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The IEA says[1]: > For all energy sources, the IEA clearly defines energy production at the point where the energy source becomes a “marketable product” (and n
by criddell 6mo ago
The IEA says[1]:
> For all energy sources, the IEA clearly defines energy production at the point where the energy source becomes a “marketable product” (and not before).
Doesn't that mean if you are burning coal to make electricity, you wouldn't count the heat output because the generated heat is not a marketable product.
[1] https://www.iea.org/commentaries/understanding-and-using-the-energy-balance https://www.iea.org/commentaries/understanding-and-using-the...
- jeffbee 6mo agoI interpret "marketable product" to mean gas at the wellhead, coal at the mine terminal.
- criddell 6mo agoI didn't interpret it that way because of this line from that page: > [Total Final Consumption] shows the energy that is actually used by final consumers – the energy used in homes, transportation and businesses. I'm not buying coal at the terminal to power my television.
- jeffbee 6mo agoIndeed, but were we not looking at TPES before?
- criddell 6mo agoYes we were. Looking at the chart for TFC, the wind and solar case looks even worse. Wind and solar supplies 2 million TJ compared to 36 million for coal. All I was really trying to say from the outset is that I'm surprised at how important coal still is and how little we use renewables. I see articles here all the time about the massive advancements in solar (and wind to a lesser degree) and I had it in my head that renewables were a much larger part of the energy mix than they are.
- pfdietz 6mo agoThere is lag created by sunk capital costs. Coal is still producing considerable electric power in the US, but the last time a new coal-fired power plant came online was more than a decade ago, and there are none under construction (although Trump was trying to get one built, to considerable skepticism and inertia). The average age of a coal-fired power plant in the US is 40+ years.