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ENERGY - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Wind farms are a clean form of generating electnmty However, they can only be instafled in plat.es with appropnate wind conditions
  - - - Photo-thermal power plants
        
        In this type of power plant, the heat generated by solar radiation produces steam that is used to move the rotor in the generator
        
        To do this, they use special mirrors, called heliostats, that reflect sunlight and concentrate it at one point, where it reaches a high temperature
      - Photovolatic power plants
        
        In these power plants, solar radiation is transformed directly into electncity by panels of photovoltaic cells
        
        These power plants consist of large areas of photovoltaic panels
        
        There are also isolated power plants that are very small in size, which are used to supply electricity to homes in rural areas
  - - - Geothermal energy may be used directly — for hot water and heating, industnal use and so on — and indirectly — the heat generates steam, which
        produces electricity
  - - - Forestry and agricultural waste
      - Specific crops, such as sunflowers and cougar beet
      - Waste from agri-food industries
      - Biomass is subjected to different physical and chemical processes in order to produce fuel such as charcoal, alcohol or biogas
        
        This type of fuel is burnt at biomass power plants. The steam that is generated moves the turbine
        
        These power plants produce energy from waste that has no other potential uses
  - - - The mechanical energy from thetides
      - The mechanical energy from the wave
      - The energy from the ocean's thermal gradien
      - These power plants are stdl in the experimental phase and their level of production Is stdl very low
- - - - the operating of electrical appliances, heating systems, hot water systems, heat for cooking and for means of transport,for example
    - - the operating of factories and companies, construction, agriculture and so on
  - - - Renewable
        
        Abundant and inexhaustible
      - Non-renenwable
        
        May or may not be abundant
        
        Depleted when we use them up
        
        Cannot be renewed in a short penod of time
    - - Primary
        
        Obtained directly from nature
        
        Examples: crude oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear energy
      - Secundary
        
        Resulting from transformation of primary sources
        
        Examples: electriaty, some petroleum derivatives
    - - Conventional
        
        Most commonly used in industrialised countrie
        
        Example energy that comes from fossil fuels
      - Non-conventional
        
        Alternative energy sources
        
        In early stages of their technological development
        
        Solar and wind power belong to this group
    - - Clean/Non-polluting
        
        Low environmental impact
        
        Don't generate by-products that pollute the enviorment
      - Pollutants
        
        Sources that have negative effects on the environment, for example, they might generate by-products that severely pollute the envioerment
- - - - How an electric plant power works
        
        Electrical power plants use an external source of energy to produce
        electricity. To do this, they rely on a turbine-alternator system
        
        The turbine converts mechanical energy into the rotating movement of a shaft
        
        An alternator has a fixed part, called a stator, and a moving part, called a rotor, connected to the turbine shaft
        
        As the rotor shaft moves, alternating electrical current is produced on
        each of the stator's coils
  - - - Electricity cannot be stored; therefore, it must be transported to consumption centres. This transport involves several processes
        
        Increasing the voltage to 220 000 V or 400 000 V to prevent significant energy loss, due to the Joule effect
        
        Transporting it by high voltage cable- attached to tower
        
        Decreasing the voltage at the electricity substations to 3-30 kV
        
        Distribution to homes, offices, industries and public facilities. During this srage, the voltage is reduced to 230-400 V
- - - - As part of a technicaj proiect, it's mandatory to carry out an environmental impact assessment to find out what changes it would
        provoke in the environment
        
        An environmental study must also assess both the economic and social
        consequences of the project in the area, to decide whether or not to go ahead with the plan
    - - Energy consumption is preceded by a long process, consisting of several stages, each of which has an environmental cost
        
        Extraction of natural resources
        
        The exploitation of fossil fuels and nuclear power means the depletion of resources, which makes it necessary to find new ones
        
        Fuel extraction processes are sometimes harmful to the environment. In particular, timber extractron has led to the disappearance of large areas of forest, a process that is continuing even today
        
        Fuel transport
        
        Oil is transported by means of oil pipelines and oil tankers
        
        Oil pipehnes can suffer accidents caused by nature or human error, which result in uncontrolled spills
        
        Oil tankers can have accidents at sea, with the risk of oil spills. Some spills have caused oil slicks that have taken years to clean up and dissipate
        and have aftected the lives of many plant and animal species
        
        Electricity generation
        
        Large hydroelectric power plants require water reservoirs covering large areas, which protoundly change the natural cycle of overs,
        flood large land areas and destroy ecosystems, in addition to
        increasing the nsk of accidents
        
        Conventional thermal power plants can cause numerous problems and environmental hazards
        
        They produceair pollution — suspended particles, CO, heavy metal molecules and so on
        
        They emit large amounts of COa which increases rhe greenhouse effect
        
        They emit sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that causeacid rain, which is very harmful to the environment
        
        The water used in the cooling system is returned to ihe environmem while it'ssull warm, which affects both animal and plant life
        
        Nuclear thermal power plantsare accompanied by the risk of nuclear accidents and the problem of nuclear waste, some of which remam dangerous for thousands of years
        
        Final energy use
        
        The fuels we use in vehicles and heating systems emit gases and
        particles similar to those generated by conventional thermal power plants
        
        When we turn on an electric appliance, we' re consuming energy that has already caused several environmental problems dunng its extraction, generation and transportation
    - - To reduce the waste generated by thermal power plants, as well as their effects, several measures can be taken
        
        Install specialfilters on the pipes at the power plant to capture some of the gas pollutants
        
        Use coal with a low sulphur content, to reduce acid rain
        
        Maintain and increase the size of large forested areas, since they absorb carbon dioxid
      - Was te from nuclear power plants is stored in drums with thick sides that do not let the nuclear radiation escape. These are then stored in ocean trenches and underground
      - The use of ocean trenches has its own problems, because there's the nsk
        of the drums corroding and the radioactive matenal leaking out of them
  - - - Efficiency
        
        energy effiaency policies increase effiaency of everyday appliances and devices
        
        noticeably reduce the energy we consume
        
        Example
        
        low fuel consumptiuon cars
        
        electric cars
        
        better home insulation
      - Energy diversification
        
        use of renewable energy sources
        is fundamental
        
        objective is to produce a large
        part of our electricity through
        alternative power plants
      - Energy savings
        
        essenual to reduce the consumption of ag forms of energy —without seriously affecting quality of life
        
        adoption of more environmentally friendly habits
        
        Examples
        
        using public transports or bycicles
        
        changing consumption habits
- - - - This type of plant includes a nuclear fission reactor that produces the pressurised steam needed to move the turbine rotor
        
        Uranium is the main fuel used
    - - At this type of power plant, water is heated in a boiler by the heat generated from the combustion of a fossil fuel, usually natural gas or coal
        
        The steam that's generated moves the turbine connected to the generator
        
        Combined cycle power plant
        
        Electricity is generated as a result of two combined cycles, a cycle that uses air and gas, and a conventional thermal cycle. During the first cycle, a gas turbine is used that includes a compressor
        
        Air is mixed with the gas and is burnt, which generates electricity in the turbine-alternator system. The combustion gases are transported
        to a boiler, where they transfer their energy to the water during the second cycle
    - - This type of power plant uses the potential energy provided by the bheight of the stored water in a dam, converting it into kinetic energy. This energy moves the blades of the turbine
        
        Depending on the destination of the water, hydraulic power plants are divided into two types
        
        Gravity-driven hydraulic power plants
        
        water used follows the course of a river and will not be reused
        
        Pump-dniven hydraulic power plants
        
        water descends into a reservoir located at a lower height, then pumped to a higher reservoir to reuse it