WEMO24-Compiled Report-Interactive compressed (002) 4154-7882-8116 v.1 - Flipbook - Page 83
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Energy lost burning fossil fuels to generate electricity
Energy lost in generation
The average efficiencies of power generation are 35% for coal,
45% for natural gas, and 38% for oil-fired power generation.
What this means is that 35% of the energy in coal results in
electric power, while the 55-65% that is wasted goes "up the
stack" as heat. The latest analysis from Lawrence Livermore
(see Figure 2) shows that for the USA in 2022, 64% of energy
wasted was on burning coal and gas.
FIGURE 2
USA energy lost to generation
Solar
1.87
Net Electricity
Imports
1.28
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Primary energy demand
is an outdated concept
0.14
8.05
Nuclear
8.05
Hydro
2.31
12.5
24.3
8.9
2.31
0.15
Wind
3.84
Energy lost in low-carbon generation
Electricity
Generation
37.7
5.19
Geometrical
0.21
4.29
Residential
12.3
3.84
4.69
3.35
Commercial
9.57
Natural Gas
33.4
Rejected
Energy
67.3
Of course, wind, solar and nuclear also have inefficiencies
that are being improved upon. However, unlike fossil fuels the
energy is not wasted, it is just an opportunity to harvest more
energy from the sources. All electricity generation suffers loss
in transmission and distribution of approximately 10%. High
voltage direct current (HVDC) lines are being introduced to
reduce these losses over longer distances.
3.44
Industrial
26.7
13.6
0.41
0.02
Biomass
4.88
0.24
Petroleum
35.8
Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
24.6
Transportation
27.5
21.7
WEMO 2024
Coal
9.91
83
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