4.5 Comparing Energy Resources
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We need to compare energy resources on many different dimensions. Different resources will perform better on certain aspects and worse on others.
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1)Set-up/ decommissioning cost and time. We need to consider how much it will cost and how long it will take before it generates electricity and the cost and time it takes to return the land to its former use. For example, nuclear power takes many years to build and then many years to decommission due to the amount of radioactive substances in the power station. It will take 10 years to build Hinckley Point and around the same to decommission.
2) Reliability issues. This looks at both how long we can rely on using these resources to generate power for us and are the energy resources good at being able to supply the right amount of energy when we demand it. Fossil fuels are potentially bad for the first part of reliability issues because they will potentially run out in the future. However, we will run out of these in the medium term and not straight away; but we still need to be aware that at some point, fossil fuels will run out. But fossil fuels are very good at providing the exact amount of power that we demand as we are able to increase the amount of fuels that are being burnt. Some renewables (like wind, tidal, geothermal and solar) are poor at being able to increase their supply of energy because they are only able to produce the amount of energy that their resource provides and no more. However, other renewables (like hydroelectric power and tidal power for certain times of the day) are able to respond to changes in demand as they can increase the amount of electricity that is produced from these resources. 3) Environmental issues, such as: A) Atmosphere pollution B) Noise pollution C) Visual pollution D) Using up of resources E) Destruction of habits F) Other, such as the disruption of leisure activities and possible risks to the environment (with a nuclear reactor and hydroelectric power plant the risks to the surrounding area would be significant if something was to go wrong) We need to think about the environmental issues from obtaining the resources, building a facility to turn the resources into useful energy and what are the impacts after the lifetime of generation has ended. 4) Running costs. What are the costs involved in facilitating the resources in generating electricity? Renewable tends to have the lowest cost because no fuels are involved. 5) Location issues. Some of the energy resources, especially renewables can only be used in certain places. For example, hydroelectric power needs a valley that is very rainy or has an existing water supply. |