Energy

Contents1. Coal

2. Solar Energy 3. Methane

4. Geothermal5. Bibliography

CoalCoal is a non-renewable energy because it is being burnt to make electricity and it is running out. Coal took a very long time to form and it is running out. Coal makes greenhouse gases and is making climate change even worse. It’s just making the atmosphere smaller and your carbon footprint bigger.

Coal is a fossil fuel because it was formed from vegetation 400 million years ago. Coal is often referred as “the buried sunshine” because the plants which formed coal captured energy from the sun through photosynthesis.

Coal is found in the ground. Coal was from the sun and was found in plants. When coal is burned all of the energy from the coal is produced in heat. This is turned into electricity and this preformed in power plants.

1. First the coal is mined and taken to a power plant. 2. Then the coal is burned in a boiler which causes the water in the boiler pipes to become steam. 3. The steam travels through the pipes to the turbine. 4. The steam spins the turbine blades. 5. The spinning blades turn a shaft connected to the generator. 6. In the generator, big magnets spin close to coils of wire. 7. When this happens, electrical current is produced in the wires. 8. Then the electricity goes out through wires to homes, schools, and businesses.

Solar EnergySolar power is a renewable energy because we are always getting it from the sun. Solar energy has been around in the ancient times and is evolving technologies.

The modern solar photovoltaic converts the sunlight photon directly into electricity, which the panels are on your roof. They work anytime when the sun is shining to reduce those electricity bills. They stop green house gases and stops climate change.

The sun might not be beaming directly down on the panels, it might be a cloudy day or even an overcast day. They still make electricity from daylight. At night they don’t work so you only get your electricity from the normal but you’ll still be reducing the bills.

The solar power system contains, solar panels and an inventer. It contains two layers of silicon, one with a positive charge and one with a negative charge. Once the suns rays hit the panels electrons move from one layer to another, creating the electrical current. The inventer takes the current and converts it into usable power (240V AC).

Solar power is very safe to use, reliable and effective and requires no moving parts. It emits no carbon dioxide, fumes or pollution, and the panels will produce power for at least 25-30 years.

MethaneMethane is a renewable energy and we never loose it. Biogas contains 60% methane which can be used to generate electricity, used for heat and can fuel cars. Using methane helps the environment replacing non-renewable fossil fuels with renewable energy and is taking the methane out of the atmosphere. Methane is an excellent alternative energy source.

• Methane is a green house gas and has 21 times more heating effect than carbon dioxide.

• Biogas methane is renewable unlike natural gas which is mined from underground wells and is a non-renewable energy.

• Each cubic meter of biogas contains 6 kWh of calorific energy.• In a biogas powered generator we get around 2kw of usable energy and then the rest is

produced into heat which can be used for heating applications.• 2 kw is enough energy to power a 100w light bulb for 20 hours or a 2000w hair dryer for

1 hour.

GeothermalGeothermal electricity is electrically generated from Geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy which we always have. Geothermal energy is heat from the core of the Earth. It’s clean and sustainable. Resources of Geothermal energy are only a few miles where you find hot water and hot rock. Once you get down even deeper you get hot molten rock called magma. Geothermal systems work in the different seasons to keep the chill away in winter and keeping cool in summer. Homes and building use Geothermal systems to exploit the constant temperature in underground Geothermal wells. The heat pump which runs on electricity is a simple device that moves heat from the ground into your home. Most Geothermal systems are built as closed loop systems. A closed loop system is a series of underground pipes that are filled with a refrigerant, a fluid that absorbs heat from warm water. When it is winter the fluid absorbs the warm water to warmth the house and when it is summer it does the reverse.

Comparing Methane and Geothermal

How much electricity does it make? • A Biogas generator makes around 2kw

of electricity. • A Geothermal system doesn’t make

electricity, it makes houses warm and cool.

What is better?• I think methane is better because it

can be used as a fuel and using it is helping the environment a lot better.

Do they help stop green house gas?• Yes both of them are renewable

energy’s and are better ways to keep bills down and not be making your carbon footprint bigger.

Which one is better for the environment?• Both of them are very helpful to the

environment. Using methane is getting rid of it all from the atmosphere making it better and you can use it as fuel which doesn’t effect the environment. Geothermal is not using air conditioners or heaters. Air conditioners are bad for the ozone layer and your not using one so your helping the environment also. I think methane might be slightly better.

Bibliography• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-methane.htm

• http://www.ket.org/trips/coal/agsmm/agsmmhow.html

• http://library.thinkquest.org/6075/coal.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy

• http://www.ingenero.com.au/how-solar-works

• http://www.learningjoyresources.com/AD.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_electricity

• http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/geothermal-energy

• http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/geothermal-energy.htm