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ENERGY ENERGY

Figure 1: Energy generation and consumption (Source: EPC)

Analyzing how our actions affect the environment
The equation includes production, distribution,
Why the Cost of Energy and coming up with ways to make them better is one storage, conversion, consumption, and reclamation.
option we might take into account. “One very key
Each of these phases in coal, natural gas, and all
Is Key to Sustainability thing is to shift the energy sources,” said Lidow. “For renewables consists of a number of components with
example, you can go from coal to natural gas. Natural
varying costs. The most important thing to consider is
gas emits fewer greenhouse gases for every unit of
storage. Because sunshine and wind are not accessible
energy kilowatt hour that is produced. We can also shift 24 hours a day, seven days a week, storage is a crucial
By Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News to nuclear or renewables. Each of these has a different aspect of wind and solar power. As Lidow stressed,
equation as to the overall cost.”
“it is thus vital to add the aspect of storage, which
has been one of the primary impediments to a more
The price of anything is proportional to the cost of Renewables, such as solar and wind, have the widespread use of these sorts of energy sources.”
the energy necessary to get that thing. Even gasoline disadvantage of it being costly to store energy when
poured into employees’ tanks and other types of energy there is no sunshine. However, nuclear power has Coal, natural gas, and oil are exceedingly simple and
required during the many phases of manufacturing the drawback of being expensive to secure against inexpensive to store at very high densities. As a result,
are the true costs. In his keynote address at the terrorism and other natural disasters, as well as as the price of batteries decreases, storage becomes
Green Engineering Summit, Alex Lidow, CEO of EPC, being expensive to clean up nuclear power plants. more affordable and the transition to renewable
emphasized that the cost of energy is comprised of As a result, each of these factors must be taken into energy gets simpler. However, as Lidow pointed out,
multiple components and that we must consider the account. reclamation costs must be considered.
cost of energy, not the price, when analyzing these
component costs. Then what are these components? “If you look at the environmental impact, this is a Clean coal does not exist, so coal cleanup is highly
journey that we can maybe take, if the economics of difficult. Similar problems exist for natural gas and
According to Lidow, there are six costs associated it makes sense,” said Lidow. “We can also shift energy nuclear power, the cleanup of which, as Lidow said, has
with energy: the cost of generating it, the cost of usage. So for example, we can take natural gas, coal, never been thoroughly studied. Therefore, each of these
distributing and storing it, the cost of converting it, the and oil and the way it’s used, and we can use it maybe equations must be examined. This widespread shift in
cost of using it, and the cost of cleanup. This last cost Alex Lidow, CEO, EPC more efficiently if it were in the form of electricity.” energy sources is essential for reducing global warming
is arguably the most significant. The first five of these and pollution on a massive scale when considering the
costs are in-period costs, which means it is very clear ENERGY Why is electricity intrinsically more efficient? Electricity effect on the environment.
how much it costs to generate and how much it costs The most important thing to understand is that 85% is a journey of electrons, which have almost no mass.
to distribute and store. But what is out of period, and of the energy we use comes from burning fossil fuels. Therefore, transporting electricity is extremely cheap The most suitable industry for the transition from
therefore less clear, is the cost of cleaning up from the Now let us analyze the consumption of this energy. The compared with transporting natural gas, coal, and oil. natural gas/coal and oil to electricity is transportation,
usage of the energy. Just think of global warming or graph in Figure 1 shows that, for example, our energy Electricity is therefore a good way to shift energy use including electric automobiles.
cleaning our rivers and lakes. The cost of cleanup is a is consumed in the form of petrol for cars and planes to a more efficient method. Just think of electric cars
deferred cost, which we borrow today to be repaid by but also in the form of oil for lubricants for plastics, compared with petrol cars. During his presentation, “In this shift in energy use, four elements are driving
future generations. So the cost of cleanup is a crucial coal, sometimes for heating, and sometimes for steel Lidow analyzed the equation that governs it. the change: storage, batteries, electric cars, and
element, as Lidow explained. production, and electricity accounts for only 30% of electric planes,” said Lidow. “The efficiency with which
energy consumption. we can convert electricity is a key element, sometimes

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