to create the energy we get from oil by least expensive means - wind - we would need to spend an extra $10 trillion and would require an area the size of three new zealands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubic_mile_of_oil
The world consumes approximately 3 CMO annually from all sources.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubic_mile_of_oil
The world consumes approximately 3 CMO annually from all sources.
| Source | CMO/yr |
|---|---|
| Oil | 1.06 |
| Coal | 0.81 |
| Natural gas | 0.61 |
| Biomass | 0.19 |
| Nuclear | 0.15 |
| Hydroelectric | 0.17 |
| Geothermal | <0.01 |
| Wind+Photovoltaic+Solar thermal | <0.005 |
Installing capacity to produce 1 CMO per year requires long and significant development.
Allowing fifty years to develop the requisite capacity, 1 CMO of energy per year could be produced by any one of these developments:
- 4 Three Gorges Dams,[14] developed each year for 50 years, or
- 52 nuclear power plants,[15] developed each year for 50 years, or
- 104 coal-fired power plants,[16] developed each year for 50 years, or
- 32,850 wind turbines,[17][18] developed each year for 50 years, or
- 91,250,000 rooftop solar photovoltaic panels[19] developed each year for 50 years
Also, whereas 1 kWh is equivalent to 3412 BTU of primary energy, in practice it takes closer to 10,000 BTU to produce 1 kWh of electricity from coal and other fossil sources. Thus, when considering sources such as wind and solar which directly produce electricity, the required installed capacity was calculated by using 1 kWh as equivalent to 10,000 BTU.
The environmental, social, and financial costs of such development projects are immense:
- The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest, flooding 632 km2, displacing 1.25 million people, and costing roughly US$30 billion.
- A nuclear power plant produces hazardous radioactive waste, raises fears of radiation or nuclear proliferation, requires 10 years to construct for a 40 year lifetime, occupies about 4 km2, and may cost upwards of US$5 billion.
- A 500 MW coal-fired power plant may contribute to acid rain, global warming, and air pollution, occupies about 2 km2, may obtain its fuel via controversial methods such as mountaintop removal, and costs about US$650 million.
- A large wind turbine requires a location with an abundance of steady wind, may be visually obtrusive, can interfere with aviation, needs about 0.16 km2 to avoid interfering with adjacent turbines, and costs about US$2 million.[20]
- A 2.1 kW rooftop solar array requires technical skills for installation, needs a sunny location, presents few aesthetic or environmental problems, covers about 14 m2, but costs around US$15,000.
| Source | Number | Cost (US$1 trillion) | Area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (km2) | (sq mi) | |||
| Dams | 200 | 6 | 1,264,400 | 488,200 |
| Nuclear plants | 2,600 | 13 | 10,400 | 4,000 |
| Coal plants | 5,200 | 3.4 | 10,400 | 4,000 |
| Wind turbines | 1,642,000 | 3.3 | 273,667 | 105,663 |
| Rooftop photovoltaics | 4,562,500,000 | 68 | 63,875 | 24,662 |
For comparison, US$3.2 trillion is the approximate gross domestic product of Germany, China, or the United Kingdom. The total land area of New Zealand is approximately 270,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi).[21]
At a 2008 market price of US$120 per barrel (US$750/m3), the cost of one CMO was about US$3 trillion.
Comments