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> if you're talking about the embedded energy of durable goods shipped across borders. Doesn't counting this as china energy used rather than US energy used me
by 8note 3y ago
> if you're talking about the embedded energy of durable goods shipped across borders.
Doesn't counting this as china energy used rather than US energy used mean china's doing even better? That embedded energy should be counted with the consumer, where it naturally shows up on the supplier's energy bill
- s1artibartfast 3y agoThen entirely depends on what analysis you're trying to perform and what you want to measure. There is no single right way to do it. It depends on what question you're trying to answer. My point was very simple. Producing PV panels in China probably makes more CO2 than if you manufactured it in the US. If you want to change the subject to some other question, the analysis would be different and we would have to know what the question is.
- pfdietz 3y agoIt should be noted that as long as fossil fuels are being burned to make power, what matters is not the embodied CO2 of PV, but how rapidly PV can replace the fossil fueled power sources. This is also why using nuclear instead for this is such a bad idea: the CO2 emitted by the fossil fueled sources while the nuclear plants are not yet online far outweighs the embodied CO2 of either PV or nuclear construction themselves.
- s1artibartfast 3y agoLike I said to the parent poster, it really matters what analysis you're trying to do. If you have decided to buy a PV, you might care about the embedded CO2. Similarly, if you have a need that PV can't fill, you might want to look at alternative fuel sources with a longer lead time