Sustainable Engineering: Navigating the Challenges and Solutions in Global Energy Production

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Sustainable Engineering

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Introduction:

Energy is one of the pivotal elements that give momentum to the economic as well as social development.

Year by year there has been a uncertainty in the sector of energy due to the variation in the price of oil.

With the increase in the world population that is leading to the increase in demand for the energy needs.

Today there are more resources for energy than the world has seen twenty years before (Pickavet et al,

2008). The concern over the oil is not much bothering the world today.

However the exemption of oil does not change the situation or in other words found a solution for the

bigger crisis the world is facing today. According to Soytas and Sari (2013) the simple anxiety of oil has

been replaced by myriad of other problems and more intricate challenges. Soya and Sari (2013) also states

that even though there is a rise in the unconventional energy sources, the overall endowment of the oil has

been quadrupled. The scholars signify, it is the slow growth rate in the unconventional energy sources that

makes the demand for oil to increase.

According to the global data collected, the scholars are now interpreting that the usage of energy

consumption in the global level would double than that of today, especially the share of electricity

increasing more rapidly than any other energy supplies (Fettweis & Zimmermann, 2008). It is evaluated

that since 1970, the increase in the electronic and electrical goods in homes and offices has increased up

to 600%.

Feteweis and Zimmermann (2008) also state that according to the explorative situation, the

unconventional energy especially solar could register the highest growth by contributing to the 25-33% of

the global energy mix. On the other side Feteweis and Zimmermann (2008) also asserts that the status of

oil or the fossil fuel would remain as the dominant energy resource till the year of 2050.

The report was developed to understand the growing energy demand, production and consumption in the

global level. In order to acquire the objective of comprehending these factors, various secondary sources

including journals and articles has been used to interpret the data. The sources have also been used to

interpret the measures the scholars and the analysts have derived to curb the overuse of the conventional

energy sources and bring down the consumption to a sustainable rate.

World Energy Scenario:

According to the 2010 Survey of Energy Resources, conducted by World Energy Council there are six

key facts on the world energy production and consumption, and they are;

• The global primary energy consumption have increased 11.7% from 2008 to 2010

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• In the same year, it is estimated that the growth in the energy production sector remained only

2.7% while the consumption increased tremendously

• On the same note the report also asserted that the growth in the energy production acquired a new

momentum despite of the economic stagnation

• As discussed earlier in the report crude oil remain as the most used energy constituting a

whopping 32.9% energy consumption in the year 2010 alone

• Among the nonrenewable energy, coal consumption increased by 2.7% in the year 2010 that

makes it the fastest growing fossil fuel

• On another note, renewable energy structures according to the report is the fastest growing energy

resources among all and is estimated to be grow in a long term period.

Figure 1 World Energy Consumption Level by the Year 2010, Source: Council, W. E. (2010)

The scientists are professing that even the world adapts to a decentralized jazz or a centralized

orchestrated symphony scenario, the rate in the emission of greenhouse gasses would increase by two or

even four times by the end of 2050 than of the level recorded in the early 1990, and this professed

scenario is signifying the potential disaster of the current and the ongoing energy infrastructure (Soytas &

Sari, 2013).

The main reason the scientists and researchers are asserting for the disaster is due to the lack of climate

framework, and this is the pivotal reasons that keeps the global energy leaders on toe (Schmalensee et al,

2014). The energy price and associated volatile variation have become utmost critical due to the absence

of imposing price on the carbon dioxide, says the same scientist community (Schmalensee et al, 2014).

The rapid changes in various energy production and consumption policies, innovations in the

technological sector and expectation from the consumer segments are molding the energy market into a

more complex one. The greater challenge is in the evolving business models; many researches are now

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indicating that most of the business models are now failing to balance the competitiveness and the

affordability in adapting to a sustainable way of production (Masih & Masih, 2007). At the same time the

various political and regulatory aspects around the world are threatening the investment in infrastructure

and innovation.

The efficiency in energy always remain as a key priority, however it takes longer period to finance them

(Masih & Masih, 2007). Sun (2008) in his work ‘Changes in energy consumption and energy intensity: a

complete model’ states that, “The fruit that is low have already been picked, now it is important to make

additional demand-side investment, incentives, innovation and more upgraded technological and technical

standard models in order shred down the current energy intensity, also the efforts needs to be increased in

a drastic way in order to provide accessibility to various energy needs of the world’s growing

population.” He also adds to indicate that any lag in this effort would lead to a failure in providing basic

energy to an estimated population of 550 million in the year of 2050, since this would restrict that

remaining population from various opportunities, life chances and even social-financial prosperity (Sun,

2050).

Energy Production and Climate Change:

It is estimated that the average surface temperature of the planet have increased 1 degree Fahrenheit since

1890. Although there is an existing argument amongst the scientist on the causes of this increase in the

heat, the current data significantly points to the reason that it was due to various made causes. There is a

large number of scientists who are focusing their study on the changes in the atmosphere asserts that

future generation of earth has to face big challenges, if the scenario of climate change continues to

accelerate (Meehl et al, 2007). This includes storms and draughts, even crop fails at a certain point of

time (Meehl et al, 2007), which could destabilize a entire country.

Thomas Crowley (2010) in his research article ‘Causes of Climate change over the Past 500 years’,

explains the major cause of current climate change scenario is due to the tremendous rise in the energy

demand and production. He signifies that since Industrial Revolution has began, the human requirement

for energy needs have been significantly contributing to the climate change scenario by adding carbon

dioxide into the atmosphere. He added, “Greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane have

increased the greenhouse effects and as a result the earth’s temperature on the surface is rising.”

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Adaptation to Renewable Energy and its Challenges:

There are various reasons that catapulted the global business and environmental community to push forth

the agenda and the implementation of renewable energy. With oil prices surging high, with the increasing

concern on the energy security and above all the climate change factors are paving path in the

development and growth of unconventional energy from the conventional energy form. Söderhom and

Sundqvist (2007) in their research article ‘Empirical challenges in the use of learning curves for assessing

the economic prospects of renewable energy technologies’, states that alternate energy sources can

generalized into two categories; one as a substitute for the various petroleum liquid forms and the other in

the generation of electricity, including the storage of power.

When it comes to conventional energy, there is less technical requirement than that off the unconventional

energy methods. As Söderhom and Sundqvist (2007) states, the global energy production has evolved

through conventional energy source, and major technological progress through these ages was made for

this fuel category, since the demand and production for the unconventional rose steep in the last 20 years

mainly due to the environmental issues. It is also important that the conventional energy fuels only needs

extraction and transportation, while the unconventional energy production require heavy engineering,

equipments and infrastructure, making it more costly for large scale production (Söderholm & Sundqvist,

2007). On another side all the current supply chain in many countries are structures for the distribution of

conventional fuel, and changing them to harness unconventional requires tremendous amount of cost and

time (Söderholm & Sundqvist, 2007).

Energy Trilemma and Sustainability:

Figure 2 Energy Trilemma Model, Source: Gunningham, 2013

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Gunningham (2013) in his work ‘Managing the energy trilemma: the case of Indonesia’ states, “while

looking for stable policies that will acknowledge these problems, and develop investment towards energy

solutions that are sustainable in nature, it is important to ask the right question, what is plan B? What

might be the business and policy implication? How it is possible to mobilize the required capital for this

transformation?”

In 2015, World Energy Council or WEC, in their Survey of Energy Resources asserts that the only way to

find appropriate solution and to acquire sustainable energy solution for everyone is only possible by

acknowledging the Energy Trilemma (Please see figure 1). The three or on other words the triple

challenge for lending safe, affordable and environment sensitive energy.

Gunningham (2013) signifies that each dimension of the Trilemma Triangle is not only important, but

vital for the prospereity of a nation. Gunningham also explains that aspects of each pillars on the

Trilemma Triangle varies in energy sustainable index. This index contains nations which are capable of

providing robust energy and policies on climate change required for a sustainable energy system; and that

includes national, regional as well as global.

Gunningham (2013) describes that “we live in a time where there is a rise in uncertainties, extra ordinary

changes and hard choices. Ultimately it is important for the world to adapt to a resilient and sustainable

energy infrastructure, it is pivotal to ask the crucial question, how much current market, policies and

technology must change to contribute to the future sustainable energy.

Heffron et al (2015) in their work ‘Resolving society's energy trilemma through the Energy Justice

Metric’ explains Energy Trilemma as, “today’s triple energy challenge of providing safe or secure

(energy security), affordable (energy equity) and environmentally sensitive (environmental sustainability)

energy. Each of the three pillars or in other words the dimensions of the trilemma, Heffron et al (2015)

affirms the notion of Gunningham (2013), is vital for the social as well as economic sustainability of the

nation. The variation differs among the countries, as many of the nations are concerned about the energy

security, since it is pivotal in fueling the economic growth. Also there is other variability when it comes

to the accessibility of the energy and also affordability, above all as the pillar for the sustainability of the

environment (Heffron et al, 2015).

Kaya and Yokobori (2015) explain one of the key ways to overcome this trilemma and to establish a truly

sustainable energy system. Establishing a truly sustainable energy system or in other words infrastructure

is to find policy solutions to secure future prosperity.

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Conclusion:

Although the global energy production is drastically changing its phase and becoming more concerned

while asserting their effort on the sustainability in production and distribution, there is a lack of

infrastructure and structural development in this very sector. As discussed in various part of the report,

there are dire challenges faced within the global energy production due to the trilemma of factors, and can

only be surpassed by the systemic implementation of policy and proper infrastructure.