We need to talk about the Primary Energy Fallacy
The primary energy fallacy is the assumption that all primary energy from burning coal, oil and gas needs to be replaced by renewables. It doesn’t. What needs to be replaced is the energy that provides us with the energy services. This video covers this concept, and then explains the three ways primary energy is calculated, and the issues and implications of each method.
Although it may seem as clean energy is only meets small fraction of our demand, this is not accurate if we would measure in "useful energy". A lot to do still, but clean energy dominates added capacity.
Also, this is not a criticism of Our World in Data at all, who are a very good source!
Outline:
00:00 Primary Energy Fallacy
02:33 Methods
03:06 Direct Equivalent
03:59 Substitution
06:23 Physical Energy Content
07:41 Implications
Assumptions in hydrogen sankey diagram:
1) the energy is generated at the same time as it is used for heating
2) No hydrogen storage
Sources:
1) Barnard (2023): Energy Flow Sankey Diagrams Are Essential To Understanding Climate Action
/ energy-flow-sankey-diagrams-are-essential-...
2) Hydrogen Science Coalition (2022)
https://h2sciencecoalition.com/wp-con...
3) Liebreich (2024): Liebreich: Net Zero Will Be Harder Than You Think – And Easier. Part II: Easier
https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich...
4) Ritchie & Rosado (2021): What’s the difference between direct and substituted primary energy?
https://ourworldindata.org/energy-sub...
5) Ritchie (2022): Primary, secondary, final, and useful energy: Why are there different ways of measuring energy?
https://ourworldindata.org/energy-def...
6) Barnard (2023): The Unused Energy All Around Us: How Rejected Energy Can Help Us Go Green
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/07/...
7) Pahud et al (2023): Beyond Primary Energy
https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/62b9f...
8) Andrews (2018): How much of the world’s energy is supplied by renewables?
https://euanmearns.com/how-much-of-th...
9) IEA (2023): FAQ
https://www.iea.org/statistics-questi...
10) Cleaning up Podcast ep158
• Absolutely Electrifying - Ep158: Saul Grif...
11) Barnard (2021): With Heat From Heat Pumps, US Energy Requirements Could Plummet By 50%
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/03/14/...
12) Ferrero (2022): Assessment of calculation methods for
Primary Energy Factors (THESIS)
https://addi.ehu.es/bitstream/handle/...
13) Solomon et al (2023): The necessity to standardise primary energy quality in achieving a meaningful quantification of related indicators
https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
14) Kraan et al (2019): The influence of the energy transition on the significance of key energy metrics
https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
15) IPCC (2011): Methodology
https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploa...
16) Robert (2015): Do Renewables Lower Energy Consumption?
https://carboncounter.wordpress.com/2...
17) Semieniuk & Weber (2019): Inequality in Energy Consumption:
Statistical Equilibrium or a Question of Accounting Conventions?
https://www.soas.ac.uk/sites/default/...
18) Prek (2018): Primary Energy Factor for Electricity Mix: The Case of Slovenia
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/6...
19) Giampietro & Sorman (2012): Are energy statistics useful for making energy scenarios?https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
20) Moriarty & Honnery (2019): Energy Accounting for a Renewable Energy Future
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/22/...
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