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DIFFERENT ENERGY SOURCES –
PROS and CONS

Engr. Ans Ahmed

Department of Mechanical Engineering 2
SELF REFLECTION ??

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 ENERGY SOURCES
Energy Source Pros Cons

Emits major greenhouse gases/acid rain

Abundant supply
High environmental impact from mining
Currently inexpensive to extract
Coal and burning, although cleaner coal-
burning technology is being developed
Reliable and capable of generating
large amounts of power
Mining can be dangerous for miners

No greenhouse gases or CO2 Higher capital costs due to safety,

emissions emergency, containment, radioactive
waste, and storage systems
Efficient at transforming energy into
electricity Problem of long-term storage of
Nuclear (Uranium) radioactive waste
Uranium reserves are abundant
Heated waste water from nuclear
Refueled yearly (unlike coal plants plants harms aquatic life
that need trainloads of coal every
day) Potential nuclear proliferation issue
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 ENERGY SOURCES
Energy Source Pros Cons
Efficient transportation fuel for High CO2 emissions
the world Found in limited areas
Basis of many products, from Supply may be exhausted before
Petroleum prescription drugs to plastics natural gas/coal resources
Economical to produce Possible environmental impact
Easy to transport from drilling/transporting
Widely available
Cleanest-burning fossil fuel Transportation costs are high

Often used in combination with Lack of infrastructure makes gas

other fuels to decrease
Natural Gas pollution in electricity
generation
Made safe by adding artificial
odor so that people can easily
smell the gas in case of a leak
resources unavailable from some
areas
Burns cleanly, but still has
emissions
Pipelines impact ecosystems

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 ENERGY SOURCES
Energy Source Pros Cons
1. High initial investment
2. Dependent on sunny weather
1. Nonpolluting 3. Supplemental energy may be
2. Most abundant energy needed in low sunlight areas
Solar Energy
source available 4. Requires large physical space
3. Systems last 15-30 years for PV cell panels
5. Limited availability of
polysilicon for panels
1. Output is proportional to
wind speed
1. No emissions
2. Not feasible for all
2. Affordable
geographic locations
Wind Energy 3. Little disruption of
3. High initial
ecosystems
investment/ongoing
4. Relatively high output
maintenance costs
4. Extensive land use

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 ENERGY SOURCES
Energy Source Pros Cons
No emissions Environmental impacts by changing
Reliable the environment in the dam area.
Capable of generating large Hydroelectric dams are expensive
Hydro Power
amounts of power to build
Output can be regulated to Dams may be affected by drought
meet demand Potential for floods

Source must be near usage to cut

Abundant supply
transportation costs
Fewer emissions than fossil
Emits some pollution as gas/liquid
fuel sources
Biomass waste
Can be used in diesel engines
Increases emissions of nitrogen
Auto engines easily convert to oxides, an air pollutant
run on biomass fuel
Uses some fossil fuels in conversion

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 ENERGY SOURCES
Energy Source Pros Cons

Minimal environmental impact

Efficient Geothermal fields found in few
Power plants have low areas around the world
Geo-Thermal
emissions Expensive start-up costs
Low cost after the initial Wells could eventually be depleted
investment

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THANKYOU