Energy in Timor Leste - Essay Example

Report on Energy Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Code and Name University Date of Submission Report on Energy in Timor Leste Introduction Energy is defined as the capacity to do work and is available to the world in various forms and from many different sources. Some conventional sources include fossils fuels, hydroelectricity, some relatively new nuclear fission and solar, and others still in the experimental stage. The Energy is a key input in economic growth there is a close link between the availability of energy and the future growth of a nation (Wiser 2000, pp. 245-250). However, in a developing country like Timor Leste greater availability of energy the more is its shortage. In spite of the increase in power generating capacity, there is still shortage in energy, in various sectors. Energy is consumed in a variety of forms fuel wood, animal waste, agricultural residues as the traditional sources that continue to meet the bulk of energy requirement in remote areas across the globe. These non-commercial fuels are gradually getting replaced by commercial fuels and the case in Timor Leste is no different. Classification of energy resources Commercial fuels include coal, lignite, petroleum products, natural gas and electricity; non-commercial fuels include fuel wood, cow dung, and agricultural waste. Convectional resources includes, fossil fuels includes fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, water and nuclear energy. Non-conventional resources or alternate includes solar, bio, wind, ocean, hydrogen, geothermal. This project ties to look at the utilization of these non-conventional sources of energy. They can be used to meet the energy needs of the people of Timor Leste. Renewable resources of energy: renewable sources of energy are those natural resources which are inexhaustible and can be used to produce energy again and again. Examples are solar energy, wind energy, geothermal, tidal, energy, water energy and bio energy. Atomic minerals are inexhaustible sources of energy when used in fast breeder reactor technology. Nonrenewable resources of energy: those natural resources, which are exhaustible and cannot be replaced once they are used. Examples are fossil fuels for instance coal, oil and gas which supply 98percent of the total world energy demand today. To most minds, there is a certain fascination in the attempt to forecast something on conditions of life and social activity on earth, through centuries ahead. Living in scientific knowledge and mechanical inventions, it has been continuous and has achieved results beyond dreams of our predecessors. There is a natural tendency to assume that such progress will be continuous in the future as in the immediate past and that the coming centuries will as far exceed our own in mechanical, industrial, and inventive activity as this exceeds the centuries gone by. What does it mean to say that there is a world crisis today? On one hand, it would appear that the world has a huge supply of the three fossils fuels, oil, coal, and natural gas. In its 2010 statistical review of world’s energy, the BP oil company reported that proven global oil reserves at the end of 2010 amounted to 1383 billion barrels, an increase of 25 percent over the 2000 reserves. Experts predict that those reserves are sufficient to meet the worlds need for oil for as much as 80 years. The situation looks even more promising for natural gas, where proven, reserves are expected to last at least 60 years and coal reserves up to about 160 years. So how can there be an energy crisis? One reason for energy concerns is that consumption is increasing much more rapidly than is the discovery and the production of fossil fuels. This increase is a result of two factors, the first of which is population growth. This has been evident in Timor Leste where we have an exponential increase in population over the last few years. With this kind of trend, energy resources will be depleted and thus another solution has to be found to meet this increased demand. This solution lies in alternative sources of energy like solar and bio-fuel. It took 1800 years for the world to reach a population of two billion, 123 more years for it to reach a population of two billion, and 33 years for it to reach three billion. The world has added additional one billion people about every decade since then, passing the seven billion mark in the late 2011 (Chauhan & Srivastava 2006, pp. 67-70). The more people there are on earth, the greater demand for energy resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Energy demand is increasing also because of an improved standard of living for many people throughout the world. An increased consumption of fossil fuels closely corresponds to a higher standard of living. That trend has not been so obvious in developed countries, where energy consumption per capita has remained relatively constant over the past two decades. Therefore, the use of energy has increased dramatically in many developing nations and regions like Timor Leste, where the use of fossils fuels has been a driving force in the improvement of people’s lives. Concerns about the world energy crisis also reflect doubts about the amount of coal, oil, and natural gas that can eventually be recovered. While the quantity of proved reserves for the fossils fuels continues to inch up each year, those fuels are a renewable resource. That is, coal, oil, and natural gas that were originally produced millions years ago, is all that the world has of those resources; new reserves are not being created. Ultimately, the world will run out of those supplies, although vigorous dispute exists as to how far into the future that event will occur. Many people believe that the era of peak oil produced in a single year, has already occurred, and the world is now facing a period when less and less oil, coal and natural gas will be available every year into the future. Geopolitical factors also contribute to the world energy crisis. These factors results from the fact that; the regions of the earth where reserves of oil and natural gas are available are very different from regions, where they are mostly used. Five of the ten largest oil producing nations in the world are located in the Middle East two are in Africa and one in south America; only two Canada and Russia are in the northern hemisphere. By contrast, most of the largest oil consuming nations in the world such as china, Germany, India, japan and South Korea, have very limited natural resources of oil. Even developed nations with substantial oil reserves, such as the United States, may still be oil importers. In April 2011, for example, the United States imported 61 percent of its oil, although it had proved reserves of almost 31 billion barrels. With this dichotomy of reserves and consumption, oil and to a lesser extent, coals and natural gas, have become political weapons in the interaction among countries around the world, an added element in the world’s energy crisis (Wiser 2000, pp. 56-58). Finally, the world faces an energy crisis because of a host of environmental issues created by the production and consumption of coal, oil, and natural gas. The removal of these natural resources can create devastation of the landscape especially when mountain tops are removed to get coal, additional problems may rise during transportation as when oil tankers break apart, and spill their contents in the ocean; and even more issues arise when fossil fuels are burned resulting to air pollution, and possible global climate change. Appropriate ways in which these issues can be addressed have become crucial aspects of the world’s energy crisis. One possible solution to this crisis involves the increased use of alternative forms of energy: solar, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, geothermal, biomass, and the like. Humans have made use of these non-fossils fuels energy sources for centuries, but, over most of that time, they have played a relatively minor role in the overall human energy equation. Many observers now believe that a dramatic revolution in the worlds energy story is about to occur, with these renewable forms of energy assuming an even greater role in meeting the worlds energy needs. Timor Leste is one of these regions. Historical background on energy use As early as 3000 BC, they had discovered that natural resources could be captured and burned to produce energy for a variety of purposes; these discoveries, occurred in China, where coal was first used as a fuel in about 3000BC. Much later, around 500 BCE, the Chinese discovered a way to collect natural gas through bamboo pipes inserted into the ground, a fuel they to heat their homes and used for the other purposes, petroleum was also in wide use as a fuel in about 6000 BCE, although usually, not as fuel, but as a construction material or as medicine. Resources that we now think of as alternative forms of energy, wind, solar, and tidal power, for example, was used widely by early humans (Chauhan & Srivastava 2006, pp. 89-90). The first sailing ships, designed to make use of wind power, were probably built in Egypt in at least 3500 BC, if not much earlier. Early humans also used solar power to heat their homes. By 400, B.C, for example, many Greek cities were designed and built in such a way that most homes faced south, providing a dependable source of heat during the cool winter months. Water power was developed as source of energy in early cultures, where it was used to drive water wheels for the grinding of grain. In about 240 BC, as an example, Greek inventor Ctesibius of Alexandria invented a double action piston pump that was used to lift water from one level to another. Even tidal power, an energy resource only rarely used in the modern world, was being widely employed as a reliable source of energy in some, in some parts of northern Europe as early as the eighth century. The greatest transition The way most humans lived in the 17th century, was probably not a great deal different from the way they had lived for the preceding thousand years or more. People still relied on animals, wind power, water power, tidal power, solar power, and the power of their own muscles to carry out their daily tasks. About the only fuels available to them were wood or other forms of biomass. The term biomass refers more specifically to any form of organic matter that can be used as fuel, in which case it is sometimes also known as bio fuel. Historically, wood was used so widely as a fuel as well as for other purposes. The era of the industrial revolution created extensive need for energy. This saw the industrializing nations focus on the transition to the readily available fossil fuels for the source of energy and they forgot about the renewable sources. This project looks at the ways in which man can go back to using the early sources of energy. The people of Timor Leste will be at an advantage if they use and explore this route. Universal view of energy It is estimated that approximately three billion years of solar radiation has fallen on the earth’s surface, since the beginning of earth time. This premise leads to the conclusion that this time factor should relate in some proportion or fashion to the energy content equivalent of our fossil fuels, because the fossil fuels have originated from a previous life cycle of plants and animals. The total energy stored in all identified fossil fuels, for example, coal, oil, tar, sans, oil shale. It is estimated to equal to about 10E05 quads. Energy flow in environmental system The significance of energy in the affairs of the nations of the world can be best appreciated when it is realized that energy is involved in everything that happens on earth, and is used by all transportation, mobile earth and biological systems. The planet earth is essentially a closed material system that is composed of the 92 naturally occurring chemical elements. All, but a small fraction of the elements are non-radioactive, and hence obey laws of chemistry controlling the conservation of matter and non-transmutability of elements. The earth’s environment is constantly experiencing a complex and dynamic set of circumstances, which results in either continuous or intermittent circulation of those mobile components. Additionally, there are vast quantities of energy sources that are accessible by conventional or enhanced mining or drilling technologies. The consequence of the location, development, and utilization of energy sources is the basis that drives the science of energy. The world of energy encompasses the complete physical environment that includes environmental health, mineral exploration and exploitation, waste management, energy use and conservation, global change, environment law, natural and man-made hazard assessment, and land use planning. Because any discussion of jobs, technology, competitiveness and economic growth must consider the strategic role of energy, energy is vitally important to the nations of the world (Chauhan & Srivastava 2006, pp. 345-347). Energy production and utilization directly affect living standards and prosperity, and are at the heart of prosperity everywhere in the world. Energy production and utilization directly affect living standards and prosperity and at the heart of prosperity everywhere in the world. The world of energy has been slow to evolve, and major changes regarding consumption and production patterns, geographically are slow to take hold. Timor Leste will be amongst the first regions to explore this direction and can serve as an example to the rest of the world. The major consuming and producing countries at the end of 1990 remained in those positions, in 2010, and are projected to maintain positions through the first two decades of the 21st century. The historical perspective on energy is not significantly different from patterns observed earlier on. In the early stages of an ecological systems development, the maximization of energy flow through is a common response. But as the population of species begins to fill up its ecological habitant, it is forced to adapt to the carrying capacity of the environment by using less flow and using it more efficiently. The early stage of maximum flow through the environmental system using less energy is called the colonizing phase and the later stage of flow through is occasionally referred to as the climate phase. Humans have reached this last phase of habitation in terms of energy and material development. Time reflects the change in energy. The future of energy is rapidly changing in relation to technological advancement, but the energy vision for the future is clouded with uncertainty, and not clearly understood to benefit the environment and protect resources, the world has been planning, developing, and moving toward the use of clean fuels, in order to cut back on the 22 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions that reach the atmosphere each year as estimated by international energy agency based in Paris (Engineers without Borders Institute 2013). In this century and the next, the energy sector of Asia and the rest of the world will be shaped by an awareness of the environment and a search for cleaner fuel. The project on energy in Timor Leste will help in pioneering this goal. The pledging of billions of dollars to develop clean fuels and the development of a business platform that is linked to addressing environmental concerns are the top items on business agendas of the world’s biggest energy companies as of 2001. As an example, one large energy company developed a plan to spend over a half billion dollars by 2002 in renewable energy projects and research. In a similar fashion, another company planned to invest about billion dollars each year over the first decade of the 21st century in energy development. Japan, which imports almost all of its energy, pledged that half of its new homes would be powered by solar energy by 2010. In 2001, laboratories in Vancouver, Canada and elsewhere are continuing to develop and perfect cars that use fuel cells (types of energy cells that use natural gas, methanol, or hydrogen for fuel), and that produce little if any harmful effects to the environment. Several occurrences in 1999 occurred that are significant for the future of energy. One event was that several manufacturers of automobile signed large deals to bring electric cars in mass to the market by about 2005. In Japan and other countries, car makers have similar goals. While zero electric cars with limited range are already on the roads and hybrid cars are being developed by 2001. , the United States, and other countries require record quantities of fossil fuels for transportation, electricity, and other uses. As of January, for example, the United States was using about 710 million gallons of oil per day, and every 22 minutes, the United States used up the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill, which was approximately 11 million gallons. In 2001, the world is using about 2.73 billion gallons of oil per day, and also, about 31.5 billion gallons of oil are being transported by sea daily. In March 2001, the summer of nuclear power plants in the United States totaled hundred and three and supplied 20 percent of the United States electricity. The largest number of plants however exists in Western Europe, and specifically in France, where 80 percent of France’s electricity was generated by nuclear power in 2001. Because France has limited resources of fossil fuels, it embarked on a national program many years earlier to use nuclear power to generate the majority of the country’s electricity. Other countries must develop similar strategies if they are to prosper, as the risk from nuclear energy use is small on a world scale. Timor Leste is one of the countries that have taken an initiative to do this. In Reuters report, a much more advanced world energy future was discussed for various sectors of the world, past the year 2000. The report discussed the state of the world while highlighting Asia, a region where oil continues to reign as king well into the 21st century, and will reign for the next two decades. Many countries are expected in 21st century to expand their use of energy from sun and other renewable energy sources to change the state of living conditions. Between the decade of 1990 and 1999, the world’s total output of primary energy –petroleum, natural gas, coal, and electric power (hydro, nuclear, geothermal, and solar, wind, and wood waste-increased at an average annual rate of 0.99 percent. Petroleum which includes crude oil and natural gas plant liquids continuous to be the world’s most important primary energy source, accounting for about forty percent of total energy source (Engineers without borders 2013). The Middle East had the largest production gain, followed by Western Europe, and central and South America. In conclusion, Sustainable development can be broadly defined as living, producing and consuming in a manner that meets the requirements of the current without compromising the capability of future generations to fulfill their own needs. This project on energy in Timor Leste has fulfilled this definition. Energy resources exemplify these issues, reliable energy supply is essential in all economies for lighting, heating, communications, computers industrial equipment, transport, etc. purchases of energy account for 5-19 percent of gross national product in developed economies. However, in some developing countries, energy imports may have cost over half the value of total exports; such economies are sustainable and an economic challenge for sustainable development. World energy use increased more than tenfold over the 20th century, predominantly from fossil fuels that is coal, oil, and gas, and with the additional of electricity from nuclear power (Smil 2010, pp. 23-27). In the 21st century, further increases in the world of energy consumption can be expected, much for rising industrialization and demand in previously less developed countries, aggravated by gross inefficiencies in all countries, whatever the energy source, there is an overriding need for efficient generation and use of energy. List of references Engineers without Borders Institute, 2013, Energy, Viewed on20 May, 2013, http://www.ewb.org.au/explore/initiatives/ewbchallenge/ptl/ptl-design-areas/ptl-energy Chauhan, D. S., & Srivastava, S. K 2006, Non-conventional Energy Resources, New Age International (P) Ltd, New Delhi. Wiser, W. H 2000, Energy Resources: Occurrence, Production, Conversion, Use, Springer Calif, New York Smil, V 2010, Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects, Praeger, Calif, Santa Barbara. Read More