Nope. And they didn't sell petroleum oil, .. and the candle companies before them didn't sell whale oil. So I guess it's no surprise that today's utility companies aren't going to sell your rooftop solar.
More obstacles .... "Carmakers in Europe and North America are having a hard time with the much-hyped EV revolution that they are all eager to take part in. It’s a struggle to make EVs as affordable as vehicles with internal combustion engines and governments—in Europe—are breathing down their necks with deadlines for all-electric fleets. Meanwhile, there’s a new cause for concern: raw materials for batteries." What’s Holding Back The EV Revolution? https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Whats-Holding-Back-The-EV-Revolution.html https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...g-more-anxious-about-ev-battery-supply-crunch
Switching? --- no. Are we adding renewables into an ever expanding energy pie? -- yes. Will we? ... some day/ year/ decade/ century switch? -- well,.... we'll have to at some point.
"Oil demand is expected to remain flat to slightly down by 2050 Going forward, oil is likely to remain an important player in the energy mix: alternatives that provide the capacity to support growing populations and economies do not yet exist. But by 2050, the world will undoubtedly look different as advances in renewable energy, technological innovation and strict low-carbon policies help to ease the reliance on fossil fuels." https://www.investmentbank.barclays.com/our-insights/outlook-for-oil-to-2050.html
" China’s climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions hit 12.3 billion tonnes in 2014, up 53.5% in just a decade..." " Total net U.S. emissions were measured at 5.74 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2017, down 0.5% on the year..." China greenhouse gas emissions soar 50% during 2005-2014: government data https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...uring-2005-2014-government-data-idUSKCN1UA084
A good example of how post-industrial nations just roll emissions onto other places. While we clap about how green we are, it’s really just shifted to somewhere not within the lines we drew as the United States. Meanwhile, we wonder why our labor isn’t competitive.
There are 2 'fuel' developments in personal transportation that may help keep the lid on global oil consumption: 1. Electrification -- we hear about all the time 2. CNG/RNG -- we never hear about Natural gas vehicles may account for 50% of total new sales by 2030 https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...push-report/articleshow/66684485.cms?from=mdr Can Renewable Natural Gas Actually Compete With Diesel? https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-...Natural-Gas-Actually-Compete-With-Diesel.html
CNG has some of the issues hydrogen does when it comes to personal cars. Mainly that the tanks take up additional space. Not as bad as hydrogen tanks, but enough people will remark on the loss of trunk space. Commercial trucks in another story, but part of the appeal to fleet operators is the low fuel cost from the lack of road tax. Add that, and will they be willing to make the investment. It is much cleaner than diesel, and even gasoline, which is probably India's main reason for pushing it, beyond carbon emissions. Or from air and water. Though the article is talking about biomethane. Audi has a pilot plant running off excess renewable electric that essential runs hydrogen reformation in reverse; CO2 plus water yields methane. They have another one that goes further and make blue crude, a light, sweet synthetic that can be used as is in power plants or ships, or lightly refined into diesel.
Essentially cranking methane combustion backwards, huh? That would release oxygen, too. How efficient is that process? (Electrical energy in, divided by chemical energy stored as methane)
An EU project got 76% efficiency with a projected 80% for industrial sized plants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power-to-gas http://www.kit.edu/kit/english/pi_2014_14950.php Future designs plan to take the oxygen to convert the methane to ethylene. Which wasn't mentioned in the above, but the article on e-diesel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-diesel
China’s Renewable Boom Hits The Wall "China has substantially increased subsidies for shale gas exploration and methane separation from coal, Standaert writes. He also quotes a former IEA official as saying, “Though China is the largest clean energy market in the world, wind and solar only accounted for 5.2 percent and 2.5 percent of China’s national power generation in 2018.”" ................ "In short, renewables won’t cut it when you need cheap power to feed growing energy demand. By the way, China is not alone in this situation. Energy demand is rising on a global scale and this means emissions are rising, too. In its latest International Energy Outlook, the U.S. Energy Information Administration poured cold water on the hopes of many climate change fighters by estimating global energy demand will increase by as much as 50 percent between 2018 and 2050. That’s under the EIA’s reference case scenario, that is, the middle ground between the scenario of high economic growth, under which energy demand growth will be even greater and the scenario of low economic growth, which could give the planet a breather." https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Chinas-Renewable-Boom-Hits-The-Wall.html
