statistics about energy

Highlights

Highlights from How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

• In the 1970s, Solar Energy panels had about 15% efficiency, and today it’s around 25%.
• In China, there are about 22 billion watts of power plants. A typical house uses around 1 kW, the whole world consumes about 5 TW, the United States about 1 TW, a city about 1 GW, and a town about 1 MW.
• Power density (watts per square meter)
  • fossil fuel: 10,000
  • Nuclear Energy: 500–1,000
  • Solar Energy: 5–20
  • Hydroelectric power: 5–50
  • wind energy: 1–2
  • Biomass energy (trees): <1
• In theory, Solar Energy could reach 100 watts per square meter, but no one has managed to achieve that yet.
• The existing ones are quite cheap: 1 gallon of oil costs $2.22,whilebiofuelcosts$5.70.
• For airplanes, the green fuel price difference is about 140% higher.
• Green cement is usually twice as expensive as regular cement.
• In Sub-Saharan Africa, the rate of households with electricity is about 50%.
• In the early days, electricity mostly came from hydroelectric power, but it has drawbacks — it can turn trapped carbon into methane.
• In the USA, between 1900 and 2000, electricity became 1,000 times cheaper. Electrical Energy
• Today, electricity makes up 2% of GDP; oil and natural gas account for 30%, electricity for 60%, and Solar Energy plus wind energy together make up about 7%. ??
• China has tripled its coal-based electricity production.
• In the United States, the green electricity price gap costs households about $18 per month.
• While solar energy costs about 5 cents per kWh, storing it costs around 10 cents, meaning electricity costs 5 cents during the day and 15 cents at night. Battery
• In summer, Germany produces so much clean electricity that it sells it to neighboring countries, but in winter it faces serious challenges — energy needs to be stored.