castanyes blaves
Random ramblings about some random stuff, and things; but more stuff than things -- all in a mesmerizing and kaleidoscopic soapbox-like flow of words.8/14/2008
The future of electricity generation
Electricity generation provides 18,000 terawatt-hours of energy a year, around 40% of humanity's total energy use. In doing so it produces more than 10 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide every year, the largest sectoral contribution of humanity's fossil-fuel derived emissions. Yet there is a wide range of technologies — from solar and wind to nuclear and geothermal — that can generate electricity without net carbon emissions from fuel.
In the solar energy section, a striking statistic: even under the best conditions, the efficiency of photosynthesis barely reaches 1%. In comparison, most solar panels can nowadays reach 15% efficiency, with the most efficient reaching 40%. On the other hand, other renewable sources of energy, like wind, have great potentials, but other great downsides. So it seems that it's all a matter of combining the best of each world. At the end, what is sought for is efficiency, reliability, possibilities of expansion, etc.
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