Smart Technology (CH5308701) Amalia Rizki Fauziah (M10806824)-Master Student

What Should Be Energy Aspect in 21st Century?

The present high energy paradigm of consumerism and armament is almost entirely
structured on non-renewable fossil fuels. This dedication is now being similarly extended
through huge new infrastructures and life styles to the rising new nations. Arising out of the
energy concentration and constraints of the economic parameters, movement towards low
density sun-based sources of energy will be slow and halting. Moreover, people are far from
equal when it comes to access to energy resources and to environmental protection. The rich
countries benefit from cheap energy and also afford clean air and water, while the poor and
emerging countries suffer both from lack of energy and from serious pollution. Clearly, the
challenges mankind has to meet in the coming decades in the energy field are to satisfy the
legitimate demands from poor countries for more and cleaner energy, while protecting the
global environment of the planet [1]. The Global demand for energy will keep growing for
many years to come due to population growth and the needs of up to 2000 million people
who are still without access to commercial energy. To meet this growing demand for energy,
all options have to be kept open, with fossil fuels, nuclear and hydro dominating the energy
mix for the next decades, and "new" renewables coming in only slowly. Considering the
resulting strain on the environment, and looking at existing disparities in energy supply, the
following few decades will face a lot of challenges [2].
Energy today is anything but scarce. Proven and expected reserves of fossil fuels are
sufficient, at the present rate of use and at a reasonable cost, to last to the end of the century
for oil and gas and of the millennium for coal [3]. Actually, now we are faced with
environmental crisis of a massive magnitude represented by (1) rapid growth of population in
huge metropolitan centers through concentrations of transport, power infrastructure,
industries and other employment opportunities, resulting in the huge era of non-
biodegradable industrial and domestic waste; (2) large number of chemicals, fertilizers,
pesticides, refineries and other oil based industries, their uses and supporting transport system
are generating large volume of pollutants in the air and water ways and in many oceans.
Ozone layer depletion through carbon dioxide, CFC and other greenhouse gases in
threatening our life support system. Increase of wealth takes precedence over protection of
life; (3) visible and latent hazards of the transportation and storage of hundreds of thousands
of tons of radioactive nuclear waste originating both from the power generation and weapon
production system [1].
Any discussion of global energy problems in the 21 st century has to take into account
three fundamental aspects: First, the chances and the challenges within the first half of the
21st century will be quite different from those dominating the second half (with development
of world population as the determining factor). Second, energy must never be discussed in a
one-sided way, but always in its interactions with the other important "E"s: The “Economy”,
the “Environment” and, last not least, with “Education”. Third, however fast globalization in
such elemental fields as energy, information technologies, biotechnology etc., which seem to
call for worldwide answers, it is very likely that the best answer will lie in local capacity
building and local decision taking instead of in ever larger, faceless supra-national or even
global bureaucracies [2]. Based on the challenge of energy that we will face in 21 st century,
the strategic choices are =
1. Energy efficiency and conservation = Energy efficiency and conservation are
fundamental strategic choices. We have seen in advance that technological developments
have had a primary effect on overall energy efficiency. These developments resulted
generally from strategic decisions by industry, based upon the economic benefits they
expected from the changes. These same factors are likely to come into play in poor countries
where energy efficiencies are still low. But in the rich countries, they will face the law of
diminishing returns, unless public action involves to the rescue through subsidies or lower

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Smart Technology (CH5308701) Amalia Rizki Fauziah (M10806824)-Master Student

taxes. In order to reduce energy demand significantly, superb actions will be needed affecting
all individual consumers, and not only energy suppliers but also the huge industry consumers
[3].
2. Development of traditional and new renewables = The development of large
hydropower plants has been a strategic choice of the 20th century. Most of the ‘new’
renewable energies are either not competitive or still in a development stage. The industrial
deployment of the former is clearly a strategic choice: for wind and micro-hydro. It will be
possible to judge this choice on its merits a few years from now. The monetary assist of R&D
for the energies which are still in a development stage is of another nature, however is also
strategic. In the case of solar photovoltaic energy, a decade or two may be essential before
there may be a significant technological leap forward which may also never happen [3].
3. Possible new resources = Controlled nuclear fusion has been taken into
consideration for many years as the prime hope for an infinite energy resource. Today, the
physics is nearing the breakeven point, where more energy could be produced than
consumed. However, most of the technology remains to be developed, such as ITER
(International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), a massive scale international
experiment, ought to yield some essential data, both for future technological developments
and for preliminary cost assessments. Additional large scale experiments will no doubt be
required before fusion can become an industrial reality, and final success is not guaranteed
today. Methyl hydrate is a solid, present on some deep and cold ocean beds. It is unstable at
ordinary pressure, and breaks down into water and natural gas research into the possibilities
and risks of retrieving this natural gas merit at least preliminary work [3].
4. A new mix of energy vectors: electricity + hydrogen = Electricity has played a
th
major role, throughout the 20 century, in the reduction of pollution, not only because it is
always easier to control pollution at source in large centralized facilities but also because the
final uses of electricity are very clean. But electricity has not been able to replace oil for
individual transport, which is the fastest growing area of energy demand, and it remains
unsure whether batteries can ever overcome their handicap of being weighty and
cumbersome. Hydrogen could become the clean energy vector searched for this use.
Technologies exist both for the production of hydrogen and for engines, but remain today far
too costly. In particular, fuel cells would increase massively the need for primary energies
necessary for the production of hydrogen, either electricity or high temperature energies.
These primary energies could be nuclear (fission or fusion), or coal if the sequestration of
CO2 is also a success [3].
5. A new, energy wise, society = Before the end of the 21st century, mankind
will have reached a new balance in the energy sector, with a stabilized population (around ten
billion), and lower energy needs (2 toe per capita). 2050 might mark the end of a difficult
transition period, during which the world’s population will have been multiplied by 1.5 and
energy needs by 2 to 2.5. and things would at last become easy. According to many experts,
such a rosy future would require a huge increase in the price of energy; a necessary but not a
sufficient condition. There are many possible ways to meet stabilized demand in a stabilized
world. One of the most environmentally clean would be based upon three lines: (1) nuclear
energy for large baseload electricity generation, (2) coal (with sequestration of the CO 2) and
(3) nuclear for the production of hydrogen, natural gas and renewable energies for
decentralized needs. Many other energy mixes can be imagined [3].
From the fact that the challenges of energy in 21st century lie immediately ahead of us,
the logical consequence is to follow a strategy of "bridging the gap". The gap is the period of
the next 30 years, after which we can expect an easing of tensions due to a reduced growth of
world population, increased energy efficiency and the benefits of new technological
developments. What is needed, is action based on reality, which means above two things [2]:

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Smart Technology (CH5308701) Amalia Rizki Fauziah (M10806824)-Master Student

 First, in order to solve the short and medium-term problems, we need the wise and
responsible use of fossil fuels and of nuclear energy on a global level, combined with
resolute energy efficiency measures, and with the enhancement of "new" renewable
energies.
 Second, in order to prepare ourselves for the far future, we need long term research and
development, opening up horizons for altogether new energy systems.
It will only be towards the mid, and in specially during the second half of the 21 st
century, that population growth may come to a halt. Then we will see greenhouse gas
emissions stabilized or decreased. Then, new energy systems such as fuel cells, solar,
advanced nuclear technologies, super conductors etc. be likely to come on stream. But, if all
of this is to become reality, we must start taking the necessary decisions now and need a
practical approach. It is far better to act and use even modest tools available now than to
dream of or wait for solutions achievable in the future. There are two priorities in meeting
the challenge of energy in 21 st century; (i) to use the available energy as efficiently as
possible so as to restrict the increase in energy demand and (ii) to develop all the CO 2 free
energies both nuclear and renewables so as to limit the greenhouse effect. So, the role of
renewable energy during the 21st century will rely on how far the present paradigm on
economic development is projected into the future and where and when the direction of an
environmental holocaust will end. The economic compulsion of the developed societies will
not permit drastic changes in the pattern of energy use.

REFERENCES =
[1] J. C. Kapur, “Role of renewable energy for the 21st century,” Renew. Energy, vol. 16,
no. 1-4–4 pt 2, pp. 1245–1250, 1999, doi: 10.1016/S0960-1481(98)00511-4.
[2] G. Ott, “The global energy context: Chances and challenges for the 21st century,” pp.
7–14, 2000.
[3] P. Bacher, “Meeting the energy challenges of the 21st century,” Int. J. Energy
Technol. Policy, vol. 1, no. 1–2, pp. 1–26, 2002, doi: 10.1504/ijetp.2002.000802.

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