The Ten Big Problems with Energy
All information has been adapted from: 10 Unsolvables: Energy problems the world must solve. 2011. http://10unsolvables.org/archives/gallery/problems-2
All information has been adapted from: 10 Unsolvables: Energy problems the world must solve. 2011. http://10unsolvables.org/archives/gallery/problems-2
Problem #1
Most regions, particularly developing countries are experiencing significant energy demand growth which puts pressure on global fossil fuel consumption.
Improving standards of living is tied to energy demand growth, which is currently satisfied with fossil fuels, thus contributing to environmental degradation. Supplying these needs with renewable energy solves this problem.
Why do we need more energy on planet Earth?
Most regions, particularly developing countries are experiencing significant energy demand growth which puts pressure on global fossil fuel consumption.
Improving standards of living is tied to energy demand growth, which is currently satisfied with fossil fuels, thus contributing to environmental degradation. Supplying these needs with renewable energy solves this problem.
Why do we need more energy on planet Earth?
- Population growth.
- Growing disparity in distribution of wealth within many countries.
- Growing middle-class in the advanced developing nations like China and India.
- Consumer preferences are shifting to emulate developed nations.
- Demand for beef.
- More people want the markers of social status like luxury cars.
Problem #2
There is a high environmental degradation related to global diversification of fossil fuel extraction.
There is a high environmental degradation related to global diversification of fossil fuel extraction.
- Technological progress has enabled suppliers of energy, who are motivated by rising prices, to pursue unconventional sources of fossil fuels such as fracking.[1]
- Fossil fuels still represent the cheapest means to keep global markets lubricated and performing well.
- Policy makers do not balance the benefits of the Oil Sands (energy security and revenue) against the social and environmental impacts of extraction.[2]
- The voters of a democratic nation support a government’s decision to expand domestic unconventional oil industries despite environmental degradation.
Problem#3
Countries existing systems and infrastructure creates resistance to adoption of renewables.
Unlike much of the developing world, existing infrastructure – physical buildings, electric grids, legal frameworks & traditional business models – within developed countries creates hurdles towards developing a sustainable Energy Ecosystem. Stakeholders in developed nations are comfortable with the status quo and the costs of energy from renewables are often higher than current energy prices.
Countries existing systems and infrastructure creates resistance to adoption of renewables.
Unlike much of the developing world, existing infrastructure – physical buildings, electric grids, legal frameworks & traditional business models – within developed countries creates hurdles towards developing a sustainable Energy Ecosystem. Stakeholders in developed nations are comfortable with the status quo and the costs of energy from renewables are often higher than current energy prices.
- Current economic incentives alone are insufficient to instill energy conservation initiatives.[1]
- The public has not internalized the urgency of climate change.[2]
- Policies altering existing infrastructure via federal policy remains difficult
- Politicians popularity is reliant upon them not jeopardizing the lifestyle of their constituents.
- Current policies focus largely on low-cost, rather than efficient use and proper pricing of energy
- Implementing new technologies is crucial to changing our Energy System but this involves revolutionizing systems that support our current lifestyles.
- Most existing infrastructure (e.g. transmission lines and distribution stations) is outdated and inefficient
- “Smart Grid” systems can overcome many deficiencies of current infrastructure, but political, legal and financial barriers obstruct greater dissemination of this technology.[3]
- Utility companies are risk averse and slow to adopt changes.
- Incumbent firms in the energy industry resist new technologies as competitors.[4]
- Adopting renewables and sustainable systems will require businesses to identify revenue sources that arise from efficiency rather than abundant use
Problem#4
There is disagreement on responsibility between the developed and developing world to transform the way energy is produced and used.
- ·The standard of living found in developed nations is built on fossil fuel consumption. Developing nations strive to attain this lifestyle but are pressured to develop in more sustainable ways.
- ·The world’s largest GHG emitters, in developed and developing nations, seek to escape the Kyoto Protocol. Without joint participation and enforcement the initiative loses its meaning.[2]
- Each nation seeks to maximize the benefits of its residents while climate change requires “mega collective action.”[3]
- Everyone benefits from regulations that lower GHG emissions. But nations which implement regulations like carbon taxes place their producers at a disadvantage – prices of commodities increase and are therefore unpopular.
- Regions plagued by Energy Poverty have the softest voices on the international stage.
- 2 billion people have either intermittent or non-existent supplies of electricity.[7] Delivering technological solutions to these populations may not be profitable for firms.
Problem #5
Lack of energy policy co-ordination among countries is impacting regional stability and an obstacle to cohesive regional energy planning.
Lack of energy policy co-ordination among countries is impacting regional stability and an obstacle to cohesive regional energy planning.
- The geographical concentration of developing countries, coupled with the link between energy demand and economic growth:[1] places pressure on natural resources and strains bilateral relations between nations.
- Emphasis on continued economic growth and international trade sidelines policies can place a nation at an economic disadvantage. E.g. Regulations on the Oil Sands industry in Alberta would raise oil prices to American markets. This might prompt consumers to substitute with increased imports from offshore sources.[2]
- Regional Instability: Benefits from continued development of the Oil Sands industry seems to take precedence over other stakeholders’ concerns. [3]
- Interregional policy mechanisms, like a continental cap and trade system, would level the playing field for all industries across borders. [5]
- A binding international agreement on GHG emissions reduction or clean energy generation that applies to both developing and developed nations would create a level playing field, thus overcoming “perceptions of equity.”
- Many nations that resist signing, ratifying, and honouring the Kyoto Protocol give fairness as a reason.[8]
- Absence of effective and swift, international mechanisms to punish deviants. Such an agreement would prompt individual nations to alter their development towards common goals and targets, thereby encouraging international collaboration.
- Critical obstacle: Inadequate incentives for individual countries to accept and comply with such an agreement.
Problem #6
Insufficient mitigation of short and long term risk associated with nuclear energy generation and waste disposal.
Nuclear energy could competitively satisfy base-load electricity demand in most developed and developing countries. However: there is no long-term solution to the storage of highly-radioactive nuclear waste exists.
Risk assessment and management approaches include:
Insufficient mitigation of short and long term risk associated with nuclear energy generation and waste disposal.
Nuclear energy could competitively satisfy base-load electricity demand in most developed and developing countries. However: there is no long-term solution to the storage of highly-radioactive nuclear waste exists.
Risk assessment and management approaches include:
- A serious nuclear incident is statistically estimated to occur on average every 10,000 reactor years.
- Currently, with more than 400 nuclear reactors worldwide, this amounts to an incident every 25 years.
- The aforementioned perspective criticizes nuclear energy. However, this does not take into account technological improvement. E.g. Thorium reactors have the potential to significantly reduce operational risk, waste, and are harder to be weaponized.
- But the environmental effects and risks of storing nuclear waste are not fully understood and can detrimentally affect the rest of the world.
- There is a lot of disagreement between experts on the risks of nuclear energy.
Problem #7
Existing energy generation through renewables is not competitive with current carbon intensive energy sources.
Many renewable energy sources are rarely competitive with conventional energy sources. Economic, financial, political, geographical and technological factors are the main obstacles to a fast, large-scale, global development and deployment of Wind, Water, Solar, Geothermal (WWSGs).
Existing energy generation through renewables is not competitive with current carbon intensive energy sources.
Many renewable energy sources are rarely competitive with conventional energy sources. Economic, financial, political, geographical and technological factors are the main obstacles to a fast, large-scale, global development and deployment of Wind, Water, Solar, Geothermal (WWSGs).
- The low costs of conventional energy (coal and natural gas) make it hard for clean-technology start-ups to compete.[1]
- Current market-structures often constitute effective barriers of entry for WWSGs.[2]
- Eg. While the costs of geothermal power in some countries can be comparable to coal, obstacles include:
- High financial costs and risks of exploratory drilling.
- Requirement of specific geographical properties. [3]
- Gaining consent to explore.
- High financial costs and risks of exploratory drilling.
- Eg. While the costs of geothermal power in some countries can be comparable to coal, obstacles include:
- Technologies that depend on subsidies (government money, like a bonus) are not sustainable. [4]
- Eg. When Spain withdrew its subsidies for the solar industry, many start-up ventures collapsed.[5]
- Eg. When Spain withdrew its subsidies for the solar industry, many start-up ventures collapsed.[5]
- Significant investment and subsidies are required to scale up technological innovations to meet the demands of markets. Furthermore, most investors are unwilling to finance new technologies. [6]
Problem #8
Policies and market-based mechanisms sometimes conflict instead of synergistically pushing a region towards a sustainable energy future.
Poorly designed policies can prevent the achievement of desired objectives.
Policies and market-based mechanisms sometimes conflict instead of synergistically pushing a region towards a sustainable energy future.
Poorly designed policies can prevent the achievement of desired objectives.
- Electric cars merely shift the GHG emissions from the vehicle to the electricity generation source.
- If lowering GHG emissions is the purpose of a policy and a region’s electricity is generated from coal, then subsidizing electric cars would be less effective than if electricity came from renewable sources of energy.
- To promote solar energy many regions use a Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) program.
- Uncoordinated inter-regional policies could have unintended detrimental effects.[1]
- Regulations in one municipality, like requiring all new construction be carbon neutral, might prompt developers and consumers to move to adjacent municipalities.
- A carbon tax to meet Kyoto Protocol targets in one province or state lowers the GHG emissions of the entire country. This creates opportunity for other provinces or states to free-ride.
- The lack of binding national GHG reduction targets reduces the effectiveness of implementing market based mechanisms.A.
- Subsidies for one form of renewable energy might take away funds for other types of renewable energy.[2]
- Incentivizing large projects like Smart Grids which can incorporate renewables into the main grid depends on policies and market mechanisms working together. Promoting Smart Grids requires:
- Substantial funding.
- Integrating various types of technologies.
- Changing business models for utility companies.[4]
- Public awareness.
Problem #9
Lack of public awareness creates barriers to long-term thinking about energy.
Lack of public awareness creates barriers to long-term thinking about energy.
- Low Literacy Rates means people can not read about what is happening. Public awareness is a barrier to resolving many drivers of climate change particularly in developing nations, where low rates of illiteracy contribute to low public awareness. [1]
- Public awareness cannot be divorced from economic considerations and the comfortable lifestyle fossil fuels enable
- In developed nations, people don’t care as long as they have electricity. They need to be educated on the concept of sustainability in order to influence their consumption pattern.[4]
- Selling the importance of climate change hinges on successfully communicating that we are trading our future welfare for current consumption.
- Effective measures that lower GHG emissions like carbon taxes, are politically unpopular so less-effective tools are implemented. [5]
- The abandonment of the Kyoto Protocol by America, Canada, Russia and Japan suggests that the majority of citizens in these countries do not regard climate change as a priority. Why? People feel that there is debatable scientific evidence and they place a greater value on current economic conditions rather than long term effects.
Problem #10
Energy efficiency is not being embraced to the required degree due to political, financial and cultural drivers despite significant savings potential.
Energy efficiency is not being embraced to the required degree due to political, financial and cultural drivers despite significant savings potential.
- Reliance on fossil fuel-based infrastructure
- Accessible and cheap electricity reduces the urgency of energy efficiency.
- Aging infrastructure decreases energy efficiency, but political and financial barriers impede the adoption of smart grids and clean-technologies.[1]
- While making changes now is essential for a better future, these changes might be perceived as too disruptive to our current lifestyles to be acceptable.[2]
- Implementing expensive energy saving equipment into buildings raises the cost of construction for developers. Owners, who might be different from occupants, may not be willing to pay a premium for this benefit. As a result, developers opt for less energy efficient solutions.
- The price of energy is still low enough that energy efficiency is still not a pressing need.
- Economic incentives alone are insufficient to embed energy efficiency into our daily lives.• Rebate incentives have weak effects because the future is underweighted due to a lack of vividness so the benefit of a rebate has less impact on decision making.
- Energy price increases have strong effects because the cost of a loss is vivid and immediate.
Sources
Problem#1
Problem #3
Problem #6
Problem #7
Problem #8
Problem #9
Problem #10
[1] Explained in Problems 3 and 7. ↩ [2] Explained in Problems 3 and 9. ↩ [3] Lisa Coltart, Director of Power Smart at BC Hydro and speaker for the Power to the People session at ISES 2011. ↩
Problem#1
- [1] Deluchi & Jacobson (2011): http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/DJEnPolicyPt2.pdf ↩
- [2] John Walker, President and Chief Executive Officer FortisBC and speaker for the Economic Outlook of Global Energy Markets session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [3] Dr. John MacDonald, Co-founder of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, CEO of Day4 Energy Inc. and speaker for the Renewable Leap Forward session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [4] Dr. Ralph Sims, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Director of the Centre for Energy Research at Massey University, New Zealand and speaker for the Economic Outlook of Global Energy Markets session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [5] Expanded in Problem 2. ↩
- [6] Dr. Mark Jaccard, Professor at the School of Resource and Environment Management at Simon Fraser University and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011. ↩
- [7] Economic Outlook of Global Energy Markets session at ISES 2011 ↩
- [8] Dr. Ralph Sims, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Director of the Centre for Energy Research at Massey University, New Zealand and speaker for the Economic Outlook of Global Energy Markets session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [9] Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson, Stanford University Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and speaker for the Renewable Leap Forward session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [10] Expanded in Problems 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. ↩
- [11] Dr. José Etcheverry, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University and speaker for the German Experience session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [12] http://www.smh.com.au/environment/energy-smart/solar-industry-hits-roof-over-plans-to-slash-power-rebate-20110513-1embd.html ↩
- [13] Expanded in Problems 8, 9 and 10. ↩
- [14] Expanded in Problems 3, 7 and 9. ↩
- [15] The Future of Transportation session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [16] Dr. Ralph Sims, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Director of the Centre for Energy Research at Massey University, New Zealand and speaker for the Economic Outlook of Global Energy Markets session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [17] Dr. Ralph Sims, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Director of the Centre for Energy Research at Massey University, New Zealand and speaker for the Economic Outlook of Global Energy Markets session at ISES 2011. ↩
- Problem #2
-
- [1] Dr. David Goodstein, Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Caltech, author of Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil and speaker for the Renewable Leap Forward session at ISES 2011 ↩
- [2] Roger Ramcharita, Director of the Clean Energy Branch at Alberta Environment and speaker for the Future of the Oil Sands session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [3] Jennifer Grant, Oil Sands Program Director at the Pembina Institute and speaker for the Future of the Oil Sands session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [4] Dr. John Zhou, Executive Director of Environmental Technologies at Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions and speaker for the Future of the Oil Sands session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [5] Stephen Kaufman, Director of Business Development at Suncor Energy and speaker for the Future of the Oil Sands session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [6] The Future of the Oil Sands session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [7] Expanded in Problem 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. ↩
- [8] Roger Ramcharita, Director of the Clean Energy Branch at Alberta Environment and speaker for the Future of the Oil Sands session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [9] Dr. Mark Jaccard, Professor of the School of Resource and Environment Management at Simon Fraser University and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011. ↩
- [10] http://vancouver.ca/greenestcity/ ↩
- [11] Expanded in Problems 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10. ↩
- [12] Expanded in Problem 5. ↩
Problem #3
- [1] Dr. Dale Griffin, Advisory Council Chair in Consumer Behaviour Professor and speaker for the Power to the People session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [2] Expanded in Problem 9. ↩
- [3] Dr. Hassan Farhangi, SM-IEEE, Director of Group for Advanced Technology, British Columbia Institute of Technology and speaker for the Smarter Grids for Smarter Communities session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [4] Richard MacKellar, Managing Director of Chrysalix and speaker for the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [5] Richard MacKellar, Managing Director of Chrysalix and speaker for the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [6] Explained in Problems 3, 4 and 5. ↩
- [7] Expanded in Problem 9. ↩
- [8] Expanded in Problem 7 and 8. ↩
- [9] Message from SSREN presented by Dr. Ralph Sims, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Director of the Centre for Energy Research at Massey University, New Zealand and speaker for the Economic Outlook of Global Energy Markets session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [10] Explained in Problems 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10. ↩
- [1] Dr. Mark Jaccard, Professor of the School of Resource and Environment Management at Simon Fraser University and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011. ↩
- [2] Expanded in Problem 5. ↩
- [3] Dr. Mark Jaccard, Professor of the School of Resource and Environment Management at Simon Fraser University and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011. ↩
- [4] Expanded in Problem 5. ↩
- [5] Expanded in Problem 6. ↩
- [6] Read Dr. Ralph Sims’ Insights ↩
- [7] Scott Tudman, President and Co-Founder of Energy in Common and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011. ↩
- [8] Scott Tudman, President and Co-Founder of Energy in Common and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011. ↩
- [9] Dr. Andrew Leach, Assistant Professor of Energy and Environment at Alberta School of Business and moderator at multiple sessions at ISES 2011. ↩
- [10] Explainded in Problem 5. ↩
- [1] Explained in Problem 1. ↩
- [2] Roger Ramcharita, Director of the Clean Energy Branch at Alberta Environment and speaker for the Future of the Oil Sands session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [3] Explained in Problem 2. ↩
- [4] http://www.ienearth.org/cits.html ↩
- [5] Roger Ramcharita, Director of the Clean Energy Branch at Alberta Environment and speaker for the Future of the Oil Sands session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [6] Dr. James Tansey, Director of ISIS Research Centre, CEO and Founder of Offsetters and speaker for the Creating a Carbon Trading reality session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [7] Expanded in Problem 4. ↩
- [8] http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/901788–canada-joins-russia-japan-in-opposition-to-extending-kyoto-protocol↩
- [9] http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Politics/20070622/harper_kyoto_070622/ ↩
- [10] Expanded in Problem 7, 8, 9 and 10. ↩
- [11] Explained in Problem 4. ↩
Problem #6
- [1] Peter Rizov, delegate who participated in the debate during the Nuclear Menace session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [2] Explained during the Nuclear Fission and the Future of Fusion and the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? sessions at ISES 2011. ↩
Problem #7
- [1] Richard MacKellar, Managing Director of Chrysalix and speaker for the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [2] Explained in Problem 3. ↩
- [3] ISES 2011 session – Geothermal Power: What it is, Where it is, and it’s potential as a global green energy supply source. ↩
- [4] Richard MacKellar, Managing Director of Chrysalix and speaker for the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [5] Richard MacKellar, Managing Director of Chrysalix and speaker for the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [6] Richard MacKellar, Managing Director of Chrysalix and speaker for the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [7] Dr. Hassan Farhangi, SM-IEEE, Director of Group for Advanced Technology, British Columbia Institute of Technology and speaker for the Smarter Grids for Smarter Communities session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [8] Richard MacKellar, Managing Director of Chrysalix and speaker for the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [9] Richard MacKellar, Managing Director of Chrysalix and speaker for the Venture Capital: Where is the Money and Who’s in the Game? session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [10] Explained in Problems 3, 4 and 5. ↩
- [11] Expanded in Problem 9. ↩
- [12] Expanded in Problem 7 and 8. ↩
- [13] Message from SSREN presented by Dr. Ralph Sims, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Director of the Centre for Energy Research at Massey University, New Zealand and speaker for the Economic Outlook of Global Energy Markets session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [14] Explained in Problems 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10. ↩
Problem #8
- [1] Explained in Problem 5. ↩
- [2] Expanded in Supplemental Analysis for Problem 6. ↩
- [3] Explained in Problem 7. ↩
- [4] Explained in Problem 3. ↩
- [5] Dr. José Etcheverry, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University and speaker for the German Experience session at ISES 2011. ↩
- [6] http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/ ↩
- [7] Expanded in Problems 3 and 9. ↩
Problem #9
- [1] Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Director-General of TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute) and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011. ↩
- [2] Explained in Problems 1, 2, 3, and 7. ↩
- [3] Dr. Wenran Jiang, Chair of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, Senior Fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and speaker for the China: The Demand Question at ISES 2011. ↩
- [4] Innocent Onah, a Nigerian delegate at ISES 2011. ↩
- [5] Dr. Mark Jaccard, Professor of the School of Resource and Environment Management at Simon Fraser University and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011. ↩
- [6] Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Director-General of TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute) and Keynote Speaker at ISES 2011.
Innocent - [7] Innocent Onah, a Nigerian delegate at ISES 2011. ↩
- [8] Proposed by African delegates at ISES 2011. ↩
- [9] Explained in Problem 3. ↩
- [10] Expanded in Problems 3, 7 and 10. ↩
Problem #10