|
What is Net Energy?
At
zero net energy from oil and gas well things simply
STOP:
Imagine life without cars, buses, trucks, trains, ships or planes. The
world is largely unaware of just how dangerously close we are to such a
situation. The energy crisis is immediate, a matter of a few years, not
decades.
Currently the world is on track to reach close to
nil net energy
 |
from fossil hydrocarbons (oil and natural gas)
well before 2020 (i.e. before the recession clicked was around
2015, now it could be a bit later). |
|
|
all fossil fuels, i.e. including coal, humankind
is on track to get to nil net energy before 2040 and probably
before 2030. |
Few people comprehend why and what this means.
We do not live on crude oil. We live on Joules of
net energy produced and distributed to end users using raw materials
like crude oil, raw natural gas and coal.
It costs energy to get energy.
|
As the easier sources of fossil fuels get used up, it costs
more and more energy to get energy to a point when we reach
nil net energy. That is the
point when the amount of energy produced is the same as the
amount invested to get it: there is
zero net energy left to do anything else.
To calculate net energy
it is necessary to take into consideration the indirect energy in
the equipment and people involved in getting energy, i.e.
-
to mine the ore and coal,
-
to make the steel,
-
to make the machines,
-
to make the oil platforms,
-
the tankers,
-
the pipelines,
-
the refineries,
-
the finished products distribution networks,
-
the houses and equipment used by the people in
the fossil fuel industries, etc., etc.
|
EROI
Energy Return On
Investment
1990's 40:1
2000's 10:1
2018 1:1 |
Energy Return On the energy Investment for oil and gas (EROI)
-
In the 1960’s the energy return was about 60:1
-
In the 1990’s the energy return went down to
around 40:1;
-
In the 2000’s the energy return is now close to
10:1
-
By around 2015- 2018 the energy return is on
track to 1:1 i.e. zero net energy.
|
Peak Oil doesn't mean 'running out of oil', but rather
'running out of cheap and plentiful oil'.
Inexpensive oil supports our very way of life, as we know it. It is
crucial for our transportation, food production, economy and basically
everything that we use on a daily basis.
So whether people are aware of it, understand it, like
it or not makes very little difference - humankind is on track to
nil net energy within next 10 years!
|
