There's always the sun

It is known to everybody. Questa è la terra del sole! This is the land of sun, as an old song says.

And sun, with wind and water, has allowed Italy to reach a good percentage of renewable energy production.

In total 13,6% was deriving from hydroelectric and 10% from Geothermal, Photovoltaic and Wind.

 

 

The Photovoltaic percentage is growing and, even though I always thought this was not going to be an option for the production of energy, it looks like I was wrong. The fact is that I grew up with some prejudices.

1) a sustainable technology is the one that does not need financial help

2) a good energy source is what is available when you need it

3) a good energy source can be stored

In reality photovoltaic is not ticking any of these boxes.

 

The first one is probably the quicker to achieve but mainly because the oil extraction is becoming more expensive and less efficient, the oil price is leveled relatively high and the solar cells are produced in a low cost country that, maybe, is giving some help to become the main (I wanted to say the sole) manufactorer.

But who cares... Machiavelli said "the end justifies the means" and our target is to increase the renewable energy production.

Target achieved.

Now some other challenges open before us.

1) we still need to increase the energy efficiency of our system. Starting from the houses (in western Europe 70% of the buildings are built before 1980) and going to the transports.

2) we need to find a way to store the solar energy.

I know about new batteries for PV being developed.

Is there anybody having some information?

I always thought that fuel cells could have been the solution. Store solar energy by generating Hydrogen. I am probably too optimistic though.

This is the key issue. Solving this limit will further boost the solar generation and will also change completely the energy production strategy. Decentralization. Istead of having power plants serving big areas, we will have local plants serving cities, towns, blocks. Less transport losses. Better control.

Clearly we will not be able to generate this

 

 

 

but it will be sufficient for a more sustainable development.

But then, another big challenge starts.

What are we doing with the current powerplants?

 

We are already facing this as, due to the crisis and to the unexpected quick raise of the renewable, the italian thermal power plants are woriking below the "phisiological level". This level is the one that allows to be repaid whithin the budgeted period and therefore to repay who has financed the structure.

 

Less need, less energy, less money.

 

The solution that has been put forward is simple... Let us put the burden on the enrgy bill as an extra tax. So in our bills we should pay for the Nuclear powerplants that have been discontinued, to sustain the renewable energy and also to sustain the non renewable that have been replaced by the renewable sustained by ourselves. Isn't that silly?

What about turning our life from being oil driven to be electricity driven?

What about replacing the gas burners with heatpumps? What about increase the electric transport?

Maybe someone will tell me "yes, but you have signed contracts saying that you must buy a certain minimum quantity of oil and gas". Maybe. Maybe not. But in this case we need to plan for our future. Possibily more sustainable.

 

Have a nice week end. Hopefully with a lot of sun

 

 

Too many choices... no choice

VERONA, one of the most beautiful cities of the world.
Besides the Arena, the Juliet balcony and all the "touristic attractions" what I like of Verona is the atmosphere. A mix of new and old, roman theater with Venetian style squares with "high Street" style shops.
And, clearly, the shopping part is one of the main attraction for "my better half"... my wife.

We were there with some friends and we decided to go and look for a restaurant.
I took out my mobile and started surfing and checking on Trip Advisor. Despite some recent facts that ruined the reputation of Trip Advisor, I usually choose the restaurant and hotels after a quick check there.
So... around Piazza delle Erbe...

this wonderful place where to have a drink, there are tens of restaurants and pizzerias. We looked at them, checked them and discussed whether that was a good one and at the end we ended up going to the usual one, the "Trattoria alla Colonna" that is known for its cotoletta.

This made me think about the incredible choice we have today in all the aspect of your life.

It is something that is creating expectations and a continuous sense of "not being satisfied" because the other choice was probably better.

But also there's a waste of time. What shall I buy? What shall I choose? Is it the right choice?
And this aspect is delaying the decision.

There is a great video of Barry Schwartz about this point that is explaning this effect quite well.

Clearly I am not as good as Barry Schwartz but I do basically agree on what he says. On every point he's raised. Even the Blue Jeans even though, I must say, my style is slightly different from his.

What I am currently experiencing is the same effect also on my work.

For a salesman having too many choices leads to not being able to focus on anything and always to try and find someone that had got something more.
People are not satisfied and stressed because they have too many things to sell and they're never enough.

-No specialization
-No knowledge
-No expertise

But also this is a bad sign of the current strategy of the companies.

Everybody is offering the same thing with some small little variations. Some details. Everybody swimming in the same red sea. Everybody eating each other and fighting on... price.

The  book "Blue ocean strategy" is a good manual to find how to get out of this deadly loop.

This is also part of the strategy. Product strategy, management strategy, development strategy.

Few things. Be different. Be happy.

 

2...000 is the magic number

It is a fact that today we are consuming more resources than what we have available.

This has been the effect of a 150 years development that has used the fossil resources to an extent that made everything EASY AND APPARENTLY COST FREE (at least in this part of the world).

August 20th 2013 was this year's OVERSHOOT DAY, marking the date when humanity exhausted nature’s budget for the year. We are now operating in overdraft. For the rest of the year, we will maintain our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
As this condition is a result of more than 150 years development, we cannot expect to change it overnight.
It would be like braking a car running at 350km/h in 1 meter... without seatbelts.

Clearly it is a process that will be long. Hopefully not too long as time is not infinite.

The main point is to reduce our energy need and, finally, try and limit our fossil fuels dependence.
As I highlighted on my last blog

1) EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SAVING (starting from buildings)
2) USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY both electrical (like photovoltaic) and Thermal (like heat pumps)
are two key points that would allow our energy footprint to reduce.

BUT BEWARE!!!

This does not mean to worsen our life quality. Innovation must develop to help us doing this.
We must simply reduce what is thrown away.

There is a great project ongoing in Switzerland in this respect.
It's called 2000W society (http://www.2000watt.ch/). It targets to reduce the energy requirement per person from the actual 6000W to 2000W that is the energy level that would be sustaionable for an equal and even distribution Worldwide.

It will be a long process. I am sure we will be able to go there and we cannot stop going that direction.

Whichever different thought would mean that we think it's over and...

There are small things that we can start doing though.

One exemple is the bottled water.

Not disputing the taste and the quality of the water that, normally, are good both for bottled water and for tap water, I invite you to follow me in this quick calculation.

Italy is drinking an average 184 liters of bottled water per year i.e. 123 bottles of 1,5 liters.
Every bottle weights 0,04 kg so we need an average of 5kg plastic per year per person that we throw away. Everyone of us.

Now the point.

To produce 5kg of plastic we need:

1) 10 kg of oil (63kWh of primary energy)
2) 87,5 liters of water (every kg of PET needs 17,5 kg of water)

And I am not counting what is required to transport them.
Then we throw it away

This video will probably be more explanatory...

Cheers
Have a nice week end