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posted by martyb on Wednesday September 04 2019, @05:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the instead-of-batteries-just-use-a-very-long-extension-cord dept.

Forbes:

The future is not looking bright for oil, according to a new report that claims the commodity would have to be priced at $10-$20 a barrel to remain competitive as a transport fuel.

The new research, from BNP Paribas, says that the economics of renewable energy make it impossible for oil to compete at current prices. The author of the report, global head of sustainability Mark Lewis, says that "renewable electricity has a short-run marginal cost of zero, is cleaner environmentally, much easier to transport and could readily replace up to 40% of global oil demand".

[...] The report, Wells, Wires, And Wheels... Eroci And The Tough Road Ahead For Oil, introduces the concept of the Energy Return on Capital Invested (EROCI), focusing on the energy return on a $100bn outlay on oil and renewables where the energy is being used to power cars and other light-duty vehicles (LDVs).

"For a given capital outlay on oil and renewables, how much useful energy at the wheel do we get? Our analysis indicates that for the same capital outlay today, new wind and solar-energy projects in tandem with battery electric vehicles will produce six to seven times more useful energy at the wheels than will oil at $60 per barrel for gasoline powered light-duty vehicles, and three to four times more than will oil at $60 per barrel for light-duty vehicles running on diesel," says Lewis.

As fossil fuels phase out, will battery technology improve quickly enough to support the transition to renewables?


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  • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday September 05 2019, @04:32PM (2 children)

    by RS3 (6367) on Thursday September 05 2019, @04:32PM (#890108)

    Just curious- what brand / model vehicles? I'm into keeping things running, for many reasons. :)

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday September 05 2019, @04:40PM (1 child)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday September 05 2019, @04:40PM (#890112)

    Two Mazda MX-5s, it's partly due to 30 years of ownership, but they have to be some of the cheapest things out there to keep rolling.

    Also, a Dodge RAM 1500, it's not exactly stellar on anything, but still pretty easy to maintain and relatively cheap if you're not doing a lot of miles.

    And a freak we picked up used: a low miles 2002 Mercedes S430, it was just too cheap on the used market to pass up, 60,000 miles later, it's still a very nice car for the price and not out of line on maintenance.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 05 2019, @11:53PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 05 2019, @11:53PM (#890299)

      Whether it is confirmation bias or an actual fact, I had a feeling I'd see Japanese cars on there.