Energy hallucination

[Denis Frith]

The recent electricity supply fiasco in South Australia is an instance of the unintended consequence of decisions made by people in governments around the world who do not understand the physical principles governing the supply of any form of energy for the operation of systems. The reality issues are:

1. energy is a property of materials so the consequences of energy flow should also take into account what happens to the materials. For example, the energy obtained from the combustion of fossil fuels causes the greenhouse gas emissions that have caused climate change.
2. energy irreversibly flows from source, the Sun, to sink, space, after doing work although it can be stored for a while, as chemical energy in fossil fuels for ages, as gravitational potential energy of water in hyro ponds for years and as electricity in batteries for a short while 
3. the concentrated energy in fossil fuels is energy capital that is being irreversibly used up by the systems of civilization
4. the energy of sunshine and winds is intermittent weak income that will continue to be available but it is misleading to call it 'renewable' energy as the systems using this energy irrevocably age
5. the supply of electrical energy is a major factor in the operation of the systems of industrialized civilization but the supply of chemical energy in the fuels for land, sea and air vehicles is another major factor. The crude oil that provides these fuels is irreversibly running out. Solar and wind systems cannot possible this form of energy.

The decision makers around the globe need to take these fundamental physical principles into account if society is to comfortably power down as reality hits home.

Incorporation of solar and wind systems into the electricty supply is a sound policy for easing the impact of the like of coal power stations on the climate but application of the policy needs to be based on understanding of the physical issues noted above.

 

Denis Frith