(Conversation recorded on May 24th, 2023)
Show Summary
On this episode, global systems researcher Iñigo Capellán Pérez joins Nate to discuss net energy analysis, and its use as a tool in analyzing the feasibility of an entire system. While net energy analysis is complex and polarized, some form of it will be necessary to guide society into a resource-constrained future. The energy outlook of a technology changes when scaled up to meet the needs of a larger society. Many models and EROI analyses that fail to take a system-wide view and only look at a single technology use case, only reflect the partial net energy story. When looking at the huge scale-up needed for ‘solutions’ such as Green Growth and Net Zero Transitions, do the hopes for renewable technologies hold up the lifestyles we’ve come to expect over the last century of fossil surplus? Do our policymakers and leaders have the full picture to make competent decisions? How can we best use these tools to make creative responses to guide us through a Great Simplification?
About Iñigo Capellán Pérez
Iñigo is an Industrial Engineer currently doing research with The Group of Energy, Economy and Systems Dynamics (GEEDS) of the University of Valladolid. He holds a Master degree in Electric Energy and Sustainable Development and a PhD in Economics with his dissertation on “Development and Application of Environmental Integrated Assessment Modelling towards Sustainability” at the University of the Basque Country. His research interests focus on the analysis and modeling of the energy-economy-environment systems, the transition to renewable energies in the context of the depletion of fossil fuels and climate mitigation and the technical and social transformations towards sustainability.
Show Notes & Links to Learn More:
00:00 – Iñigo Capellán Pérez works, info, GEEDS, and the paper referenced in this episode: Dynamic Energy Return on Energy Investment (EROI) and material requirements in scenarios of global transition to renewable energies
00:45 – EROI, Nate’s Frankly
03:34 – Integrated Assessment Models
03:45 – IPCC Models
06:46 – Peak Oil
10:10 – Degrowth
12:40 – Beyond Growth
16:22 – Biofuels EROI
17:10 – Societies need about 5-15:1 EROI to sustain themselves
17:45 – Carlos de Castro Carranza – GEEDS
25:40 – Green Growth myth of energy substitutability
31:10 – Investment timeline into fossil fuels vs renewables
35:05 – Biophysical Economics
39:35 – Material, land, etc., limitations of renewables
40:20 – Planetary Boundaries
42:39 – Renewables (wind, solar, and geothermal only) are 5% of primary energy production
42:56 – EROI of the system declined and continues to decline
48:25 – Ukraine/Russia impact on energy
49:25 – Dependence on Russian Fertilizer
53:30 – Energy Cooperatives
59:49 – Collapse Jared Diamond
1:02:18 – TGS Episode on Hydrogen
Teaser photo credit: The 40.5 MW Jännersdorf Solar Park in Prignitz, Germany. By Parabel GmbH – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32375257
