Powering the Future

Powering the future

When energy supply falls short, countries look for ways to secure more. Large-scale strategies produce a lot of energy. Renewables such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass draw on sources that never run out. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas still supply much of the world, and fracking pumps liquid into rock to release shale gas. Nuclear power splits atoms in a reactor, and carbon capture traps carbon dioxide so it does not reach the air. In Lancashire, fracking has been used to reach shale gas, while in Bihar in India, rice-husk gasification burns crop waste to make power for villages. Sustainable strategies use less through conservation and efficiency. This module weighs the big schemes against the renewable and sustainable ones.

Energy strategy words

Learn these before you match any strategy, and notice which sources run out and which do not.

Fossil fuels against renewables

The two main routes pull in different directions, which is why they must be weighed rather than simply listed.

How to weigh an energy scheme

A strong answer never just names a scheme. It judges one against another on real tests. How much energy does it secure, and how reliably. What does it cost to build and run. And what does it do to the air, land and water around it. Run a fossil-fuel scheme and a renewable one through the same tests, weighing the money it earns against the harm it does, then say which suits the place and why the other fits worse.

Match the strategy to what it is

Which strategy is this?

In Bihar, India, villages burn the husks left over from rice to generate electricity locally. Which type of strategy is this?

• A renewable scheme using biomass.
• A fossil-fuel scheme.
• Nuclear power.
• Carbon capture.

Using energy sustainably

Select the TWO ways to use energy more sustainably.

• Switch off appliances that are not being used
• Fit efficient lighting and appliances
• Leave every light and machine running all day
• Choose the most wasteful machines on purpose

Wind farm output

A wind farm has 20 turbines, and each turbine produces 3 units of power. Multiply to find the total output of the wind farm, in units.

Order a switch to renewables

Put the stages of a country switching toward renewable energy in order, earliest first.

• A country relies mostly on fossil fuels
• It faces pollution and dwindling reserves
• It invests in wind and solar power
• It cuts emissions and secures cleaner energy

Complete the facts

Energy from sources that never run out, such as wind and sun, is _____ energy. Coal, oil and gas that give energy but run out are _____ fuels. Energy from splitting atoms in a reactor is _____ power. Using less energy by switching things off is energy _____.

Match the example to its type

Spot the true energy strategy facts

Tap the TWO statements that are true about securing energy.

• Renewable energy comes from sources that never run out
• Fossil fuels give energy but run out and pollute
• Fracking has only benefits and no drawbacks
• Rice-husk gasification is a fossil fuel

Choose the power

Read each case and choose the best response, with a reason.

• A remote village in a poorer country has plenty of crop waste but no power grid. Which scheme fits it best?
• A report says fracking in Lancashire would create jobs and gas but could cause pollution and small tremors. How should this be judged?
• A student says the large scheme is simply best because it makes the most energy. How could the answer be improved?

Weigh the energy schemes

Compare a large-scale scheme such as fracking in Lancashire with a local renewable scheme such as rice-husk gasification in Bihar, and judge which better powers the future.

• Explain how the fossil-fuel scheme increases energy supply
• Explain how the local renewable scheme increases energy supply
• Weigh the economic benefit of the fracking against its environmental cost
• Weigh who benefits from each scheme and how reliable each is
• Finish with a judgement on which suits its place best and why