A2 CAMBRIDGE GEOGRAPHY: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT - SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SUPPLIES. It contains all sources of energy.

1. A2GEOGRAPHY
ENVIRONMENTALMANAGEMENT
12.1 SUSTAINABLEENERGYSUPPLIES

2. INTRODUCTION
Non-renewable sources of energy are the fossil fuels and nuclear fuel.
These are finite so that as they are used up the supply that remains is
reduced. Renewable energy can be used over and over again.
It includes hydroelectric, biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and wave
power.
At present, non-renewable resources dominate global energy.
The challenge is to transform the global energy mix to achieve a better
balance between renewable and non-renewable sources of energy.

5. GLOSSARY
Renewable energy refers to sources of energy such as solar and wind
power, which are not depleted as they are used.
The energy mix is the relative contribution of different energy sources to a
country’s energy production/ consumption.

6. FACTORS AFFECTING THE DEMAND FOR ENERGY
Demand is primarily governed by the size of a country’s population and its level
of economic development.
Growth in energy demand is particularly rapid in newly industrialised countries.
A country’s energy policy can impact significantly on demand if it focuses on
efficiency and sustainability.
High levels of pollution due to energy consumption can be a strong stimulus to
developing a cleaner energy policy.

7. REASONS FOR VARIATIONS IN ENERGY SUPPLY
Global variations in energy supply occur
for a number of reasons.
• Physical - Deposits of fossil fuels are
only found in a limited number of
locations.
• Economic - In poor countries foreign
direct investment is often essential
for the development of energy
resources.
• Political - International agreements
such as the Kyoto Protocol can have a
considerable influence on the energy
decisions of individual countries.

8. KYOTO PROTOCOL
The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits
state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific
consensus that (part one) global warming is occurring and (part two) it is
extremely likely that human-made CO2 emissions have predominantly caused it.
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan on 11 December 1997 and
entered into force on 16 February 2005.
There are currently 192 parties (Canada withdrew effective December 2012) to
the Protocol.

10. FOSSIL FUELS
The fossil fuels dominate the global
energy situation.
Their relative contributions are (2008):
• oil – 34.8%
• coal – 29.3%
• natural gas – 24.1%
In contrast, hydroelectricity accounted
for 6.4% and nuclear energy 5.5% of
global energy.
Next slide shows the regional pattern of
energy consumption for 2008.

11. THE REGIONAL PATTERN OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION 2008

12. THE DEMAND FOR ENERGY
Deindustrialisation and increasing energy efficiency in MEDCs in general has
resulted in a relatively modest increase in demand compared with newly
industrialised countries (NICs).
In some MEDCs the demand for energy has actually fallen.
It is the NICs that are increasing their energy demand by the fastest rate.
China alone has accounted for one-third of the growth in global oil demand
since 2000.
Most LEDCs struggle to fund their energy requirements.
There is a strong positive correlation between GNP per capita and energy use.
Around the world 2 billion people lack access to household electricity.

14. OIL
From less than 60 million barrels daily in the early 1980s global demand for oil
rose steeply to 84.5 million barrels a day in 2008. The largest increase has been
in the Asia-Pacific region, which now accounts for 30.1% of consumption.
This region now uses more oil than North America (27.4%).
In contrast, Africa consumes only 3.4% of global oil.
The pattern of regional production is markedly different from that of
consumption.
In 2008, the Middle East accounted for 31.9% of production, followed by
Europe and Eurasia (21.7%).
In 2008, the Middle East accounted for almost 60% % of global proved reserves.
While the reserves-to-production (R/P) ratio is almost 79 years in the Middle
East it is only 14.8 years in North America and 14.5 years in Asia-Pacific.

16. TYPICAL MISTAKE
Students sometimes confuse areas of production
and consumption.
For some energy sources such as coal the figures
are very similar, but for oil there is a very
significant difference.
The ease with which a type of energy can be
transported is the major factor here.

17. WHEN WILL GLOBAL PEAK OIL PRODUCTION OCCUR?
The International Energy Agency expects peak oil production somewhere
between 2013 and 2037.
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO) predicted that the
peak of global oil production would come as early as 2011.

19. GLOSSARY
The reserves-to-production ratio is the reserves remaining at the end of any
year divided by the production in that year.
The result is the length of time that those remaining reserves would last if
production were to continue at that level.
Peak oil production is the year in which the world or an individual oil
producing country reaches its highest level of production, with production
declining thereafter.

20. OTHER SOURCES OF ENERGY: GAS AND COAL
Between 1998 and 2008 global oil
production increased by 11%.
Over the same period this compared
with:
• a rise of 35% in natural gas production.
Natural gas production is dominated by
the Russian Federation and the USA,
accounting for 19.6% and 19.3% of the
global total respectively
• a 49% increase in coal production.
China alone mines 42.5% of the world
total. The next largest producing
country is the USA (18.0%).

21. GAS, COAL, NUCLEAR, HEP
Between 1998 and 2008 global oil production increased by 11%.
Over the same period this compared with:
• a rise of 35% in natural gas production. Natural gas production is dominated
by the Russian Federation and the USA, accounting for 19.6% and 19.3% of
the global total respectively
• a 49% increase in coal production. China alone mines 42.5% of the world
total. The next largest producing country is the USA (18.0%).
• a 13% increase in nuclear energy. With 103 operating reactors the USA leads
the world in the use of nuclear electricity. This amounts to 31% of the world’s
total. The next major consumers of nuclear energy after the USA are France
and Japan.
• a 22% rise in hydroelectricity. The ‘big four’ HEP nations of China, Canada,
Brazil and the USA account for almost 50% of the global total.

23. EXTENDING THE LIFE OF FOSSIL FUELS
There are a number of technologies that can improve the use and prolong the
life of fossil fuels. These include coal gasification, clean coal technologies and
the extraction of unconventional natural gas.
Coal gasification is the process of producing syngas–a mixture consisting
primarily of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and water
vapour – from coal and water, air and/or oxygen.
Coal was gasified using early technology to produce coal gas (also known as
"town gas"), which is a combustible gas traditionally used for municipal
lighting and heating before the advent of industrial-scale production of natural
gas.
Unconventional natural gas, includes shale gas, tight gas, coal bed methane,
and methane hydrates. Extraction has been more difficult and costly to
exploit than conventional deposits, until recently.

26. RENEWABLE ENERGY
Hydroelectricity dominates
renewable energy production.
The newer sources of
renewable energy that make
the largest contribution to
global energy supply are wind
power and biofuels.

27. HYDROELECTRIC POWER (HEP)
Most of the best HEP locations are already in use so the scope for more largescale
development is limited.
In many countries there is scope for small-scale HEP plants to supply local
communities.
HEP is generally seen as a clean form of energy but there are some problems:
• Large dams and power plants can have a huge negative visual impact on the
environment.
• The obstruction of the river affects aquatic life.
• Deterioration in water quality is common.
• Large areas of land may need to be flooded to form the reservoir behind the dam.
• Submerging large forests without prior clearance can release significant quantities
of methane – a greenhouse gas.

28. Hydroelectric power, electricity produced from generators driven by turbines that convert the potential energy of falling or
fast-flowing water into mechanical energy.

30. WIND POWER
The worldwide capacity of wind
energy is approaching 100,000 MW.
Global wind energy is dominated by
a relatively small number of
countries.
Germany, the USA and Spain
together account for almost 58% of
the world total.
Wind energy has reached the ‘take-
off’ stage, both as a source of energy
and a manufacturing industry.

31. Wind energy – global cumulative installed capacity,
1996–2007

32. WIND TURBINES
Apart from establishing new wind energy sites, repowering is also beginning to
play an important role.
This means replacing first-generation wind turbines with modern multi-
megawatt turbines, which give a much better performance.
As wind turbines have been erected in more areas of more countries, the
opposition to this form of renewable energy has increased:
• People are concerned that huge turbines located nearby could blight their homes and
have a significant impact on property values.
• There are concerns about the hum of turbines disturbing both people and wildlife.
• Skylines in scenically beautiful areas might be spoiled forever.
• Turbines can kill birds.
• Migratory flocks tend to follow strong winds but wind companies argue that they steer
clear of migratory routes.

33. Wind power is the use of air flow through wind turbines to
mechanically power generators for electricity.
Wind power, as an alternative to burning fossil fuels, is plentiful,
renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas
emissions during operation, consumes no water, and uses little land.

34. BIOFUELS
Biofuels are fossil fuel substitutes that can be made from a range of agri-crop
materials including oilseeds, wheat and sugar.
They can be blended with petrol and diesel.
Increasing amounts of cropland have been used to produce biofuels.
Initially, environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace
were very much in favour of biofuels, but as damaging environmental
consequences became clear such groups were the first to demand a rethink of
this energy strategy.

35. A biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary biological
processes, such as agriculture and anaerobic digestion, rather than
a fuel produced by geological processes such as those involved in
the formation of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum, from
prehistoric biological matter.

36. GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITY
Geothermal energy is the natural heat found in the Earth’s crust in the form
of steam, hot water and hot rock.
Rainwater can percolate several kilometres in permeable rocks where it is
heated due to the Earth’s geothermal gradient.
This source of energy can be used to produce electricity or the hot water can
be used directly for industry, agriculture, bathing and cleansing.
For example in Iceland, hot springs supply water at 86°C to 95% of the buildings
in and around Reykjavik.

37. GEOTHERMAL POWER

38. GEOTHERMAL ELECTRICITY
The USA is the world leader in geothermal electricity.
However, total production accounts for just 0.37% of the electricity used in the
USA.
Other leading geothermal electricity-using countries are the Philippines, Italy,
Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand and Iceland.

39. Krafla, a geothermal
power station in
Iceland.
It is considered to be
Iceland's largest power
station with its 33
boreholes, and it is able
to produce 500 GWh of
electricity annually with
its installed capacity of
60 MW (2 x 30
megawatts).

40. Geothermal power is
power generated by
geothermal energy.
Technologies in use
include dry steam power
stations, flash steam
power stations and binary
cycle power stations.
Geothermal electricity
generation is currently
used in 24 countries,
while geothermal heating
is in use in 70 countries.

41. SOLAR POWER
From a relatively small base the installed capacity of solar electricity is growing
rapidly.
Experts say that solar power has huge potential for technological improvement,
which could make it a major source of global electricity in years to come. Spain,
Germany, Japan and the USA currently lead the global market for solar power.
Solar power is currently produced in two ways:
• Photovoltaic systems – these are solar panels that convert sunlight directly into
electricity.
• Concentrating solar power (CSP) systems - use mirrors or lenses and tracking
systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. This concentrated
light is then used as a heat source for a conventional thermal power plant.

42. A solar photovoltaic
system array on a
rooftop in Hong Kong.

43. Solar power is generally taken to mean the
production of solar electricity, as distinct from
solar hot water systems, which are
commonplace in many countries with a large
number of days with sunshine each year.

44. TIDAL POWER
Although tidal power is currently in its infancy, a study by the Electric Power
Research Institute estimated that as much as 10% of US electricity could
eventually be supplied by tidal energy.
This potential could be equalled in the UK and surpassed in Canada.
The 240 MW Rance facility in northwest France is the only utility-scale tidal
power system in the world.
The greatest potential for tidal power is in Canada’s Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia.

45. Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station,
located in Gyeonggi Province,
South Korea, is the world's
largest tidal power installation,
with a total power output
capacity of 254 MW.
When completed in 2011, it
surpassed the 240 MW Rance
Tidal Power Station which was
the world's largest for 45 years.
It is operated by the Korea
Water Resources Corporation.

46. FUELWOOD
In developing countries about 2.5 billion people rely on fuelwood (including
charcoal) and animal dung for cooking.
Fuelwood accounts for just over half of global wood production.
It provides much of the energy needs for Sub-Saharan Africa and is also the most
important use of wood in Asia.
In developing countries the concept of the ‘energy ladder’ is important.
Here, a transition from fuelwood and animal dung to ‘higher-level’ sources of
energy occurs as part of the process of economic development.

48. THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ENERGY
The environmental impact of fossil fuels has been the subject of much debate
over a long period of time, as have the significant concerns over nuclear energy.
Even in the renewable sector the impact of large hydroelectric schemes has
drawn considerable criticism along with increasing concerns over large wind
farms.
No energy project of a significant scale is without its disadvantages.

49. THE NIGER DELTA
No energy production location has suffered more environmental damage than
the Niger Delta, which contains over 75% of Africa’s remaining mangrove.
A 2006 report estimated that up to 1.5 million tonnes of oil have been spilt in the
delta over the past 50 years.
The report compiled by WWF says that the Delta is one of the five most polluted
spots on Earth.
Pollution is destroying the livelihoods of many of the 20 million people who live in
the area.
The pollution damages crops and fishing grounds and is a major contributor to
the upsurge in violence in the region.
People in the Delta are dissatisfied with bearing the considerable costs of the oil
industry but seeing very little in terms of the benefits.

51. GAS FLARING
The flaring (burning) of unwanted natural gas found with the oil is a major
regional and global environmental problem.
The gas found here is not useful because there is no gas pipeline infrastructure to
take it to consumer markets.
Gas flaring in the Niger Delta is the world’s single largest source of greenhouse
gas emissions.
The federal environmental protection agency has only existed since 1988 and
environmental impact assessments were not compulsory until 1992.

53. OIL SANDS IN CANADA AND VENEZUELA
Huge oil sand (tar sand) deposits in Alberta, Canada and Venezuela could be
critical over the next 50 years as the world’s production of conventional oil falls.
However, there are serious environmental concerns about the development of
tar sands:
• It takes two tonnes of mined sand to produce one barrel of synthetic crude,
leaving lots of waste sand.
• It takes about three times as much energy to produce a barrel of Alberta oil-
sands crude as it does a conventional barrel of oil. Thus, oil sands are large
sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

55. GLOSSARY
An environmental impact assessment is a document required by law detailing all
the impacts on the environment of a project above a certain size.
Oil sands, also known as tar sands or extra heavy oil, are naturally occurring
mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense and viscous form of
petroleum called bitumen.
Energy pathways are supply routes between energy producers and consumers,
which may be pipelines, shipping routes or electricity cables.

56. ENERGY PATHWAYS
As energy companies have had to search further afield for new sources of oil,
new energy pathways have had to be constructed.
Some major oil and gas pipelines cross some of the world’s most inhospitable
terrain.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline crosses three mountain ranges and several large
rivers. Much of the pipeline is above ground to avoid the permafrost.
Engineers fly over the pipeline every day by helicopter to check for leaks and
other problems.
Incidents such as subsidence have closed the pipeline for short periods.