by Joseph Powell

This episode considers Energy TransitionS, underscoring that we have had them in the past. What is different about our current “transition”? Unlike past, we have announced we are in an “energy transition” before it has happened, not driven by solely by low costs and greater efficiencies enabled by technology. The current “energy transition” is the aspiration of a substantial group of global stakeholders, to address concerns over climate and sustainability.         

Humans evolved as a species over the last  4 – 6 million years using traditional biomass (wood, straw) as fuel. It was only after the discovery and development of coal as a primary energy source that they could power the machines used to transform from a state of subsistence living, where most of the day was spent acquiring food and shelter, to “modern life”. Today only 1% of the population is required for food production.   Fossil energy from coal powered the “industrial revolution” via machines to replace manual work, and also to generate electricity which allowed new energy services (Figure ET-1).    

Prior to the discovery of coal, England was nearly deforested in use of biomass for energy. Coal is a concentrated energy source made from prehistoric capture of CO₂ by ancient biomass, transformed subsurface via the action of pressure and temperature over geologic time. It has an 8-fold increase in energy per volume (Figure ET-2) over biomass, requires much less land area to generate (Table ET-1), and enables the higher temperatures needed to produce steel, chemicals, and concrete.        

Coal was subsequently augmented by petroleum which provided more efficient liquid fuels for the transportation sector, where steam engines were replaced by internal combustion engines using gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel. Natural gas was added as an optimal resource for heating and power applications. Each new fossil fuel added to existing supplies, and was more efficient and less costly to consumers for the energy service provided.

Today, fossil fuels still provide more than 80% of global energy, but there's a pressing need for change because of the damaging impact of releasing fossil carbon dioxide from fuel combustion. The energy transition proposes capturing carbon dioxide, but also replacing fossil fuels with lower energy and power density renewable wind and solar power. 80% of the global population currently lacks access to sufficient energy, so we must navigate a complex balancing act — increasing the global energy supply while also transitioning to cleaner energy with reduced fossil carbon emissions.    

This is the grand challenge of our time!

I'm Joe Powell at the University of Houston Energy Transition Institute. 

More episodes available at Houston Public Media-dot-org-slash- UH Energy