Geography of Supply (AQA A Level Geography)

Physical geography and supply

The following physical factors affect the production of energy in different parts of the world in a variety of ways:

• Climate 
• Geology
• Drainage

Table of Physical Factors Affecting Supply of Energy

Factor		Explanation: how this influences energy supply	Examples
Climate	Sunshine hours and intensity	Where solar insolation is high - high angle of sun and longer hours of daylight - solar energy is an effective renewable energy option	Solar power is highly productive in California, southern Spain, north Africa and the Middle East
	Wind strength	Strong prevailing winds blowing in upland or open spaces allows for effective use of wind turbines Global wind energy has grown rapidly in the last twenty years  uplands facing prevailing winds and a large, shallow continental shelf for offshore wind turbines where the wind is more consistent.	The UK can exploit wind energy  It has consistent prevailing winds blowing onto the west of the island And a shallow continental shelf allowing offshore wind farms
	Precipitation	HEP schemes tend to be built in areas with high amounts of rain or snow Exotic rivers have sources in upland areas of high precipitation but then later flow through arid regions. These can  produce sufficient flows downstream to allow for HEP despite surrounding precipitation levels being low.	The Dinorwig HEP scheme, in North Wales, is the largest scheme of its kind in Europe and built in an area that receives more than 1500mm of average rainfall per year The Aswan High Dam HEP scheme was built in an arid area of Egypt with an average precipitation of 10mm per year, but is fed by the exotic river Nile
	Biomass growth	Tropical climates encourage fast plant growth and suitable growing conditions for sugarcane, used in bio-ethanol production	Around 70% of Brazil’s renewable energy supply and 25% of its transport fuel is from biomass - one of the highest ratios in the world
Geology	Fossil fuel rock structure	Fossil fuels rely on certain geological conditions to form.  Coal seams form from fossilised and buried ancient swamp forests Oil and natural gas form when decomposed marine organisms are trapped between layers of impervious rocks within anticlines	Much of Britain contains coal seams and natural gas and oil fields remain in exploitable conditions in the North Sea
	Geothermal crustal structure	There is potential for geothermal energy where the earth’s crust is thin so that magma is nearer the surface	New Zealand, Iceland and Japan all have relatively thin crusts. 90% of all homes in Iceland are heated by geothermal energy
	Tectonic plate structure	The stability and safety of energy schemes built on active tectonic plate margins can make them risky, particularly with HEP and nuclear power	Until 2011, Japan was generating 30% of electricity from nuclear reactors but following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that resulted in radioactive leaks from the Fukushima plant, the country’s nuclear energy plan has been reassessed
Drainage	Freshwater abstraction	Water from river networks support a range of energy schemes. For example thermal power stations use large amounts of water to produce the steam that turns the turbines. Nuclear reactors require cooling from a water supply. Most fossil-fuel and nuclear power stations are situated on major rivers for a constant supply.	Drax power station, in North Yorkshire, UK was once Western Europe’s largest coal-fired power station and used water from the River Ouse. In 2012 it was converted into the UK’s largest generator of renewable biomass electricity
	Dam construction	Drainage basins containing deep and steep-sided valleys, with a reliable supply of river flow, provide good conditions for dams and HEP	The Aswan High Dam was chosen as a location due to the steep-sided valley and huge river discharge of the river Nile at that point

Supplying energy to a globalising world

• Competition between countries for energy supplies is growing
• Reasons include:
• Growing population and growing incomes increasing demand
• Depleting supplies of accessible fossil fuel reserves
• Industrialisation in developing countries means a greater need for energy security
• Manufacturing requires greater supplies of energy
• There are a variety of consequences for the competing national interests for energy
• Greater amounts of energy are being transferred between countries
• E.g. gas supplies from Russia to western Europe were increasing before the war with Ukraine
• In early 2023, 10% of UK’s electricity supply came from imported energy from Norway and France
• Countries are investing more in the search for energy security 
• Development of new and unconventional sources of energy
• E.g. exploitation of Alberta tar sands, Canada
• Exploration of new resource frontiers
• E.g. oil and gas in the Arctic circle
• Fluctuating energy prices 
• Oil is particularly vulnerable to changes in price
• In Nigeria, crude oil fell to $65 a barrel in December 2021 and rose to $130 a barrel in June 2022
• Some countries may dominate the supply of energy 
• There may be less accessibility for developing countries
• Governments may implement protectionist policies
• To focus on ensuring national supplies 
• In 2016, President Trump introduced tariffs on imports of solar panels to the US
• Countries are seeking cleaner sources of energy
• To safeguard sustainable national supplies
• E.g. the UK is investing heavily in offshore wind farms
• The private sector will invest £61 billion between 2021-2026
• There is an increased role for TNCs in transporting energy 
• From countries with a surplus to those with a deficit
• TNCs are key operators in the processes of exploration, production and trade of energy supplies
• They are heavily involved in all aspects of the supply chain
• For example, BP, the 20th largest energy company in the world, operates a vertical integration network
• Exploration - geologists employed by BP search for and inspect potential fossil fuel reserves
• This is often carried out offshore and in lower income countries
• Extraction - BP pays money to host countries for licenses to drill and mine
• Profits are often not reinvested into the host country
• Transporting - pipelines, ships and lorries transport crude oil to refineries usually located near the market
• BP has 300 ships operating around the world at any one time
• Refining - crude oil is processed into fuel products such as kerosene and petrol
• BP has a stake in 17 refineries worldwide
• Processing adds value to the raw material
• The most profitable stage of the chain
• Retailing - oil products are sold via a network of 19,000 service stations
• Research - scientists research renewable energy sources to help diversify
• By BP 2025 BP will spend  40% of its UK budget on renewable schemes such as:
• Offshore wind farms
• Hydrogen projects
• Electric vehicle charging networks
• Recent trends include:
• Governments of lower-income countries are attempting to become less reliant on TNCs
• In order to take greater share of revenues
• A greater role for state-owned companies
• State-owned energy companies converting into TNCs by investing into energy schemes overseas
• E.g. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the biggest oil operator in Africa
• Produces 1.8 million barrels per day
• Is investing $25 billion to build a 5600 km pipeline to supply natural gas to Morocco

Environmental impacts of energy development

• Producing, transporting, and consuming energy produces significant environmental impacts
• Air pollution
• Emission of greenhouse gasses leading to the enhanced greenhouse effect
• Water pollution
• Solid waste disposal
• Coal mining and digging for oil and gas can alter groundwater flows
• This can bring clean water into contact with contaminants
• Removal of large quantities of earth as well as the fossil fuels
• Oil spills are a major issue
• Release of crude oil at sea, where tankers sink or spill they load
• Can also occur on land
• The number of oil spills and the quantity of oil that is spilled from tankers has fallen substantially in recent decades
• In 1970s 320,000 tonnes of oil spilt on average per year
• In 2010s the average was 16,500 tonnes
• Spills also occur in offshore oil rigs and damaged pipelines
• Deepwater Horizon rig, operated by BP, was one of the world’s largest oil spills into the Gulf of Mexico, 2010
• Caused by an explosion in the drilling rig
• Approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil were released into the sea

Environmental impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, 2010