B. Natural Resources Around the World: Use and Sustainability · Natural Resources Around the World: Use and Sustainability

Making Electricity: Different Choices in Different Regions

B1.1 B3.1 B3.2About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain why different regions make electricity in different ways.
I can connect a region's electricity sources to its physical features and resources.
I can compare the advantages and disadvantages of different ways of making electricity.

Words to know

electricity generation
Making electricity, usually by spinning a turbine connected to a generator.

hydroelectricity
Electricity made by moving water turning turbines, often at a dam or waterfall.

nuclear power
Electricity made using heat from splitting uranium atoms to make steam.

geothermal energy
Heat from inside Earth, used to heat buildings or make electricity.

thermal power plant
A plant that burns fuel (coal, natural gas, oil) to boil water into steam that turns turbines.

energy mix
The combination of different sources a region uses to make its electricity.

Remember from Grade 6 science

In Grade 6 science you learned that most electricity is made by spinning a turbine attached to a generator, and that each source (falling water, wind, sun, burning fuel, nuclear) has impacts. In geography we ask a different question: Why does each region choose the sources it does? The answer usually has to do with physical features and which resources are nearby.

How most power plants work: something pushes a turbine, the turbine spins a generator, and the generator makes electricity.

Hook: same need, different answers

Every country needs electricity. But a home in Norway, one in France and one in Poland may get it from completely different sources. Why? Because each place has different land, water, rock and history.

Water rushes out of the spillway of a large concrete dam on a wide northern river, with transmission towers nearby. — A hydroelectric dam uses falling water to spin turbines. Regions with big rivers and steep drops, like much of Canada and Norway, often choose hydro. AI-generated image

Region	Main source(s) of electricity	Physical features or resources that help explain it
Norway	Hydroelectricity (most of its electricity)	Mountains, lots of rain and snow, steep rivers and fjords
Iceland	Hydroelectricity and geothermal (almost all its electricity)	Volcanic island with hot rock near the surface, plus glaciers and steep rivers
France	Nuclear power (most of its electricity)	Few coal, oil or gas deposits of its own, so since the 1970s it built many nuclear plants
Poland	Coal (its main source for many years)	Large coal deposits in the south of the country
Denmark	Wind (its largest single source)	Low, flat land with strong winds from the North Sea; shallow coastal waters for offshore wind farms
Quebec	Hydroelectricity (almost all its electricity)	Many large rivers flowing off the Canadian Shield
Ontario	Nuclear (largest share), plus hydroelectricity, natural gas, wind and solar	Uranium available in Canada, lake water for cooling, rivers like the Niagara for hydro

Each region's energy mix is shaped by its physical features and resources. (Shares change over time; this table describes the main sources.)

Each region's main source of electricity, and the physical feature or resource that helps explain it.

Thinking about the trade-offs

Fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil): can make electricity any time it's needed, but burning them releases greenhouse gases and, especially for coal, air pollution. Ontario stopped making electricity from coal in 2014, in part to cut smog.
Hydroelectricity: a flow resource with no smoke, but big dams can flood large areas of land, including the traditional lands of First Nations, and change rivers and fish habitat.
Nuclear: no smoke and steady power, but it produces radioactive waste that must be stored safely for a very long time, and plants are very expensive to build.
Wind and solar: flow resources with no fuel to burn, but they only work when the wind blows or the sun shines, so they need backup or storage, and they need space.
Geothermal: steady and clean, but only practical where hot rock is close to the surface, as in volcanic regions.

A geographer's question

Whenever you see how a place makes its electricity, ask: What is it about this place? Look at its rock, rivers, climate, coastline and history.

Worked example

Let's explain Norway's choice

Why does Norway make most of its electricity with hydroelectricity?

Look at the landforms: Norway is very mountainous, with steep valleys and fjords.
Look at the climate: winds from the Atlantic Ocean bring a lot of rain and snow, so rivers have lots of water.
Connect them: lots of water falling steeply from mountains = lots of energy for hydroelectric turbines.
Check the alternatives: Norway does have oil and gas under the North Sea, but it can export much of it because hydroelectricity meets most of its electricity needs.

Norway's mountains and heavy precipitation give it many steep, full rivers, which are ideal for hydroelectricity. Its physical features explain its energy mix.

Just for fun

Funny but true: Iceland makes some of its electricity from the hot rock of a volcanic island. Now that's a hot topic in geography!

Hands-on activity

Where does my electricity come from?

With a grown-up, find out how electricity is made in your province or territory. You can look at your local electricity company's website or your provincial government's energy page.

List the main sources and, if given, their approximate shares.
For each source, write one physical feature or resource of your province that helps explain it.
Walk around your home and count how many things are plugged in. Pick three you could unplug or switch off more often.

Look for: at least three sources named with a sensible link to geography (for example, Ontario: nuclear power plants on the Great Lakes; hydro on the Niagara River).

Your turn

Why does Iceland use a lot of geothermal energy?

Name one advantage and one disadvantage of hydroelectric dams.

Why do wind farms need a backup source of electricity?

What is an energy mix?

Why might Poland have relied heavily on coal?

What year did Ontario stop making electricity from coal?

Why is Quebec well suited to hydroelectricity?

More practice: warm-up

Which country makes most of its electricity from nuclear power: France or Norway?

Is wind a renewable, non-renewable or flow resource?

What does a turbine attached to a generator make?

What waste do nuclear power plants produce that must be stored carefully?

Name the source of geothermal energy.

More practice: on your own

Denmark is flat. Why is that not a problem for its electricity, but would be for hydroelectricity?

Why might a country with few fossil fuels of its own choose nuclear power, as France did?

Give one reason burning coal for electricity is a problem for both health and climate.

Why are Ontario's nuclear plants located on the shores of the Great Lakes?

Explain why solar power is more useful in a desert region than in a very cloudy region.

Challenge

A remote northern community runs on diesel generators. Suggest two other sources it could add and one challenge for each.

Two regions both have strong winds, but only one has many wind farms. Suggest two geographic or economic reasons.

Explain how the same physical feature, a big river, can be seen as a resource by a power company and as something to protect by others.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which country makes most of its electricity from hydroelectricity because of its mountains and heavy rain and snow?

Why does Iceland use geothermal energy?

Which is a disadvantage of large hydroelectric dams?

Why do wind and solar power need backup or storage?

Ontario stopped making electricity from coal in which year?

Which source provides Ontario's largest share of electricity?

For parents and teachers

How to help: Look at your electricity bill or your utility's website together. Ask "Why does our province use these sources?" Connect each source to a river, a lake, a mineral or the climate.

Common difficulties:

Mixing up sources (wind, uranium) with devices (turbines, generators).
Thinking one source is perfect. Every source has trade-offs; push your child to give both sides.
Forgetting physical features. The Grade 7 focus is why this region, so keep asking "What about the land, water or climate?"

Note: exact shares of each source change from year to year, so the lesson describes main sources rather than exact percentages.