04-01-2013, 03:04 PM
New Electricity Technologies for a Sustainable Future
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Abstract
There is a growing concern over continuous reliance of our economic and energy systems on
conventional electricity sources and their long-term environmental, climate change, and security
of supply implications. At the same time, much hope and belief is vested in the ability of future
technological progress to tackles these issues. However, informed academic analysis and policy
debates on the future of the electricity systems will need to be with reference to the current state
and prospects of the technological options. This paper constitutes the introduction chapter in the
forthcoming book “Future Electricity Technologies and Systems”.† The book comprises
contributions from leading experts in their respective technology areas. The chapters present the
state of the art and the likely progress paths of conventional and new electricity generation,
networks, storage, and end-use technologies. In this paper we review the growth trend in
electricity demand and carbon emissions. We then present a concise overview of the chapters.
Finally, we discuss the main contextual factors that influence long-term technological progress.
Introduction
One technological innovation more than any other accelerated the development of
civilisation in the twentieth century – electricity. The first awakening of the electricity
industry occurred in the latter half of the nineteenth century with the competing
systems of George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison. Following the discovery of the
incandescent light bulb in 1879 electricity developed rapidly until by the end of the
twentieth century, not only had power networks spanned most of the planet, but also
whole new industrial sectors in computing, communications, and entertainment had
emerged as a direct consequence of developments in electricity.
Electricity and carbon
With the significant exceptions of nuclear power and large-scale hydro electricity the
electricity system of the twentieth century relied upon the combustion of fossil fuels –
initially coal and oil and now increasingly natural gas. The Brundtland Commission
definition of sustainability requires that a sustainable electricity system must be able
to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). As
such electricity systems based upon the depletion of finite fossil fuel reserves are
fundamentally unsustainable.
Electricity and renewables
The above analysis of the significance of electricity suggest the importance of the
introduction of renewable electricity generation if serious reductions in the total
amount of CO2 produced are going to be made. The potential for a large contribution
is high because the current contribution of renewables is modest and declining. The
share of renewables in electricity generation fell from 24.1% to 15.1% between 1970
and 2001 in IEA countries (IEA, 2004b) This was primarily due to the dominance of
hydro in total renewable generation (86% of all renewables) and the rapid growth of
electricity demand since 1970.