SCRIPT for Energy [R]evolution slideshow:
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Slide # / Suggested Script1 / Hello, I am X, from Y. I have had a keen interest in Z for W years, and have come today to talk with you about renewable energy because I believe that V.
In this presentation, I am speaking in my personal capacity and not on behalf of any organisation. This slideshow was developed by Greenpeace, based on their Energy [R]evolution report which shows the incredible potential of renewable energy in the next 40 years.
2 / But before we start properly, let’s all relax, and do some imagining together…
Imagine a world powered by 100% renewable energy.
3 / Imagine if there was never another oil spill…
4 / … so our marine life would stay intact, our fishing communities healthy, our oceans clean.
5 / One third of the world's population, over 2 billion people – do not have access to electricity.
Imagine if everyone had the energy they needed to lift themselves out of poverty.
6 / Imagineif we were able to prevent the worst impacts of climate change – [feel free to mention some that are relevant to you here] – and keep those that are inevitable to levels we can adapt to.
7 / Imaginea world in which human rights issues and international conflicts over oil and other resources were not flooding our news every day.
8 / Imaginea world where you don’t have to pay for oil at the pump again, because the public transport system is fast and comfortable, because your work and your home are close enough to cycle between, or because you own an electric car that you charge at home – for much less than the cost of filling a tank with petrol.
9 / Imaginea high-tech society where the energy we use – for electricity, heat, and transport – is produced in our community, on our rooftops, and where we can control our energy choices locally.
Right now, the vast majority of the energy we use comes from resources that are mined or drilled from the earth, then shipped or pumped across huge distances to dirty power-plants or refineries that produce huge amounts of greenhouse gases or radioactive waste.
Imaginea world where none of that polluting infrastructure was necessary.
10 / This future is possible. And it is already beginning.
Welcome to the Energy [R]evolution.
The Energy [R]evolution is a practical blueprint for the world's renewable energy future, developed by Greenpeace International in conjunction with specialists from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), and more than 30 scientists and engineers from universities, institutes and the renewable energy industry around the world.
This blueprint demonstrates how we can get from where we are now to where we need to be by 2050. It shows how we can evolve our energy systems, phase out fossil fuels, cut CO2 emissions, and ensure energy security and access for all.
11 / What will the world look like without the Energy [R]evolution?
This is known as the ‘Reference Scenario’. It’s based on the International Energy Agency's 2008 World Energy Outlook (WEO 2009), extrapolated forward from 2030. The graph shows what the world's energy demand is predicted to look like without the Energy [R]evolution, including electricity, heat and transport.
As you can see, without the Energy [R]evolution, the future will remain primarily based on fossil fuels. Clean energy will only contribute a small amount. When looking at this graph, it is important to remember that... (go to next slide)
12 / “The stone age did not end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil.” said by the former Saudi Arabian Oil Minister.
The Energy [R]evolution is about evolution – it’s about changing to better technologies because they are better, and because we want to improve ourselves, just the way we changed to metal tools because they were better than stone ones.
13 / The Energy [R]evolution scenario was developed to satisfy five core principles:
1 – Ensure fair energy access for all
2 – Respect natural limits on both resources and emissions
3 – Phase out dirty, unsustainable fuels
4 – Use proven renewable solutions, and decentralise energy systems
5 – Increase human wellbeing without fossil fuels
The scientists behind the Energy [R]evolution took these 5 principles and assessed all the technologies we have available to us now…
14 / … and from that, they developed a scenario for each of these ten world regions.
Each area differs vastly in geography, population density, economy and poverty, energy demand, and types of energy resources – and therefore requires a separate regional scenario.
When you add them all up, the global Energy [R]evolution scenario is the result.
15 / reveal nuclear, coal, oil, gas segments> By 2050, we will no longer need any dirty, deadly nuclear energy, and we will have phased out coal almost completely. Our oil and natural gas consumption will be slashed.
<reveal all renewable energy segments> To provide our energy needs – and keep in mind this is not only for electricity, but also for heating/cooling and transport – we will instead use a host of renewable energies...
<reveal efficiency segment>... and we will use our energy in smarter, more efficient ways than we do today. The amount of saved energy via efficiency measures here is compared with the IEA (International Energy Agency) BAU (Business As Usual) scenario, which projects large growth rates. However, with an Energy [R]evolution, global energy demand can be stabilized on today's levels – even with a continued growth of energy demand in developing countries.
In this slideshow,
• First, we will show you how the different technologies in the Energy [R]evolution work and how they are being used already.
• Second, we will look at the current state of the renewable energy industry worldwide.
• Then we will look at the future – What benefits can we expect from the Energy [R]evolution until 2050?
• And finally, we will look at what we need to do – in our governments, in our homes, in our communities – to make sure that the Energy [R]evolution becomes a reality.
16 / But first things first, let’s talk about “how stuff works”!
17 / The Energy [R]evolution rolls out in three main stages.
The first two are 1) increasing Energy Efficiencyand 2) increasing Renewable Energyuse, both through large-scale installations and smaller, distributed installations in people's homes and villages. In most countries, these phases have already started - and, if we can make our governments implement the right policies, they will continue to move forward in parallel.
[You can include a short example from your own country – a government policy on energy efficiency or renewable energy that has helped to advance the renewable energy industry.]
However, both approaches have a limits. On their own, they aren't enough to solve the energy problem. It's hard to become even moreefficient, once you have already cut all your electricity and heating waste. And there’s a limit to how much renewable energy our currentelectricity grid can handle.
This brings us to the 3rd stage – integration. To take full advantage of the opportunities renewable energy presents, our ancient electricity grids will need to evolve into flexible 'smart grids' that provide stable, reliable, 24/7 renewable energy. Instead of having three separate systems for transport, electricity, and heating/cooling, we create an integrated, total energy system that delivers all three functions – and gives us maximum efficiency savings through that combination.
Let’s go through each of these stages in turn.
18 / Stage 1 - Energy Efficiency is about cutting energy waste – and energy bills – in our homes and offices, in our transport systems, and in our industries.
Let’s be clear about this: Conserving energy is not about promoting abstinence or 'going back to the caves' – we can still watch TV, use the internet, travel and heat our houses.*It is instead about using energy intelligently and mindfully.
Some of the changes we need to make will bring benefits nearly immediately, some within five years. Others will bear fruit in 10-20 years.
But for all of them, we need to start today.
19 / A very fast and simple benefit can come from governments mandating that products such as white goods, light bulbs, TVs, laptops, etc must pass certain energy rating standards. Such standards can start fairly low, and then increase predictably over time, giving manufacturers certainty and time to adjust.
Take the light bulb. Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, and the EU have all passed policies to phase out incandescent light bulbs, and more countries are following suit, including the US and Russia. It’s a barely noticeable change for us as individuals, but a big win for the planet.
Or consider this: A global standard to reduce standby power on all appliances to no more than 1 watt would cut residential electricity use (and electricity bills) by around 8%. And given the quick turnover rate for white goods and electronics, new standards make a big impact quickly.
20 / Mid-term efficiency improvementsare all about best practice in building design. Some are simple – such as improving insulation – others are more complicated:
‘Passive design’ or ‘heat pump’ technology for heating and cooling, evaporative cooling systems – these are the available technologies that can phase out the need for energy-intensive air-conditioning or inefficient heating. And often they improve our lifestyles at the same time.
Improvements in design can lead to big savings. Just consider that, in the USA, about 14% of total electrical consumption is used to air condition buildings. In China, it’s a staggering 20%. (E[R] report, page 188, references 98 and 100).
As an example for mid-term improvements, look at these pictures showing the heat leakage from two buildings. The red areas shows where energy is getting out and is wasted.
<First two images> This is an old, inefficiently-designed apartment block in Austria.
<Second set of images> This next picture shows a block of apartments that have been designed for energy efficiency. As you can see, the corresponding infra-red image shows barely any heat leakage at all.
<Compare side by side> The people living in this house are using much less electricity, and are paying much less on their electricity bills.
21 / The longest-term effort for improving efficiency is in the transport sector – both improvements in efficiency of individual vehicles – cars, trucks, buses and trains - and structural changes to make the transport system overall more efficient and comfortable.
<First image> For example, this is a traffic jam in Beijing. We can do a lot better, with a mix of new technologies and lifestyle changes. The top priority is good urban design with convenient and comfortable public transport systems and <Second image> safe cycling routes: If we live close to where we work and play, then healthy, no-car living becomes possible.
The technological evolution in private vehicles is moving from gas guzzlers, to light cars with efficient combustion engines, to hybrids, to plug-in-hybrids and finally to electric ‘e-cars’. In some countries, the acceptance of this technological change will require cultural shifts, so that it’s no longer seen as desirable to drive a gas-guzzler (like a Hummer).
To reduce aviation demand, technologies like videoconferencing can reduce the need for business travel, and high-speed trains and cultural shifts so that holidays are closer to home will also be important.
Creating this sort of cultural change takes time, but it’s vitally important.
22 / Overall, the Energy [R]evolution scenario will save 90 Exa-Joule by 2020 – compared to the Reference Scenario. This is equal to Europe's current total energy demand.
23 / Stage 2 - Renewable Energy is about using large scale, central renewable plants, such as wind farms and geothermal energy, as well as small-scale, de-centralised energy sources, such as solar panels.
Let’s look at the different technologies that make up the Energy [R]evolution and see how they are used.
24 / Wind energy is very flexible. In high wind-speed areas, it comes in the form of gigantic wind farms. Elsewhere, a single turbine can power a remote community or a single house.
You see a schematic graph of a wind turbine. Most of these turbines have gear boxes, however a growing number of manufacturers now produce wind turbines without a gear box and a generator directly connected to the shaft, making electricity production more efficient.
25 / A 150kW turbine, small by industry standards, – that’s all Grant and Suzie need to power the entire wine making process of their Elgo Estate Winery in Australia. In fact, their turbine produces double the energy they require, saves them $30,000 in bills a year, and saves a tonne of greenhouse gas every day. That’s what a coal-fired power station would emit for the same amount of energy.
Isn’t it a no-brainer that, if this one piece of equipment can pump out double the power for a commercial winery, wind offers renewable energy solutions for all manner of business activity and the electricity grid in general?
26 / And then there’s industrial scale production.
This wind farm on the Silk Road is one of the China’s largest wind farms. These 200 wind turbines are not just providing plenty of energy, but ‘green’ jobs for local workers who once migrated all the way to Beijing for work, and who can now return home.
You only have to look at this picture and think of some of the recent disasters in coal mines in China to recognise that green jobs are not only better for the environment, they are also better for workers.
27 / This is in Thailand. About 40 low-cost, low-speed turbines provide villagers on Koh Lan Island with an alternative to expensive and noisy diesel generators for their electricity consumption.
This is Manote Chuansatian, the Thai engineer who has developed this and other low-speed wind energy systems in Thailand.
28 / Solar panels.
Here’s how they work: The red and grey parts you see here are two layers of a silicon semiconductor, one negatively charged, and one positively charged. When light hits the panel – even just in small amounts – electrons move from one layer to the other, creating electric current.
Photovoltaic or PV, as this kind of energy production is called, is extremely versatile…
29 / …in communities that are connected to the grid, it can make a real contribution.
This house features the UK’s first grid-connected PV system. Built in 1995 by architect Sue Roaf, it cost no more to build than an average house the same size – but the 48 solar panels have been producing more electricity than what her house – and her electric car – have used each year, for 15 years. And that’s in Oxford, in the UK – which has a much lower level of sunshine than the world average.
30 / Larger areas can also be covered and connected to the grid – like this roof on the St Moritz Hostel in Switzerland, where 24 young Greenpeace volunteers were trained in solar installation. The system they installed was big enough to supply six 4-person households.
31 / But small-scale solar power also works without a connection to the grid.
Stand-alone photovoltaic systems present a particular opportunity for people and businesses in poor and rural areas. Energy produced that way can be controlled and owned by the community, as it is at this installation in Jalka, India.
These panels power the 10 fans and two computers in these girls’ school. It gives them independence from the frequent 12-hour power cuts, which occur despite the fact that village is meant to get regular supply from a coal-fired plant.
32 / PV can also power single appliances, like these solar lanterns, which allow sellers in Bhopal, India to sell their produce after dark, or this Greenpeace-developed “solar chill” refrigerator for distribution of vaccinations in off-grid rural Africa, Asia and South America.
But all these systems are only one type of solar energy...
33 / …this is the other type [of solar energy, not using photovoltaic cells] – known as ‘Concentrating Solar Power’ or ‘Solar Thermal’ energy.