Energy Production & Consumption. Next 25Years & Counting!

Abstract

Other  than  fossil  fuels,  we  can  look  to  five  main  alternative   sources   of   power   for   domestic   use   and   electricity  generation:  the  sun,  the  heat  inside  the  earth  (geothermal),  the  wind,  the  ocean  waves  and  tidal  energy.  The  present  authors  have  examined  each  of  these  energy  sources  for  its  relevance  to  the  energy  situation  in  the  world,  and  hope  that  by  so  doing  a  number  of  pertinent  questions  would  be  raised  and  we  can  continue  to  work  to  find  their  solutions  for  small/medium  scale  industries.  It  appears  that  solar  energy  offers  the  best  alternative  to  burning  oil  for  most  parts  of  the  world,  and  it  may  be  expected to come up to our present expectations. However, as   an   insurance   against   unforeseen   delays   in   the   oil   supply/usage  program,  one  or  two  of  the  other  options  mentioned  above  may  well  be  worth  closer  consideration  now.  Wind  energy,  despite  the  windiness  of  selected  areas  of  the  globe,  suffers  in  practical  terms  from  a  low  load  factor,  which  greatly  inflates  the  capital  cost.  Geothermal  energy  in  the  tropics,  geologically  one  of  the  most  stable  regions  of  the  globe,  would  seem  to  be  available  only  at  depths  too  great  to  be  presently  attractive  for  electricity  generation. Tidal energy although naturally available to us, again, suffers from high capital costs. Our pattern of energy consumption  has  been  directed  by  living  through  periods  when fossil fuels have been cheap and plentiful. In fact, the literature  reveals  that  apart  from  oil,  we  might  be  burning  more    wood    than    is    absolutely    necessary    without    considering  the  long  term  consequences.  This  picture  is  bound  to  change  during  the  next  twenty-five  years  as  a  result  of  dwindling  natural  mineral  resources,  political,  economical and social strains and, environmental pressures. Any  of  the  resources  that  have  been  considered  might,  under  definite  circumstances,  provide  alternative  sources  and  the  obvious  choice  is  either  solar  or  probably  wind  energy  source.  “The  future  of  harnessing  energy  will  be  community   centric   with   localized,   distributed   power   generation    (distributed    Grid    system)    from    multiple    alternative sources, using hybrid conversion technologies in independent   and/or   interconnected   Microgrids.   If   we   master  what  is  called  the  4C’s  of  Energy  –  Creation,  Conversion,  Control  and  Conservation  –  we  can  improve  and decisively influence the future energy landscape of our planet (Razvan Panaitescu6 2011).”