Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1.1
Energy return on energy invested (EROEI)
Resource
Energyreturn
Oil
19
Natural gas
10
Coal
50
Nuclear
1.1-15
Wind
18
Solar
3.7-10
Hydrogen
< 1
Coal clearly stands out, but the above figures do not include
the associated environmental costs, which are far higher for coal
than any other alternative. Although some optimists claim that
there are coal reserves for at least 130 years at current usage rates
and quality, there are strong indications that economically available
quantities are much lower. The one country that has (almost)
completed the complete cycle of coal production is the United
Kingdom, where it turns out that historically estimated useable
reserves were grossly overestimated. Dave Rutledge of Caltech
has developed a more accurate model of useable coal based on
actual historical production data rather than government estimates,
and concludes that traditional estimation methods, including
those of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
overestimate useable reserves by 4-6 times. Rutledge estimates
that 90% of all usable coal will have been burned by 2070 [6].
Others are even more pessimistic, as increasing costs of mining
suggest that the EROEI of coal will slide substantially within a few
decades, making coal use quite inefficient within a relatively short
period [7].
Nuclear energy is only viable with huge government subsidies
to cover hidden costs that are never mentioned by the promoters.
Take for example the United States. The first hidden cost to
taxpayers is due to a cap on possible insurance claims against
private corporations at USD 10 billion per accident—as mandated
by the Price-Anderson Act. The risk of a major accident, typically
claimed by promoters to be negligibly small, is simply too high for
private insurance companies to accept. This raises an interesting
question: who is most credible on risk evaluation, the promoters of
nuclear energy or the insurance companies? I vote for the insurance
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