{"id":1603,"date":"2022-09-29T14:33:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T13:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenbuilt.dev.kodeks.no\/en\/?p=1603"},"modified":"2023-02-14T12:17:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T11:17:46","slug":"there-is-a-better-and-cheaper-way-to-ease-our-electricity-crisis-drastically-reduce-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenbuilt.no\/en\/2022\/09\/29\/there-is-a-better-and-cheaper-way-to-ease-our-electricity-crisis-drastically-reduce-demand\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a better and cheaper way to ease our electricity crisis \u2013 drastically reduce demand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo<\/em>: Witbank Powerstation, South Africa. Chris Butters.<\/p>\n

We could fulfil all our power needs with less than one quarter of today\u2019s energy \u2013 with existing technologies, through intelligent design, and often at a much lower cost than building new power stations.<\/p>\n

This article is relevant for all countries, and was written in and for South Africa where there is a growing energy crisis. Reducing demand – energy descent – is now official policy in many OECD countries.<\/p>\n

OPINIONISTA
\nBy\u00a0Chris Butters<\/a>
\n\"Chris
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

28 Sep 2022<\/p>\n

Listen to this article 0:00 \/ 6:27 1X BeyondWords<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Many useful points are made by the energy experts interviewed by Daily Maverick<\/em>\u00a0in the 22 September 2022 article, \u201cFour energy experts tell us what needs to be done to end Eskom\u2019s electricity crisis<\/a><\/span>\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, in the energy discussions there is almost never mention of the huge potential that lies in REDUCING energy needs \u2013 through efficiency and conservation (which are different things).<\/p>\n

This is the demand-side approach as opposed to today\u2019s largely supply-side thinking. Research worldwide over the past 40 years has shown how we could fulfil all our needs with less than one quarter of today\u2019s energy \u2013 with existing technologies, and often at a much lower cost than building new power stations.<\/p>\n

Basically, energy efficiency means using more efficient technologies. Obviously this doesn\u2019t help much if one then starts using the device twice as much \u2013 for example, driving your fuel-efficient car much more often, or buying an energy-efficient fridge that\u2019s twice as large.<\/p>\n

Energy conservation is about changing one\u2019s habits and consumption, which also means directly saving money and resources. In many cases, it\u2019s a simpler and healthier life.<\/p>\n

Clearly, fossil fuels are with us for some time to come, like it or not, especially in poorer countries such as South Africa where coal is abundant, or Malaysia which has gas resources. Renewables, which are inevitably the future, will take time \u2013 but are taking much longer than necessary.<\/p>\n

With the exception of (also neglected) biomass energy, they do not provide base-load power, but they can still cover a large part of demand. That wind and solar are seasonal is not a major obstacle. (Debates about base load versus renewables are pointless, we obviously need both).<\/p>\n

Uranium is, like oil, a limited resource; building nuclear takes far too long. And nuclear is, simply, one of the most expensive options, so why on Earth choose that? Nuclear also bears some ugly risks, but the biggest risk \u2013 in this country \u2013 is incompetent or corrupt procurement and management.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t afford shoddy welding or mistakes with a nuclear reactor.<\/p>\n

Read more in\u00a0<\/em>Daily Maverick: \u201c<\/em>As SA teeters on the brink of full-blown energy disaster, it\u2019s vital the right decisions are made \u2013 now<\/em><\/a><\/span>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s situation is the fully foreseeable result of a complete lack of energy planning, plus incompetence and corruption by the ANC governments, including today\u2019s energy ministry, and the present Eskom management bears little, if any, of the blame.<\/p>\n

One of the major advantages of demand reduction is geopolitical; lower demand simply means less reliance on Russia or the Middle East or anybody else. On the individual level it means less dependence on Eskom or even on solar panels.<\/p>\n

If we convert energy into units of human work, the modern, relatively well-off family uses the equivalent of about 200 slaves, so hooked are we on energy. Not forgetting that the poor need more, not less energy, in future, the amount needed to cover at least basic needs is small \u2013 a light bulb, a fridge, a hotplate \u2013 the essential services for human well-being which the ANC completely fails to deliver. The poor are not the ones responsible for high energy consumption.<\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0<\/strong>Daily Maverick\u2019s<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0home page<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0for more news, analysis and investigations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reducing demand also completely avoids the problem of insufficient capacity in existing power lines and distribution. Reducing demand through both efficiency and conservation is not an instant fix, but it is a key part of any sensible and sustainable energy plan. It is often the cheapest, too.<\/p>\n

Not least, if the world\u2019s dependence on coal, oil and gas is reduced, then the remaining fossil fuels will become far cheaper for the poorer countries who must still rely on them for several decades. Whether supply is by fossil fuels or renewables, reducing demand is also the cleanest option by far; even wind and solar are not without some environmental impacts. And they can break down!<\/p>\n

\u2018Energy descent\u2019 futures<\/strong><\/p>\n

Studies and proposals all over the world have for more than 30 years been describing \u201cenergy descent\u201d futures where the overall energy demand is reduced drastically. A major early example was the report \u201cBasic Needs and Much More with One Kilowatt per Capita<\/a><\/span>\u201d, published in Sweden in 1985 by four leading world experts. And there have been dozens of detailed studies by top international researchers and institutions since.<\/p>\n

The potential for reducing energy needs is colossal. It starts with intelligent design. For two decades we have been designing near-zero-energy buildings (in Scandinavia, Germany and other countries).<\/p>\n

Read more in\u00a0<\/em>Daily Maverick: \u201c<\/em>Grim Reippp(er) \u2014 undoing the choke-hold on SA\u2019s renewable energy programme<\/em><\/a><\/span>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Cities can be designed for much lower energy needs. Many industries could more than halve their present energy use through instantly profitable measures. The technology is actually the easier part; getting it to happen, through good policies and incentives, is harder.<\/p>\n

Reducing energy needs, such as through building insulation and industrial efficiency, also offers thousands of jobs \u2013 far more than building new power stations. Unfortunately, the energy industry, from the oil companies on down, seldom supports demand-side reductions, since it means selling LESS energy \u2013 and selling less new energy equipment.<\/p>\n

Read more in\u00a0<\/em>Daily Maverick: \u201c<\/em>We are not alone \u2014 energy crises are a growing global phenomenon<\/em><\/a><\/span>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

There is also a very serious systemic fault in the South African picture where cities get some of their income from sales of energy, since this directly discourages energy saving.<\/p>\n

Our motto in the\u00a0Gaia sustainable planning network<\/a><\/span>\u00a0has long been: the ONLY kind of energy that is totally environmentally friendly, reliable and trouble free, is the energy that you don\u2019t need.\u00a0DM<\/p>\n

CONTACT GREENBUILT<\/strong><\/p>\n

We publish sciencebased environmental information to the building industry.<\/p>\n

+47 47847774 \/ post@greenbuilt.no<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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