html{display:none} The Energy Revolution | Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

Videos in this series:

The Energy
Revolution

Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:14
Loaded: 100.00%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:14
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
    • default, selected
    Skip Intro

    Today's mix of energy sources is more diverse than ever. How do we decide the right way forward, together?
    Kimberly S. Greene and Jonathan Sykes on how their customers have shaped their business models.

    Energiewende—The Energy Transition in Germany

    Energiewende is Germany’s program for replacing fossil fuels and nuclear energy with renewables. It gained momentum when the Green Party entered the German national parliament in 1983 for the first time in history. This transition has spawned emerging industries and technologies, created 350,000 new jobs, and sparked an influence that has spread far beyond the country’s borders.

    “It’s a really big industry that has developed in building wind parks, distributing energy, integrating intelligence and storage into the power grid; it’s an emerging industry in Germany, which leads to more and more innovation.”
    —Dr. Fritz Rettberg, Head of Innovation Management
    TU Dortmund University

    But It All Comes at a Price

    With the increase of renewables, Germany now has the highest prices for energy in the world at 0.30/kWh. The goal of Insull, Edison, Tesla, and other founders of this industry was to provide the best possible service at the lowest possible price. Are we getting away from the tenets of our industry, or is this a look into the future of energy prices?

    “That, to me, is immoral.”
    —Mark P. Mills, Senior Fellow
    Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
    With the subsidy, it’s possible to make solar energy at 5¢ a kWh.
    —Duane Highley, President and CEO
    Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp.
    What about our world?
    —Haroon Inam, Chief Technology Officer 
    Smart Wires
    “We’re going to help wind and solar find their way.”
    —Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer, III, President and Founder
    Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

    Shale—The Real Revolution?

    We’ve heard that the revolution of renewable energy sources is coming, that wind and solar are going to disrupt the grid. But so far, this disruption hasn’t occurred. And according to data from the EIA, the increase in energy production from the U.S. shale fields from 2005–2015 is the largest increase in production of energy in the history of mankind. Actions speak louder than words, so what does this fact say about our energy consumption behavior?

    “No nation on the planet can operate without oil and gas. If you’re expecting wind and solar to suddenly displace oil and gas in America, it’s not only a fiction, the disruption resides in the oil and gas domain—specifically in shale.”
    —Mark P. Mills, Senior Fellow
    Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

    “I want to challenge your statement that people don’t change their behavior. People are starting to see the impacts of climate change, so wouldn’t the resulting change in peoples’ behavior significantly impact or change your forecast?”

    “The short answer is no.”
    —Mark P. Mills, Senior Fellow
    Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

    “What we need are more open-minded innovators.”
    —Dr. Fritz Rettberg, Head of Innovation Management
    TU Dortmund University  

    “But there are no technologies available today that can make a difference.”
    —Mark P. Mills, Senior Fellow
    Manhattan Institute for Policy Research

    There is no question that the second electric power is added to someone’s life, they are changed forever. That is the power of energy—no matter the source—in its purest form. But too often, different energy sources are demonized for a variety of reasons.

    We need to find a way to move forward, together, so that future generations will look back and marvel at the legacy we decided to leave behind.