Energy consumption, energy resources and the place of electricity

Humanity's energy activities have reached such a level that they are significantly disrupting the environment and making it necessary to reconsider our resources, in particular by highlighting the share of renewables which, by their very nature, enable us to better envisage real sustainable development. This dossier shows that renewable resources (from the sun, the earth's core and tidal phenomena) constitute an extremely abundant resource: for example, all our primary consumption represents around one hour of solar radiation captured by the entire planet. This is more than enough to satisfy the needs of the entire human race, and is easily accessible, with prospects for sustainability far beyond our current resources (over 80% of which are of non-renewable origin). However, renewable resources have two specific features that upset our habits:

• On the one hand, they are not very concentrated (or dispersed) and generally require smaller-scale conversion infrastructures;

• on the other hand, most of these resources are fluctuating, requiring major changes, notably in conversion systems that need to incorporate storage, but also in consumption patterns.

After a brief presentation of energy issues and resources, and an analysis of world and French consumption, the role of electrical energy is examined in particular, in terms of both production methods and consumption, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Lastly, a comparative assessment of electricity generation using renewable resources is provided, along with some economic data.