3 ms·
Firewood does not constitute a "substantial amount", by any industrial measure. It will continue being used, in decreasing amounts as very cheap efficient stove
by ncmncm 4y ago
Firewood does not constitute a "substantial amount", by any industrial measure. It will continue being used, in decreasing amounts as very cheap efficient stove designs gradually penetrate the tropics.
Growing algae occupies >10x the area of floating solar panels producing the same usable energy. Harvesting and processing algae costs >>1 orders of magnitude more than delivering electrical power via wire.
The reasonable expectation is that transitions will be toward cheaper alternatives, with societal inertia acting to delay transition well beyond the point of obvious benefit. Thus, existing nukes will continue operating well after building solar + storage and then switching to that would be cheaper.
- Gibbon1 4y agoI keep thinking the direction kitchens are headed in developing countries is a solar powered microwave, induction cooktop, and fridge. Does the lady of the house want to collect scraps of firewood and then cook in a hot already smokey kitchen or on a only heats the pan induction cooktop? Yeah.
- ncmncm 4y agoThe bottom billion people have no counter to put a microwave on. A solar panel, battery, microwave, induction cooktop, and fridge would cost several years' income preferentially spent (e.g) eating. Getting together $10 for a stove that needs 5x less firewood is a challenge. They need a new one every year because making one that lasts costs more.
- trashtester 4y agoIn Norway, biofuel (mostly firewood) accounts for a bit more energy used than coal and a little less than natural gas: https://www.nve.no/Media/7326/energibruk_energivar_2014-kopi.png https://www.nve.no/Media/7326/energibruk_energivar_2014-kopi... Here is similar data from Sweden: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Egnell-Gustaf/publication/236656238/figure/fig6/AS:668498074275840@1536393769085/Production-of-energy-petajoule-from-biomass-peat-and-solid-waste-in-district-heating.png https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Egnell-Gustaf/publicati... Here is for the world, my understanding is that "Traditional Biomass" is mostly firewood there too: https://ourworldindata.org/exports/global-energy-substitution_v4_850x600.svg https://ourworldindata.org/exports/global-energy-substitutio...