The current general paradigm is that energy is very abundant in the world. We always see this figure of one square in the Sahara that is enough to power all the world, no? And which gives the impression that we have a lot of affordable energy. But because of an institutional framework for which growth is not negotiable, even if they have several scenarios in all of them, the GDP per capita grows in all regions. So this again falls, let's say, diversity.
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.
For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/78-iigo-capelln-prez
To watch this video episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/m9VFYTXSwNw