Ferroni and Hopkirk revisited
Ferroni and Hopkirk published a paper last year titled ‘Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for photovoltaic solar systems in regions of moderate insolation’. They concluded that the EROI of solar PV in Switzerland was below 1:1, or a net energy loss. Not...
The oil-gold nexus
Crude oil has a unique status in global energy markets and underpins global economic activity. Since the 1970s, it has taken on a role as a quasi-monetary commodity. By the end of World War II, the US held around 70 percent of global gold reserves. The US supplied 6...
The dual identity of rooftop solar
We usually purchase energy, not because we value energy per-se, but because we value the energy services they provide - natural gas because we want warm homes or petrol because we want to get somewhere. The curious thing about solar is that many consumers are buying...
EV penetration in Australia
The Australian amateur astronomer Bob Evans has such an incredible knack for spotting minute changes in the night sky that he holds the record for visual discoveries of supernovae. There seems to be an evolutionary advantage to...
Does Australian household spending on electricity conform to the Bashmakov constant?
Igor Bashmakov is one of the leading Russian experts on climate change and energy efficiency. Bashmakov developed three general energy transition laws: the law of stable long-term energy costs to income ratio; the law of improving energy quality; and the law of...