Guest blog: THE POST COVID 19 ENERGY WORLD
Vikram Rao, retired CTO concentrating on sustainable energy production and use, finishing his latest book Particulates Matter. A webinar conducted by the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster this week, in which I participated, triggered this piece. Some points made by the other three panelists Ivan Urlaub, Renee Peet and Gary Rackcliff are reflected here, but I take responsibility for this product. For purposes of this discussion, energy f alls largely into two buckets: electricity and oil and gas derivatives. In the last two months or so, the price of oil has halved. Part of the driver was the Saudi/Russia spat, which is likely to end soon because neither can live with USD 23 (price at the writing) oil for long. But the “shelter at home” policy in much of the world has slowed industrial output to a dull idle. G asoline and jet fuel use has plummeted. Electricity usage has dropped. Here we will discuss the likely longer-term implications, especially as relating t...