Year 7 instructions approximately 3 lessons

Do your best!

Tasks – answer in your book

Page 1 Title: Non-renewable : fossil fuels

Read the information. Create a poster to either show the advantages of fossil fuels OR the disadvantages of fossil fuels.

Page 2 Title: Non-renewable energy:

Read the page. Create a mind map of the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power. Also include facts about the case study – Chernobyl.

Page 3 Title: Renewable energy

Read the page. Choose one of the examples of renewable energy. Create an information leaflet about this.

Page 4 Title: The future of energy production & Page 5 Hydroelectric power in

Read the pages and answer the following questions:

1. What fuel are they hoping to use for cars and where will this fuel come from? 2. What is energy insecurity? 3. One way that the government can close the gap between energy supply and demand is… 4. What is a good environment to create hydroelectric power? 5. How is hydroelectric power generated in Cwn Dyli? 6. How does the at work? You can include a diagram.

Energy

Page 1

Non-renewable energy: fossil fuels

Oil and gas were formed from the remains of animals and plants that lived millions of years ago in the sea. These remains were covered by layers of sand and silt. Heat and pressure from the Earth's core turned them into oil and gas. The oil and gas were trapped between layers of impermeable rocks.

Coal was formed from dead plants about 300 million years ago. Back then, much of the Earth was covered by swamps. As the vegetation died, it decayed, slowly forming layers of peat. Over time this was covered with more sediment and compressed and heated to form coal.

Advantages of fossil fuels

 They generate large amounts of energy quite cheaply.

 As technology improves, more reserves can be accessed.

 Locating where fossil fuels are is quite easy.

 Oil and gas can be transported through pipelines.

 The means for extracting fossil fuels is already in existence. Disadvantages of fossil fuels

 They release carbon dioxide when they are burnt, creating pollution.

 Carbon dioxide contributes to the greenhouse effect and global warming.

 Mining can create ugly scars on the landscape.

 Mining can be dangerous, especially as the most easily accessible deposits are used up.

 Oil spills can cause environmental damage.

 Supplies are running out and new sources are harder to get to. Oil and gas are both predicted to run out within 100 years.

 Oil is mainly produced outside the UK, so prices are set by other countries.

Page 2

Non-renewable energy: nuclear power

Nuclear power is created from the release of energy from nuclear reactions. These reactions usually use uranium or plutonium. A relatively small amount of fuel is required to produce the energy. Most by-products of the reactions are radioactive. There is a debate about whether or not nuclear power should be used.

Advantages of nuclear power

 Only small amounts of fuel needed to produce lots of energy compared to fossil fuels.

 Low carbon emissions.

 Tends to be supported by large companies and governments.

 Once up and running it is cheap to produce electricity.

 There has been a lot of investment in making sure it is as safe as possible. Disadvantages of nuclear power

 Nuclear waste is highly radioactive.

 Accidents and leaks can be deadly and last for a long time.

 Storing nuclear waste is very expensive.

 Decommissioning nuclear power stations is very expensive.

 Uranium and plutonium are not renewable so will run out. Case studies

Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Ukraine 1986

An explosion at the nuclear power station in Chernobyl in Ukraine killed 56 people and released radiation, causing thousands of deaths. Chernobyl is still heavily contaminated. Forest land of 4 sq km was killed, and fish and animals as far away as Scandinavia and were also affected. Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan 2011

In March 2011, a huge earthquake caused a tsunami off the coast of Japan. This resulted in damage to several nuclear reactors in Fukushima. It took months for the engineers to make the station safe. It is estimated to be the most expensive disaster in history.

Page 3

Renewable energy

Energy resources

Page 4

The future of energy production

As the future of using non-renewable energy is limited, there has been a lot of interest in developing new forms of energy production. Fuel from hydrogen, which you can get from water, is one area where there is a lot of investment. It is hoped in the future there will be a large-scale use of hydrogen fuel for cars and other forms of transport.

Governments are trying to develop ways to become more self-sufficient in their production of energy. Relying on energy from one country or area may lead to energy insecurity. This means that the country or area where the energy comes from can have too much control on the price and supply of the energy.

Any government will try to make their energy supplies more secure. The two ways a government can try to close the gap between energy supply from their country and energy demand from their country is to:

 increase supply of energy from a range of sources from within their country, such as wind, solar or tidal power

 decrease the demand for energy by encouraging the more efficient use of resources Page 5

Hydroelectric power in Snowdonia

U-shaped valleys with steep-sided hanging valleys formed from glaciation are a good environment to create hydroelectric power. is the location of a hydroelectric power station at the foot of Snowdon. Llyn Llydaw, a corrie over 300 m above Cwm Dyli, receives high rainfall. Water flows down to Cwm Dyli generating hydroelectric power.

Case study: Dinorwig Power Station

Dinorwig power station stores energy when there is an excess amount within the national grid. It releases the energy back into the grid when there are peak demands. Glacial features of the area enable this pumped storage system to work. It uses the corrie of Marchlyn Mawr and the ribbon lake of .

How it works

Water is held in a reservoir of Marchlyn Mawr on the Elidir Mountain. Llyn Peris is a larger lake, lower down. Water released from the top reservoir creates energy as it flows. This energy feeds the national electricity grid at peak times. The electricity can be supplied within 10 seconds of the demand. The water is pumped back up to the top reservoir using energy from the national grid. It is pumped up during periods of low electricity demand, usually at night.

 To minimise the visual impact, it was agreed that the power station should be built inside the Elidir Mountain. This created Europe's largest manmade cavern.

 10 km of cables were laid under the valleys so the electricity could reach the sub stations without disrupting the visual impact of the area.

 The two lakes already existed. They just needed to be expanded.

 Local stone and slate were used in the buildings, such as the visitor centre.