40 terms in Topic3
Energy and Society
The progression of energy sources from biomass to fossil fuels to electricity as societies develop economically.
Energy Resources
Energy and Society
Energy Return on Investment: the ratio of energy produced by a system to the energy invested in its construction and ope
Energy Resources
Energy and Society
Gross Domestic Product adjusted for environmental costs (natural resource depletion, pollution, degradation), providing
Energy Resources
Energy and Society
Removal and long-term storage of atmospheric CO₂ in forests, soils, and geological formations.
Energy Resources
Features of Energy Resources
The amount of energy stored per unit mass or volume of a fuel or energy source.
Energy Resources
Features of Energy Resources
Energy in its natural form before conversion to electricity or other secondary forms.
Energy Resources
Features of Energy Resources
Energy converted from primary sources into useful forms like electricity or refined fuel.
Energy Resources
Features of Energy Resources
The ratio of actual energy output to theoretical maximum output if a power plant operated continuously at full capacity.
Energy Resources
Features of Energy Resources
Energy sources that deplete with extraction and do not naturally replenish on human timescales.
Energy Resources
Features of Energy Resources
Facilities that convert primary energy (fossil fuels, nuclear) into secondary electricity through turbine-generator syst
Energy Resources
Features of Energy Resources
Reducing energy consumption while maintaining or improving energy services through technological and behavioral improvem
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Direct conversion of sunlight into electricity using semiconductor devices (solar cells) that generate electrical curren
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Electricity generated from wind turbines that convert kinetic energy of wind into electrical power.
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Electricity generated from water flowing through turbines in dams or run-of-river systems, providing 16% of global elect
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Electrochemical devices storing electrical energy for later use, essential for managing renewable energy intermittency.
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Technologies enabling energy storage at various timescales (4 hours to seasonal) including batteries, pumped hydro, hydr
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Energy storage and transport medium where hydrogen gas is produced via electrolysis, stored, and combusted or used in fu
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Energy sources that replenish naturally on human timescales and do not deplete with use.
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Long-term policy and investment plans to shift energy systems from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon sources.
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Thermal energy from Earth's interior extracted via steam wells or hot water reservoirs for electricity generation and di
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Energy from burning plant material or processed biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel), currently providing 9% of global primary
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Energy storage using gravity potential energy of water pumped to elevated reservoir, providing flexible dispatchable ene
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Direct use of solar heat for space heating, water heating, and industrial processes, achieving 70-80% efficiency.
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Wind turbines installed on land, providing cheaper and faster deployment than offshore but facing land-use and visual co
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Wind turbines installed in shallow marine environments, achieving higher capacity factors than onshore but at substantia
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Electricity generation from tidal water movement using underwater turbines or barrages that harness gravitational energy
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Electricity generation from ocean wave motion using devices that convert wave kinetic and potential energy into electric
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Strategies for integrating variable renewable electricity into power grids while maintaining frequency/voltage stability
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Installed power generation capacity from renewable sources (wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, tidal), measured in gigawatt
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Long-term shift from fossil fuel-based energy systems to renewable and low-carbon sources, required for climate change m
Energy Resources
Strategies for Future Energy Supply
Strategies and technologies reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to 1.5-2°C above pre-industrial le
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
Coal, oil, and natural gas formed from fossilized organic matter and currently providing 82% of global primary energy.
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
Electricity and heat generated from burning coal, currently the largest non-renewable energy source for electricity gene
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
Energy derived from crude oil through combustion in power stations, vehicles, and heating systems.
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
Energy from combusting methane-rich natural gas for electricity generation, heating, and industrial processes.
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
Electricity generated from nuclear fission of uranium-235 or plutonium-239, providing approximately 10% of global electr
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
Technologies that capture CO2 from power station emissions or atmosphere and store it permanently in geological formatio
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
Technologies including flue gas desulfurization, selective catalytic reduction, and carbon capture that reduce coal comb
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
The point when global oil extraction reaches maximum production and thereafter declines due to depleting reserves.
Energy Resources
Sustainability of Current Exploitation
Negative ecological and health effects from energy extraction, processing, transport, and combustion throughout the life
Energy Resources