Energy or Technology:
|
Renewable, Recyclable
or Radical:
|
Example:
|
Economic Evaluation:
|
Social Evaluation:
|
Environmental
Evaluation:
|
Political Evaluation:
|
Nuclear:
|
Recyclable
|
Hinkley Point
|
Expensive
|
Socially acceptable?
|
Waste needs to be disposed
|
Germany has banned it –
sets the path for bad perception
|
Wind:
|
Renewable
|
Offshore wind at the
Holderness Coast
|
Still more costly
|
Not in my backyard
|
Reduces emissions
|
Improves energy mix for the
country
|
Solar:
|
Homes
|
Very expensive
|
Bad perception
|
Intermittent
|
Government funding
|
|
Biofuels:
|
Recyclable
|
Brazil
|
Still in trial period
|
Food security lowers
|
Only works in LDCs
|
|
Carbon Capture &
Storage:
|
Radical
|
Key Players Needed
|
Reduces emissions
|
Needs to be a developed
country
|
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Hydrogen Fuel Cells:
|
||||||
Electric Vehicles:
|
Tesla
|
Positives &
Negatives of Nuclear Power:
|
|
Positives:
|
Negatives:
|
Recyclable as can reuse
uranium fuel
|
Expensive to build
|
No CO2 emissions from fuel
|
Technology not accessible
by LDCs
|
Energy mix varies leading
to a security benefit as a different electric source
|
Waste is very radioactive
for thousands of years (cost to repair any damage)
|
Disasters can occur e.g
Chernobyl
|
|
Positives &
Negatives of Renewable:
|
|
Positives:
|
Negatives:
|
Infinite energy sources e.g
solar in Sahara
|
Still more costly than
other conventional fuels
|
Replaces all issues of
pollution and safety concerns from nuclear or fossil fuels
|
Intermittent
|
Energy mix and security
improves e.g UK Wind Power
|
Batteries needed to store
energy
|
Short pathways from
production area to demand
|
Not in my backyard
|
BioFuels:
- Recyclable as can be made from waste organic matter
- Global production is increasing
- Includes bioethanol from plants like sugarcane (Brazil)
- Fuel can be used in transport for vehicles instead of products from crude oil
Benefits:
|
Disadvantages:
|
Carbon footprint generally
lower than coal
|
Not carbon neutral
|
Grown in countries without
oil reserves
|
Raises price of food
|
Aids agricultural and the
economy
|
Destruction to rainforests
|
Increases energy mix and
security
|
Damages food security and
the environment
|
Cannot meet demand
|
Radical Technology:
Carbon Capture &
Storage:
- Traditional fossil fuel use in transport and energy production produces 9.7 GtC/year (billion tonnes of carbon).
- Mitigate climate change by reducing carbon dioxide in atmosphere by using radical technologies
- Carbon capture and storage collects CO2 from power-stations (e.g. gas or coal fired electric power-stations) and ‘stores’ it so not in the atmosphere
Benefits:
|
Disadvantages:
|
Could work and be a good
solution to reduce emissions
|
Very technical and
difficult
|
Still allows for continued
use for little fossil fuels
|
Unproved as it is still in
the research period
|
Expensive
|
|
Could go wrong.
|
Hydrogen Fuel Cells &
Electric Vehicles:
- Hydrogen fuel cells and electric vehicles produce no emissions of carbon dioxide when in operation
Positives:
|
Negatives:
|
No carbon emissions
|
Still more expensive
|
Stops mining of fossil
fuels and biofuels
|
Still has a big carbon
footprint from waste and manufacturing
|
Socially acceptable
|
Poor infrastructure e.g
charging station
|