this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2026
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Climate
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Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
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Not quite: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-primary-energy
The race is about new energy. An old gas plant is still cheap to operate. But when faced with the decision of building new capacity, solar is cheaper and its not close. New gas energy is grinding to a halt.
Electric motors and heat pumps are far more energy efficient than their combustion counterparts. Solar and wind electricity can be generated in situ or transported via cable. No need to power ships and trucks for fossil delivery to refineries or fuel stations. Thus we will end up with less primary energy.
How does a heat pump helps you firing Portland cement, ceramics, melting glass and metal, fixating air nitrogen? And these are all 24/7 industrial processes.
As you say, these are industrial processes and need to be addressed by industrial solutions. There are new processes for steel, cement and fertiliser being developed and tested. They will move to mainstream as we electrify everything.
Looking at glass, or cement. Do you know a heat pump that runs at up to 1600 C? So it's just plain ohmic heating. And it's a 24/7 process, so it needs electrochemical backup. Do you know what that does to your EROEI?