Changing different types of energy into electrical power

Renewable vs Nonrenewable  Renewable energy can be used over and over again and/or will never run out  Nonrenewable energy will eventually be used up  We can use either type of resource to make electricity

How do power plants work?

Solar: energy from the sun, renewable  Pros  Non pollutant  Cons  Available only when sun shines  Expensive

Wind: moving air caused by uneven heating of air, renewable  Pro  Free  No pollution  Con  Need steady wind  Can be an eyesore  Windmills take up a lot of space

Biomass: remains from plants and animals, renewable  Pro  Lower pollution  Uses material that would go to a landfill  Con  Expensive  Takes time for plant material to grow

Coal: solid/rock form of fossilized organisms, nonrenewable  Pros  Plentiful  Easy to transport  A lot of energy  Cons  Increase erosion  Pollutant when burned  Dangerous to mine

Propane: gas fossil fuel that is found mixed with natural gas and oil, nonrenewable  Pros:  cleaner burning than some fossil fuels  easily transported  Cons:  Expensive for car use

Petroleum: liquid form of fossilized organisms, nonrenewable  Pro  Used in plastics, paints, medicines and cosmetics  Cons  Can be difficult to find  Pollutes when burned

Natural gas: energy in gas form from fossilized organisms, nonrenewable  Pro  Large amounts of energy  Lower pollutant than coal and oil  Easy to transport  Cons  Flammable

Water/Hydro: flowing water, renewable  Pro  Inexpensive  No pollution  Con  Uses dams that could cause negative effects on the environment

Geothermal: heat found within earth, renewable  Pro  Cheap  unlimited  Con  Few places where magma comes close to surface

Nuclear: energy in nucleus of uranium atoms (underground), nonrenewable  Pro  Clean (no air pollution)  Huge amount of energy in a small amount of fuel  Con  Wastes release radiation  Costly

Hydrogen: energy from burning hydrogen (source is water, H 2 O)  Pro  No pollutants  Easy transport  Large supply  Con  Hard to find hydrogen alone  Very few supply stations currently available

Nuclear  Pro (fusion)  More energy than fission  Safer  No radiation  Con (fusion)  Non-controllable