Handout#1.2.

1(b): Mineral and Energy Resources

Energy Resources:
Energy resources are the opportunities an area offers to generate electricity based on its natural
conditions and circumstances. Some of these energy resources are obvious; an area might contain
coal, oil, wood, or gas. But others, like renewable resources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, and
wave power are not so obvious— they're based on the natural weather patterns and features of an
area. Energy is the capacity to do work and is required for life processes. An energy resource is
something that can produce heat, power life, move objects, or produce electricity. Matter that stores
energy is called a fuel. Human energy consumption has grown steadily .throughout human
history. Early humans had modest energy requirements, mostly food and fuel for fires to cook and
keep warm. In today's society, humans consume as much as 110 times as much energy per person as
early humans. Most of the energy we use today come from fossil fuels (stored solar energy). But
fossils fuels have a disadvantage in that they are non-renewable on a human time scale, and cause
other potentially harmful effects on the environment. In any event, the exploitation of all energy
sources (with the possible exception of direct solar energy used for heating), ultimately rely on
materials on planet Earth. Conventional energy sources are ones that have been employed in
widespread use for a long time. Coal, petroleum, hydropower, fossil fuels, and firewood are
examples of traditional energy sources. Non-conventional energy sources are the newly
available and desired energy sources in today's world. Because these resources can be
created or generated again, they do not deteriorate with time. Renewable energy sources such
as wind, sun, tidal, and organic waste are used in non-conventional energy sources.
Sources of Energy:
Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Biomass and Biofuels, Water and Geothermal
What is a renewable energy source? A renewable energy source
means energy that is sustainable - something that can't run out, or is
endless, like the sun. When you hear the term 'alternative energy' it's
usually referring to renewable energy sources too. It means sources of
energy that are alternative to the most commonly used non-sustainable
sources - like coal.

The most popular renewable energy sources currently are:

1-Solar energy 2-Wind energy 3-Hydro energy 4-Tidal energy 5-Geothermal energy
6-Biomass energy
Solar Energy:

Sunlight is one of our planet’s most abundant and freely available

energy resources. The amount of solar energy that reaches the earth’s
surface in one hour is more than the planet’s total energy requirements
for a whole year. Although it sounds like a perfect renewable energy
source, the amount of solar energy we can use varies according to the
time of day and the season of the year as well as geographical location.

Wind Energy:

Wind is a plentiful source of clean energy. Wind farms are an increasingly familiar sight in the UK with
wind power making an ever-increasing contribution to the National Grid. To harness electricity from
wind energy, turbines are used to drive generators which then feed electricity into the National Grid.
Although domestic or ‘off-grid’ generation systems are available, not every property is suitable for a
domestic wind turbine.

Hydro Energy: As a renewable energy resource, hydro power is one of

the most commercially developed. By building a dam or barrier, a large
reservoir can be used to create a controlled flow of water that will drive a
turbine, generating electricity. This energy source can often be more
reliable than solar or wind power (especially if it's tidal rather than river)
and also allows electricity to be stored for use when demand reaches a
peak. Like wind energy, in certain situations hydro can be more viable as a commercial energy source
(dependant on type and compared to other sources of energy) but depending very much on the type
of property, it can be used for domestic, ‘off-grid’ generation.

Tidal Energy: This is another form of hydro energy that uses

twice-daily tidal currents to drive turbine generators. Although
tidal flow unlike some other hydro energy sources isn’t constant,
it is highly predictable and can therefore compensate for the
periods when the tide current is low.

Geothermal Energy: By harnessing the natural heat below the

earth’s surface, geothermal energy can be used to heat homes
directly or to generate electricity. Although it harnesses a power
directly below our feet, geothermal energy is of negligible
importance in the UK compared to countries such as Iceland,
where geothermal heat is much more freely available.
Biomass
Energy: This is the conversion of solid fuel made from plant
materials into electricity. Although fundamentally, biomass
involves burning organic materials to produce electricity, and
nowadays this is a much cleaner, more energy-efficient process.
By converting agricultural, industrial and domestic waste into
solid, liquid and gas fuel, biomass generates power at a much lower economic and environmental cost.

What isn’t a renewable energy source?

Fossil fuels are not a renewable source of energy because they are not infinite. Plus, they release
carbon dioxide into our atmosphere which contributes to climate change and global warming. Burning
wood instead of coal is slightly better but it’s complex. On the one hand, wood is a renewable resource
– provided it comes from sustainably managed forests. Wood pellets and compressed briquettes are
made from by-products of the wood processing industry and so arguably it’s recycling waste.
Compressed biomass fuels produce more energy than logs too. On the other hand, burning wood
(whether it be raw timber or processed waste) releases particles into our atmosphere.

Fossil Fuels:

When electricity was first generated, it was done by burning fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are natural fuels
formed from the remains of once-living organisms, compressed at high temperature and pressure over
millions of years. Examples include coal, which is made from dead plant matter, and oil and gas, which
are made from dead marine animals. These fossil fuels have a lot of energy contained within them,
which is released when the fuel is burned. When fossil fuels are burned in a power plant, the heat
released boils water, producing steam. That steam drives a turbine to spin inside a large magnetic field,
and this produces electricity. The main problem with doing this is that it creates a lot of pollution,
including greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which are causing the earth's climate to warm. Ideally,
we would want to find other ways to generate energy.
Alternative Energy Sources:
We do have alternatives: renewable resources, like wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and tidal
power. These are resources that don't require using anything up (like with coal, oil, or gas). It might
seem strange that we call these resources. After all, they're not something an area has in the ground
that we can use up, the way fossil fuels can be. But, they're considered resources because they're still
specific to an area.