True / False Test your knowledge of energy: try all of the "True/False" questions in Alternatives magazine
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The only way to lessen European dependency on Russian gas is to build major pipelines that bypass Russia.
Alternatives magazine n° 20, 2nd quarter 2009False!
Importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) by sea significantly supplements land-based systems and gives greater control over Europe's supply logistics. Currently, LNG represents 10% of that supply. In 2020, forecasters see that rising to about 20%, a multiplication factor of 2.5. The major advantages to LNG are greater diversity of supply, reliable long-term contracts and more competitive transportation. Source: GDF Suez Read related article -
In Europe, acceptance of nuclear power goes hand-in-hand with an operational nuclear power program.
Alternatives magazine n° 20, 2nd quarter 2009False!
But the Eurobarometer also makes it clear that a good level of information on is also necessary, whether or not the country has operating nuclear power plants. Read related article -
Electric power plants using biomass do not release greenhouse gases
Alternatives magazine n° 19, 3rd quarter 2008False!
The combustion of organic matter always emits CO2 and water. In fact, electricity generated with wood releases 1.5 metric tons of CO2 per MWh, or three times more than a combined-cycle gas plant. However, these CO2 emissions are part of the natural carbon cycle responsible for the greenhouse effect that enabled life to develop on Earth. Without the atmosphere, the average temperature on Earth would be -18 °C instead of +15 °C. In the case of biomass, since the atoms are reabsorbed during plant growth, the CO2 footprint of industrial uses of biomass is considered neutral, as long as natural resources are used rationally. Read related article -
Demand is not always highest in winter
Alternatives magazine n° 16, 4th quarter 2007True!
In recent years, peak demand has shifted from winter to summer in southern Europe. This trend matches that of a number of states in North America. This was particularly true in the summer of 2005, when heat waves impacted both supply and demand of electricity in Europe: air conditioning has become a significant part of summer demand. Read related article -
Are Americans the world's biggest energy consumers?
Alternatives magazine n° 13, 1st quarter 2007False!
The world's leading consumer of primary energy is Qatar, with per capita consumption in 2003 of 24.35 toe, versus 7.98 toe for an American. This astronomical figure is explained by the country's extreme oil wealth and small population. Read related article -
NYMEX, the leading exchange for petroleum products, started out in dairy products.
Alternatives magazine n° 12, 3rd quarter 2006True!
NYMEX was originally the Butter and Cheese Exchange of New York. It was founded in 1872 by a group of dairy merchants to standardize trading on this market. Ten years later, it began to trade other agricultural commodities and was renamed the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). It no longer trades in agricultural commodities, having refocused on its core business of industrial products, primarily energy commodities (including oil) and metals, especially gold. Read related article -
All industrial methods of generating electricity supply alternating current.
Alternatives magazine n° 12, 3rd quarter 2006False!
Solar panels convert solar energy into direct current, making an inverter necessary to produce alternating current that can be used in a commercial or domestic power system. The same is true for fuel cells. Read related article -
Deregulation of the electricity market only concerns network operation and access.
Alternatives magazine n° 11, 1st quarter 2006False!
It also applies to production capacities. Private European operators are consequently eager to participate in developing nuclear power, especially in France. Operators from the oil industry have launched gas-fired power plant projects to complement existing capacities. Not forgetting wind power of course, for which numerous operators are private companies. Read related article -
It is easier to transmit alternating current than direct current.
Alternatives magazine n° 10, 4th quarter 2005True!
With alternating current, it is simple and cheap to change the network voltage, both upstream and downstream, by using transformers to minimize the current to be transmitted therefore allowing cable cross-section and losses to be minimized. Read related article -
Vehicles fueled by natural gas are a recent invention.
Alternatives magazine n° 9, 3rd quarter 2005False!
Vehicles fueled by natural gas (especially the so-called "gasifier" trucks) have been travelling the roads of Europe and North America since the 1920s, although it is true to say that development didn't really take off until the 1970s. Read related article -
The intensified use of biomass should allow the energy needs of developing countries to be satisfied.
Alternatives magazine n° 8, 1st quarter 2005False!
The modernization of industry in those countries and their demand for electricity, largely caused by galloping urbanization, will require energy sources that are more efficient and that can be supplied more regularly, such as fossil fuels or nuclear power. Read related article -
Biofuels do not perform as well as conventional fuels.
Alternatives magazine n° 8, 1st quarter 2005True!
The energy content of biofuels (the quantity needed to produce the same amount of energy as a fossil fuel) is generally lower: it takes 1.52 times as much ethanol to produce as much energy as gasoline, but only 1.06 times as much biodiesel fuel to produce as much as diesel. Read related article -
Hydrogen gas was used for lighting in the 19th century.
Alternatives magazine n° 7, 4th quarter 2004True!
Hydrogen was used in lamps and also in the "city gas system", where it was mixed with carbon monoxide in the proportion 50 to 60%. This mixture was phased out, not because of its hydrogen content, but because of the extreme toxicity of carbon monoxide. Read related article -
The fuel cell was invented after the storage cell.
Alternatives magazine n° 7, 4th quarter 2004False!
The fuel cell was discovered in 1839 by William Grove, an English lawyer and electrochemistry enthusiast, twenty years before the Frenchman Gaston Planté invented the lead storage cell, the oldest type of electrical battery, which is still standard equipment in most of our vehicles! Read related article -
Legally speaking, used fuel is not considered to be waste in Europe.
Alternatives magazine n° 6, 3rd quarter 2004True!
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) does not include used fuel in its definition of waste, since it still has usable energy potential (unused uranium and plutonium). Read related article
