Lesson Topics

1 | Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Sources

2 | Primary and Secondary Energy Sources

3 | Fossil Fuels

4 | Hydroelectric Power

5 | Wave Energy and Tidal Energy

6 | Solar Energy

7 | Wind Energy

8 | Geothermal Energy

9 | Biofuels

10 | Hydrogen

11 | Nuclear Energy

12 | Summary

Lesson Summary

• Renewable energy is energy derived from renewable resources.

• Non-renewable energy is energy derived from non-renewable resources.

• Primary energy refers to naturally occurring energy sources.

• Secondary energy refers to energy sources that are processed from primary energy sources.

• Fossil fuels are energy-rich substances formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals. They include coal, oil and natural gas.

• Fossil fuels are used for electricity generation and transportation.

• The main advantages of fossil fuels are their abundance and their relatively low cost.

• The main disadvantages of fossil fuels are their environmental and health impacts and their non-renewability.

• Hydroelectric power (hydroelectricity) is the generation of electricity using flowing water as a primary source of energy.

• The main advantages of hydroelectric power are that it is a renewable source of energy and it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or other pollutants.

• The main disadvantages of hydroelectric power are its environmental impacts, particularly with the construction of dams, and its high set-up costs.

• Wave energy refers to the energy of water waves.

• Tidal energy refers to the energy of moving tidal water.

• Wave energy and tidal energy can be harnessed to generate electricity.

• The main advantages of wave energy and tidal energy are that they are renewable sources of energy and they don’t produce greenhouse gases or other pollutants.

• The main disadvantages of wave energy and tidal energy are their high set-up costs and that they are limited by the amount of moving water.

• Solar energy refers to light energy and thermal energy (heat) produced by the Sun.

• Solar light energy can be converted into electrical energy in photovoltaic cells and solar thermal energy can be used for heating and for generating electricity in solar thermal power plants.

• The main advantages of solar energy are that it is a widely available source of renewable energy and it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or other pollutants.

• The main disadvantages of solar energy are its high set-up costs and its relatively low efficiency.

• Wind power is the use of wind turbines to convert wind energy into electricity.

• The main advantages of wind energy are that it is a renewable source of energy and it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or other pollutants.

• The main disadvantages of wind energy are its high set-up costs and that it is limited by the amount of available wind.

• Geothermal energy refers to heat energy radiating from Earth’s core.

• Geothermal energy can be harnessed to generate electricity.

• The main advantages of geothermal energy are that it is a continuous source of renewable energy and it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases or other pollutants.

• The main disadvantages of geothermal energy are that it is limited to specific regions on Earth and it is relatively expensive.

• Biofuel (biomass) is energy derived from dead and decaying organisms and organic waste.

• Biofuels can be used for generating electricity and for transportation.

• The main advantages of biofuels are that they are renewable sources of energy and they can potentially be carbon neutral.

• The main disadvantages of biofuels are that they produce carbon dioxide and other pollutants and that their production requires energy, land and other resources.

• Hydrogen is a gas that can be reacted with oxygen to produce energy – in hydrogen fuel cells and in hydrogen internal combustion engines.

• Hydrogen has applications in electricity generation and transportation.

• The main advantages of hydrogen are that it is an efficient source of energy that produces no carbon dioxide or other pollutants and it can be extracted from renewable sources.

• The main disadvantages of hydrogen are that it is currently mostly produced from non-renewable sources and it is potentially very dangerous as it has a tendency to leak and it ignites easily.

• Nuclear energy is energy stored in radioactive materials.

• Nuclear power is the production of electricity using radioactive materials.

• The main advantages of nuclear energy are its high efficiency and relatively low costs, and that it produces no carbon dioxide or other atmospheric pollutants.

• The main disadvantages of nuclear energy are the production of radioactive wastes and the potential for large-scale nuclear disasters.

(Image: makamuki0, Pixabay)

(Header image: Fokke Baarssen, Adobe Stock)