EROI and theories of value
Conventional economists' rejection of EROI Conventional economists usually reject net-energy analysis. The assumption is that the price system embeds all the energy and non-energy costs, and therefore there is nothing to be gained by a narrow focus on energetic...
The social contract of electricity service
In an address to a group of British engineers in 1892, Hopkinson articulated many of what we would now identify as contemporary problems faced by electricity regulators. Hopkinson explored the issue of fixed versus variable tariffs, the problems of network cost...
Is PV capacity growth logistic?
The logistic growth function is a useful way to explore the growth rates of many natural phenomena. Many man-made developments can be described by a logistic function, including the diffusion of power technology, such as hydropower and nuclear. Logistic growth differs...
Australia's strategic oil reserve
[UPDATE 7 May 2018. I originally posted this in July 2017, but since the Australian Federal Government announced a review, I thought I would repost this.] With the current political debates in Australia around energy and climate policy, it’s easy to neglect the...
Futurism and dematerialized growth
Futurists can be interesting to listen to but almost invariably bring a Silicon Valley mindset to addressing sustainability challenges. Discussing Google’s foray into energy with the RE<C project, Carey King noted that Google brings a mindset that is ‘used to...