World Electricity Production by Source

[BMWTurboDzl]

Yeah, how dare all those 3rd world people start using appliances and HVAC!

Not to mention new manufacturing.

 

[oil pan 4]

Think you're forgetting quite a major first world country...

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-mix-uk

The entire UK is barely 1% of global emissions so you don't really matter unfortunately.

 

[oil pan 4]

Cost. Failures due to shortcuts can have catastrophic consequences. Imagine for moment if Boeing with all their recent press was as nuclear operator upwind of you. How confident would you feel?

People want cheap. Unfortunately the cheaper you get the pollution penalty goes up. Since many people don't experience the effects of said pollution they don't believe it exists or understate the severity because cheap is a priority.

You just made an outstanding case for nuclear power. Bravo.
I have Palo Verde nuclear power station up wind of me and it's 4 pressured water reactors don't even make the list of sh worth worrying about.

 

[oil pan 4]

Design one which could power a house and fits in a 5'x5' cube.

Russia and the US already did in like the 1960s.

 

[dubber09]

World population was 4.86B in 1985 and 8.05B in 2023 (same years as OP's chart). That's a population increase of 1.66 times, yet we see energy consumption nearly triple.

Yep, unsustainable.

Scott

Everyone has more and more electric devices at home and at work. Computers, TVs, fridges, ACs etc.
We all abuse electric power consumption, heating homes in winter, AC in summer, toasters, micros etc. Production processes use more electricity too, say alum production is very power hungry and we use more alum now.

 

[Al]

Yeah, how dare all those 3rd world people start using appliances and HVAC!

Sadly...that's the way it is. Half the world population lives worse than an abused dog in the U.S. Thet will never change bc there is no "need" for anyone to change it. Those that consume plenty will continue to consume. The breaking point will occur when Oxygen levels noticeably drop.

 

[4WD]

Unfortunately , most people don't realize all the pollution being created by "renewables". Windmills in this country and solar are still highly inefficient. The props alone on windmills have to be replaced every 3 to 7 years depending on climate and are NOT recyclable. Home solar systems lose capacity yearly and the panels need to be replaced right around the time you reach "payback" in most cases up north. The batteries are highly toxic with the Cobalt, and lithium which have to be mined and which we don't have enough of anyway. Then there's our infrastructure which is outdated and overloaded and congress is too busy spending money on the mating habits of rats on cocaine to come up with a budget to fix it!

Seems they would not need the rats …

 

[Grumpyolman]

Oh, I'm sure there's plenty of other things to waste money on!

 

[sohccammer427]

There were geophysicists that stated peak oil extraction would occur in the early 1970's.

 

[slo town]

Yeah, how dare all those 3rd world people start using appliances and HVAC!

I agree that is most likely the reason and have no problem with that, per se. It's progress but it's unsustainable.

Scott

 

[slo town]

Everyone has more and more electric devices at home and at work. Computers, TVs, fridges, ACs etc.
We all abuse electric power consumption, heating homes in winter, AC in summer, toasters, micros etc. Production processes use more electricity too, say alum production is very power hungry and we use more alum now.

Agree. It's also the increased standard of living by once poverty stricken nations. I have no problem with people enjoying a higher standard of living. It's just that the whole situation is unsustainable.

Scott

 

[oil pan 4]

Agree. It's also the increased standard of living by once poverty stricken nations. I have no problem with people enjoying a higher standard of living. It's just that the whole situation is unsustainable.

Scott

In sustainable without nuclear.

 

[y_p_w]

Not surprising. Coal has more energy per unit than anything else. Instead of dismissing it, we should find ways to burn it cleaner.
There is an energy crisis simmering on the back burner in the Ric-DC-Baltimore corridor. They are building huge data(cloud) warehouses as fast as they can. Most of their energy comes from WV coal power plants. Power produced is pretty much at capacity. These data farms are being completed with no new capacity to be had. The electrical contractors can't hook them up because there is no capacity to be had. And WV is supposed to shut down all coal plants by 2030. Who want so take bets that will happen? Will the US be as dumb as Germany in closing down coal plants? A lot of these data farms are AWS.

Say again. I’m pretty sure nuclear has anything else beat in energy per unit (weight or volume). Also, isn’t transportation an issue where natural gas can be sent by pipeline but coal still needs to be shipped and stored?

 

[mk378]

Regardless of its nameplate power output, any nuclear facility requires a rather large area excluded from the public due to potential radioactive leaks and security concerns. There is also a need for much skilled full time support personnel and equipment at a nuclear site. Once a site is established, reactors can be packed in rather densely as economy of scale. Because of this, nuclear really isn't compatible with the concept of decentralization. There are proposals to build smaller reactors, but it is going to end up as arrays of many small reactors at the same site.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Agree. It's also the increased standard of living by once poverty stricken nations. I have no problem with people enjoying a higher standard of living. It's just that the whole situation is unsustainable.

Scott

It’s only unsustainable because they haven’t been properly planning & executing of grid expansion & modernization to keep pace. Restricting access to cheap fuels, mandating unsustainable periodic power sources like solar and wind, and insane levels of regulatory red tape kills potential conventional-fueled power plant plans, and have nearly eliminated any incentive to attempt to build more nuclear power plants here.

What we need to make it sustainable and cheap is to get rid of the theoretical thinkers (the “academic” elitists) who’ve never accomplished much in their lives from making all the decisions for everyone regardless of goodness of fit for the circumstances, and get successful businessmen and women who’ve made their fortunes and improved society to be actively engaged in planning and executing plans to correct the current shortcomings and adjust the trajectory for our collective future. I certainly think it’s possible.

 

[ripcord]

It’s only unsustainable because they haven’t been properly planning & executing of grid expansion & modernization to keep pace. Restricting access to cheap fuels, mandating unsustainable periodic power sources like solar and wind, and insane levels of regulatory red tape kills potential conventional-fueled power plant plans, and have nearly eliminated any incentive to attempt to build more nuclear power plants here.

What we need to make it sustainable and cheap is to get rid of the theoretical thinkers (the “academic” elitists) who’ve never accomplished much in their lives from making all the decisions for everyone regardless of goodness of fit for the circumstances, and get successful businessmen and women who’ve made their fortunes and improved society to be actively engaged in planning and executing plans to correct the current shortcomings and adjust the trajectory for our collective future. I certainly think it’s possible.

Your solutions can't be allowed because it will prevent conditions required to achieving the great leap forward to a global workers' paradise.

Edit: maximum sarcasm should be assumed with my posts.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Your solutions can't be allowed because it will prevent conditions required to achieving the great leap forward to a global workers' paradise.

That’s exactly why they should be pursued with great haste and vigor.

 

[Al]

It’s only unsustainable because they haven’t been properly planning & executing of grid expansion & modernization to keep pace. Restricting access to cheap fuels, mandating unsustainable periodic power sources like solar and wind, and insane levels of regulatory red tape kills potential conventional-fueled power plant plans, and have nearly eliminated any incentive to attempt to build more nuclear power plants here.
I agree with the Nuclear Plants but CO2 emissions and consumption is what makes this unsustainable
What we need to make it sustainable and cheap is to get rid of the theoretical thinkers (the “academic” elitists) who’ve never accomplished much in their lives from making all the decisions for everyone regardless of goodness of fit for the circumstances, and get successful businessmen and women who’ve made their fortunes and improved society to be actively engaged in planning and executing plans to correct the current shortcomings and adjust the trajectory for our collective future. I certainly think it’s possible.

Solar, wind power and ocean tide generation helps but a whole lot. Led's are a godsend. Incandescent lights should go away 100%

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Solar, wind power and ocean tide generation helps but a whole lot. Led's are a godsend. Incandescent lights should go away 100%

I get your point, Al, and occasionally I catch myself thinking “this would be better for everyone” but then I remember the whole point of a free market is to provide the service/product that is desired by the consumer, and that a “one-size-fits-all” approach isn’t right for everyone due to personal preference or economic strata.

Also, some visually sensitive people get migraines or other physical issues from the 60Hz flicker present in LED bulbs, and therefore seek out incandescents even though they cost them more to operate.

 

[Propflux01]

Not surprising. Coal has more energy per unit than anything else. Instead of dismissing it, we should find ways to burn it cleaner.
There is an energy crisis simmering on the back burner in the Ric-DC-Baltimore corridor. They are building huge data(cloud) warehouses as fast as they can. Most of their energy comes from WV coal power plants. Power produced is pretty much at capacity. These data farms are being completed with no new capacity to be had. The electrical contractors can't hook them up because there is no capacity to be had. And WV is supposed to shut down all coal plants by 2030. Who want so take bets that will happen? Will the US be as dumb as Germany in closing down coal plants? A lot of these data farms are AWS.

Those data farms are almost always based in China.