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Building Back Better
BBB - Endless, Cheap Energy
2020-11-20
This might sound preposterous, especially if you didn’t keep up with renewable energy developments over the last few years. Between and wind, , , , and of solar panels, there is a vast revolution brewing in energy circles.
For this post, I am going to assume that the world will in a fairly short period of time, have an abundant supply of cheap energy. Want I want to think about, is what can we do with all that energy.
Stop this
Subsidising and investing in fossil fuels, implement a carbon tax. Fossil fuels cause massive damage to the environment, and to people’s health. A carbon tax will enable renewable energy to compete in a fair competition. Investors should realise that long term investments into fossil fuels will just not pay off. In the short term yes, but eventually the industry will collapse catastrophically.
Start this
The existing electricty grid in the USA, and elsewhere in the world, is in Doing this upgrade should be done taking into full account the modern electricity environment.
However, a smart electricity grid is not the only way to transmit energy. There is a growing move towards hydrogen, both as a fuel, as well as a storage medium. BUT YOU LOOSE SO MUCH ENERGY!! So what, if energy is dirt cheap? Generate excess solar, wind and anything else. Store some , and convert as much as you can into hydrogen.
And then do this
Hydrogen is used in a multitude of areas, not only as a fuel for vehicles, but as a feedstock for many chemical process: , , and replacement of
for making steel, etc. Replacing gray hydrogen (created using polluting energy and feedstocks) with green hydrogen (made with renewable energy and water), will save a large amount of carbon.Hydrogen as energy will work better in heavy duty environments like trucking and trains. Several projects are being tested, and implemented. It can also replace natural gas as a source of energy for homes and offices.
where there currently is little or none. Not only is there nearly a billion people without access to clean water, but the process can also be used in , to provide produce throughout the year.
helps to bring power to rural communities throughout the developing world. It brings many benefits to those communities that we in the developed world take for granted:
Refrigeration allows the storage of food for longer periods, both store bought and home produced and in commercial environments. About one third of food produced in the developing world is lost due to a lack of adequate storage infrastructure.
Lighting enables longer days, enabling studying for children (and adults) in the evenings, longer work days when needed.
Electricity powers not only power tools that enables physical work improvement, but also connections to the internet and wireless phone technology. And in turn, this creates major economic opportunities. , and is still a big influence. And with mobile banking, I do not mean an app that connects you to your bank, but an app that replaces your bank and credit/debit card. It allows for person to person transactions. And I can send money from Atlanta to Kenya in a few minutes, compared to the five days it takes for bank transfers from one USA bank to another. Rural farmers also uses their phones to help each other solve agricultural problems, or to before harvesting.
But for me, the most exciting things to be done with cheap energy, are those that nobody has thought about yet. Think back to the beginning of the commercial internet, less than 30 years ago. Nobody would have though of Amazon, Google Maps, Wikipedia or a 1000 other innovations.
Here’s to a bright future.
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