Energy Sources Used to create Electricity

Biomass

• Burns plants, wood, trash and other organic material

• Pros: renewable, creates less trash in landfills and removes methane and greenhouse gases

• Cons: bad odor!! Need high temp to burn or toxins can be released.

• Efficiency = 37%

Coal

• Made from dead plants formed millions of years ago

• Advantages: inexpensive, 200+ year supply (USA) technology is in place

• Disadvantages: non-renewable, produces CO2 , NO2, SO2, acid rain, gr. house gases, mercury poisoning, and mining destroys ecosystem

• Efficiency = 37%

Geothermal

• Earth’s interior heats the water needed to create steam (due to heat from radioactive decay and magma/core)

• Pros: renewable, no transportation needed, very little air pollution, enough supply to power entire Earth

• Cons: sulfur “egg” smell, noise pollution, limited locations, maintains salts and minerals that can contaminate water

• Efficiency = 90%

Hydropower

• Using a river/dam to turn turbines• Pros: renewable, no greenhouse gases,

after dam is built, little cost and fish ladders increase fish migration

• Cons: limited locations, needs water flow, destroys ecosystems, interferes with fish migration, may contribute to flooding and droughts, decreases dissolved oxygen

• Efficiency = 90%

Natural Gas

• Formed from dead marine plant and animals mya

• Pros: cleanest fossil fuel, easy to transport, technology in place for distribution.

• Cons: nonrenewable, 30-50 year supply, explosive, CO2, NO2, greenhouse gases, methane leaks kill organisms

• Efficiency = 47%

Nuclear - Fission

• Process that splits atoms to produce heat

• Pros: inexpensive, very efficient, uranium is in USA mines, no greenhouse gases

• Cons: nonrenewable, 65 year supply left, storage of radioactive waste, meltdowns, terrorism target, decreases dissolved O2 in water source, thermal pollution

• Efficiency = 90%

Plasma Arc-Gasification

• Burning trash at 3X sun’s temperature

• Pros: renewable, reuse of waste or trash, inexpensive, no air pollution!

• Cons: Technology not widely in use yet, metal contamination if not properly monitored, expensive start up costs

• Efficiency = 90%

Petroleum

• Formed from dead marine plant and animals mya

• Pros: cleaner than coal, technology is in place, easy to store

• Cons: nonrenewable, 30-50 year supply, CO2, NO2, greenhouse gases, acid rain, spills and drilling destroys ecosystems

• Efficiency = 30%

Solar

• Sun’s energy is used to react with photovoltaic cells that produce electricity

• Also Collective Solar Power (heated fluid) (New Mexico)

• Pros: renewable, no pollution, is free after technology is in place

• Cons: need space/land, not consistent -cloudy weather, technology is expensive

• Efficiency = 40-70%

Wind

• Wind is the product of the uneven heating of Earth’s surface

• Pros: renewable, no air pollution, free after technology is in place

• Cons: noisy, eye-sore, need land, wind must be consistent, damage can occur from too much wind

• Efficiency = 45%

Other tech: Nuclear Power using Fusion

• Using atomic fusion to create heat

• Renewable, no greenhouse gases, or radiation

• Ready in 2020

• Expensive

• Researching (France)