Circular Energy








We arrive at the homonymous column of this space which, since its beginning, has proposed the idea of returning to the future in matters of energy; that is, concentrating public, private and social efforts on analyzing the challenges of the energy sector of the future and potential solutions. We have talked about energy revolutions and what the future may bring us ahead, as well as climate changes and the garbage, and the waste associated with the energy sector.

Since the seventies, the need to implement a sustainable development model has been raised, one that takes into account the use of resources and their replacement rates, in such a way that, in the future, ecosystems can provide the natural resources necessary to give a growing population the means for its continued development.

In 2015, as part of a process to expand the Millennium Goals, the countries that make up the United Nations Organization developed a series of goals related to this topic; it represents the most ambitious expression that the international community has presented, called the Sustainable Development Goals, which is constituted as part of the agenda of the international community of 2030.

In this sense, one current that proposes an alternative solution for sustainable development is that of “circular economy.” It proposes that the international economic system can reduce waste and the intensive use of resources through the use, reuse, adaptation, repair, recycling and responsible final disposal of goods and products that form part of the supply structure that sustains the world economic base.

Given that world energy development is associated with effects on the environment and, in our times —particularly with climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere— it is key to understand how a concept such as “circular energy” can be articulated, incorporating some basic elements of the current into the energy sector.

In this way, even though the future of the energy sector is based on the development of renewable sources —such as solar and wind supported by traditional storage and electric cars, hydrogen for generation, storage or mobility, among other options— this technology needs resources and generates waste that requires special treatment.

Considering this, the challenge to overcome is how to reuse, adapt, repair, recycle or definitively and safely dispose of solar panels, traditional batteries and other clean technologies in such a way that they do not become —just as happened with cellphones and computers— digital garbage.

This is of vital importance, because one of the points established by the 2030 agenda is to guarantee universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. This means that international efforts are aimed at ensuring that the inhabitants of the planet have energy; but also, that this comes from renewable sources and that they are affordable for everyone. This implies, consequently, that it is fundamental to establish mechanisms that lead to a better understanding of what is required to integrate the circular economy model into the energy sector.

This is a debate, which is still in its initial stage, and will be fundamental for the continuous development of the world and to create a green and sustainable energy sector. Otherwise, even with renewable energy sources, we could generate important impacts on the environment.

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: September 9, 2020
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/energia-circular-opinion-paul-sanchez-energia-futuro/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240722041425/https://businessinsider.mx/energia-circular-opinion-paul-sanchez-energia-futuro/ [Archived]

Climate Changes






“The only constant is change”

-Heraclitus

Allow me to share a hypothesis with you: the history of humanity is the history of the search for and mastery of energy, and energy development always has an impact that changes the environment permanently and effects on the climate, that is, that produce climate changes, yes, like that in plural.

A few months ago I briefly shared with you about the first energy revolution in history: the Neolithic revolution where agriculture was disseminated, which allowed the settlement of the earliest cultures. As you can imagine, the increase in the quality and quantity of food allowed the increase of the population and the surplus of production even allowed animals to be domesticated, which in turn increased and diversified the available food, or seen in another way, available energy.

The energy-economic system of the world, until before the industrial revolution, was based on this form of energy, the energy of muscle and food to keep this force biologically functioning. Said in another way, this system was based on the capacity of human beings and beasts to perform work.

As the increase in population increased the demand for food, it was also required that the available land increase to also sustain the increase of the agricultural activities that would produce said food. Productive lands for agricultural activity did not appear naturally, but rather required the intervention of man.

To increase the amount of available land, historians propose that the first civilizations had to cut down and burn forests, jungles and even swamps in massive quantities to incorporate new lands into the productive process, reducing and, in some cases destroying, the biodiversity of the place.

Agricultural development not only changed the economic and social structures persistent until that moment, in fact, from my point of view, it is the basis of the slave-feudal economic model that required a large amount of labor to maintain the increase of available energy, of which we will speak next week, but it also changed the environment.

Ecosystems were modified and a first climate change was produced, which, although it pales in magnitude compared with that of our days directly related to the burning of fossil fuels, has had an effect that has lasted to the detriment of the Earth’s capacity to absorb CO2.

In exchange, the availability of the energy available to societies increased exponentially at a rate that was only surpassed with the advent of the industrial revolution. Paradoxically, it was after industrial development and technological innovation that agricultural development has been more productive in relation to the use of land, but it brought with it an increase in greenhouse gas emissions related to the burning of fossil fuels.

If we start from the fact that the garbage, refuse, residues and waste of a period of time are directly related to the dominant energy technology, it is also possible to point out that changes to the environment and to the climate are directly related to the available sources of energy. Under this perspective, we could ask ourselves whether the adoption of renewable energy sources, storage, hydrogen and all those energy sources of the future will solve climate changes forever or whether they will generate their own changes in the climate. For today we do not have that answer.

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: September 2, 2020
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/cambios-climaticos-opinion-paul-alejandro-sanchez-energia-circular/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20210306235244/https://businessinsider.mx/cambios-climaticos-opinion-paul-alejandro-sanchez-energia-circular/ [Archived]

The Waste of the Future












With this installment we finish the trilogy of waste and refuse related to the energy sector and dominant technologies. Two weeks ago we entered into the public crisis generated by horse waste —urine, manure and corpses— in the great cities of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century; and the previous week, we analyzed how the growth in the use of fossil fuels in the world has produced an increase in greenhouse gas emissions related to climate change.

The problem caused by horse waste was solved when the automobile became widespread and the use of fossil fuels increased as the main source of transportation in the world. In the near future, the use of fossil sources could be replaced by the generation and storage of renewables, but that could also bring with it the energy waste of the future.

When the moment arrives, the proliferation of solar panels and batteries will be of such magnitude that, just like the horse in its time or greenhouse gas emissions, their final disposal can be a public problem of great importance.

Tons of waste of the future

Those solar panels that have been installed in recent years and those that are about to be installed could add up, by 2040, to 770,000 tons. This figure will increase as the roofs of the world become covered with solar panels; something that could be relatively fast, considering that the most important cities in the world have already begun to develop policies so that new constructions take advantage of their roofs to generate electric energy.

On the other hand, reaching the energy potential that renewable energies can release requires the development of storage on a large and small scale; this is batteries in generation plants, but also in buildings, businesses, industrial parks and homes.

Although there are many technological developments in the research and maturation stage, today conventional storage is carried out through lithium batteries that contain nickel, cobalt, aluminum, manganese and other components; in such a way that the batteries for cars and the electric sector that have been developed until now, and those that continue in the near future, can represent close to 7.8 million tons per year by 2040.

Given that one of the main costs of an electric car is the battery and its replacement can mean more expense —in terms of leveled investment— than buying another car, it is highly probable that the waste will not only be the batteries but the entire frame of the automobile, in addition to the fact that other legacy waste is not eliminated, such as tires.

A solution for the waste of the future

To solve these problems of the near future, two elements are required working jointly and in synergy:

  1. Policies for the final disposal of this waste in the present that responsibly address withdrawal in the future. That is, the responsibility of the producer and consumer must be extended in the present, in order to have the means of recycling, disposal and reuse in the future.
  2. Innovation and development to increase the useful life of technology and transition toward better methods of generation and storage of energy and transportation.

Who knows, perhaps another energy transition, there in the distant future, will allow us to change from solar generation, conventional storage and electric cars to a system based on hydrogen as an energy vector, storage and transportation. There is still a long way to go, but without a doubt, the energy future of the world will be surprising.

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: August 26, 2020
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/opinion-la-basura-del-futuro-paul-sanchez-columna-energia-circular/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220928192656/https://businessinsider.mx/opinion-la-basura-del-futuro-paul-sanchez-columna-energia-circular/ [Archived]