Dr. Joshua Hershey is an Assistant Professor of Science and Philosophy at The King's College in New York City, and a pretty awesome professor to work for as a Faculty Assistant. I asked him some questions about the future of renewable energy.
What are some emerging or potential new forms of renewable energy that people might not know much about and how would they help us, as Christians, to better carry out the dominion mandate?
That’s an important question. As Christians, we really ought to pay more attention to the ways in which our actions affect the environment. We know the earth isn’t our eternal home, but we also know that “the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). We had better treat His property with respect, especially since He has put us in charge of it.
Our power to affect the environment—for better or worse—has increased exponentially over the last couple of centuries, and we’re now living in an era when selfish choices might literally ruin the earth for future generations. On the other hand, we could use our God-given creativity to develop technologies that benefit, rather than harm, the earth and its future inhabitants.
Clean, sustainable energy is a big deal. Everything we do requires energy, and we use a lot of it. Sadly, less than 10% of the energy used in the United States comes from renewable resources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And that’s an all-time high (not counting firewood, which supplied practically 100% of our energy until the mid 1800s). We need to do better.
Wind and solar power have gotten cheaper and more efficient over the last few decades, and are beginning to see widespread use. Geothermal energy is becoming more popular too. Here in New York City, a bill was recently passed requiring geothermal heat pump installations in new buildings (under certain conditions). All of these renewable energy technologies have been around for a while, so I’m not sure whether they qualify as “emerging” technologies, but we should certainly continue to develop these resources.
Ultimately, though, I don’t think these sources will be able to supply all the world’s energy needs. We need something to replace fossil fuels, which provide more than 80% of our energy in the United States and a similarly high proportion of the global energy demand. I seriously doubt that wind and solar power will ever be able to meet that demand.
Nuclear power is a promising alternative to fossil fuel, in my opinion. Although it’s technically not a renewable resource, our supply of nuclear fuel will last many times longer than our supply of fossil fuels, and it does less harm to the environment. Traditional uranium fission unfortunately does produce hazardous waste that we have to bury in a desert somewhere, but that’s still better than the emissions produced by burning fossil fuels. Moreover, there are emerging technologies that may soon provide much safer and cleaner nuclear power. For example, researchers are presently developing Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are significantly smaller and safer than traditional nuclear power plants. The possibility of using thorium rather than uranium as fuel is also being investigated. Thorium is more abundant than uranium, and can’t be so easily used to produce nuclear weapons.
The most exciting possibility, though, is nuclear fusion (as opposed to fission) energy. Hydrogen fusion reactors will be far cleaner and safer than any other form of nuclear energy. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and the “waste” product of hydrogen fusion is helium—the perfectly harmless, delightful stuff that fills party balloons. There will be no risk of an accidental meltdown, since nuclear fusion reactors—unlike fission reactors—can be switched off easily. Although the technology is probably a few decades away, hydrogen fusion will be the ultimate source of safe, clean energy.
What are some potential downsides to any of these that might concern people?
The limitations of wind and solar power are pretty easily recognized: they don’t work when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Geothermal energy is pretty limited too: it may help to heat or cool a building, but as a source of power (to generate electricity), it is terribly inefficient. And renewable biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel add pollution and greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere, just as fossil fuels do.
The downsides of traditional nuclear energy are well-known too. Nuclear fission reactors produce hazardous waste, use expensive uranium fuel that has to be mined (which also harms the environment), and there’s always the scary possibility of a reactor meltdown. The threat of nuclear arms proliferation is just as scary: nuclear fission reactors produce isotopes of uranium and plutonium that can be used in nuclear weapons.
Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, is a different story. The only major downside of using nuclear fusion power is that we don’t yet have the technology to do it. In order for a nuclear fusion reaction to occur, hydrogen must reach temperatures many times hotter than the surface of the sun. That’s not easy to do, and it’s even harder to contain the hydrogen within the reaction chamber. Since no solid material can withstand temperatures that high, magnetic and electric fields must be used as the “walls” of the reaction chamber. Unfortunately, with current technology, more energy is needed to produce those powerful electromagnetic fields than is produced by the fusion reaction. In other words, to keep the fusion reaction going, you have to put more energy into the machine than you get out of it.
Hopefully that will change soon, though. A new fusion reactor called ITER is presently under construction in southern France. If successful, it will be the first fusion reactor to produce more energy than it consumes, and will pave the way for increasingly efficient fusion technologies in the future.
What about market-oriented solutions? Are any companies pursuing any of these that we can support in some way?
Next-generation fusion power is still a long way from marketability, but some private companies are already investigating the possibilities. For instance, Lockheed Martin is trying to develop a compact fusion reactor which they say will be “small enough to fit on a truck” yet “could provide enough power for a small city of up to 100,000 people.”
Meanwhile, as we wait for new technologies to arrive, let’s make the most of what we already have. Numerous clean energy solutions like solar power and wind energy are already available in many locations. If we have the option to buy our electricity from a clean energy company, or install solar panels on our homes, we ought to take advantage of those opportunities.
We can also make use of high-efficiency technologies that reduce our energy consumption. For example, I’ve installed LED bulbs throughout my home. They’re better than incandescent, halogen, and CFL bulbs in practically every respect: they're much more efficient, they don't get hot, and they last longer.
We can enjoy the benefits of technology without ruining the planet. God may have placed us in charge of the earth, but it's still His property. Let’s leave this place better than we found it!
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