Council has noted that sufficient domestic renewable resources exist to allow renewable electricity to

play a significant role in future electricity generation and thus help confront issues related to climate
change, energy security, and the escalation of energy costs Renewable energy is an attractive option
because renewable resources available in the United States, taken collectively, can supply significantly
greater amounts of electricity than the total current or projected domestic demand." .[144]

Critics of the "100% renewable energy" approach include Vaclav Smil and James E. Hansen. Smil and
Hansen are concerned about the variable output of solar and wind power, but many other scientists and
engineers have analysed this situation and said that the electricity grid can cope.[145]

Increased energy efficiency[edit]
Main article: Efficient energy use


A spiral-type integrated compact fluorescent lamp, which has been popular among North American
consumers since its introduction in the mid-1990s.[146]
Although increasing the efficiency of energy use is not energy development per se, it may be considered
under the topic of energy development since it makes existing energy sources available to do
work.[147]:22

Efficient energy use, simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of
energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to
use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature. Installing
fluorescent lights or natural skylights reduces the amount of energy required to attain the same level of
illumination compared to using traditional incandescent light bulbs. Compact fluorescent lights use two-
thirds less energy and may last 6 to 10 times longer than incandescent lights. Improvements in energy
efficiency are most often achieved by adopting an efficient technology or production process.[148]

There are various motivations to improve energy efficiency. Reducing energy use reduces energy costs
and may result in a financial cost saving to consumers if the energy savings offset any additional costs of
implementing an energy efficient technology. Reducing energy use is also seen as a key solution to the
problem of reducing emissions. According to the International Energy Agency, improved energy


efficiency in buildings, industrial processes and transportation could reduce the world's energy needs in
2050 by one third, and help control global emissions of greenhouse gases.[149]

Energy efficiency and renewable energy are said to be the twin pillars of sustainable energy policy.[150]
In many countries energy efficiency is also seen to have a national security benefit because it can be
used to reduce the level of energy imports from foreign countries and may slow down the rate at which
domestic energy resources are depleted.

Transmission[edit]


An elevated section of the Alaska Pipeline.
While new sources of energy are only rarely discovered or made possible by new technology,
distribution technology continually evolves.[151] The use of fuel cells in cars, for example, is an
anticipated delivery technology.[152] This section presents the various delivery technologies that have
been important to historic energy development. They all rely in way on the energy sources listed in the
previous section.

Shipping and pipelines[edit]
See also: Pipeline transport
Shipping is a flexible delivery technology that is used in the whole range of energy development regimes
from primitive to highly advanced. Currently, coal, petroleum and their derivatives are delivered by
shipping via boat, rail, or road. Petroleum and natural gas may also be delivered via pipeline and coal via
a Slurry pipeline. Refined hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline and LPG may also be delivered via aircraft.
Natural gas pipelines must maintain a certain minimum pressure to function correctly. Ethanol's
corrosive properties make it harder to build ethanol pipelines. The higher costs of ethanol
transportation and storage are often prohibitive.[153] Geomagnetically induced currents, seen as
interfering with the normal operation of long buried pipeline systems, are a manifestation[154][155] at
ground level of space weather that occur due to time-varying ionospheric source fields and the
conductivity of the Earth.



See also: List of natural gas pipelines, Natural gas pipeline system in the United States, Trans-Alaska
Pipeline System, Central AsiaCenter gas pipeline system, UrengoyPomaryUzhgorod pipeline and
Northern Lights (pipeline)
See also: List of oil pipelines, Pan-European Oil Pipeline, Tazama Pipeline, Eastern SiberiaPacific Ocean
oil pipeline and Baltic Pipeline System
Wired energy transfer[edit]
Main article: Electrical grid


Electric Grid: Pylons and cables distribute power
Electricity grids are the networks used to transmit and distribute power from production source to end
user, when the two may be hundreds of kilometres away. Sources include electrical generation plants
such as a nuclear reactor, coal burning power plant, etc. A combination of sub-stations, transformers,
towers, cables, and piping are used to maintain a constant flow of electricity. Grids may suffer from
transient blackouts and brownouts, often due to weather damage. During certain extreme space
weather events solar wind can interfere with transmissions. Grids also have a predefined carrying
capacity or load that cannot safely be exceeded. When power requirements exceed what's available,
failures are inevitable. To prevent problems, power is then rationed.

Industrialised countries such as Canada, the US, and Australia are among the highest per capita
consumers of electricity in the world, which is possible thanks to a widespread electrical distribution
network. The US grid is one of the most advanced, although infrastructure maintenance is becoming a
problem. CurrentEnergy provides a realtime overview of the electricity supply and demand for
California, Texas, and the Northeast of the US. African countries with small scale electrical grids have a
correspondingly low annual per capita usage of electricity. One of the most powerful power grids in the
world supplies power to the state of Queensland, Australia.

Wireless energy transfer[edit]
Main article: Wireless energy transfer
Wireless energy transfer is a process whereby electrical energy is transmitted from a power source to an
electrical load that does not have a built-in power source, without the use of interconnecting wires.



See also: World Wireless System