ENERGY SOURCE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES STORABILITY FUTURE AVAILABILITY Biomass • variable composition and energy content (oil, alcohol, plant material) • low energy density • infrastructure required • oil and alcohol stored in tanks, dry plant matter in bins or silos with monitoring • indefinite as long as land, water, and sun are available; world max. supply; 13 (1012 Watts) Water (tidal,hydro) • energy content depends on kinetic or potential energy content • reservoirs can be used to store energy for release later • finite suitable locations limit potential; world max. supply; 4.0 (1012 Watts) Geothermal • energy content determined by temperature and pressure • continuous supply available at resource site • finite suitable locations limit potential; world max. supply; 0.06 (1012 Watts) Wind • energy content and availability function of wind velocity • not storable, external devices (e.g. batteries) needed, usually with significant reduction in efficiency • finite suitable locations limit potential; world max supply; 0.1 (1012 Watts) • major technical difficulties with large scale applications
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