ENV-2E02 Energy Resources

2004 - 2005

4. Environmental Impacts of Energy Resources

2 3 4
 Environmental Issues: Coal

• Mining:
• Open cast - landscape, ecology, river pollution from tailings, release of
radon gas
• Deep mining: settlement problems, methane, disease amongst miners
etc. Spoil heaps

• Use:
• SO2 emissions; NOx radioactivity (~30 ManSievert cumulative for UK
population per EJ).
• Flyash, solid ash. Large amount of CO2 - significantly worse than gas,
oil or biomass
• Resource base: centuries
 Environmental Issues: Coal continued

• Comments:

• FGD reduce SO2 by 90% - also reduces gaseous radioactive

emissions, but increases liquid radioactive waste
• NOx can be reduced by 60% using new burner types
• Proposals to freeze CO2 but that would require and increase in
power stations by ~30+%
• New technologies include IGCC, (? MHD). But likely to be 10 - 20
years before they are on stream at least. Even with these the CO2
emissions will still be higher than for gas.
 Environmental Issues: Gas

• Extraction and transmission:

• some loss of methane a potent greenhouse gas (~1%+)
• Use:
• CO2 but 40-60% that of coal depending on technology
• NOx increased over coal unless special burners are fitted
• Low radioactive emission (from radon)
• Resource base: decades
 Environmental Issues: Oil
• Extraction and transmission:
• Oil spills causing local ecological disasters
• Processing:
• Discharge of chemicals to environment
• Use:
• CO2 (intermediate between gas and coal),
• SO2 can be high if orimulsion is used and NOx
• Radioactive emission (about same as nuclear but lower than coal)
• Use for transport:
• NOx, lead, Benzenes, ozone etc. emitted at low level causing respiratory diseases etc.
• Resource base: decades
 Environmental Issues: Nuclear Fission
• Uranium mining:
• Require massive amount of earth movement if using older technologies.
• Newer methods use pumping of water which causes less problems, but can leak into water courses.
• Spoil for solid mining also presents a problem

• Fuel Fabrication:
• Requires energy for enrichment (slight radioactive emissions ~1-1.5 ManSieverts
per Exajoule).
• Use:
• Slight radioactive emission in normal operation (3-10 ManSieverts per EJ)
• Possibility of serious accident in reactors with positive void coefficient: remote possibility of serious
accident in reactors with negative void coefficient, but likelihood is dependent on reactor type
 Environmental Issues: Nuclear Fission continued
• Reprocessing
 Effluent discharges are radioactive, but generally less than emissions in normal operation - typically
8 ManSieverts per EJ, [although this was not always so ]
 SIXEP reduced effluent discharges at Sellafield by a factor of 500.
• Waste Disposal:
• Depends on approach adopted:
a) reprocess reduces HLW but increases ILW and LLW
b) higher component of HLW and more difficult to encapsulate
• Long term storage may present problems
• Decommissioning [controversy over correct approach]
• Resource Base: decades
• can be extended to centuries using Fast Breeder Reactors, but this introduces new problems (e.g.
pure Plutonium)
Stop Press News: 31st January 2005
 Environmental Issues: Nuclear Fusion

• Potentially a vast source of energy with no toxic waste

products (apart from reactors themselves):
• Commercial plants unlikely to be available before 2040 and
probably later

• D - T fusion - limited by resource base of Lithium - needed

to produce Tritium
• D - D more difficult to achieve but much more abundant.
 Environmental Issues: Solar Thermal
• Land use:
• US estimates give about 1 m2 per GJ per annum collected - hence large areas required
for High temperature applications including steam raising for electricity generation
(e.g. Bairstow California). In UK all low temperature space heating requirements will
require about ~40+m2 for an average house in UK
• Material:
• Substantial quantities of steel, copper, fibre glass, glass, and aluminium are used in
construction of solar panels, and these all have high energy requirements (typically
first 2+ years of running is needed to pay back energy invested in construction).
• Attendant environmental problems associated with production of these primary
materials including chemical discharges etc.
• Material use is significantly more per unit of energy than conventional technologies
but less than wave or OTEC
 Environmental Issues: Solar Thermal - continued

• Use:
• Discharges of chemical used in circuits for anti-freeze, anti-
bacteria fluids etc. problems of overheating (even fire) if
allowance is not made for excess energy problem in summer.
• Health Problems:
• Danger to human/animal eyesight in centralised focusing systems,
toxicity of transfer fluids in centralised schemes.
• Legionnaires Disease could be come more widespread with large
scale use of 'direct' solar water heaters.
 Environmental Issues: Solar Voltaic

• Manufacture:
• Large quantities of gases many of which are highly toxic are
used in manufacture of thin film photo-voltaic cells. Some are
flammable, e.g. hydrogen, methane, others warrant concern (e.g.
arsine, phosphine, H2S etc., and can be a serious hazard to
workforce, and may lead to releases to the environment.
• Use:
• Photovoltaic cells generate electricity directly (without being
switched on), and the hazard from electric shocks is significantly
increased over other methods of electricity generation.
 Environmental Issues: Wind
• Use:
• Visual impact including unsightly tracks for maintenance,
• noise,
• television interference,
• interference with communications,
• bird strikes,
• physical injury from blade failures (7% of original blades in California Wind farms
failed or showed signs of fatigue),
• ice formation on blades causing uneven running leading to premature failure,
• ice thrown off blades.
• Problems of distraction to drivers etc near main roads, “flashing” sun through blades of
turbines on horizon can be serious.
 Environmental Issues: Geothermal
• Use:
• Airborne Emissions (particularly H2S which is highly toxic) causing ecological
changes, chemical and thermal pollution of rivers and surrounding land from spent
geothermal fluid,
• induced seismicity,
• noise,
• visual intrusion of escaping steam from numerous wells,
• ground subsidence (e.g. 3m over 65 sq km area at Wairakei, New Zealand),
• need to continually drill new wells even in “renewable” locations because of
deposition in pipes etc (2% replacement rate per annum in New Zealand needed to
maintain resource),
• conflict with uses by indigenous population which is affecting tourism (Rotorua,
New Zealand).
 Environmental Issues: Hydro
• Construction:
• Large quantities of materials are needed in large hydro electric schemes.
• Large dams affect river regime - leading to siltation and down-stream erosion.
• Loss of habitat,
• increased soil erosion,
• change of salinity in some circumstances can have drastic effect on ecology.
• Displacement of population (China is displacing 1 million people in one scheme
alone (see New Scientist Jan 1995 - see also problems on Danube and several other
countries).
• Chemical changes can occur in ground water affecting nutrient balance or increasing
toxicity as submerged organic matter decays.
• Weight of dam and impounded water can induce seismicity.
 Environmental Issues: Hydro continued

Use:
• Large impounded lake can be breeding ground for insects -
hence disease (upper Volta scheme).
• Visual impact when water level in reservoir is low can be
extensive.
• In some cases transport communications may be improved, in
others they will not.
• Catastrophic failure of large dams leading to large loss of life
(e.g. Malplasset, Vaiont, Teton etc.)
 Environmental Issues: Wave
• Construction:
• Mooring problems for offshore devices -
• Foundation problems for devices sitting on sea bed
• Durability in hostile environment - has to be over designed to
withstand extreme storm force conditions
• Maintenance of offshore devices:
• a problem:
• Pelamis worked for 10 days then brought in for servicing in
September 2004 - has not been possible to reinstate it yet because
of weather.
 Environmental Issues: Wave continued
• Use:
• Hazard to shipping
• Reduces waves hitting shore hence coastal erosion
• ecosystem will be changed to lower energy environment
• Synchronism problems more acute than wind for offshore devices.
• Most of UK high energy waves are remote from centres of
population - hence additional power lines needed
• Onshore developments (e.g. Islay) are easier to develop, but
resource is greatly reduced.
• Would be ideal using hydrogen as the energy vector
 Environmental Issues: Tidal Barrage
• Construction:
• Large quantities of materials are needed for the enclosure barrages.
• Use:
• Tidal regimes are affected, siltation can limit life of project severely.
• Barrier poses obstruction to shipping and marine life.
• Ground water levels will change as will the mean salinity thus affecting the
ecological balance.
• Effluent discharges from the surrounding land will not disperse as tidal range is
reduced. Some species of birds may thrive, but many will lose their habitat.
• Increased resource for recreation.
• Alternative could make use of existing man-made causeways – e.g. Churchill
Barriers in Orkney: difference in tide times of several hours.
 Environmental Issues: Tidal Current
• Construction:
 Design presents challenge – large horizontal thrusts
 Foundation problems
 Could be combined with Offshore Wind
• Use:
 Under water devices pose a threat to shipping
 Under water maintenance
 Can be constructed as modules – thus less environmentally damaging than
conventional enclosure tidal schemes.
 Operates like a wind turbine, but needs less materials as water is nearly 1000 times as
dense as air
• Could extract energy offshore
 Environmental Issues: Biomass

• Land Use:
• Significant areas of land are required for energy crops, and
some authorities question whether energy crops are in fact
net producers of energy in view of significant quantities of
fossil fuels used for machinery for transport etc.
• Area of 10 000 sq km could provide around 5% of transport
requirements
 Environmental Issues: Biomass continued
• Use:
• Energy Crops can be harvested and “burnt” or transformed into other fuels (e.g.
“ethanol” a petrol substitute, biodiesel as a diesel substitute).
• There are emissions including CO2, although in sustainable use, this is neutral on the
overall CO2 balance.
• Reduced SO2 but increased NOx can be expected from plant.
• Other emissions can include aromatic compounds such as benzene which are
carcinogenic.
• Areas of crops need to be cleared and this can have a temporary visual impact, but such
changes can lead to adverse changes in soil erosion characteristics and also soil
chemistry and biology.
• Managed crops would reduce likelihood of fire damage to forests, but climate and
ground water flow may be affected.
 Environmental Issues: Waste

• Sources: Sewage, Landfill, Refuse

• Sewage from human and animal waste can be digested to generate
methane, but significant quantities of the methane are needed to keep the
process up to temperature.
• Landfill causes releases of methane (a potent greenhouse gas), and
burning this although generating CO 2 reduces the effective greenhouse
impact.
• Other waste may be collected and burnt to generate heat, processed to
develop refuse derived fuel or used to generate electricity.
• There are numerous processes available
 Environmental Issues: Waste continued
• Environmental Concerns:
• Release of dioxins and other toxins from incorrect combustion of waste products.
• Emission of carbon monoxide, NOx, HCl, SO2 etc, the exact proportions depend
on the nature of the waste.
• HCl is in higher concentrations than the combustion of coal, SO2 should be less
than for coal
• disagreement as to whether NOx emissions are greater for waste than for coal.
• Visual impact of the plant
• Smell
• but less landfill space is required with its own attendant problems.
 Limits to Exploitation
No stars - No limitation: more stars - greater restriction
Planning/
Resource Technical Economic Environ-
Social
mental
Acceptance

Conventional * **** ***

Coal FBC * * ** *
IGCC ** * ** **
Oil *** **** *
Gas *
Thermal ? - normal ?
Fission ** disposal ?
FBR *** ? * normal ?
** disposal ?
Fusion **** ** * ?
 Limits to Exploitation
No stars - No limitation: more stars - greater restriction

Planning/
Resource Technical Economic Environmental
Social
Acceptance
Solar Hot Water ****
Central *** **** * ?
Photovoltaic ** **** *
Wind Onshore * *? **???
Offshore ** *** ? ?
Geothermal Steam ** ?
Hot aquifers *** ? ?
HDR *** *** * (seismisity ?) ?
Other ***** ***** ? ?
 Limits to Exploitation
No stars - No limitation: more stars - greater restriction
Planning/
Resource Technical Economic Environmental
Social
Acceptance
Hydro Large Scale *? **
Small Scale * **
Wave Shore * ** ? ?
based
Off shore **** *** ? ?
Tidal Barrage * *?
Marine *** *** ?
currents
Waste * **
Biomass Direct * ? *
gasification ** ** ? *
Energy ** ** ? *
Crops