Energy Sources and Raw Materials: A Comprehensive Analysis

Energy Sources and Raw Materials

Alternative Energy Sources

Advantages: Inexhaustible, clean, and much cleaner than traditional sources. However, the technology is often poorly developed and therefore more expensive.

• Solar energy: Problems include daily and annual irregularity and difficult storage.
• Wind energy: The main problem is the irregularity of the wind.
• Biomass energy: A key issue is CO2 emissions.
• Tidal power: Problems include environmental changes and high cost.
• Geothermal energy: Highly localized in areas with volcanic activity.
• Nuclear fusion energy: Requires very high temperatures, and the onset and control of the nuclear reaction are still unresolved.

Raw Materials

Raw materials are natural resources, either organic or mineral.

They are classified into:

• Organic: Originating from living things, derived from agriculture, livestock, forestry, and fishing.
• Mineral: Coming from the earth's crust, including metals, nonmetals, and energy resources.

Production is concentrated in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, while consumption is focused on Western Europe, Japan, and the US. Trade is a major cause of the external debt of developing countries.

Energy Sources

Energy sources are natural resources that provide industry with the means to transform raw materials into finished products. They are classified according to:

• Duration:
  • Non-renewable: Depleted when used, such as coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium.
  • Renewable: Inexhaustible, such as solar, water, wind, and sea.
• Use:
  • Traditional: Most widely used and technologically advanced, such as coal, oil, natural gas, hydropower, and nuclear fission energy.
  • Alternative: Limited use due to ongoing research or high costs, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, tidal, and nuclear fusion.

Traditional Energy Sources

Coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear fission, and hydroelectric power.

Raw Materials in Europe

Europe is deficient in mineral raw materials like iron and other minerals, including titanium and tungsten. Europe is forced to import large quantities of mineral raw materials.

Energy Sources in Europe

• Coal: Russia
• Oil fields: North Sea and Russia
• Natural gas: Large deposits in Russia and the North Sea
• Nuclear energy: France, Germany, Russia
• Hydropower: Russia, Norway, and Sweden

Renewable Energies in Spain

Spain has scarce raw materials. The Spanish industry uses organic raw materials and minerals.

• Organic: Come from agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and forest exploitation.
• Mineral: Have lost the importance they once had. Currently, it produces metal ores (iron, lead, and zinc), nonmetallic minerals (industrial rock), and energy minerals (coal and uranium). Spain needs to import large quantities of minerals.

Energy Sources in Spain

Traditional energy sources are the basis of Spanish energy consumption. This consumption exceeds production, so imports are necessary.

• Coal basins: Asturias-León-Palencia
• Oil: Mostly imported
• Natural gas: Comes from Algeria, Nigeria, and Libya
• Nuclear and hydroelectric energy: Supply 100% of national needs
• Alternative energy: Increased, although its use is still low. The most widely used are wind, biomass, and solar.