Electricity production and distribution

1. Discuss the sources of energy for electricity production by country and provide reasons to why
they differ for each country. Holland, Sweden, Argentina, Alaska and Ukraine.
The Netherlands produces 102505 Gigawatt Hour of electricity (IEA, 2012). Netherlands
main source of energy is gas as it counts for around 54% of energy production (IEA,
2012). Moreover, it uses coal to produce around 26% of its energy (IEA, 2012). The rest
is made by various sources. Sweden main source of electricity production is hydro which
counts around 47% of total energy production (IEA, 2012). Further, 38% of the energy in
Sweden is produced through nuclear energy (IEA, 2012). Argentina uses gas as the main
source as it is used to produce around 53% of the countrys energy needs (IEA, 2012).
The second source of energy in Argentina is hydro as it used to produce around 22% of
the energy in Argentina (IEA, 2012). Ukraine produces 45% of its energy requirement
through the use of nuclear power (IEA, 2012). Furthermore, it uses coal to produce
around 40% of its energy (IEA, 2012). Also, 8.2% of energy is produced from gas (IEA,
2012). In state of Alaska within the United States gas is used to produce around 48.6%
of its energy needs (U.S Energy Information Administration, 2014). Also, this state uses
oil to produce 13.5% of its energy (U.S Energy Information Administration, 2014).
Netherlands use of natural gas to produce its energy is due the large reserves it has as it
is the 2nd largest reserves in Europe and also it is the 2nd largest producer of natural gas
(Energy Delta Institute, 2011). The availability of rivers and streams in Sweden made it
an attractive source of energy (Vattenfall, 2013). Sweden is dependent on nuclear
energy due to its advantages and it supports the use of such energy as it is not prone to
earthquakes and tsunamis (Stein, 2011). The Swedish are increasing the output of the
current nuclear power plants by 30% (Stein, 2011). Argentina is shifting from being
dependant on gas to produce energy to hydro; as it is facing a decline in gas production
and due to the geographical nature of the country (Mecro Press, 2013). Nuclear is the
main source of energy in Ukraine as the country has the largest uranium deposit in
Europe which will satisfy the local demand by 2015 and nuclear plants were developed
there since the Soviet Union (World Nuclear Association, 2014). Also, the second main
source of energy in Ukraine is coal as the country contains the 7th largest reserves of
coal in the world (RT, 2014). Alaska depend on gas and oil for its energy production as it
is producing 205 million barrels of oil 2013 (Alaska Department of Natyral Resources,
2013). Also, the state has 9.5 million cubic feet of natural gas (U.S Energy Information
Administration, 2012). In short, the available resources in each country made it choose a
different source to produce electricity.

2. What percent of energy production is generated by renewable energy sources by these

countries? WHY?
In the Netherlands 10% of electricity is produced through the use of renewable energy
sources (IEA, 2012). The low use of renewable energy is due the availability of natural
gas in the country (Energy Delta Institute, 2011). Sweden electricity production from
renewable sources counts around 78% (IEA, 2012). The country is dependent on
renewable sources as the parliament and the people are aware of the advantages of

renewable sources. The government in Sweden always promotes the use of renewable
energy; they have a national renewable energy action plan (International Energy Agency
, 2010). In Argentina 24% of the energy in the country is coming from renewable energy
(IEA, 2012). The low usage of renewable energy is due to Argentina being the largest gas
producer in South America and low investments in renewable energy previously (U.S
Energy Information Administration, 2014). Ukraine energy comes mostly from nonrenewable sources as it uses renewable sources to produce around 5.8% of its energy
(IEA, 2012). The country uses fossil fuels to produce its energy as it has reserves of
several fossil fuels such as coal and uranium and also it produces a substantial quantity
of oil and gas (Thompson, 2014). Alaska state energy is mostly produced by nonrenewable sources. However, 19% of its energy is produced from renewable sources
such as hydro and wind (Alaska Department of Natyral Resources, 2013). Alaska is
producing 10% of United States oil and gas (Resource Development Council for Alaska,
Inc., N.A). The availability of fossil fuel made the state dependant on fossil fuels to
produce energy.

3. What cities utilise electricity as the main form of power for their public transport systems?
(Provide details for 5 different examples)
In the city of Adelaide in Australia a public transport system that works on solar power is
implemented to offer the service for free (CleanTechnica, 2013). This solar public
transport system saved around 70 thousand of carbon and around 14 thousand litres of
diesel (CleanTechnica, 2013). Also, South Korea launched a public transport system that
works on electric power (Cheung, N.A). The system use cable embedded roads to
recharge the bus battery. In US two companies implemented battery powered buses to
reduce costs, Foothill and Link added a charging stations on the bus loop to ensure the
reliability of the service (Chambers, 2012). Further, the electric bus costs less than the
diesel as it saves around 65000$ (Chambers, 2012). Also, the electric bus needs 0.31$
for each km travelled while the diesel needs 0.68$ for 1 km (Chambers, 2012). Dubai
metro runs on electric power and it use its own independent power supply system
(Second independent power supply system for Dubai metro is energized, 2009). The
metro in Dubai is a driverless system. It provides public transport system in a concept
which is friendly to the environment. Further it uses brake power regeneration to
increase the efficiency (Second independent power supply system for Dubai metro is
energized, 2009). In India Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has installed solar power panels
and plans to install more to feed the electric rail system (Jerew, 2014). The instalment of
solar system to provide energy for the rail system will save around 8 million dollars per
year and it will reduce greenhouse gases (Jerew, 2014).
4. Provide details of how the electricity consumption per capita by country (Q1) and how and why
has this been changing over the last 20 years?

In the Netherlands the consumption was 4.4 tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) in 1990 and
in 2010 it was 4.8 TOE; this shows that the consumption per capita has increased

(Energy Realities, 2011). In Sweden the consumption became lower in 2010 as it was 5.5
TOE in 1990 and 5 TOE in 2010 (Energy Realities, 2011). In Argentina it increased 0.6 TOE
in the years between 1990 and 2010 (Energy Realities, 2011). Ukraine consumed 4.9
TOE in 1990 and it dropped significantly to 2.8 TOE in 2010 (Energy Realities, 2011). In
1980 Alaska electricity consumption per capita was around 2600 kWh and around 2800
kWh in 2011 ( U.S. Department of Energy, 2013). This shows that in Alaska the
consumption didnt change that much in the last 20 years. There are several factors
which will lead to changes in electricity consumption. For example, if the country is
dependent on fossil fuel to produce energy the consumption might get less if the fossil
fuel began to increase; which will make the electricity more expensive. In some
countries they implement policies and spread the awareness among people to reduce
electricity consumption such as Sweden. Some places like Alaska the consumption didnt
change that much, it is thought that the consumption didnt change due the need of
electricity to heat the houses.

5. In what regions of the world are electricity supplies from renewable sources vulnerable to
seasonality and weather factors?
The electricity supplied from renewable energy sources is vulnerable to weather
factors and seasonality in all over the world for several reasons. First, wind energy
requires wind in order to turn the wind turbines; wind is affected by the weather
and seasons all over the world. Second, solar energy requires a clear sky to receive
sun light; clearness of the sky is affected by the weather and the season. Third,
hydro energy supply get affected by the rain seasons in the countries which have
rain and rivers; as the rain and rivers can be used to fill the dams in order to
generate electricity. Last, tidal energy supply is affected by the weather; as in case
of a storm or typhoons the tidal power equipment can be damaged. The use of
renewable energy as the only source will lead to issues in energy reliability as it
depends on the weather to produce energy. Also, the cost of electricity storage is
high and the capital required to use renewable energy sources is far more than fossil
fuel generation (Solar Schools, N.A). Further, it produces less energy than the fossil
fuel counterpart; this will lead to building more energy facilities or reduce the
consumption per capita (Solar Schools, N.A).
6. What have been the major advances in battery storage technology in the last 15 years?
According to Battery University there are no major advances in battery
technology since the improvement made to Li-phosphate battery in 2002
(Battery University, N.A).

7. What has been achieved in the design and production of electric cars in the last 10 years?
In 1999 general motors EV1 an electric vehicle which had 60 mile range was
available under special leasing program, the vehicle required low maintenance
which was considered a threat to the companys long term revenue (Solar Energy

USA, 2011). Thus, the EV1 was discontinued in 1999 (Solar Energy USA, 2011). In
2000 Toyotas Rav4 EV was able to travel between 80 to 120 miles in range (Solar
Energy USA, 2011). However, it was discontinued due to case which awarded the
batteries used in the Rav4 EV to chevron-Texaco (Solar Energy USA, 2011). In 2003
Tesla Motors was established as electric vehicle motor company and it was able to
produce a first vehicle with 244 miles of range and can reach 60 mph in 3.9 seconds
(Solar Energy USA, 2011). In 2009 Tesla announced their new models that have an
extended range that can travel up to 300 miles on battery (Solar Energy USA, 2011).
Nissan is positioning itself as a mass producer of electric vehicle with it Nissan Leaf
model (Solar Energy USA, 2011). Leaf is looked up as affordable electric vehicle with
a range of 100 miles and some reporters reported that the actual range is 70 miles if
the car used under the real world driving conditions (Solar Energy USA, 2011).

8. What are the main impediments in the way of implementing freight transport systems that can
take advantage of electricity generated from renewable energy sources?

The current batteries cannot provide enough energy for medium to long distance freight
transport (Rembrandt , 2012). Also, the expensive cost of providing the required infrastructure
to provide electricity at all international transport route is another obstacle (Rembrandt , 2012).

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