Waypoint 1
I am documenting my own journey into & through the global Energy Transition movement. Along this renewable path, I am marking waypoints to capture and share my insights with those on similar paths.
It’s been 3 months now since I first started digging into this space and I have been reeling from learning just how big it is. Here is the first batch of unexpected ideas and topics that are helping shape my understanding of the Energy Transition movement:
Nuclear energy is technically clean energy
I had grown up thinking nuclear power was just a terrible idea, mostly because of the (relatively infrequent) disasters that continue to plague the industry. But the core technology does not burn any fossil fuels and therefore does not contribute to the current climate crisis. There are other hazards to consider related to producing nuclear powered electricity and investors and scientists are currently looking at better alternatives.
All fossil fuels are technically renewable
This was another revelation for a newbie like me. It took our planet millions of years to create what we now regularly harvest as oil, coal and natural gas and the planet will continue to do so - just not at a pace that can even remotely keep up with our insatiable appetite for immediate and convenient energy. We are on pace to blow through these once-vast reserves in a matter of only a few 100 years!
Like with real estate, energy production is all about location, location, location
Coal rose up to dominate energy generation replacing hydropower because it could be transported easily to remote towns and cities (where it could then be burned to generate steam power). Solar and wind energy are quickly gaining prominence in this century but suffer from the same problems that hydro power does: it is not always convenient to connect the physical source of the power to where it’s needed most. This is driving a great deal of activity (not all positive) in the areas of energy transmission and energy storage.
People will protest any/all forms of energy
I am somewhat familiar with the fervent and persistent protests around efforts to drill for new sources of oil & gas in our national parks and the related threats those and related pipeline projects pose to both humans and animals as well as the damage that can befall the affected ecosystems. But my naive brain just assumed that clean, renewable energy alternatives would not have such detractors. Well, I was wrong and there are definitely other groups that are vehemently opposed to “unsightly wind turbines” and that are equally vocal about the hazards that solar collectors pose to birds for example. Energy is and will always be a sensitive topic.