Renewable energy is a joke. I just received the latest numbers on the growth of renewables worldwide and the breakdown of total world energy consumption by supply. For the renewable gang it is not encouraging. The headline sounds good "Renewables supply 16.7% of global energy consumption". While that number sounds impressive, once you look at the breakdown it is less so. Let's look at it.
Global energy consumption from fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas is 80.6%. An additional 2.7% is from nuclear power. That leaves the 16.7% from renewables. Not too bad you say? Not so fast. of the 16.7%, 8.5% is from "traditional biomass". That means all the subsistance farmers who are cutting down the forest or using dung for cooking fuel. This source has been used for centuries. Lumping it in as a renewable is really laughable since it is difficult to measure and it is outside the traditional energy uses. I would consider traditional (acceptable) uses of energy as 1) energy for electric power 2) Energy for transportation fuels 3) Energy for heating but I digress.
Removing the 8.5% "traditional biomass" you are left with 91.8 % of energy use from fossil fuels or nuclear. Of that 3.3% is hot water from biomass/geothermal/solar, 3.3% is hydro, .9% is power from wind/solar/biomass/geothermal and .7% is biofuels.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not against renewables as an energy source. There are many places on the planet where renewables make sense and alternative fuels will make an impact sooner rather than later. However, for the greenies to eliminate fossil fuels from the mix is not only unrealistic but it is impossible in the near term. Societies have been built on relatively cheap energy and our lifestyle and standard of living is based on that. That is why most emerging societies are trying to emulate the success of the western world. They want what we have and they will need energy to get there.
We are learning about conservation, energy efficiency, waste management, recycling and "smart" technology all of which will contribute to the overall energy picture. Ending the use of fossil fuels is not in the cards.
Global energy consumption from fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas is 80.6%. An additional 2.7% is from nuclear power. That leaves the 16.7% from renewables. Not too bad you say? Not so fast. of the 16.7%, 8.5% is from "traditional biomass". That means all the subsistance farmers who are cutting down the forest or using dung for cooking fuel. This source has been used for centuries. Lumping it in as a renewable is really laughable since it is difficult to measure and it is outside the traditional energy uses. I would consider traditional (acceptable) uses of energy as 1) energy for electric power 2) Energy for transportation fuels 3) Energy for heating but I digress.
Removing the 8.5% "traditional biomass" you are left with 91.8 % of energy use from fossil fuels or nuclear. Of that 3.3% is hot water from biomass/geothermal/solar, 3.3% is hydro, .9% is power from wind/solar/biomass/geothermal and .7% is biofuels.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not against renewables as an energy source. There are many places on the planet where renewables make sense and alternative fuels will make an impact sooner rather than later. However, for the greenies to eliminate fossil fuels from the mix is not only unrealistic but it is impossible in the near term. Societies have been built on relatively cheap energy and our lifestyle and standard of living is based on that. That is why most emerging societies are trying to emulate the success of the western world. They want what we have and they will need energy to get there.
We are learning about conservation, energy efficiency, waste management, recycling and "smart" technology all of which will contribute to the overall energy picture. Ending the use of fossil fuels is not in the cards.
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