The US EIA provides us with primary energy numbers (Table 1.1). The 2024 data are for the first 10 months of the year.
Year Fossil Fuel % 2024 83.5 2019 83.4 2014 82.1 2005 81.6
https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/sec1.pdf
DB2
The US EIA provides us with primary energy numbers (Table 1.1). The 2024 data are for the first 10 months of the year.
Year Fossil Fuel % 2024 83.5 2019 83.4 2014 82.1 2005 81.6
https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/sec1.pdf
DB2
Net Zero is an expensive pipe dream. EVs might displace ICE cars but not fossil fuels. Then, what’s the gain?
“Perfect is the enemy of good!” Voltaire
The Captain
Centralized fossil fuel burning power plants are also quite a bit more efficient than internal combustion engines. 48% or so vs 25% for ICE. Probably not exact numbers.
The solution is more green energy. But massive investment is needed to get there.
The Red Queen’s race…
“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
DB2
There seems to be no shortage of investment funds. Wonder why green investment is so slow.
It’s not.
Of course - China is going to own this market now.
A number of reasons. One is the existing fossil fuel infrastructure–pipelines, oil fields, refineries, coal mines, gas stations-- it so huge and constructed over so many decades that it would require enormous investment even to displace a small part of that, and the existing system is so large that it has enormous financial inertia.
Another is the fracking boom had made natural gas super cheap, which makes it hard for other energy sources to compete.
And then there is the anti-science, anti-intellectual political climate in the United States. For example, the current leader of the free world has said on many occasions electric boats would be so heavy they would sink and cause the passengers to either be electrocuted or eaten by sharks.
Document the White House is an electric boat that did NOT sink due to its weight. TIG sank it with his lies because just about everyone was able to put many holes in his false claims.
The same source has the CO2 emissions from the burning of the main fossil fuels. Going back to previous years, the following are the CO2 emissions for the first 10 months of each year shown. This way we can compare 2024 with other years on an equal time basis. I couldn’t go back to 2005 as in the first post, since the EIA monthly CO2 data in this report apparently doesn’t go back that far. I did get the 2009 data, however.
CO2 from fossil fuels, Jan. thru Oct. of each year Million metric tons of CO2 Coal Nat Gas Petroleum Total 2024 624 1455 1863 3948 2019 915 1367 1961 4252 2014 1443 1167 1869 4488 2009 1561 994 1922 4487
While CO2 from coal has come down in the last several years, CO2 from natural gas has gone up. The decrease in coal is larger than the increase in natural gas, so overall yearly CO2 has declined somewhat. CO2 from petroleum products (gasoline, diesel fuel, etc) has come down a little, but the rate of decrease has been slow.
It will be impossible to get to net zero in the US if the use of natural gas keeps going up as it is. Since natural gas power plants are the preferred back up for wind and solar, the CO2 from natural gas will keep being emitted and is increasing nearly every year.
It can also be noted that even with closing down a big part of coal-fired power generation, the US still has rather high per capita CO2 emissions compared with other developed nations. (14.3 tons per person in the US, compared with 4 to 8 tons per person for much of Europe, as an example.)
_ Pete
Somebody ought to tell the fable teller that before nuclear power submarines were hybrids, diesel on the surface and electric when submerged. I mention “fable teller” because it as not The Donald…
Trump’s recounting of the saga goes roughly like this: In September, a South Carolina boat manufacturer warned him about the scourge of electric boats — arguing that the battery is so large that it leaves little room for passengers and, worse, the battery is so heavy that the boat might not even float.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/26/trump-shark-ev-boat-electrocution/
Anything foolish to sink the ship!
The Captain
That’s if the vehicle is well maintained. How many are?
intercst
To get to 25%, they require the owners manually PUSH the vehicle for 50% of the time it is in use (for any purpose). Hopefully, they eventually remember to shift out of P and release the emergency brake before they start pushing…
OK - 20%, 30% for a diesel.
But only when running at high efficiency, like a constant speed on the freeway. The efficiency when braking or a stoplight is zero.