Energy Management, New Energy Resources and Fracking: Revision Notes

These notes condense sub-topics 1.5 (conservation and management of energy resources) and 1.6 (fracking) of Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management (0680) for exams in 2027 to 2029. Examiners ask you to describe named strategies and then discuss their benefits and limitations, so every item below has both. For the full explanation, use the Energy Management and Fracking study guide; the rest of Topic 1 is in the Natural Resources revision notes.

1.5.1 The eight named strategies

Strategy	Example	+	–
Reducing consumption	Switch off devices, lower thermostat	Free, immediate	Depends on behaviour
Insulation	Loft, cavity wall, double glazing	Less heat lost, lower bills	Up-front cost
Energy-efficient devices	LED bulbs, efficient appliances, electric and fuel-efficient vehicles	Same service, less energy	Higher purchase price
Exploiting existing energy resources	Fuller, more efficient use of reserves and plant already in place	Uses existing infrastructure	Prolongs fossil fuel use
Education on energy conservation	Campaigns, energy labels, school programmes	Cheap, long-term change	Slow, hard to measure
Transport policies	Public transport, cycle lanes, congestion charges	Less fuel, cleaner air	Costly, can be unpopular
Battery storage	Store surplus solar and wind electricity	Smooths out intermittency	Expensive; needs mined materials
Development of new energy resources	Hydrogen, heat pumps	Less fossil fuel dependence	Research and infrastructure costs

Memory hook: three are about using less (reducing consumption, insulation, efficient devices), two about behaviour and policy (education, transport policies), and three about supply (existing resources, storage, new resources).

1.5.2 New energy resources

Resource	How it is produced or works	+	–
Blue hydrogen	Produced from natural gas; carbon dioxide captured and stored	Uses existing gas supply and network	Still fossil-fuel based; carbon capture costly
Green hydrogen	Produced using renewable resources (renewable electricity splits water)	Very low emissions	Expensive; needs lots of renewable power
Ground source heat pump	Transfers heat from the ground via buried pipes to heat buildings	Steady output; no on-site emissions	Installation cost; needs land to dig
Air source heat pump	Transfers heat from the outside air to heat buildings	Easier to fit than ground source	Less efficient in very cold weather; needs good insulation

Hydrogen’s only product when used is water, but it is difficult to store and transport. Heat pumps are not geothermal power stations: they work anywhere.

1.6 Fracking

Definition (learn word for word): fracking is the extraction of natural gas or petroleum from shale rock by hydraulic fracturing.

Process: drill down then horizontally into shale → pump in water, sand and chemicals at high pressure → rock cracks → sand props cracks open → gas or oil flows up the well. Shale is impermeable, so fracturing is needed to release it.

Benefits	Limitations
Energy security, fewer imports	Still a fossil fuel; carbon dioxide emissions
Jobs and tax revenue	Small earthquakes (induced seismicity)
Gas replacing coal cuts emissions	Groundwater contamination risk
Can lower energy prices	Very high water use; wastewater disposal
Uses existing gas pipelines	Methane leaks; noise, traffic and visual impact

England paused fracking with a moratorium in 2019 after tremors at a Lancashire site.

How 1.5 and 1.6 connect to the rest of Topic 1

• Demand (1.4.5) drives management (1.5): transport, wealth, climate, population size and industry raise demand; reducing consumption, efficiency and transport policies tackle the same factors from the other side.
• Intermittency (1.4.4) drives storage: solar and wind vary with the weather, which is why battery storage and hydrogen appear as management strategies.
• Shale permeability (1.1.4) explains fracking (1.6): gas held in impermeable shale only flows once the rock is fractured.
• Finite resources (1.3.1): fracking extends finite fossil fuel supplies; 1.5 strategies make them last longer or replace them.

Use these links in longer answers: a source showing rising energy demand can be answered with 1.5 strategies, and a question on energy security can bring in fracking on one side and new energy resources on the other.

Worked example: a “discuss” answer

“Discuss the benefits and limitations of using battery storage to manage energy resources.” [4]

• Benefit: stores surplus electricity from solar and wind for use when output is low [1], reducing the need for fossil fuel back-up [1].
• Limitation: large batteries are expensive [1], and making them needs mined materials such as lithium, with environmental impacts [1].

Exam traps

• Writing “fracking is drilling for oil” — no shale, no hydraulic fracturing, no mark.
• Swapping blue (natural gas) and green (renewable) hydrogen.
• Calling a heat pump geothermal power.
• Giving only benefits when the question says “discuss the benefits and limitations”.
• Claiming electric vehicles cause no pollution — the electricity may come from fossil fuels.

Self-test

1. Give the syllabus definition of fracking.
2. Name three strategies from 1.5.1 that reduce demand.
3. What is blue hydrogen produced from?
4. State one limitation of a ground source heat pump.
5. Give two environmental limitations of fracking.

Answers: 1. The extraction of natural gas or petroleum from shale rock by hydraulic fracturing. 2. Any three of reducing consumption, insulation, energy-efficient devices, education, transport policies. 3. Natural gas. 4. High installation cost, or it needs land for buried pipes. 5. Any two of earthquakes, groundwater contamination, high water use, methane leaks, carbon dioxide emissions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the syllabus definition of fracking in Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management 0680? Fracking is the extraction of natural gas or petroleum from shale rock by hydraulic fracturing. Answers that leave out shale rock or the hydraulic fracturing process miss the definition.

What is the difference between blue and green hydrogen? Blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas, while green hydrogen comes from renewable sources. Swapping the two is a common exam trap. When hydrogen is used its only product is water, but it is difficult to store and transport.

Is a heat pump the same as geothermal power? No. Calling a heat pump geothermal power is a common exam trap.

Do electric vehicles cause no pollution? No. Claiming electric vehicles cause no pollution is an exam trap, because the electricity they use may come from fossil fuels.

Related: Rocks, energy management and fracking practice questions