What Energy Sources are available & how do they work? Civilizations are based on the fuels they use to power themselves. The fuel determines the technologies used, and the technologies determine the lifestyles, economies, and eventually the entire culture. So the transition to sustainable fuels is critical if we wish to design sustainable cultures. This class explores which fuels can be considered 'renewable' & under which circumstances. Also we look into the various transformer technologies which are needed to make this energy available to us, how they are most effectively used and we explore what a truly 'solar-powered civilization' might look like.

1. + PDC
Module 4 of the PDC+++
+ +
Energy & EcoTechnology
Class We dedicate this Module to the Mother &
Father of Integral Permaculture: Dana
M4.6 Meadows & Howard Odum, two original
pioneers who helped humanity make
Renewables great strides in understanding systemic
thinking, in all four quadrants.
What Energy Sources are available & how do they work?
Civilizations are based on the fuels they use to power themselves.
The fuel determines the technologies used, and the technologies determine the
lifestyles, economies, and eventually the entire culture.
So the transition to sustainable fuels is critical if we wish to design sustainable
cultures.
This class explores which fuels can be considered 'renewable' & under which
circumstances.
Also we look into the various transformer technologies which are needed to
make this energy available to us, how they are most effectively used and we
explore what a truly 'solar-powered civilization' might look like.

2. M4.6 * What Energy Sources are
available & how do they Work?
Direct Link to this chapter in the e-book: www.bit.ly/Renewables46
Energy Sources & Societal Design
Jeevon's Paradox
Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Energy
Leverage Points in a System

3. M4.6 * What Energy Sources are
available & how do they Work?
Direct Link to this chapter in the e-book: www.bit.ly/Renewables46
Energy Sources & Societal Design
Jeevon's Paradox
Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Energy
Leverage Points in a System

4. “That you may live in interesting times”
we are destroying 200
species per day - all being
tranformed to human
“In times of
biomass biodiversity right now are alive 3/4 of the
extraordinary extinction 65+ year olds that have ever
change, energy-matter & lived. A fundamental problem
of the 21st century.
the 'gray wave'
the problem is
NOT in achieving
all that we could PEAK OIL
2000 CLIMATE
dream, 2020 CHANGE
but in NOT
dreaming all that monetary
we could achieve” instability
&
(Dee Hock) in the last 20years, the 500
the information
largest firms in the world revolution ... things are a lot more
increased their production &
sales by 700% whilst REDUCING interesting than we
their labour force usually imagine ...

5. What happens with sources & consumption of energy?
Fossil Fuels +
BioEnergies
Nuclear

6. What happens with complexity?
knowledge >> general principles
See
Class M4.4 Energy
&
Class M4.4 Odum
300.000 emjoules are needed to
produce a joule of electric energy
A society RE-DESIGNED for an energy descent
HT Odum "A Prosperous Way Down"

8. Basically there are 3
Energy SOURCES:
Thermo-Solar
Gravitational Photovoltaic
Wind
GeoThermic Waves
Hydro
Solar BioEnergy
(Plants & Animals)
Fossil Reserves
(Coal, Oil, Gas)

9. Geo
Thermal Tidal Dams
Gas from Rubbish
Gravi- Marine Wind
tational
Small Hydro
Terrestial Wind
Solar Big Hydro
source: The Ecologist
Concentrated Solar Magazine
Tidal Currents
Waves
Solid Biomass
Thermo-Solar
PhotoVoltaic
Conventional Coal
GeoThermal
Nuclear
Heat Pumps
Clean Coal
BioDiesel
Ethanol
Tar Sands

10. M4.6 * What Energy Sources are
available & how do they Work?
Direct Link to this chapter in the e-book: www.bit.ly/Renewables46
Energy Sources & Societal Design
Jeevon's Paradox
Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Energy
Leverage Points in a System

11. In 1865, the English economist William Stanley Jevons observed that technological
improvements that increased the efficiency of coal use led to the increased consumption of
coal in a wide range of industries.
He argued that, contrary to common intuition, technological improvements could not be relied
upon to reduce fuel consumption.

12. History has repeatedly shown that energy-efficiency rarely leads to net energy reduction.
In fact, quite frequently, efficiency improvements make things worse by actually encouraging a
net waste in energy.
This counter-intuitive effect is known as the Jevons Paradox.

13. The end aim is NOT
ENERGY higher
REDUCTION efficiencies

14. M4.6 * What Energy Sources are
available & how do they Work?
Direct Link to this chapter in the e-book: www.bit.ly/Renewables46
Energy Sources & Societal Design
Jeevon's Paradox
Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Energy
Leverage Points in a System

15. Gravitational Energy
Height of tides in the port of
Brest (France) in December
2000

16. Gravitational Energy
(PowerBuoy in
Reedsport, Oregon)
WAVE POWER
TIDAL POWER
(SeaGen in
Strangford Lough, UK)

17. M4.6 * What Energy Sources are
available & how do they Work?
Direct Link to this chapter in the e-book: www.bit.ly/Renewables46
Energy Sources & Societal Design
Jeevon's Paradox
Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Energy
Leverage Points in a System

18. Geothermal Energy
Geothermal gradient

19. Geothermal Energy
Applications
¡

20. Geothermal Energy
Biggest hotspots in the world

21. Geothermal Energy
High-temperature deposits (>100ºC): Electricity generation

22. Geothermal Energy
Mid-temperature deposits (>30ºC & <100ºC): Heating

23. Geothermal Energy
Mid-temperature deposits (>30ºC & <100ºC): Heating

24. Geothermal Energy
Low-temperature deposits (<30ºC): Heat pump

25. Geothermal Energy
Low-temperature deposits (<30ºC): Heat pump

26. Geothermal Energy
Low-temperature deposits (<30ºC): Heat pump

27. Geothermal Energy
GeoVentilation: Canadian Well
Winter:
Outside temperature
3º C
House air inflow
14.5º C
Summer:
Outside temperature
31.5º C
House air inflow
19.5º C

28. M4.6 * What Energy Sources are
available & how do they Work?
Direct Link to this chapter in the e-book: www.bit.ly/Renewables46
Energy Sources & Societal Design
Jeevon's Paradox
Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Energy
Leverage Points in a System

29. Sunlight in the areas represented by black disks could produce enough energy to power the world. Credit: ez2c.de

30. Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Thermal Energy
Solar Photovoltaics
Wind power
Hydropower
BioMass
(Plants & Animals)

31. Solar Thermal Energy
Direct Circulation

32. Solar Thermal Energy
Forced Circulation

33. Solar Thermal Energy
We‟ll study many solar devices in the M4.9 & M4.10 – EcoScience – classes
… and you can build many of them :)

34. Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Thermal Energy
Solar Photovoltaics
Wind power
Hydropower
BioMass
(Plants & Animals)

35. Photovoltaics

36. Photovoltaics
Isolated

37. Photovoltaics
Connecting to the grid

38. Photovoltaics
Connecting to the grid

39. Photovoltaics
Connecting to the grid

40. Photovoltaics
Connecting to the grid

41. Photovoltaics
Solar Cooperative

42. Photovoltaics
Solar Guerrilla

43. Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Thermal Energy
Solar Photovoltaics
Wind power
Hydropower
BioMass
(Plants & Animals)

44. Wind Power
Connecting to the grid

45. Wind Power
Micro Wind Turbines

46. Wind Power
Homemade Wind Power

47. Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Thermal Energy
Solar Photovoltaics
Wind power
Hydropower
BioMass
(Plants & Animals)

48. HydroPower
MicroHyro Systems

49. Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Thermal Energy
Solar Photovoltaics
Wind power
Hydropower
BioMass
(Plants & Animals)

50. Biomass
Biomass boiler

51. Biomass
District heating

52. Biomass
Electricity generation

53. Biomass
Efficient stoves

54. Biomass
Biogas

55. Biomass
Biogas

56. Biomass
Used oil biodiesel

57. M4.6 * What Energy Sources are
available & how do they Work?
Direct Link to this chapter in the e-book: www.bit.ly/Renewables46
Energy Sources & Societal Design
Jeevon's Paradox
Gravitational
GeoThermal
Solar Energy
Leverage Points in a System

58. Class
M4.5
9) Numbers. Meadows
8) Material stocks and flows
PermaCulture we're building 7) Regulating negative feedback loops.
6) Driving positive feedback loops.
5) Information flows.
4) The rules of the system (incentives,
punishments, constraints).
What we've got / already built
3) The power of self-organization
2)The goals of the system
Places
1) The mindset or paradigm out of which
to the system arises
Intervene 0) The power to transcend paradigms
in a System

59. The GOALS of the
System
DeGrowth!
DESIGN is
conscious
creation

60. Re-
design
myths!
&
The mind- FACILITATE
set or healing of
paradigm addictions

61. Mad Max etc. ... apocalyptic cinema

62. a flotilla of
Whilst current society rescue-
(the Destructo-Culture)
continues sailing along, in great
boats is not
part ignorant of its wake-up call enough
with Nature...
beyond
the
ABC
in the modern Titanic ...
How many are still :
A) enjoying the view, B) re-organizing the deck-chairs
C) trying to persuade the captains to change course?

63. The Jetsons, Venus Project, etc.“TechnoFantasy”

64. The Metaphor of the
Chrisalis
The waking of Planetary
Consciousness
after much
pruning &
eating
the caterpillar
encloses itself in
a chrysalis
& some imaginal cells appear,
apparently „from nowhere‟
... & at the start are killed
as „foreign‟ to the system

65. ... but then more & more
imaginal cells appear,
& little by little they group
to form new organs
&
dramaticall
y change
the design
... when the chrysalis opens, a
completely new creature emerges

66. The Green Planet, Avatar, ...

67. PermaCultureScience.com

68. Class
M4.5
9) Numbers. Meadows
8) Material stocks and flows
PermaCulture we're building 7) Regulating negative feedback loops.
6) Driving positive feedback loops.
5) Information flows.
4) The rules of the system (incentives,
punishments, constraints).
What we've got / already built
3) The power of self-organization
2)The goals of the system
Places
1) The mindset or paradigm out of which
to the system arises
Intervene 0) The power to transcend paradigms
in a System

69. We are all in Transition, Re-designing ...
as imaginal cells (activists)
Inventing
our new
butterfly
self
(empowered)
& we need to CONNECT
in order to co-create the new structure, together

70. M4.6 * What Energy Sources are
available & how do they Work?
Our Imagination, Hope, Intelligence, Optimism
Energy Sources & Societal Design
Jeevon's Paradox
Gravitational In the e-book:
www.bit.ly/Renewables46
GeoThermal
Solar Energy
Leverage Points in a System