The world’s current energy system is incredibly INefficient, which is why energy demand will FALL as we electrify everything and move away from fossil fuels.
In a decarbonised world, *final* energy demand would be much lower than it is today due to the efficiency gains from electrification and more efficient appliances.
But factor in the enormous waste heat losses from the combustion of fossil fuels to generate that electricity in the first place, and *primary* energy demand will fall even further.
Naysayers like to point to charts of global primary energy demand and then laugh at the current contribution from renewable energy. This is misleading, because that primary energy demand is going to fall significantly.
Let’s use lighting as an example.
The old system:
➡️ 75W incandescent light bulb, illuminated 1600 hours and consuming 120kWh per year.
➡️ Power it with electricity from a coal plant at 37% efficiency and add in 10% grid losses.
➡️ This gives primary energy demand of 360 kWh.
The new system:
➡️ The same amount of light could be delivered by an 11W LED bulb.
➡️ Used for 1600 hours and with the same 10% grid losses this would consume 20 kWh per year.
➡️ Powered by wind, solar or hydro, we have just reduced primary energy demand by 95%.
We’ve also eliminated the associated CO2 emissions in the process.
And this is just lighting, the same principle applies for transport and heat as well.
So bear this in mind next time someone tries to tell you renewables are never going to make it. They won’t have to.
