
supply

Problems with using it

Answer: There are also quite a number of problems while using hydroelectricity. Some of these
problems include:
The use of hydroelectricity, specifically hydroelectric
dams, have environmental consequences that are
related to the damming of water and also changing
the water flow in that part of the area.
 Building a hydroelectric power plant is very expensive. An example of this can be seen in
Brazil. The Itaipu Dam cost $20 billion and 18 years to construct.
Electricity generation is directly related to the amount of water is available. This means that
a drought can have a major impact on the amount of electricity produced by the
hydroelectric power plant.

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Answer: There are currently over 223 dams across Australia. Some
examples of a hydroelectric dam in Australia include:
Cotter Dam (ACT)
Nepean Dam (NSW)
Darwin River Dam (NT)
Leslie Dam (QLD)
Little Para Reservoir (SA)
Lake Echo Dam (TAS)
Some examples of major international hydroelectric dam is:
Three Gorges Dam (China)
Aswan Dam (Egypt)
Hoover Dam (USA)
Itaipu Dam (Brazil)
The Gordon Dam (Australia)

Wind

How does it work? - How is it generated?

Answer: It works opposite to how a normal fan works, meaning that it uses wind to create
electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes
electricity.

Benefits from using it

Answer: There are many benefits from using wind electricity. Some of the benefits include:
It is a clean source of fuel as it doesn't pollute the air like power plants that rely on
combustion of fossil fuels
Wind is also domestic source of energy because each state of a country will be able to
create their own energy without relying on fuel sources that come from abroad.
Wind energy is also sustainable as wind is a form solar energy. Winds are caused by the
heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the rotation of the Earth, and the Earth's surface
irregularities. For as long as the sun shines and the wind blows.
Wind is a cost-effective source of fuel as it one of the lowest-priced renewable source
energy available to us today.
Wind Turbines can built on farms thus increasing the economy in rural areas of a country.
The use of wind turbines creates more jobs.

Problems with using it

Answer: There are also quite a number of problems while using wind electricity. Some of these
problems include:
The use of wind electricity has to compete with the conventional fuel source (fossil fuels) in
terms of cost.
Depending on how energetic a wind site is, the wind farm might not be cost competitive.
Good wind sites are often far from the cities and thus transmission lines are required
running from rural areas to the cities.
WInd turbines might create more noise pollution
Blades can damage to local wildlife. Birds have been seen flying into spinning wind turbines.

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Boco Rock Wind Farm (Australia)
Hallett Group Wind Farm (Australia)
Macarthur Wind Farm (Australia)
Wild Horse Wind Farm (USA)
Barrow Offshore Wind Farm (UK)

Solar Cells

How does it work? - How is it generated?

Answer: Photovoltaics is the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level. Some
materials exhibit a property known as the photoelectric effect that causes them to absorb photons
of light and release electrons. When these free electrons are captured, an electric current results
that can be used as electricity.

Benefits from using it

Answer:
Solar energy is a resource that is not only sustainable for energy consumption, it is
indefinitely renewable (at least until the sun runs out in billions of years).
Solar Panels cost is currently on a fast reducing track and is expected to continue reducing
for the next years
PV panels provide clean green energy. During electricity generation with PV panels there
is no harmful greenhouse gas emissions thus solar PV is environmentally friendly.

Problems with using it

Answer:
Might not work during night and also during daytime there may be cloudy or rainy weather.
Solar energy panels require additional equipment (inverters) to convert direct electricity
(DC) to alternating electricity (AC) in order to be used on the power network. These parts
cost money.
Though PV panels have no considerable maintenance or operating costs, they are fragile
and can be damaged relatively easily.

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Answer:
Broken Hill (Australia)
White Cliffs Solar Power Station (Australia)
Mooree Solar Farm (Australia)
Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant (Canada)
Huanghe Hydropower Golmud Solar Park (USA)

Solar Thermal
How does it work? - How is it generated?
Answer: Solar thermal power plants use the sun's rays to heat a fluid to high temperatures. The
fluid is then circulated through pipes so that it can transfer its heat to water and produce steam.
The steam is converted into mechanical energy in a turbine, which powers a generator to produce
electricity.

Benefits from using it

Answer:
No Fuel Cost - Solar Thermal Energy does not require any fuel like most other sources of
renewable energy.
Predictable, 24/7 Power - Solar Thermal Energy can generate power 24 hours a day.
No Pollution and Global Warming Effects - Solar Thermal Energy does not cause pollution
which is one of the biggest advantages.

Problems with using it

Answer:
High Costs
Water Issue - Solar Thermal Plants use lots of Water which is Major Problem in Desert
Areas
Ecological and Cultural Issues - The Usage of Massive Arrays of Mirrors is noted to heavily
impact the Desert Wildlife endangering the endangered species.
Limited Locations and Size Limitations - Solar Thermal Energy can only be built in places
which have the high amount of
solar radiation.

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Answer:
Liddell Power Station Solar Steam Generator (Australia)
Sundrop (Australia)
Acme Solar Thermal Tower (India)
Ivanpah Solar Power Facility (USA)

Biomass
How does it work? - How is it generated?
Answer: A biomass-fired power plant produces electricity and heat by burning biomass in a boiler.
The most common types of boilers are hot water boilers and steam boilers.

Benefits from using it

Answer:
Biomass energy, for the most part, creates no harmful carbon dioxide emissions.
It is clean form of electricity
Biomass products are abundant and renewable. Since
they come from living sources, and life is a cycle, these
products potentially never run out, so long as there is
something living on earth and there is someone there to
turn that living things components and waste products
into energy.
It has developed as an alternate source of fuel
 Another benefit of this energy is that it can take waste that is harmful to the environment
and turn it into something useful. Garbage as landfill can, at least partially, be burned to
create useable biomass energy.

Problems with using it

Answer:
Expensive
Inefficient as Compared to Fossil Fuels - Secondly, and connected to the first, is the relative
inefficiency of biomass energy.
Harmful to Environment - Thirdly, using animal and human waste to power engines may
save on carbon dioxide emissions, but it increases methane gases
Consume More Fuel - Finally, using trees and tree products to power machines is inefficient
as well.
Require More Land - Combustion of biomass products require some land where they can
easily be burnt.

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Answer:
Koda Energy LLC (USA)
Telogia Power (USA)
Shasta Renewable (USA)
Drax (UK)

Geothermal
How does it work? - How is it generated?
Answer: Steam is can be found underground, many kilometres below the Earths surface. The
steam is then directed through pipes towards a turbine, which will spin. This turbine will spin and
generate electricity through a generator.

Benefits from using it

Answer:
It saves a lot of money as it saves 80% of fossil fuels and also it does not require any energy
to run.
It decreases the reliance of fossil fuels. The decrease of the use of fossil fuels means the
increase use in geothermal energy.
It is a renewable source of energy and does not create any pollution.

Problems with using it

Answer:
It has a high installation cost
It can sometimes run out of steam over a period of time
It is only suited towards regions that have hit rocks underneath that part if that part if the
surface
It has a risk of releasing harmful gases that is deep within the Earth
It is hard to transport geothermal energy and can only supply energy to surrounding areas

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Answer:
Utahs 10MW geothermal power plant
Raser Technologies 10MW geothermal power plant
Ngatamariki Geothermal Power Plant, New Zealand

Waves and Tidal

How does it work? - How is it generated?
Answer: Waves and tidal energy is created through the use of the use of waves and tides
generators. These large underwater turbines are places in areas that have high tials movements
and is designed to capture the movements of ocean tides in order to create electricity.

Benefits from using it

Answer:
It is a renewable source of energy
It is an environmentally friendly source of energy.
It is easy to predict when the high tide will come
It is also effective at low speeds due to the fact that water is 1000 times higher density than
air, which makes it possible to generate electricity at low speeds.
It has long lifespan since as long there is water and movement in the water, electricity can
be produced.

Problems with using it

Answer:
It has some environmental issues as its effects on the environment have not been fully
determined yet
The generator for this form of energy needs to be close to land thus creating a need of
space
It is also expensive to construct the parts needed for the waves and tidal energy

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Answer:
Annapolis Royal Generating Station (Canada)
Rance Tidal Power Station (France)
Cooper Basin (Australia)

Fossil Fuels
How does it work? - How is it generated?
Answer: The fossils used for fossil fuels are remains of organisms that existed millions of years ago.
Heat from these fuels is used to convert water into steam, which is then used to power turbines
that generate electricity.

Benefits from using it

Answer:
It is an easily available source of fuel
It produces large amounts of energy as it is easily combustible
It has a high calorific value. All forms of energy has a calorific value, The more the value, the
more effective it is.
It is a stable source of energy as it contains molecules of carbon and hydrogen
It is easy to transport
There is a of fossil fuels available
It is a low cost source of energy
It is easy to set up

Problems with using it

Answer:
It creates a lot of environmental pollution thus destroying our environment
Its prices are rising
It can create acid rain
It is damaging the human health
It is not a renewable source of energy
It has a need for massive reserves

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Answer:
Bruce (Canada)
Longtan (China)
Hanul (South Korea)

Nuclear Fuel
How does it work? - How is it generated?
Answer: Water is turned into steam, which in turn drives turbine generators to produce electricity.
At nuclear power plants, the heat to make the steam is created when uranium atoms split. This is
called fission.

Benefits from using it

Answer:
It has lower greenhouse gas emission
It is powerful and efficient in creating energy
It is a reliable source of energy. This is why many countries are investing in nuclear fuel
It is cheap electricity because the cost of uranium, which is used as a fuel to create
electricity, is cheap
It has a low fuel cost because it requires little uranium which is, in turn, cheap
Nuclear energy has a continuous supply of electricity
It is also easy to transport the electricity generated from nuclear energy

Problems with using it

Answer:
The remains (the waste) are radioactive
There are chances of nuclear accidents
The plutonium used in the power reactors of a nuclear energy power plant can be harmful
if introduced to the environment
It has a high investment price and a lot of money is spent to build the power plant
Nuclear energy has given us the power to produce destructive weapons, thus meaning that
using nuclear fuels poses a national threat
It impacts the aquatic life as radioactive wastes can increase the nutrients and richness of
water
It can mutate humans as seen with children born after nuclear bombs was dropped in
Japan at the end of World War II
Uranium, the source of nuclear fuel, is a very scarce resource and available in only a few
countries.
It is also not a renewable source of energy

Examples in Australia and Internationally

Answer:
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant (Japan)
Bruce Nuclear Generating Station (Canada)
Lucas Heights Nuclear Reactor (Australia)