Properties of energy sources
I have been asked to list 6 properties which I think the ideal energy resource should have for generating electricity in a power station. So far I have: Clean and pollution free Efficient allowing the majority of the energy to be harnessed Cheap to source, refine, store and transport Plentiful and renewable Safe to use, store and transport
Do those sound ok so far? I can't think of a 6th one but was considering putting easy to transport to homes but with the question stating that it is for generating electricity in a power station that already accounts for the transport.
Answers
must generate a large amount of energy to sustain economy and growth in industry. the worlds power usage has been growing very fast and our power generation has to cope. also aestheticaly pleasing. i.e nobody wants loads of wind turbines everywhere. clean and polutant free are good, the energy being harnessed bit is more of an engineering task than the sourse. cheap to refine and easy to store are also good. transport is again not really a source thing.you could also have: needs to be large quantities of the fuel in nature. also must be safe to use. I think that's 6
30 January 2014
I would add "reliable" to your suggestions and Matthew's - for example, wind turbines cannot generate electricity if there's too much wind or too little, which isn't ideal if you're depending on them!
30 January 2014
What about doing something about political/geopolitical or security issues. For example how nuclear power brings up issues with nuclear proliferation (using nuclear power generation to cover up weapons programs). Other examples might include the political impacts of fracking, wind farms, solar farms and perhaps the issues of pollution crossing country borders?
02 February 2014
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