There are three different types of power: backbone power, green power, and mobile power. Backbone power is the primary energy source that is always there when we need it. Green power comes from renewable energy sources which do not pollute. Mobile power drives our cars, planes, and other vehicles and has the special requirement of transportability. We will discuss each of these in turn.

Backbone Power

Only 40% of the world’s energy use is in the form of electricity; the rest is used for heating and manufacturing. But it is the electric power that governs our way of life in developed countries. During a hot summer day, you have probably experienced a rolling blackout. Night falls and you light a candle. So far so good, and it might even be romantic; but it is too dim to read by. You turn on the radio to find out what the problem is. It does not work. You want to watch TV or play a disk, but those do not work either. You try to call your neighbor to talk about it, but the phone does not work either. Now, where is that phone that connects directly without a power brick? Well, I have all this time to surf the web, you think. The computer is dead as a door nail, and so is the modem. A cup of hot tea would calm your nerves, but… oops! The stove is electric, and so is the hot water heater. Maybe we can take a drive in the moonlight until the power comes back on. But the garage door would not open. There is nothing to do. During the 10-h New York blackout in 1965, people did what came naturally; and the maternity hospitals were jammed nine months later.. .or so it was reported. This story has been debunked since then.

Heating of homes uses mostly oil and gas, but reliable electric power is still needed in a pinch. Mrs. Johnson, a widow, lives alone in her house in suburbia. The snow is so deep that oil trucks have difficulty in making deliveries. The electricity goes out when a large generator goes down in the public utility. A fierce storm rages outside, and there is no sun. The gusting wind does not provide enough wind power to make up for the shortfall. The inside temperature falls to below zero. Mrs. Johnson has an electric heater, but there is no power. She cannot cook without electricity. After two days, she unfreezes a can of soup by lying next to it in bed. On the third day, she looks at a picture of her grandchildren on her nightstand and wonders if she will ever see them again. Then, on the fourth day, the power goes back on. Yes, she will see them again. Thank goodness for backbone power! This is a dramatization, but loss of backbone power can have deadly consequences. Fortunately, most hospitals have emergency power systems that run on fossil fuels. This is one use of fossil fuels that is defensible.

Renewable energy sources are absolutely necessary for limiting greenhouse gases, but the ones that most people know about — wind, solar, and hydro — are not sufficient or dependable enough to be the primary energy source. Great strides are being made to increase the fractional contribution of these sources, but they can only supplement the primary source. That is because we cannot store energy from intermittent sources or transport that energy from where it is produced to where it is needed. Backbone power has got to be available at all times. This means that reserve generating capacity has to be built to supply power when all else fails. Backbone power keeps people alive and functional in their normal activities. Green energy can save on fuel cost, but not on capital costs, because backbone power plants still have to be built to supply the necessary standby capacity. This will be quantified in the section on wind power. Only three energy sources fulfill the requirements of backbone power: fossil fuels, fission, and fusion. Of these, only fusion energy has the prospect of being backbone, green, and safe.