Geo 2026: Energy demand, supply and security

Primary energy: used as it is found, such as coal. Secondary energy: made from primary energy, such as petrol from oil or electricity.
Supply: the energy produced. Demand: the energy needed.
Energy security: a reliable supply, with supply greater than demand. Energy insecurity: an unreliable supply, with demand greater than supply.
Energy gap: the difference between energy produced and energy required.
Surplus: more than enough, so some can be sold. Deficit: not enough, so energy must be imported.

Wealth: richer countries use more energy (bigger houses, more cars and technology).
Population growth: more energy for food, transport and electricity.
Technology: new devices raise demand, but efficiency and environmental policies can reduce fossil fuel use.
Some countries have resources but rely on foreign companies' money and technology to use them: Niger has mined uranium for decades, mostly through foreign firms such as France's Orano, and exports it rather than using it for its own power. Some oil is trapped in rock and needs specialist equipment.

Political and social: climate agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions; safety concerns about nuclear power and waste; wars can cut exports (oil exports fell sharply during the Gulf War).
Economic: fossil fuel prices go up and down; new power stations and wind farms are very expensive for LICs; fossil fuels get harder and costlier to extract.
Environmental: fossil fuels are unevenly distributed; climate and geography decide the potential for solar, wind, tidal and HEP; natural hazards can damage infrastructure.

Think of energy like a household budget. Supply is the energy produced. Demand is the energy needed by homes, factories and transport.
If supply is reliably bigger than demand, the country has energy security: the lights stay on and any surplus can be sold. If demand is bigger than supply, there is an energy gap. The country has a deficit, must import energy and faces energy insecurity, because a war, a price rise or a supplier stopping exports could cause shortages.
Why does the gap change? Demand rises as people get richer (more cars, devices, bigger homes) and as population grows. Supply depends on politics (wars, climate agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol), cost (new power stations are expensive) and geography (where fuels are found and how sunny or windy it is).
Example from your notes: an energy gap can open when fossil fuel power stations are closed but renewables do not yet produce enough to replace them.

Mixing up energy security and energy insecurity: security means supply is greater than demand; insecurity means demand is greater than supply.
Calling electricity primary energy: electricity is secondary because it is made from other sources such as coal, gas or wind.
Writing 'the energy gap is a lack of energy': define it fully as the difference between energy produced and energy required.
Listing factors without sorting them: group supply factors as political/social, economic and environmental, and give an example of each (Gulf War, fuel prices, earthquakes).
Forgetting the link to imports: a country with a deficit must import energy, which makes it depend on other countries.

Two examples of an energy gap from your class material:
1. India faces rising demand for energy but struggles to keep up (your Lesson 9 Do Now).
2. A country phases out fossil fuels but its renewables do not yet produce enough to meet requirements (your revision notes).
Nuclear and regulation: your notes say concerns over safety, such as nuclear power stations and nuclear waste disposal, have led to tighter regulations, so it is now harder to build new power stations.
Technology works both ways: it can raise supply (specialist equipment reaches oil trapped in rock; breakthroughs such as green hydrogen could change supply) and it can cut demand (more efficient appliances, insulation and vehicles). Education and environmental policies can also limit a country's use of fossil fuels.