Coal

Description
Coal is a form of rock that is usually black and hard, or black-brown.

How it was formed

Around 300 million years ago the world was covered with tropical swamp forest. When these plants died
they fell into the swampy earth and over time were buried. Over millions of years they were changed
into coal by pressure from the layers of rock above them.

Location
Coal can be found in many places in the world. Some of the main sources include: China, India, USA,
South America, Australia, Russia, Poland, Northern England, Scotland and Wales.

How it is made into electricity

Coal is burned to heat water and produce steam. This steam propels the blades of a turbine. This is
attached to a generator, which produces electricity.

Advantages
 Coal is relatively cheap.
 It can be found in many places around the world.
 There are many coal reserves and there is plentiful supply.

Disadvantages
 Coal is non-renewable. This means that one day we will run out of coal.
 Burning coal produces carbon dioxide gas. This is a greenhouse gas that contributes towards global
warming.
 Burning coal can pollute the air.
 Much of the coal we use in the UK must be imported.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Natural Gas
Description
Natural gas is colourless and lighter than air. It is mainly made up of molecules of methane. It is found in
reservoirs deep under the ground, often alongside oil or coal.

How it was formed

Millions of years ago the world’s oceans were filled with plants and plankton. When these died they fell
to the bottom of the seas. Over millions of years, these remains were buried under layers of sand and
mud. Heat and pressure turned the remains into oil and natural gas.

Location
Natural gas was first found in Iran. Today it is extracted in Russia, Eastern Europe and Africa as well as
the North Sea and Irish Sea, the Caribbean, and North and South America.

How it is made into electricity

Natural gas can be burned in a turbine that turns a generator to create electricity. The waste heat from
this can be used to heat water to produce steam. This steam is used to create more electricity by turning
another turbine and generator.

Advantages
 Gas-fired power stations can be more efficient and produce more electricity per tonne of carbon
dioxide than other fossil fuel plant.
 Gas can be piped into and around the country.
 Gas-fired power stations can, in theory, be built anywhere.

Disadvantages
 Natural gas is a non-renewable source of energy. This means that one day we could run out of
Natural gas.
 Burning gas produces carbon dioxide gas. This is a greenhouse gas that contributes towards global
warming.
 Burning gas can pollute the air.
 Like coal, much of our gas has to be imported. It is becoming more and more expensive as UK
reserves reduce and imports increase.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Crude Oil
Description
Crude oil is a dark liquid. It is found in reservoirs deep under the ground.

How it was formed

Millions of years ago the world’s oceans were filled with plants and plankton. When these died they fell
to the bottom of the seas. Over millions of years, these remains were buried under layers of sand and
mud. Heat and pressure turned the remains into oil and natural gas.

Location
Oil reserves can be found all over the world, including the North Sea, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United
States, Iran, Iraq and China.

How it is made into electricity

The oil is burned to heat water and produce steam. This steam propels the blades of a turbine. This is
attached to a generator, which produces electricity.

Advantages
 Oil can easily be transported by a network of pipelines.
 Oil-fired power stations can, in theory, be built anywhere.

Disadvantages
 Oil is a non-renewable source of energy. This means that one day we could run out of crude oil.
 Burning oil produces carbon dioxide gas. This is a greenhouse gas that contributes towards global
warming.
 Burning oil can pollute the air.
 Much of our oil has to be imported and it is becoming more and more expensive as reserves reduce and
imports increase.
 Producing electricity from crude oil is expensive compared to other fossil fuels such as coal or gas.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Wind Energy
Description
As the Earth is heated by the Sun, some regions become warmer than others. The air in the warm regions
rises. Air from cooler regions rushes in to replace it. This creates air currents - what we know as wind.

Location
Winds affect every part of the Earth. There are over 130 wind farms in the UK and many more are under
construction. Wind turbines can be put in any area where there is a lot of wind.

How it is made into electricity

The wind blows turbine blades, which then turn. This turning motion is transferred to a generator to
produce electricity.

Advantages
 It is a renewable source of energy, which means that it will not run out.
 As one of the windiest countries in Europe, it is perfect for our climate.
 Wind energy is pollution free.
 The land between the turbines can be used for farming.
 Wind turbines can be used to supply energy in remote places.
 There is no need to dig underground or drill for the resource; therefore there is less land pollution.

Disadvantages
 Some people complain about the noise generated from wind turbines.
 For some people wind farms have a negative impact on the view of a landscape.
 There are potential local wildlife impacts such as birds being killed by the blades of the turbine.
However, the risk to nature from Global Warming is far greater than this.
 The wind is not always predictable. Some days may have a lot of wind and others may have no wind at
all.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Geothermal Energy
Description
The centre of the Earth is extremely hot - around 6000oC. Some of this heat rises up to heat rocks nearer
the surface.

Location
Geothermal plants can be found wherever very hot rocks can be found near the surface, for example in the
United States, New Zealand, Iceland and Japan. There is one small geothermal power plant in the UK, in
Southampton.

How it is made into electricity

Holes are drilled down to hot rocks – sometimes thousands of metres below the surface. Water is pumped
down to the rock, where it is heated and turned to steam. This steam is then drawn up to the surface and
used to propel the blades of a turbine. This is attached to a generator, which produces electricity.

Advantages
 It is a renewable source of energy, which means that it will not run out.
 No fuel is needed, so once the geothermal plant is built the running costs of producing electricity are
relatively low.
 Once built, geothermal plants do not produce air pollution and do not contribute to the greenhouse
effect.
 The power stations do not take up much room.

Disadvantages
 The right geographical location is needed, where suitable hot rocks are within drilling depth. For
example, not many of these exist in the UK
Sometimes the heat source can ‘dry up’ if too much heat energy is extracted.
 Hazardous gases and minerals can be brought up which need to be safely disposed of.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Biomass
Description
All living things and organic matter are known as biomass. The energy released from biomass when it is
eaten, burnt or converted into fuels is called biomass energy. This includes wood, wood waste, straw,
manure, sugar cane, and many other by-products.

Location
Biomass can be found all around us.

How it is made into electricity

Biomass can be burned to heat water and produce steam. This steam propels the blades of a turbine. This
is attached to a generator, which produces electricity.

Advantages
 It is a renewable source of energy, which means that it will not run out as long as it is replaced, for
example by growing more crops or trees.
 Although carbon dioxide is released when biomass is burned, the plants absorbed carbon dioxide when
they were growing. So the only additional carbon dioxide that is emitted is from farm machinery used
in the process.
 It can use waste materials to produce electricity.
 It supports farmers because they can sell their crops for biomass fuel.

Disadvantages
 Burning biomass does produce some carbon dioxide gas overall, which contributes towards global
warming, but in general it can be thought of as almost carbon-neutral.
 Biomass production can encourage intensive farming and may contribute towards deforestation if new
trees are not planted.
 Growing and collecting the biomass can sometimes cause problems. It can be heavy and may need to
be transported long distances.
 If food crops are used for fuel this can make them more expensive to buy as food.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Uranium (Nuclear Power)
Description
Uranium is a silvery black metal. Uranium ore is mined from deep underground.

Location
Uranium can be found in many places but Australia and Canada are the largest exporters.

How it is made into electricity

Uranium atoms split and release energy in a process called nuclear fission. This energy heats up the
uranium. This heats water to produce steam that turns the blades of a turbine. These are attached to a
generator which produces electricity.

Advantages
 Nuclear power is relatively cheap to produce; it costs about the same as producing electricity from
coal.
 It does not contribute much to the greenhouse effect because it produces very little carbon dioxide.
 A large amount of electricity can be produced from a relatively small amount of fuel.
 It produces small amounts of waste.

Disadvantages
 Although the amount of waste produced is very small, it highly dangerous.
 The initial costs to build a nuclear power station can be very high.
 Nuclear waste must be sealed up and buried for many years to allow the radioactivity to die away. A
nuclear leak would contaminate the surrounding area with lethal toxic waste.
 It does not use a renewable resource; when the uranium is used up it cannot be replaced.
 It is very difficult to turn off a nuclear power station.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Solar Energy
Description
The Sun is a star and without it there would be no life on earth. This is why the Sun is called the ultimate
source of energy. The Sun’s energy is produced by a process called nuclear fusion. Every second, the Sun
emits vast amounts of energy, much of which is light. This solar radiation can be converted into electricity.

Location
Solar panels can be found all over the world but they are most cost-effective in places where there is a lot
of sunshine.

How it is made into electricity

Solar Cells, also known as Photovoltaic (PV cells), convert sunlight directly into electricity. When sunlight
hits the surface of the cell this causes electrons to move. This creates a current in each cell, which is
combined to produce useful amounts of electricity.

PV cells are combined in solar panels and mounted on the roofs of buildings. They can also be used to
power devices such as calculators and watches.

Advantages
 Solar energy is plentiful, free and renewable.
 Solar panels do not produce any carbon dioxide emissions when converting solar power into electricity.
 Solar power can be used to create electricity in remote places where it might be very hard to get
electricity through the National Grid.

Disadvantages
 It can be costly to fit enough solar panels to power a home or building.
 PV cells are less efficient in cloudy counties such as the UK.
 PV cells will not generate electricity at night.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Hydroelectric Power
Description
Hydroelectric power harnesses the energy in running water.

Location
Hydroelectric dams can be found all over the world, where large amounts of water can be trapped behind
a reservoir.

How it is made into electricity

Most hydro schemes create a reservoir, usually by building a large dam to flood a valley. This trapped
water is allowed to escape through pipes in the dam. When the water flows through the pipes, it turns a
turbine that is linked to a generator that produces electricity. ‘Run of the River’ hydro systems don’t use a
dam and reservoir, but harness the energy in fast-flowing rivers.

Advantages
 Water is plentiful, free and renewable.
 Hydro electric power does not produce any carbon dioxide emissions when using water to produce
electricity.
 Electricity can be generated 24 hours a day as long as there is enough water. But this can’t happen
every day as the reservoir needs time to fill up again from time to time.
 The dam gates can be opened and closed to control when the electricity is made.
 The amount of electricity produced can also be controlled by changing how much water can flow.
 It is much more reliable than wind and solar power, although it does depend on enough rain, especially
for ‘run of the river’ systems.

Disadvantages
 It is very expensive to build a dam, and construction can produce a lot of emissions.
 When a dam is built, a huge area is flooded to make a lake. The water displaces the people and
animals living there.
 It can be difficult to find a suitable site for a reservoir or a dam. There are very few available sites for
new plant in the UK.
 There can be negative environmental impacts. Water quality and quantity downstream can be affected

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Wave Energy
Description
When wind blows over areas of water it creates waves. Some of the energy from the wind is transferred to
the waves, which then carry this energy as they move through the water.

Location
Wave energy can be harnessed anywhere in the world where there is enough wind to produce waves for
most of the time. In the UK the best places for harnessing wave energy are North-West Scotland, Wales and
South-West England. However there is only one commercial wave energy plant in the world, in Portugal,
and this only generates very small amounts of electricity. But several are planned for the UK.

How it is made into electricity

Wave energy can be harnessed out at sea or by the shoreline. For example, waves reaching the shore can
be used like a piston to push air up and down a large pipe. The force of the air being pushed is used to turn
a turbine. This turbine is attached to a generator that creates the electricity. There are many other ways
to make electricity from waves – they all convert the energy in the waves to electrical energy.

Advantages
 It is a renewable source of energy, which means that it will not run out.
 As an island we have a lot of suitable coastline and therefore could harness a lot of wave energy.
 The energy source is free.
 No fuel is needed and no waste or emissions are produced.

Disadvantages
 Wave power is still under development – it could be 10 years before it is ready to be used on a large
scale.
 Wave power is more expensive than other forms of electricity production.
 Wave power devices need to be able to withstand very rough weather - it could cost a lot of money to
repair damage caused by storms.
 Even in the most suitable spots, wave energy can be unreliable because it depends on the wind.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources

 Tidal Energy
Description
As the Moon orbits the Earth, its gravity exerts a pulling force on the Earth. Tides are the rising and falling
of the world’s oceans caused by this pulling force.

Location
Tidal energy can be harnessed wherever there is a strong tidal current. The best locations in the UK are in
Scotland and the Severn Estuary. But there are only a few commercial tidal energy plants around the
world.

How it is made into electricity

Tidal energy can be harnessed in two ways. Tidal barrages block an estuary, to force the tidal current
through turbines that generate electricity. Tidal Stream generation uses large turbines attached to the
seabed. Rather like those used in a wind farm, these have large blades that are made to rotate by the tidal
current. This turns a generator to produce electricity.

Advantages
 It is a renewable source of energy, which means that it will not run out.
 As an island we have several suitable sites where there is a strong tidal current.
 The energy source is free once the device is built.
 No fuel is needed and no waste or emissions are produced.

Disadvantages
 Tidal stream power is still under development – it could be 10 years before it is ready to be used on a
large scale
 Tidal Stream power is more expensive than other forms of electricity production.
 Tidal barrages are extremely expensive and can harm the estuary environment.
 Both barrages and tidal stream plants can cause problems for shipping.

Generation Green – Lesson Resources