Sustainable Energy System
Energy-related pollution and resource use are among the most important human activities responsible for degradation of the environment. The focus on CO2 emission is strong. Climatologists have warned that emissions must be reduced to a fraction of current values within the shorter possible time if severe climate changes are to be avoided.
From the perspective of society, energy is not an end in itself. The energy system comprises of an energy supply sector and the end-use technology needed to provide energy services. The energy supply sector involves complex processes for extracting energy resources (such as coal or oil), for converting these into more desirable and suitable forms of energy (such as electricity or gasoline), and for delivering energy to places where demand exists.
The end-use part of the system transforms this energy into energy services (such as illumination or mobility). Energy services are the result of combination of technology, infrastructure (capital), labour (know-how), materials and energy carriers. All these inputs carry a price. Consumers are generally unaware of the upstream activities of the energy systems.
The overall efficiency of an energy system depends on individual process efficiencies, the structure of energy supply and conversion, and energy end-use patterns. It is the result of compounding the efficiencies of the entire chain of energy supply, conversion, distribution, and end-use process. The weakest link in the analysis of the efficiency of various energy chains is the determination of energy services and their quantification. This is mostly due to lack of data on end-use devices and actual patterns of their use.
An understanding of the technology, processes, economics and policy that underpin energy systems within the context of sustainability of energy supply and demand makes brilliant business sense.
OAKLIX Consulting will help your organisation to fully appreciate the economic, policy and regulatory frameworks within which decisions on energy futures are made, while creating an understanding of the challenges and constraints on end-use efficiency of energy. We will also assist your organisation to articulate best sustainable energy supply systems by critically analysing competing claims in the energy sector, evaluate options for energy supply, distribution and utilisation.