How much space will renewable energy require?
Renewable energy will require an enormous amount of space - how much?
Power density in the chart below indicates energy per unit time per square metre of the earth's surface. Power producers must watch consumers.
WE CAN THINK ABOUT ENERGY IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH PHYSICAL IS REQUIRED TO PRODUCE OR CONSUME IT
Diagram 1, Issue 12
Power range per square metre of each producer or consumer
Data from power densities(SMIL, 2015)
The total area range of each producer or consumer requires
Thermal electricity(coal, oil, nuclear) has a power density about 1000x times 1000 smaller than the city it supplies.
Rooftop solar PV works well for many houses
Biofuels for Melbourne's urban traffic would require 10-100x the area of the city - perhaps the entire state of Victoria.
A typical solar PV farm would need to be 5-10x the size of the city it supplies. Sydney would need a PV farm on the order of the size of Ireland, or all of NSW crop land.
Tomorrow's net-zero communities - which will inherit today's housing, commercial, industrial, and transportation - will provide the same level of useful energy as today's fossil-fuel based energy systems.
Researched and handwritten for you by Ian 🙂