case study: energy supply in a country or area

•case study: Germany 

•location of the largest power stations: river Ems, river coast Elbe and the river Neckar 

          •they are located next to rivers, coasts and coalfields 

                    •this saves transport costs in coalfields as the resource is nearby 

                    •rivers supply cooling water 

                    •near coasts to release air pollution away from settlements 

                    •rivers can transport coal

                    •large flat land for construction 

•Germany’s energy consumption 

          •largest consumer of electricity in Europe 

          •main sources of power production are coal (45%), nuclear (23%) and gas (14%), which are non-renewable 

          •except for oil, all renewable energy sources are the smallest amount produced - only 16%

          •lots of lignite for open cast mining 

•how Germany produces energy 

          •coal fired power stations e.g Schwarze Pumpe Power Station

                    •uses brown coal (lignite) mined in East Germany using open cast method 

                    •bituminous coal is also imported cheaply from abroad e.g to Brokdorf 

                    •advantages 

                              •many countries have large reserves 

                              •coke can be used for steel and oil for petrol 

                              •oil and gas can be moved efficiently by pipelines 

                    •disadvantages 

                              •lots of air pollution 

                              •can be inefficient in location 

                              •deep mining is dangerous 

          •nuclear power station 

                    •Isar 2 Nuclear power plant, 15km away from Landshut 

                    •it produces 15% of Bavarian electricity 

                    •advantages 

                              •very little uranium needed to make lots 

                              •no greenhouse gases means no acid rain

                              •highly regulated 

                              •no global warming 

                    •disadvantages 

                              •decommissioning costs are very high 

                              •security as it can be used as weapons 

                              •capital costs are very high

                              •radioactive waste is hard to dispose 

                              •large disasters could happen

•future plans - renewable energy resources 

          •advantages 

                    •nuclear disasters avoided 

                    •security of nuclear weapons decreased 

          •disadvantages

                    •electricity relies on neighbouring countries 

                    •releases more emissions 

          •2020 ends nuclear power, investing in renewables 

          •Germany might be able to get all its electricity from renewable sources by 2050

  

          •where?

                    •obtains 16% from solar, wind and hydro power 

                    •plans to add 5000mW of photovoltaic capacity 

                    •2nd largest wind-power producer - wind turbines in the Black Forest 

                    •employs 300,000 jobs in renewable energy 

                    •Black Forest provides biomass and its height is suitable for wind turbines