A town council needs a new power station. It could build a gas-fired power station, a wind farm or a tidal barrage.
The Table shows information about the three options.
Table
| Option | Maximum power output in MW\text{MW}MW | Percentage of time producing electricity in %\%% | Carbon dioxide released in g\text{g}g per kWh\text{kWh}kWh | Cost to build in £ million |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gas-fired power station | 800 | 90 | 400 | 600 |
| wind farm | 600 | 30 | 0 | 900 |
| tidal barrage | 400 | 40 | 0 | 3000 |
Compare the three options and recommend which one the council should build.
Use the data in the Table and your own knowledge in your answer.
16 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Physics 8.2 Powering Earth, covering 8.2.1 Renewable and non-renewable energy resources, 8.2.2 Patterns and trends in energy use, 8.2.3 The national grid, 8.2.4 Step-up and step-down transformers, 8.2.5 Efficiency of the national grid, 8.2.6 Transformers and power transmission at high voltage, 8.2.7 The UK domestic supply, 8.2.8 Direct and alternating potential difference, 8.2.9 Live, neutral and earth wires, and 8.2.10 Dangers of mains electricity. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.