Change to renewable energy

• Changing to renewable energy is important as we are depleting the non renewable resource (which is using them up faster than they can be restored).

REASONS:

• Fossil fuel scarcity
• Climate change - Massive amounts of carbon dioxide released during the exploitation and consumption of these non renewable resources
• Economic Globalisation

Ways in which energy use can change

• Reduce the demand for non renewable sources of energy by making renewable sources of energy more widely available and affordable and reliable
• Increase the supply of renewable energy
• Combined, these increase the energy security of renewable resources

Use of Affordable Technology for energy efficiency - Examples:

• Coal and gas power stations can now re-use wasted heat. These are called combined-cycle systems. Reusing heat makes the most out of the fossil fuel. Also, some power stations now burn small amounts of biomass alongside fossil fuels. This is called co-firing and it makes the fossil fuel last longer. Fracking could exploit shale gas, which would increase supplies of fossil fuels.
• Micro wind turbines are a form of appropriate technology as they are inexpensive to buy and easy to maintain, this makes them suitable for less developed countries and can support future development - LEDC APPLICATION

Stakeholders play an important role in energy security

• Stakeholders influence the availability of the resource

Energy Efficient countries:

• Norway is 96% self-reliant when it comes to energy. This means that it can meet most of the energy demands of its population by exploiting its offshore oil and gas fields and using hydroelectric power (energy mix). It even has surplus energy, which it exports to other countries such as the UK through an undersea gas pipeline.