Switch: The New Documentary on Energy's Future

Abstract

Switch documentary How will the switch to cleaner energy sources occur? This is the basic question Scott Tinker, director of the Bureau of Economic Geology and Allday Endowed Chair professor at The University of Texas at Austin, explores in the documentary film, Switch, which he co-produced and in which he is featured as interviewer and narrator. Attendees at this year’s SPE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (ATCE) enjoyed a complimentary screening of the film Monday evening, 8 October. In addition, Tinker delivered the keynote presentation at the SPE Research & Development (R&D) Technical Section annual meeting, held at ATCE the evening before. The quest Tinker embarks upon in Switch is one of keen interest to those involved with energy R&D, because both the continued cost-effective exploitation and delivery of fossil fuels as well as the search for alternative sources of energy depend on innovations in technology. The documentary follows Tinker as he travels the world to discuss “the switch,” giving us along the way an inside look at all the major types of energy—hydro, coal, crude oil, biofuels, natural gas, geothermal, solar, wind, and nuclear. Geology Is Destiny Starting with “one of the most successful energy transitions in the world … , energy so clean you can drink it,” Tinker explains that Norway’s geology is why it can generate 99% of its electrical power from hydro. In fact, a country’s geology proves critical in determining its ability to transition from electricity’s mainstay—cheap and abundant coal. As Tinker says in the film, “Take massive global fuel supply, combine it with fast, simple power generation, and you get the cheapest electricity in the world. That’s why we’re still hooked.” Getting unhooked is difficult, given our species’ large and growing presence, as well as the push for a greater proportion of people to participate in the lifestyle benefits that accrue from energy use. The logistics of maintaining while also continuing to build a global system of transport, communication, and comfort for humans is formidable. The massive physical infrastructure changes, capital equipment costs, and economic consequences involved in a global energy switch make its pace one involving decades or centuries rather than months and years. Switch gives us insight into the physics, economics, and scale involved in current energy supply and demand. An example is given early in the film of the scale involved in keeping the world supplied with energy. The annual volume of the material moved at the Belle Ayr Mine in the US Powder River Basin—the largest coal reserve in the world—is equal to three times the volume of the entire Panama Canal. And that is just one of the mines in the Powder River Basin.