The Find: One veteran energy observer insists we’re going to have to break our addiction to oil sooner rather than later and suggests seven real world ways we can move away from fossil fuels.- The Source: Energy analyst Chris Nelder writing on Business Insider’s Green Sheet.
The Takeaway: One year ago oil was $145 a barrel and as the New York Times notes today, prices may be down but worryingly for business volatility sure isn’t, and if Nelder is to be believed, that’s likely to continue to be the case going forward. Why? Nelder doesn’t pull any punches to avoid alarming readers, saying “Credible models show that by the end of this century, essentially all of the fossil fuels on earth will be consumed—oil, natural gas, and coal.”
So what does Nelder suggest we do to tackle this looming energy problem? First, he reassures us it can be done, soothingly noting that “there is more than enough available renewable energy to meet all of our needs, if we can harness it.” Second, he lays out seven ways we can get there from here:
- Rail: Rail should be Priority 1, and should be granted the largest portion of public funding.
- Rooftop Solar PV: Utility scale projects like giant solar farms in the desert and giant wind farms in the Midwest (or offshore) all face serious hurdles in siting, permitting, environmental impact, and transmission capability. Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar systems face no such issues and can be deployed right now, building capacity incrementally over time.
- Alternative Vehicles: Since reconfiguring our urban topology around transit and deploying light rail will take decades, we will need some transitional solutions that still allow us to get around in cars for a good many years.
- Efficiency: Most of the efficiency gains we can make are thermal - reducing the energy it takes to heat and cool buildings.
- Utility Scale Renewables: We’ll need large solar plants across the Southwest, and huge wind farms in the Midwest and offshore.
- A Beefier, Smarter Grid: The good news is that we already have most of the technologies we need in this area. All that we lack is the will and the funding to put it in place.
- Keep Drilling: If we back off too much too soon from oil and gas production, it could leave us without adequate or reasonably priced fuel to accomplish this transformation, and sink the entire effort.
For much more on the challenges and possibilities of a radically different energy future, as well as an elaboration of Nelder’s seven ideas, check out the though provoking post and the accompanying slide show.
The Question: Should mainstream business be worried about (and therefore planning for) the future of energy?
(Image of silly human solar panel by agentdeclan, CC 2.0)
