Energy

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

© 2011 Project Lead The Way, Inc.Gateway – Energy and the Environment

Sustainable Energy

• Meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of

future generations to meet their needs

• Includes renewable and inexhaustible energy

sources

– Hydroelectric, solar, wind, wave and tidal

power, geothermal and biomass

Yesterday – Burning Wood

• Heat

• Light

• Cooking

Yesterday – Fossil Fuels• Coal, oil, and natural gas formed from plants and

animals that lived up to 300 million years ago.

• Fossil fuels are found in deposits beneath the

Earth’s surface.

• Fossil fuels are an exhaustible energy source

because it takes millions of years for them to

form.

• In the 19th century

we started to extract

and use fossil fuels

for energy.

Energy Today• 84% of U.S. energy consumption is still fossil fuels.

• 25% of U.S. energy needs are imported.

• 57% of the petroleum used in the U.S. is imported.

• What sources are changing?

Renewables7% Nuclear

8%

Natural Gas22%

Coal23%

Petroleum40%

2008

Renewables10%

Nuclear8%

Natural Gas27%

Coal19%

Petroleum36%

2013

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly energy Review, Table 1.3 and

10.1 (May 2014), 2013 data

http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=about_home

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly energy Review, Table 1.3 and

10.1 (May 2014), 2013 data

http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=about_home

Renewable Energy Today• The 10% of renewable energy used in the United States is

divided into 5 sources as shown below.

• These sources are sustainable and include both

renewable and inexhaustible sources.

• Which category increased the most between 2008 and

2013?

Solar1%

Geothermal5% Wind

4%

Biomass47%

Hydroelectric43%

2008

Solar3%

Geothermal2%

Wind17%

Biomass50%

Hydroelectric28%

2013

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly energy Review, Table 1.3 and

10.1 (May 2014), 2013 data

http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=about_home

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly energy Review, Table 1.3 and

10.1 (May 2014), 2013 data

http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=about_home

How is Energy used?

Residential22%

Commercial18%

Industrial32%

Transportation28%

US

Residential18%

Commercial12%

Industrial50%

Transportation20%

World

• How does the United States use energy differently

than the world?

• Why do you think the United States uses more

energy for transportation?

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly energy Review, Table 1.3 and

10.1 (May 2014), 2013 data

http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=about_home

How much energy is consumed in the world by each sector? (2014, May 19).

Retrieved December 16, 2014, from http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=447&t=1

Energy in the Future – Petroleum

• At current levels of

consumption, the

world’s oil reserves are

expected to last about

40 years.

• There may be some oil that is currently

undetected, but it cannot be economically

extracted with current technology.

Energy in the Future – Natural Gas

Known gas

reserves are

expected to last

about 60 years

at current

consumption

levels with

current

technology.

Energy in the Future – Coal

If we continue to use coal at the current

consumption rate, we expect to run out in

about 200 years.

Energy in the Future

• We are using fossil fuels that were made

more than 300 million years ago.

• They are not renewable; they can’t really

be made again.

• We can save fossil fuels by

– Conserving energy

– Using alternative energy sources

Alternative Energy – Future

More money and research will go into

developing alternative energy sources.

Hydropower

Inexhaustible

gravitational

energy of

moving water

Wind

Inexhaustible

kinetic energy

from moving air

Nuclear

Non-

renewable

potential

energy stored

in the nucleus

of an atom

Biomass

Renewable

stored chemical

energy from wood,

garbage, and

agricultural wastes

Alternative Energy – Future

Solar

Inexhaustible

radiant energy

from the sun

Geothermal

Inexhaustible

heat energy

from beneath

the Earth’s

surface

Many career opportunities will

involve research and

development of alternative

energy sources.

Smart Grid - Future

• Smart Grid technology changes the way

we manage and distribute energy by

making our current power grid more

intelligent.

• A Smart grid delivers electricity from

suppliers to consumers using digital

technology to save energy, reduce cost

and increase reliability.

• Smart Grid

• Smart Grid for Intelligent Energy Use

References

Microsoft, Inc. (2009). Clip art. Retrieved April 10, 2009, from

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2014,

December 16, 2014

When will oil run out? (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2014, from

http://www.imeche.org/knowledge/themes/energy/energy-

supply/fossil-energy/when-will-oil-run-out