ELECTRICITY

HOW IS IT GENERATED

• Fossil fuels burnt, turning chemical energy to heat energy
• This heats water, which turns to high pressure steam
• Steam spins turbines, moving the generator
• Electricity goes through transformers to produce the right voltage
• Electricity sent into pylons, and transferred to plug sockets

ADVANTAGES OF BURNING FOSSIL FUELS

• Efficient and consistent
• Produce a large amount of energy
• Stable, as fossil fuels are produced of Carbon and Hydrogen molecules
• Fossil fuels are effective, with high calorific values
• Fossil fuel systems are not reliant on weather, whereas kinetic systems are

DISADVANTAGES

• Fossil fuels, although common, will eventually run out
• Environmental damage from gases produced in burning
• Causes health issues for humans
• Rising prices, as fossil fuels will be a rare commodity
• Fossil fuels are non-renewable

KINETIC ENERGY GENERATION

• Uses energy from renewable resources to spin turbines and power generator
• Wind turbines use energy from the wind to turn generators
• Hydro-electric turbines use water from streams and rivers to turn generators
• Solar panels harvest light energy, converting it into electricity

KINETIC ENERGY ADVANTAGES

• Using renewable resources for power
• Reduction in carbon emissions, as no chemical reaction takes place
• Kinetic energy is one of the world's most common resources
• Using natural resources
• Can generate energy in remote areas

KINETIC ENERGY DISADVANTAGES

• Kinetic energy is hard to control
• Heavily reliant on weather- environment vital to energy supply
• Hard to have sufficient energy to overcome friction
• In peak production, it is expensive to store energy
• Inefficient in comparison to fossil fuel energy

NUCLEAR POWER

• Similar to how fossil fuels make power
• Uranium atoms split in fission, to heat water into steam
• High pressurised steam used to move turbine
• Turbine powers generator, much like with fossil fuels

NUCLEAR POWER ADVANTAGES

• Cleaner energy than burning fossil fuels
• Technology for generation requires low amounts of development
• High amounts of energy in a single powerplant
• Nuclear energy is potentially sustainable
• Extremely efficient in terms of resources for energy

NUCLEAR POWER DISADVANTAGES

• Radioactive material that needs to be disposed of
• Faults can lead to nuclear meltdowns
• High cost of maintenance
• Uranium is an extremely rare resource
• Poisonous to humans, should waste be accidentally released