Ethical Energy - Case Study Example

Ethical Energy Contents Executive Summary This report considers six bids for energy supply in the country of Belina, Africa. It takes as the basis for its consideration the environmental and ethical impact of each of the bids on the land and population of Belina and considers each proposal according to these guidelines. It rejects bids proposing the construction of nuclear, oil and natural gas power stations and supports bids proposing to provide energy through biomass technology and wind turbine construction as meeting more of its environmental and ethical criteria. It rejects economic considerations in favour of the protection of Belina and its inhabitants from the negative aspects of industrialisation and energy supply. Introduction This is a report from the Renewable Systems Expert at Karsson engineering consultancy. It reports to the government of Belina over the issues of energy supply in the region. It considers the relative merits of the use of Renewable Energy Sources for providing energy to the developing industry in the two principal towns in the country. It also discusses the environmental and ethical drawbacks of the use of Traditional Energy Sources (oil, gas and nuclear power stations) for energy supply to the region and reports its findings for consideration by the Ministers of Belina. Discussion of Proposals The Eurogen proposal initially appears to be a strong one, given the low cost of the energy it will generate. However, it is necessary to consider the potential environmental and ethical consequences of such an offer before considering the cost. The negative environmental risks from nuclear power stations have been well documented. Fany & Li (1997) assess these risks in relation to nuclear power. Although estimates suggest that there is currently adequate cooling water on most of the sites the long term effects of such water usage could be catastrophic. As a country in sub-Saharan Africa, Belina is already at a much increased potential risk of drought compared to most other countries. As global climate changes begin to be felt, it is probably that within the forty year life of the nuclear plant water will become scarce and Belina may become the victim of drought. As the majority of the population rely on farming as educational levels are low and industry is in its infancy, this could have catastrophic social consequences. Belina’s extensive natural resources have been repeated misused in the past and it is in the best interests of its people that these practices be halted. There are also ethical factors to be considered in effectively allowing Belina to become beholden to an EU country, Sudeten. The Belinese government has a moral duty to take the future well being of its inhabitants into consideration when choosing the correct form of energy supply for the area. The continued fuelling of the nuclear plant, as well as the disposal of nuclear waste, is reliant upon Sudetan continuing to support its own nuclear power plants. Although it may be tempting to provide employment for the population currently housed in shanty towns around the factory sites as quickly and cheaply as possible, the long term well-being of this same population must also be taken into account. By making itself beholden to Sudetan, Belina risks finding itself with a defunct nuclear power station and un-treated nuclear waste should Sudetan discontinue its nuclear program. Although, as a country in the EU, this is unlikely, the government should at least negotiate guarantees over the sustainability of the plant for the full fifty years if it chooses to go ahead with this option. A similar proposal has been received from Minigen for pebble bed reactor nuclear units generating 100MW each. The environmental impact of the construction of ten such units, to meet the 1GW of energy required, would clearly create a huge environmental impact on the area and brings with it all the additional environmental issues associated with the Eurogen proposal. The life of these units is also shorter, at forty years, meaning that this does not provide a long term solution to the energy needs of the area. Additionally, as the energy requirements of the area increase, the reactors will fail to keep pace. The ethical choice of nuclear power is also questionable, since it threatens well being of those in the area in the event of a disaster. RelRose has made an alternative proposal, proposing three 300MW combined-cycle units on a location by the coast. These will be fuelled by natural gas imported from the Middle East. The environmental impact of using natural gas is significant and the developments of this nature along the coast will impact on the delicate ecosystems found there. Further, the transportation of this gas from the Middle East is a secondary cause of environmental damage. As with the Eurogen project, the necessary dependency on the Middle East that this would create is a further ethical issue. This may not be sustainable, especially given the turbulent political situation in the region and may leave the citizens of Belina powerless if the supply is disrupted. The price of gas is also subject to rapid and constant fluctuation which may make this a very expensive option in the future. (See Bolinger, Golove & Wiser, 2004) It could also create subsidiary issues of political alliances in the future. Geological reports suggest that Belina has considerable resources of natural gas along its coastline. Although it is currently not cost effective to access these, they may provide a way of becoming energy self-sufficient in the future and removing the burden of ties with the Middle East. However the environmental impact of such actions is considerable and would destroy the delicate eco-system in the region. It is therefore not advisable to pursue this line of enquiry. It is also to be noted that the 900MW which the gas powered plants will generate is not sufficient to meet the needs of the area and will certainly become woefully inadequate as the energy needs of the area increase. A similar proposal has been made by Atishi, a Japanese company, who propose the construction of two 500MW oil powered units along the coast. The oil for these units will arrive by tanker from the Middle East. As well as the environmental considerations associated with the RelRose proposal, investigated by Chow, Kopp & Portney (2003) it is essential to consider the massive environmental impact of an oil spillage. This is a highly unadvisable option in any situation and especially in a country as unspoilt and under developed as Belina. There is also the same ethical issue of making the country dependent on the Middle East and the fact that the plant will soon be unable to meet the energy demands of the region. Although this may represent an extremely cheap option, the environmental and ethical issues associated with it make it unacceptable There are however two options which should be taken seriously into consideration. The first is the proposal from Natfuel, a European consortium. This proposal involves the building of 100MW units which would be fuelled by fast-growing woody crops. Given the abundance of agricultural land near the site this could be an excellent option which would preserve the natural environment as far as possible. The main environmental impact would come from the construction of the power units but this would be minimal in comparison to more traditional power stations. The advantages of this system are several. Initially, the energy produced would release no greenhouse gases, thus providing clean energy for the area which would greatly benefit the population in the region. Secondly, Belina would be energy self-sufficient and would not have to rely on the Middle East for an oil or gas supply, or be bound into agreements with other countries over the disposal of nuclear waste. Finally, with the presence of several generating units, if one should fail there would still be power generated from the others, as compared to a single power station. More units could also easily be built to provide additional energy as the energy demands of the region increase. However, there are some issues to be taken into consideration with this proposal. The biomass system is still in the development stages and so there are teething problems with this new technology. These issues are discussed by Dornburg & Faaji (2001). It is also essential to ensure that the fast growing plants used in the energy generating process are suitable for the region and will thrive in a sub-Saharan climate. There is also the risk of the crop either failing or invading areas outside the intended cultivation zone and choking other native plant species. It would therefore be necessary to consult specialists in order to ascertain the suitability of this plant to the area. The second proposal for clean and sustainable energy is from Windiber, a well establised and experienced European wind engineering company. They propose building clusters of fifty 1MW wind turbines on farms in the area. The area is, in fact, well suited to the construction of wind turbines since there is a ridge located near the towns which experiences strong and steady winds throughout much of the year. This proposal brings with it the benefits of the Natfuel proposal in that it provides clean and self sufficient energy. This is the only proposal which does not require the building of power stations and therefore would provide the least environmental impact. Research into this issue has been carried out by Ackermann & Soder (2002: 82) who find that ‘wind energy can be regarded as environmentally friendly’. The major drawback with this proposal however is its reliance on wind. Should there be a drop in winds on the ridge for long enough to drain the stores of generated energy, the area would be left without an energy supply. Additionally turbines can cause problems for migrating birds if they are located on flight paths and so this issue must be examined before proceeding with construction. Research into this phenomenon has been carried out by Barrios & Rodriguez (2004). Finally, a considerable number of such turbines would need to be built to meet the energy needs of the area and this number will continue to rise in the future. It is therefore necessary to consider if there is sufficient area for the construction of the number of turbines required and consultation with farmers in the area would also be required and compensation would need to be paid to them for the land lost. This ethical issue is a delicate one which would need consideration and fair negociation. Conclusion This report concludes that there are two proposal worthy of consideration, that of Natfuel and that of Windiber. Both provide clean, sustainable energy free from reliance on other countries. The also provide energy at a stable price. Although they may be the more expensive options, this report strongly advises the government of Belina to consider the mistakes made by countries such as Russia, India and China during the course of their rapid industrialisation and not to inflict the same environmental damage on Belina. Although fossil fuels may provide a cheap short term fix, the long term impact on air quality and water quality in developing countries is disastrous Nuclear power, although cleaner, would monopolise water supplies which will be needed in the future as the population in the region increases. In order to overcome the issues raised with the proposals of Natfuel and Windiber, this report concludes that the government of Belina should enter into negotiations with both companies in order to create a hybrid solution, assuming that all necessary environmental conditions (involving suitability of plant life and area for turbine construction) are met. In this way the government will ensure a back-up solution if one or other of the systems should temporarily fail, providing constant and reliable energy supply to its citizens. Word count: 1961 References Ackermann, Thomas & Soder, Lennart (2002) ‘An overview of wind-energy status’ Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews Vol. 6, Issue 1-2 pp. 67-127 Barrios, Luis & Rodriguez, Alejandro (2004) ‘Behavioural and environmental correlates of soaring-bird mortality at on-shore wind turbines’ Journal of Applied Ecology Vol. 4, Issue 1 pp. 72-81 Bolinger, Mark, Golove, William & Wiser, Ryan (2004) ‘Accounting for fuel price risk when comparing renewable to gas-fired generation’ Energy Policy Vol. 34, Issue 6 pp. 706 – 720 Chow, Jeffrey, Kopp, Raymond J. & Portney, Paul R. ‘Energy Resources and Global Development’ Science Vol. 302, No. 5650 pp. 1528 - 1531 Dornburg, Veronika & Faaji, Andre P. C. (2001) ‘Efficiency and economy of wood-fired biomass energy systems in relation to scale regarding heat and power generation using combusting and gasification techniques’ Biomass and Bioenergy Vol. 21, Issue 2. pp.91-108 Fang, D. & Li, H. (1997) ‘Comparison of environmental risk between coal and nuclear power’ Fuel and Energy Abstracts Vol. 38, No. 4 pp. 234-258 Chow, Jeffrey, Kopp, Raymond J. & Portney, Paul R. ‘Energy Resources and Global Development’ Science Vol. 302, No. 5650 pp. 1528 - 1531 Bibliograhy Chadwick, Andrew, Glasson, John & Therivel, Riki (2005) Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment. London: Taylor & Francis Read More