Generating Electricity free essay sample

Without electricity, the world would be a different place to live in. Flow Diagram showing how electricity is produced using fossil fuels (GCSE Bitsesize) There are two types of electricity, static electricity and current electricity. On a large scale, static electricity causes lightning and on a smaller scale, gives you a shock when you get out of a car. It can be generated simply by rubbing a comb on your hair. Static electricity is of limited use and in this essay, I will be focusing on current electricity. Electricity is basically the flow of electrical charge. It is the most routinely and widely used energy. It is an energy carrier and a secondary source as we get electricity from the conversion of primary sources such as coal, gas, and solar energy. These primary sources are either renewable or non-renewable sources but electricity itself, is neither. The most common way to generate electricity is using fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. They are known as fuels because they release energy when they are burned and fossil fuels because they are formed from the remains of living organisms, which are millions of years old. Kyle, HubPages) The importance of electricity and the application of electricity in our everyday lives cannot be expressed enough in words. Life wouldn’t be the same. If there would be no electricity, on a smaller scale, this essay would be hand written. But on a bigger scale, there would be no industries, everything would have to be hand made. Schools would have to have candles or fire as lighting. Streets would have the same. Economies would suffer billions of losses per day as they cannot manufacture any good. Now to our everyday lives, there would be no heated showers, no laptops for research, no mobile phones for communication purposes, etc†¦ This is why electricity is important an no electricity would equal to no life in my opinion. Renewable Sources| Source of Energy | % Used| Hydroelectrical| 6. 3| Nuclear| 8. 5| Others| 0. 9| A particular global issue, which is important, is that of the exceeding demand of fossil fuels to generate electricity but the limited supply. Today, fossil fuels are the most widely used and are much cheaper than using renewable methods. The following table shows the percentages of fossil fuels and renewable resources used: Fossil Fuels| Source of Energy | % Used| Petroleum | 36. 0| Coal| 27. 4| Natural Gas| 23. o| The tables above tell us that the total use of fossil fuels add up to 86. 4% while renewable sources are only 15. 7%. This is huge difference and tells us how importance it is to limit the use of fossil fuels in generating electricity. (BinomicFuel,†¦) This is where Science is applied in effectively solving the issue. There are now renewable resources of energy, which cater to different parts of the world. For example in India, 5% of the country’s energy is supplied by wind power. In the outskirts of major cities such as Mumbai or Kolkata, wind turbines have been set up in particular areas, which are known for high wind speeds. GCSE Bitesize One of the solutions is wind energy. Firstly, wind is produced as a result of convection currents in the Earth’s atmosphere, which are driven by heat energy from the sun. Wind is a renewable source of kinetic energy as long as the sun exists. As shown on the left, wind turbines basically have long and wide blades on a tall tower. The blades are then connected to gears linked to a generator. As the wind blows, the blades turn and transfer most of its kinetic energy to the blades to drive the generator. Electricity is then produced. Usually, several wind towers are built together in windy places to be called wind farms. Clipart Although this method tackles the problem as we can rely less on fossil fuels, it does have some limitations in the economic factor. Wind turbines are extremely costly to develop and the cost is recovered only decades later. The cost for a commercial scale wind turbine ranges from $1. 2 million to $2. 6 million, per MW of nameplate capacity installed. Most of the wind turbines today are 2 MW so roughly after installation, a single wind tower could cost around $3. 5 million. This is a very large amount and a very high initial cost for a company to invest in. This is one factor why countries usually select fossil fuels. (Carla, eHow) Another factor is the social factor. Wind farms are extremely noisy and spoil the view of people living near them. Wind farms affect communities a lot and force communities to relocate. This also affects the life and welfare of human beings who live near them. It causes noise pollution as well as it is an eye sore. So therefore it may be a problem for some countries to develop communities in that area and a problem for local people who live nearby. (GCSE Bitesize) However, to every dark cloud has a silver lining. There are also benefits of wind power. In the ethical factor, it is a positive step. Using wind power instead of fossil fuels in beneficial as day by day, world levels of coal, oil and natural gas are decreasing at a high rate. It is then only right and ethical to use wind power, which is a renewable source of energy. (Drupal, Windustry) Wind farms are also beneficial in the environmental factor. Environmentally, they are extremely clean compared to fossil fuels, which cause up to 90% of the worlds greenhouse gases when burned. When wind power is used, no smoke emissions are given out and it is the environment’s best friend. Wind power consumes no fuel for continuing operation, and has no emissions directly related to electricity production. Wind turbines produce no carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, mercury, particulates, or any other type of air pollution, as do fossil fuel power sources. URPS There is also a local issue in Dubai which relates to the generation of electricity. Nearly all of the UAE’s electricity comes from off shore gas reserves. Natural gas is abundant in the UAE but will eventually run out. There has to be a back up and it is our duty to conserve electricity. Science is applied again over here to address the issue. By the year 2020, the UAE will cut its dependence on natural gas and oil for electricity generation and turn instead to nuclear fuel and renewable energy to meet the increasing power needs of a fast-expanding economy. The government of the UAE has decided to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes to generate electricity. Although this is an option, an ideal option would be that of solar power. Efface. inc The UAE is located in the Middle East which faces direct sunlight for about 12 hours a day. Especially in the ethical factor because the sun can be used to help conserve fossil fuels. Solar panels are ethical as the UAE is not a cold country which has winter blizzards. It has direct sunlight which is basically perfect. In addition, in the political factor it is beneficial as the government is willing in every way possible to harness solar power and thus has all parking meters for 1,025,169 cars solar powered. This is a very good initiative and saves large amounts of electricity. The emirate of Dubai has also harnessed solar power in the tallest tower in the world, Burj Khalifa. This tower can handle the water heating of its residents. This is extremely beneficial as it saves 3, 200 kilo watts per day and 690MWh per year. (Gulf News) Again, solar panels also have their limitations. In the social factor it would be quite an eye sore to see solar panels on street lamps or on striking buildings. It would not change lives drastically being an eye sore but would degrade the city when it comes to its attractiveness. Another limitation is in the economic factor. It is extremely costly to build and maintain solar panels. The average cost for a solar panel to power one average house is about $25,000. A solar panel of this price would cover the heating, and lighting of the house. The cost may be recovered within a couple of decades and is a heavy investment. (Earl, Control) greenglobe It is evident that although Science solves the issue of conserving fossil fuels, its main drawback is in the cost. This is quite prominent especially in time of a financial recession. The important thing is that the world is still trying and the percentage of using non fossil fuels for energy sources is rising by 2. 3% each year