Where We Stand: the Problem Continues
Source: https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-in-2022
Source: https://www.iea.org/reports/co2-emissions-in-2022
Our Recent Efforts
I think we've been moving federal government policies in the right direction, but it's been slow. With the IRA there is more assistance for EVs, reduced taxes for energy-saving appliances and use of photo-electric cells in solar panels and for wind energy. These will all gradually replace carbon-based energy systems.
Clearly, we've been addressing the Transportation Sector with efforts to assist EVs. We've been trying to address the Power Sector by pushing along Wind and Solar Power production, improvements to the grid, and promotion of large-scale batteries. We've addressed the Buildings Sector (for quite a long time) by promoting energy-conservation in construction materials and techniques and with the HVAC systems. Furthermore, we've done similar things for the residential construction industry, though standards for construction have largely remained local. Still, electricity production by power plants using coal remains a huge problem. The improved price-comparison for energy sources favors wind and solar, so we must promote that. Some other sources such as tidal power may eventually be part of the picture, but its adoption has been slow due to technical issues.
Source: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy23osti/85332.pdf
Grid-Scale Energy Expected to Grow
Texas Power-Grid Battery-Storage Growing
A related issue is the location of the materials used in the latest battery technologies.
Source: https://www.isi.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/isi/dokumente/cct/2023/abt-roadmap.pdf
We might include more nuclear if the latest technologies there prove to be safe, cost-efficient, and reliable. We don't want to start something like that and then have to do a turn-around because of failures.
Those can supplant carbon-based fuel for energy sources. Still, there are other issues. Not all countries are able to do these things to help protect the entire planet. Growing poorer countries won't want to do it. Even China has mixed feelings about limiting growth, so they do some Renewable Energy things, but they still burn coal. There are also some other sources of CO2. The making of concrete is one of the worst because we use so much concrete in our modern world. Can we make it without so much production of CO2? I have hardly discussed his part of our project to rid ourselves of too much CO2.
What's Next
Ars Technica Article: Renewable energy is now cheap—what’s next?
“A decade ago, our present renewable energy situation was unimaginable.
Most projections had wind and solar as niche players on the electric
grid due to their relatively high cost. In the US, the reality is
anything but. Combined, wind and solar have now passed coal; throw in
hydro, and they've passed nuclear, too. In most areas of the country,
they're now far and away the cheapest means to generate electricity; the
same holds true for most locations around the world.
Despite the
changed economics, most countries have fallen behind on their climate
pledges, and fossil fuels aren't being pushed off the grid fast enough
to get us back on track. While the entire globe is suffering the
consequences of climate change, the factors that are keeping renewables
from reaching their full potential vary from country to country. What
should we be doing to get past these roadblocks?”
In that article it's made clear we have to put our technologies to work and for that we have to consider government policies (sticks & carrots) to encourage it and government projects where it can be enforced. Let's lean our shoulder into this and begin pushing known technologies that are already cost-effective!
One of the most essential will be the use of batteries to store all kinds of energy for use overnight and during times when we aren't getting new energy from wind or solar sources. Not having it ready to go on a very large scale can hold up greater development and use of our existing price-effective technologies. Let's push what we've got and work to eliminate barriers to completion of the picture.
Other Issues
It's time to start looking more at eliminating, reducing, replacing, ways to do things that produce too much CO2.
