Evaluating Alternative Energy Sources
Our email inboxes are full of messages to do with alternative energy sources. In order to have a systematic way of evaluating the claims for each of these ideas I developed the following Table.
We will use this Table to evaluate energy sources in future posts. For now, we provide a brief explanation of the items in the first column.
Energy Dense
The amount of energy provided by that source per unit volume or per unit mass. A high value is desirable.
Available
The energy from that source is available at all times, whenever we want it.
Dispatchable
This is not quite the same as Available. It means that energy provided by that source can be ramped up and down in response to short-term demands.
Portable
Some energy sources, such as nuclear power plants, are in one place. Others, such as gasoline, can be moved around.
Safe
All energy sources are hazardous. But some are worse than others.
Scalable
Some prospective energy sources are limited in their potential scope.
Petrochemical Source
Oil not only provides the energy that makes the world go around, it also provides chemical building blocks that are used for the thousands of materials that are part of modern life.
Environmental
This covers the environmental impact of the energy source (excluding greenhouse gas emissions).
GHG Emissions
This is an evaluation of the climate change effect of that energy source.
Renewable
Some energy sources are renewable, others are finite in quantity.
