Скачать или смотреть Does the Energy Transition have a High Risk for Severe Environmental Issues (KEF#11)

#energytransition #climatechange #energy #science

What is the key requirement for recognizing the true environmental impact of a technology? How can basic science inform us about the resource intensities of the different energy technologies? What do resource intensities tell us about the risk for severe environmental impact?
Energy expert, Dr Tushar Choudhary will address these questions and more in this episode.

References & Notes
• American Chemical Society, Chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone depletion.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Energy
• Our World in Data. Plastic Pollution.
• UN Environment Program. Global Chemicals Outlook II, From Legacies to Innovative solutions (2019).
• UN Environment program. The state of plastics. World Environment Day outlook (2018).
• UN Environment. The state of plastics. World Environment Day outlook (2018).
• Directive 2003/30/EC of the European Parliament on the promotion of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport.
• Technical report for EU commission. Study on the environmental impact of palm oil consumption.
• European Parliament resolution of 4 April 2017 on palm oil and deforestation of rainforests.
• J. R. Fleming, Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union 79, 405 (1998).
• E. Hawkins, P.D. Jones, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 139, 1961 (2013).
• United Nations: From Stockholm to Kyoto- A brief history of climate change.
• American Institute of Physics. A history of global warming.
• Our World in data. Global primary energy consumption by source using the substitution method.
• IEA Global EV outlook 2023. Trends in electric light-duty vehicles.
• Our World in Data. Global direct energy consumption.
• “Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center”. T. Boden, D. Andres, Oakridge National Laboratory BP Statistical review of World energy 2021.
• E. Hawkins, P.D. Jones, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 139, 1961 (2013).
• EMBER. Electricity data.
• International Energy Agency Report, 2021. Net zero by 2050: A roadmap for the energy sector.
• International Renewable Energy Agency. World Energy transitions outlook: 1.5oC pathway.
• Help from nature reduces the challenge of the task and thereby lowers the resource intensity. For example, less effort is required to swim against the water current as opposed to with the water current.
• OECD Report. Material resources, productivity and the environment.
• European Environment Agency. Resource use and materials.
• German Environment Agency (Umwelt Bundesamt). Resource use and its consequences.
• IEA Energy Technology Perspectives 2023.
• IEA provides data based on capacity (per MW). But the capacity factor or availability of wind and solar power to generate electricity is lower than natural gas and coal power. Also, the life of solar and wind power is lower than natural gas and coal power. So, a solar or wind power plant with the same capacity as a fossil fuel power plant produces much lower electricity over the life. A more relevant approach is to compare the materials required per unit electricity produced by the power plants over the lifetime. I have converted the IEA data from materials required per capacity to materials required per unit electricity generated over the lifetime. I have used average data from IEA reports for the capacity factors and lifetimes. I have used the average of natural gas and coal power to represent fossil fuel power.
• IEA Report, revised March 2022. The role of critical minerals on clean energy transitions.
• World Nuclear Association. Mineral requirement for electricity generation.
• Oakridge National Laboratory Report. Environmental quality and U.S. power sector. Air quality, water quality, land use and environmental justice.
• IEA Energy Technology Perspectives 2023.
• IEA Report, revised March 2022. The role of critical minerals on clean energy transitions.
• MIT Climate portal. Will mining the resources needed for clean energy cause problems for the environment?
• Materialstoday Proceedings. Life cycle assessment of electric vehicles in comparison to combustion engine vehicles. A review. Volume 49. Page 217. Year 2022.
• Science of the total environment. A review of the life cycle assessment of electric vehicles. Volume 814. Page 152870. Year 2022