Sustainable Energy Contrast
Can a country keep the lights on without wrecking the planet? Compare how a developed and a developing country manage energy sustainably, weighing renewables against fossil fuels on cost, reliability, environment and energy security.
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Free and interactive, so you are arguing with the material rather than rereading it.
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Keeping the lights on
Every country needs energy - but where it comes from matters. Burning fossil fuels is reliable but finite and warms the planet; renewables are clean but bring their own challenges. This module is about sustainable energy management, and especially the contrast between how a richer, developed country and a poorer, developing country try to achieve it.
Sustainable energy words
Four terms run through the whole topic.
Match each renewable source to how it works
- Solar
- Wind
- Hydroelectric power
- Geothermal
- Converts energy from sunlight
- Turbines are turned by moving air
- Falling or flowing water turns turbines
- Uses heat from hot underground rocks
What does sustainable mean here?
What does sustainable energy management mean?
- Meeting today's energy needs without stopping future generations meeting theirs
- Using up all the cheapest fuels as quickly as possible
- Relying only on imported oil and gas
- Ignoring the environment to keep energy cheap
Every choice is a trade-off
Renewable sources such as wind and solar will not run out and give off little carbon - but they can be intermittent (no power on a still, dark day) and cost a lot to build. Non-renewable sources such as coal, oil and gas are reliable and well established - but they are finite and release carbon dioxide that drives climate change. There is no perfect source; every energy choice trades one advantage against another.
Which are renewable?
Select the TWO renewable energy sources.
- Wind
- Solar
- Coal
- Natural gas
Two very different starting points
Sustainable energy looks different depending on a country's wealth. Compare a developed country with a developing or emerging one.
Match each country to its real strategy
- Germany
- Kenya
- United Kingdom
- Iceland
- Expanding wind and solar and phasing out coal, its Energiewende
- Generates much of its electricity from geothermal in the Rift Valley
- Built large offshore wind farms and closed its coal power stations
- Runs on hydroelectric and geothermal for nearly all its electricity
Why go home-grown?
Why might a country develop its own renewable energy to improve its energy security?
- It reduces reliance on imported fossil fuels that could be cut off or rise in price
- It guarantees that energy will always be completely free
- It means the country never has to build anything
- It removes the need to plan energy for the future
Build a sustainable supply
Put the steps of making a country's energy supply more sustainable into a sensible order.
- Assess which renewable resources the country actually has
- Invest in the renewables that suit its geography
- Improve energy efficiency and cut waste
- Reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels
- Improve long-term energy security
The sustainability story
Sustainable energy management means meeting needs today without harming the _____. _____ sources such as wind and solar will not run out, unlike _____ fossil fuels. Improving energy _____ cuts waste, and using home-grown power improves a country's energy _____.
Make the energy call
Three energy decisions in different places. Pick the most sustainable choice each time.
- A sunny developing country has little money for big power stations but many off-grid villages. What is a smart sustainable choice?
- A developed country wants to cut the carbon emissions from its electricity. Which step helps most?
- A country worries about relying on imported gas. How can it improve energy security sustainably?
Your turn: contrast two countries
Contrast how a developed country and a developing or emerging country try to manage energy sustainably. Refer to a named example of each, and weigh up the trade-offs they face.
- Name a developed country and one sustainable strategy it uses (for example Germany or the UK)
- Name a developing or emerging country and one strategy it uses (for example Kenya)
- Explain a trade-off such as cost, reliability, environmental impact or energy security
- Reach a supported judgement about the contrast between them
Judgement beats a list
The marks come from judgement, not lists. Weigh renewable against non-renewable on the real trade-offs - cost, reliability, environmental impact and energy security. Then anchor it in a named developed country and a named developing country, and show that their challenges differ: a developed country wrestles with very high consumption, while a developing country faces funding limits and fast-rising demand. Contrast, evidence, judgement - top band.