Nature Awareness Award

WHAT IS ELECTRIC GENERATOR?

-AN ELECTRICAL GENERATOR IS A MACHINE WHICH CONVERTS MECHANICAL ENERGY (OR POWER) INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY (OR POWER).

WHAT IS WIND ENERGY?

-Wind has been used for a long time to make sailing boats move and windmills work.
-Now, giant wind turbines use the force of the wind to turn electricity generators.

HOW A WIND TURBINE WORKS?

http://www.eon-uk.com/EnergyExperience/357.htm

(This website contain information about it)

ADVANTAGES

-Wind is a renewable source so it will not run out.
-does not produce any carbon dioxide

DISADVANTAGES

-cannot control when the wind blows
-can only be built in certain areas
-Wind turbines shut down in very strong or very weak winds.

WHAT IS HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY?

-Moving water contains a lot of energy.
-Hydroelectric energy involves generating electricity using the
power of moving water ('hydro' is a Greek word meaning water)

HOW A HYDROELECTRIC DAM WORKS?

http://www.eon-uk.com/EnergyExperience/356.htm

(This website contain information about it)

ADVANTAGES

-does not produce any carbon dioxide
-It is renewable - the rain which fills the reservoir never runs out.

DISADVANTAGES

-Valuable land is flooded when a reservoir is made homes and wildlife habitats can be lost.
-A good site for a hydroelectric power plant, such as a mountainous region, is not always near towns.

TIDAL ENERGY
HOW IS ENERGY GENERATED FROM THE TIDE?
http://www.eon-uk.com/generation/tidal.aspx

ADVANTAGES

-It needs no fuel
-Once the plant is built, operating costs are very low, so the energy produced is very cheap
-Tides are predictable

DISADVANTAGES

-Barrages can be very expensive to build.
-There is no one leading tidal stream device at the moment.
-The plants can only produces power when the tide is flowing in or out – around 20 hours a day

WAVE ENERGY
-Waves are the movement of water near the surface of the sea, and are created by
the wind blowing across it.
HOW IS IT USED TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY?
http://www.eon-uk.com/EnergyExperience/590.htm

ADVANTAGES

-It is a more predictable energy source than wind.
-There are no fuel costs, unlike conventional power generation.

DISADVANTAGES

-Equipment needs to be designed to
survive bad weather conditions such as storms.
-There may be high maintenance costs,
because the devices can be far out at sea.
-There is no leading device at the moment