Non-renewable means that we can't easily make more. It is energy that we can't renew or replace easily.
Energy from Petrol and Oil
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Oil can be dug up from under the ground or from beneath the sea. Oil can be turned into petrol which is called refining. Then the petrol can be burnt in engines to power cars, trucks and buses.
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Much of the world's oil comes from the Middle East (see map on left). Australia is lucky enough to have oil below the sea in Bass Straight (near Tasmania) and below the sea at the North West Shelf off Western Australia. The picture on the right shows an off-shore platform for mining oil from beneath the sea.
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Natural Gas
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Natural Gas can also be dug up from under the ground or from beneath the sea like oil (petrol). Natural gas can be burnt in houses to provide warmth, heat water for the house and to cook. It can also be burnt in engines to power cars and other vehicles. |
Energy from Coal |
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Coal is another fuel that is dug up from under the ground. It can be burnt in fire places to produce heat.
It is also burnt in most of Australia’s power stations to produce the electricity that we all use.
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It took nature millions of years to turn dead plants and animals into oil (petrol), natural gas and coal. This is why these fuels are called “fossil fuels”. Eventually all of these fossil fuels will have been used up and cannot be replaced. That is why these fuels are non-renewable.
Nuclear Energy
 All things are made of millions of tiny atoms. Atoms are too small for us to see. There is lots of energy in each atom holding it together. It is possible to break atoms apart and use some of this energy to make electricity.
Australia does not have any nuclear power stations although many other countries do use them.
Some atoms are easier to break apart than others. Uranium is a metal that is used for nuclear energy because it has atoms that break apart fairly easily. Australia has about 40% of the world's known uranium.
 This sign is put on nuclear things because they can be very poisonous.
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