Renewable sources

Main articles: Renewable energy and Renewable energy commercialization

[[Image:Alternative Energies.jpg|thumb|The wind, Sun, and biomass are three renewable energy
sources]]
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain,
tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished.) Renewable energy is an
alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear power, and was commonly called alternative energy in the
1970s and 1980s. In 2008, about 19% of global final energy consumption came from renewables,
with 13% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.2% from
hydroelectricity.[1] New renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and
biofuels) accounted for another 2.7% and are growing very rapidly.[1] The share of renewables in
electricity generation is around 18%, with 15% of global electricity coming from hydroelectricity
and 3% from new renewables.[1][2]
Wind power is growing at the rate of 30% annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 158
gigawatts (GW) in 2009,[3][4] and is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the United States.[5] At the
end of 2009, cumulative global photovoltaic (PV) installations surpassed 21 GW[6][7][8] and PV
power stations are popular in Germany and Spain.[9] Solar thermal power stations operate in the
USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 megawatt (MW) SEGS power plant in the
Mojave Desert.[10] The world's largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California,
with a rated capacity of 750 MW. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the
world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane, and ethanol now provides 18% of
the country's automotive fuel.[11] Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.
Climate change concerns, coupled with high oil prices, peak oil, and increasing government
support, are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization.
[12]
New government spending, regulation and policies helped the industry weather the global
financial crisis better than many other sectors.[13] Scientists have advanced a plan to power 100%
of the world's energy with wind, hydroelectric, and solar power by the year 2030,[14][15]
recommending renewable energy subsidies and a price on carbon reflecting its cost for flood and
related expenses.
While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to
rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development.[16] Globally, an
estimated 3 million households get power from small solar PV systems. Micro-hydro systems
configured into village-scale or county-scale mini-grids serve many areas.[17] More than 30
million rural households get lighting and cooking from biogas made in household-scale
digesters. Biomass cookstoves are used by 160 million households.[17]

[edit] Wind
See also: Wind power, List of onshore wind farms, and List of offshore wind farms

Wind power: worldwide installed capacity [18]

Wind power harnesses the power of the wind to propel the blades of wind turbines. These
turbines cause the rotation of magnets, which creates electricity. Wind towers are usually built
together on wind farms. Wind power is growing at the rate of 30% annually, with a worldwide
installed capacity of 158 gigawatts (GW) in 2009,[3][4] and is widely used in Europe, Asia, and the
United States.[5]
At the end of 2009, worldwide wind farm capacity was 157,900 MW, representing an increase of
31 percent during the year,[3] and wind power supplied some 1.3% of global electricity
consumption.[19] Wind power accounts for approximately 19% of electricity use in Denmark, 9%
in Spain and Portugal, and 6% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland.[20] The United States is
an important growth area and installed U.S. wind power capacity reached 25,170 MW at the end
of 2008.[21] As of November 2010, the Roscoe Wind Farm (781 MW) is the world's largest wind
farm.[22]

[edit] Hydroelectric

The Gordon Dam in Tasmania is a large conventional dammed-hydro facility, with an installed
capacity of up to 430 MW.
Main article: Hydroelectricity
In hydro energy, the gravitational descent of a river is compressed from a long run to a single
location with a dam or a flume. This creates a location where concentrated pressure and flow can
be used to turn turbines or water wheels, which drive a mechanical mill or an electric generator.
[23]

In some cases with hydroelectric dams, there are unexpected results. One study shows that a
hydroelectric dam in the Amazon has 3.6 times larger greenhouse effect per kWh than electricity
production from oil, due to large scale emission of methane from decaying organic material[24],
though this is most significant as river valleys are initially flooded, and are of much less
consequence for more boreal dams.[25] This effect applies in particular to dams created by simply
flooding a large area, without first clearing it of vegetation. There are however investigations
into underwater turbines that do not require a dam. And pumped-storage hydroelectricity can use
water reservoirs at different altitudes to store wind and solar power.

[edit] Solar

Nellis Solar Power Plant, the third largest photovoltaic power plant in North America.
Main articles: Solar energy and Photovoltaics
Solar power involves using solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity, using sunlight hitting
solar thermal panels to convert sunlight to heat water or air, using sunlight hitting a parabolic
mirror to heat water (producing steam), or using sunlight entering windows for passive solar
heating of a building. It would be advantageous to place solar panels in the regions of highest
solar radiation.[26] In the Phoenix, Arizona area, for example, the average annual solar radiation is
5.7 kWh/(mday),[27] or 2.1 MWh/(myr). Electricity demand in the continental U.S. is
3.71012 kWh per year. Thus, at 20% efficiency, an area of approximately 3500 square miles
(3% of Arizona's land area) would need to be covered with solar panels to replace all current
electricity production in the US with solar power. The average solar radiation in the United
States is 4.8 kWh/(mday),[28] but reaches 89 kWh/m/day in parts of the Southwest.
At the end of 2009, cumulative global photovoltaic (PV) installations surpassed 21 GW[6][7][8] and
PV power stations are popular in Germany and Spain.[9] Solar thermal power stations operate in

the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 megawatt (MW) SEGS power plant in the
Mojave Desert.[10]
China is increasing worldwide silicon wafer capacity for photovoltaics to 2,000 metric tons by
July 2008, and over 6,000 metric tons by the end of 2010.[29] Significant international investment
capital is flowing into China to support this opportunity. China is building large subsidized offthe-grid solar-powered cities in Huangbaiyu and Dongtan Eco City. Much of the design was done
by Americans such as William McDonough.[30]

[edit] Agricultural biomass

Sugar cane residue can be used as a biofuel

Biomass production involves using garbage or other renewable resources such as corn or other
vegetation to generate electricity. When garbage decomposes, the methane produced is captured
in pipes and later burned to produce electricity. Vegetation and wood can be burned directly to
generate energy, like fossil fuels, or processed to form alcohols. Brazil has one of the largest
renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane,
and ethanol now provides 18% of the country's automotive fuel.[11] Ethanol fuel is also widely
available in the USA.
Vegetable oil is generated from sunlight, H2O, and CO2 by plants. It is safer to use and store than
gasoline or diesel as it has a higher flash point. Straight vegetable oil works in diesel engines if it
is heated first. Vegetable oil can also be transesterified to make biodiesel, which burns like
normal diesel.
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[edit] Geothermal
Main article: Geothermal power
Geothermal energy harnesses the heat energy present underneath the Earth. Two wells are drilled.
One well injects water into the ground to provide water. The hot rocks heat the water to produce
steam. The steam that shoots back up the other hole(s) is purified and is used to drive turbines,

which power electric generators. When the water temperature is below the boiling point of water
a binary system is used. A low boiling point liquid is used to drive a turbine and generator in a
closed system similar to a refrigeration unit running in reverse. There are also natural sources of
geothermal energy: some can come from volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, and steam vents.[31] The
world's largest geothermal power installation is The Geysers in California, with a rated capacity
of 750 MW.

[edit] Tidal
Main article: Tidal power
Tidal power can be extracted from Moon-gravity-powered tides by locating a water turbine in a
tidal current, or by building impoundment pond dams that admit-or-release water through a
turbine. The turbine can turn an electrical generator, or a gas compressor, that can then store
energy until needed. Coastal tides are a source of clean, free, renewable, and sustainable energy.
[32]

[edit] Fossil fuels

The Moss Landing Power Plant burns natural gas to produce electricity in California.
Main articles: Fossil fuel and Peak oil
Fossil fuels sources burn coal or hydrocarbon fuels, which are the remains of the decomposition
of plants and animals. There are three main types of fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
Another fossil fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is principally derived from the production of
natural gas. Heat from burning fossil fuel is used either directly for space heating and process
heating, or converted to mechanical energy for vehicles, industrial processes, or electrical power
generation.
Greenhouse gas emissions result from fossil fuel-based electricity generation. Currently
governments subsidize fossil fuels by an estimated $500 billion a year.[33]

[edit] Nuclear
Main articles: Nuclear power and Peak uranium

[edit] Fission

Diablo Canyon Power Plant Nuclear power station.

Nuclear power stations use nuclear fission to generate energy by the reaction of uranium-235
inside a nuclear reactor. The reactor uses uranium rods, the atoms of which are split in the
process of fission, releasing a large amount of energy. The process continues as a chain reaction
with other nuclei. The energy heats water to create steam, which spins a turbine generator,
producing electricity.
Depending on the type of fission fuel considered, estimates for existing supply at known usage
rates varies from several decades for the currently popular Uranium-235 to thousands of years
for uranium-238. At the present rate of use, there are (as of 2007) about 70 years left of known
uranium-235 reserves economically recoverable at a uranium price of US$ 130/kg.[34] The
nuclear industry argue that the cost of fuel is a minor cost factor for fission power, more
expensive, more difficult to extract sources of uranium could be used in the future, such as
lower-grade ores, and if prices increased enough, from sources such as granite and seawater.[34]
Increasing the price of uranium would have little effect on the overall cost of nuclear power; a
doubling in the cost of natural uranium would increase the total cost of nuclear power by 5
percent. On the other hand, if the price of natural gas was doubled, the cost of gas-fired power
would increase by about 60 percent.[35]
Opponents on the other hand argue that the correlation between price and production is not
linear, but as the ores' concentration becomes smaller, the difficulty (energy and resource
consumption are increasing, while the yields are decreasing) of extraction rises very fast, and that
the assertion that a higher price will yield more uranium is overly optimistic; for example a
rough estimate predicts that the extraction of uranium from granite will consume at least 70
times more energy than what it will produce in a reactor. As many as eleven countries have
depleted their uranium resources, and only Canada has mines left that produce better than 1%
concentration ore.[36] Seawater seems to be equally dubious as a source.[37]
Nuclear meltdowns and other reactor accidents, such as the Fukushima I nuclear accident (2011),
Three Mile Island accident (1979) and the Chernobyl disaster (1986), have caused much public
concern. Research is being done to lessen the known problems of current reactor technology by
developing automated and passively safe reactors. Historically, however, coal and hydropower

power generation have both been the cause of more deaths per energy unit produced than nuclear
power generation.[38][39]
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear technology which may happen from nation to
nation or through other black market channels, including nuclear power plants and related
technology including nuclear weapons.
The long-term radioactive waste storage problems of nuclear power have not been solved.
Several countries have considered using underground repositories. Nuclear waste takes up little
space compared to wastes from the chemical industry which remain toxic indefinitely.[40] Spent
fuel rods are now stored in concrete casks close to the nuclear reactors.[41] The amounts of waste
could be reduced in several ways. Both nuclear reprocessing and breeder reactors could reduce
the amounts of waste. Subcritical reactors or fusion reactors could greatly reduce the time the
waste has to be stored.[42] Subcritical reactors may also be able to do the same to already existing
waste. The only long-term way of dealing with waste today is by geological storage.
At present, nuclear energy is in decline, according to a 2007 World Nuclear Industry Status
Report presented by the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament. The report outlines that
the proportion of nuclear energy in power production has decreased in 21 out of 31 countries,
with five fewer functioning nuclear reactors than five years ago. There are currently 32 nuclear
power plants under construction or in the pipeline, 20 fewer than at the end of the 1990s.[43][44]
Thorium can be used as fuel in a nuclear reactor. A thorium fuel cycle offers several potential
advantages over a uranium fuel cycle including much greater abundance on Earth, superior
physical and nuclear properties of the fuel, enhanced proliferation resistance, and reduced
nuclear waste production. Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia at CERN (European Organization for
Nuclear Research), has worked on developing the use of thorium as an alternative to uranium in
reactors. Rubbia states that a tonne of thorium can produce as much energy as 200 tonnes of
uranium, or 3,500,000 tonnes of coal.[45] One of the early pioneers of the technology was U.S.
physicist Alvin Weinberg at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, who helped develop a
working nuclear plant using liquid fuel in the 1960s.
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removed. (April 2008)

[edit] Fusion
Fusion power could solve many of the problems of fission power (the technology mentioned
above) but, despite research having started in the 1950s, no commercial fusion reactor is
expected before 2050.[46] Many technical problems remain unsolved. Proposed fusion reactors
commonly use deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, as fuel and in most current designs also
lithium. Assuming a fusion energy output equal to the current global output and that this does not
increase in the future, then the known current lithium reserves would last 3000 years, lithium
from sea water would last 60 million years, and a more complicated fusion process using only
deuterium from sea water would have fuel for 150 billion years.[47]

[edit] Cost by source

Further information: Cost of electricity by source
The following chart does not include the external, weather-related costs of using fossil fuels.
Large energy subsidies are present in many countries (Barker et al., 2001:567-568).[48] Currently
governments subsidize fossil fuels by $557 billion per year.[33][49] Economic theory indicates that
the optimal policy would be to remove coal mining and burning subsidies and replace them with
optimal taxes. Global studies indicate that even without introducing taxes, subsidy and trade
barrier removal at a sectoral level would improve efficiency and reduce environmental damage.
Removal of these subsidies would substantially reduce GHG emissions and stimulate economic
growth.

[edit] Increased energy efficiency

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by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (April 2008)
Energy efficiency is increasing by about 2% a year, and absorbs most of the requirements for
energy development. New technology makes better use of already available energy through
improved efficiency, such as more efficient fluorescent lamps, engines, and insulation. Using
heat exchangers, it is possible to recover some of the energy in waste warm water and air, for
example to preheat incoming fresh water. Hydrocarbon fuel production from pyrolysis could also
be in this category, allowing recovery of some of the energy in hydrocarbon waste. Already
existing power plants often can and usually are made more efficient with minor modifications
due to new technology. New power plants may become more efficient with technology like
cogeneration. New designs for buildings may incorporate techniques like passive solar. Lightemitting diodes are gradually replacing the remaining uses of light bulbs. Note that none of these
methods allows perpetual motion, as some energy is always lost to heat.
Mass transportation increases energy efficiency compared to widespread conventional
automobile use while air travel is regarded as inefficient. Conventional combustion engine
automobiles have continually improved their efficiency and may continue to do so in the future,
for example by reducing weight with new materials. Hybrid vehicles can save energy by
allowing the engine to run more efficiently, regaining energy from braking, turning off the motor
when idling in traffic, etc. More efficient ceramic or diesel engines can improve mileage. Electric
vehicles such as Maglev, trolleybuses, and PHEVs are more efficient during use (but maybe not
if doing a life cycle analysis) than similar current combustion based vehicles, reducing their
energy consumption during use by 1/2 to 1/4. Microcars or motorcycles may replace automobiles
carrying only one or two people. Transportation efficiency may also be improved by in other
ways, see automated highway system.

Electricity distribution may change in the future. New small scale energy sources may be placed
closer to the consumers so that less energy is lost during electricity distribution. New technology
like superconductivity or improved power factor correction may also decrease the energy lost.
Distributed generation permits electricity "consumers," who are generating electricity for their
own needs, to send their surplus electrical power back into the power grid.

[edit] Transmission

An elevated section of the Alaska Pipeline.

See also: Pipeline transport
While new sources of energy are only rarely discovered or made possible by new technology,
distribution technology continually evolves.[50] The use of fuel cells in cars, for example, is an
anticipated delivery technology.[citation needed] This section presents some of the more common
delivery technologies that have been important to historic energy development. They all rely in
some way on the energy sources listed in the previous section.

[edit] Water
Further information: Water cycle and Pumped-storage hydroelectricity
This section requires expansion.

[edit] Fossil fuels

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.[51]

[edit] Electricity

Electric Grid: Pilons 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 substations, 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.

[edit] Storage

Main articles: Energy storage and grid energy storage

Methods of energy storage have been developed, which transform electrical energy into forms of
potential energy. A method of energy storage may be chosen on the basis of stability, ease of
transport, ease of energy release, or ease of converting free energy from the natural form to the
stable form.

[edit] Chemical
Some natural forms of energy are found in stable chemical compounds such as fossil fuels. Most
systems of chemical energy storage result from biological activity, which store energy in
chemical bonds. Man-made forms of chemical energy storage include hydrogen fuel, synthetic
hydrocarbon fuel, batteries and explosives such as cordite and dynamite.

[edit] Gravitational and hydroelectric

Dams can be used to store energy, by using pumped-storage hydroelectricity, excess energy to
pump water into the reservoir. When electrical energy is required, the process is reversed. The
water then turns a turbine, generating electricity. Hydroelectric power is currently an important
part of the world's energy supply, generating one-fifth of the world's electricity.[52]

[edit] Thermal
There are several technologies to store heat. Thermal energy from the sun, for example, can be
stored in a reservoir or in the ground for daily or seasonal use. Thermal energy for cooling can be
stored in ice.[53] Many thermal power plants are set up near coal or oil fields. The thermal power
plant is used since fuel is burnt to produce heat energy, which is converted into electrical energy .
[53]

[edit] Mechanical pressure

Energy may also be stored in pressurized gases or alternatively in a vacuum. Compressed air, for
example, may be used to operate vehicles and power tools. Large-scale compressed air energy
storage facilities are used to smooth out demands on electricity generation by providing energy
during peak hours and storing energy during off-peak hours. Such systems save on expensive
generating capacity since it only needs to meet average consumption rather than peak
consumption.[54]

[edit] Electrical capacitance

Electrical energy may be stored in capacitors. Capacitors are often used to produce high intensity
releases of energy (such as a camera's flash).

[edit] Hydrogen
Main article: Hydrogen economy

Hydrogen can be manufactured at roughly 77 percent thermal efficiency by the method of steam
reforming of natural gas.[55] When manufactured by this method it is a derivative fuel like
gasoline; when produced by electrolysis of water, it is a form of chemical energy storage as are
storage batteries, though hydrogen is the more versatile storage mode since there are two options
for its conversion to useful work: (1) a fuel cell can convert the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen
into water, and in the process, produce electricity, or (2) hydrogen can be burned (less efficiently
than in a fuel cell) in an internal combustion engine.

[edit] Vehicles

Energy flow in the U.S., 2008

[edit] Fossil fuels
Petroleum, coal and natural gas are used to power most transportation and buildings.
[edit] Batteries
Main articles: battery, battery electric vehicle
Batteries are used to store energy in a chemical form. As an alternative energy, batteries can be
used to store energy in battery electric vehicles. Battery electric vehicles can be charged from the
grid when the vehicle is not in use. Because the energy is derived from electricity, battery electric
vehicles make it possible to use other forms of alternative energy such as wind, solar,
geothermal, nuclear, or hydroelectric.
[edit] Compressed air
Main articles: Compressed air vehicle, Air car
The Indian company, Tata, is planning to release a compressed air powered car in 2008.

[edit] Sustainability
See also: Climate change mitigation and Carbon pricing

Energy consumption from 1989 to 1999

The environmental movement emphasizes sustainability of energy use and development.
Renewable energy is sustainable in its production; the available supply will not be diminished for
the foreseeable future - millions or billions of years. "Sustainability" also refers to the ability of
the environment to cope with waste products, especially air pollution. Sources which have no
direct waste products (such as wind, solar, and hydropower) are seen as ideal in this regard.
Fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas are not renewable. For example, the timing
of worldwide peak oil production is being actively debated but it has already happened in some
countries. Fossil fuels also make up the bulk of the world's current primary energy sources. With
global demand for energy growing, the need to adopt alternative energy sources is also growing.
Fossil fuels are also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, leading to concerns about
global warming if consumption is not reduced.
Energy conservation is an alternative or complementary process to energy development. It
reduces the demand for energy by using it more efficiently.

[edit] Resilience

Energy consumption per capita (2001). Red hues indicate increase, green hues decrease of
consumption during the 1990s.
Some observers contend that the much talked about idea of energy independence is an
unrealistic and opaque concept. They offer energy resilience as a more sensible goal and more
aligned with economic, security and energy realities. The notion of resilience in energy was
detailed in the 1982 book Brittle Power: Energy Strategy for National Security.[56] The authors
argued that simply switching to domestic energy would be no more secure inherently because the
true weakness is the interdependent and vulnerable energy infrastructure of the United States.
Key aspects such as gas lines and the electrical power grid are centralized and easily susceptible
to major disruption. They conclude that a resilient energy supply is necessary for both national
security and the environment. They recommend a focus on energy efficiency and renewable
energy that is more decentralized.[57]

More recently former Intel Corporation Chairman and CEO Andrew Grove has touted energy
resilience, arguing that complete independence is infeasible given the global market for energy.
[58]
He describes energy resilience as the ability to adjust to interruptions in the supply of energy.
To this end he suggests the U.S. make greater use of electricity.[59] Electricity can be produced
from a variety of sources. A diverse energy supply will be less impacted by the disruption in
supply of any one source. He reasons that another feature of electrification is that electricity is
sticky meaning the electricity produced in the U.S. is more likely to stay there because it
cannot be transported overseas. According to Grove, a key aspect of advancing electrification
and energy resilience will be converting the U.S. automotive fleet from gasoline-powered to
electric-powered. This, in turn, will require the modernization and expansion of the electrical
power grid. As organizations such as the Reform Institute have pointed out, advancements
associated with the developing smart grid would facilitate the ability of the grid to absorb
vehicles en masse connecting to it to charge their batteries.[60]

[edit] Future

World Primary Energy Outlook by EIA (as of 2011-06)

An increasing share of world energy consumption is predicted to be used by developing nations.

Source: EIA.
Extrapolations from current knowledge to the future offer a choice of energy futures.[61] Some
predictions parallel the Malthusian catastrophe hypothesis. Numerous are complex models based
scenarios as pioneered by Limits to Growth. Modeling approaches offer ways to analyze diverse
strategies, and hopefully find a road to rapid and sustainable development of humanity. Short
term energy crises are also a concern of energy development. Some extrapolations lack
plausibility, particularly when they predict a continual increase in oil consumption.

Energy production usually requires an energy investment. Drilling for oil or building a wind
power plant requires energy. The fossil fuel resources (see above) that are left are often
increasingly difficult to extract and convert. They may thus require increasingly higher energy
investments. If the investment is greater than the energy produced, then the fossil resource is no
longer an energy source. This means that a large part of the fossil fuel resources and especially
the non-conventional ones cannot be used for energy production today. Such resources may still
be exploited economically in order to produce raw materials for plastics, fertilizers or even
transportation fuel but now more energy is consumed than produced. (They then become similar
to ordinary mining reserves, economically recoverable but not net positive energy sources.) New
technology may ameliorate this problem if it can lower the energy investment required to extract
and convert the resources, although ultimately basic physics sets limits that cannot be exceeded.
Between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe,
world grain production increased by 250%. The energy for the Green Revolution was provided
by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon fueled
irrigation.[62] The peaking of world hydrocarbon production (peak oil) may lead to significant
changes, and require sustainable methods of production.[63]