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A letter responding to one of my columns recently suggested that this column is trying to force green energy down people’s throats.
Typically, I wouldn’t reply, but I think it’s important to reassure readers that I’m very specifically trying to not do that. I’m trying to present rapidly changing facts about advanced energy technologies in as non-technical a manner as possible, and to explain energy economics in accessible terms.
The column’s regular readers will have current information. You’ll understand how and why changes in energy systems – both energy supply technologies, and energy use technologies – are taking place now, after having been discussed for a long time.
The technologies I describe in these columns are here, now. Many of them have only recently become economically justifiable, after decades of discussion and R&D. People have gotten used to thinking that advanced energy technologies won’t work, or don’t work, or aren’t economic. That is out of date. Proven systems are not only on the market, they are the least-cost, highest-performance choice in some locations. They will continue to improve, just like any other technology. As their use increases, they will get better and cheaper. They will become economic in even more places.
My message isn’t that the coal and oil industries should be constrained. It’s that the coal and oil ages are now in the process of ending. This possibility has been discussed for decades, but it is happening now. There are solid technological and economic reasons for change. Coal and incandescent light bulbs eliminated the use of whale oil and town gas for lighting. Inexpensive solar power and batteries, faster electric grid management systems and LED lights are eliminating the use of coal-fired electric plants for lighting.
Today’s energy transition is happening because of economics, not just politics. Politicians are interested in this, of course. When solar panels cost $100 a watt, it was easy to dismiss politicians who were advocating for them as being out of touch with economics. However, opposing innovation in energy became a habit. Now that solar panels cost less than $1 a watt, it is the other side that is out of touch with economics. Many people who usually favor low-cost technologies don’t realize that facts have changed.
As a professional working on energy systems, I’ve been watching these changes in energy technologies develop for decades. We’ve reached a transition point. Many long-discussed innovations are finally available. Their use is expanding rapidly. This energy transition will continue to happen, despite the best efforts of some politicians and their media cheerleaders who, like Jay Gatsby, try to live in a past that cannot be restored. That did not end well for Gatsby.
The letter writer brought up Jimmy Carter’s advice to wear a sweater. Carter was responding to a short-term crisis that had no instant solution. His message was, “We have a problem. We don’t know how to solve it immediately. You may have to be a little uncomfortable to save energy.”
A few weeks ago, I wrote about advanced heat pumps. My message was, “We have made advances technologically since the Carter era. There is an economic way to add air conditioning to your heating system while reducing your total HVAC energy use and energy costs. Today, you can save energy and be even more comfortable.”
That’s not the same message.
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