What if the blackout happens again? How can we avoid energy dependence in a context of growing demand and rising population projections? As in the months of the pandemic, the unprecedented crisis of the Red Eléctrica grid blackout once again puts the spotlight on the domestic space. Because it was at home, once again, where we took refuge when the dark night fell. And this time, we couldn't hide behind a digital series.
We see the city as an inevitably polluting space, but it could be a resource if we knew how to interpret energy differently, and if we began to cross-fertilize knowledge between static stones (architecture) and dynamic fluids (energy).
To build an environment without fossil fuels, it will be necessary to design, in addition to kitchens and dining rooms, self-heating spaces, thermodynamic circuits, sunlight and ventilation that, until now, had been overlooked thanks to three universalized inventions: the window, the gas boiler and the gas boiler.
Light energies is the name of an exhibition curated by Raphäel Ménard that took place at the Pavillon du Arsenal in Paris a year ago, and which provided relevant data on European cities of recent centuries.
At the end of the 19th century, Paris had 80,000 horses, which in exchange for plant food transported matter, tilled the soil, and pulled all kinds of carriages. Today, decarbonized mobility also depends on muscles, but in this case, on humans: walking, the bicycle... Monday was a day of major celebration for all those who travel by bicycle, and I couldn't help but think of the children of my Danish friends, who cycle alone to school from a very young age because no one in Copenhagen drives cars. Cities can combine soft mobility at agreed times without having to carry out roadworks.
There are some surprising photographs of Collserola bare, without a single tree, from the early 20th century. This is attributed to what Ménard explains about biomass, the wood from trees, which has been man's main fuel since time immemorial. But we've already learned that it's not necessary to light a fire in the ground (which may reach 200 or 300 degrees) to heat a dining room. Houses gradually replaced stone ovens with fireplaces, which improved efficiency, especially because 1,500 kg of forest per person could no longer be consumed.
A square meter of a field or forest generates little energy, and 70% of agricultural land is used for meat production. It's understandable, then, that schools are making an effort to introduce eating habits based on alternative proteins.
The exhibition reviews all the energy alternatives and how they power homes, from hydropower to wind, geothermal, solar, and nuclear. It makes you think about how landscapes change when they become filled with windmills, swamps, photovoltaic plants, and winter. There are many alternatives, but it really doesn't seem very safe or sustainable to have to transport gigawatts from power plants located hundreds of kilometers away. The myth of the self-sufficient city, of energy produced close to where it is produced, would undoubtedly multiply sources and avoid widespread blackouts.
The exhibition was important because it provided images of these solutions at the urban level. I'll only comment on two. One, the iconic image of the gray rooftops of Paris with a small alteration based on chimneys that become solar receivers, with double-sided photovoltaic panels, protected with transparent EFTE membranes. It's a suggestive image because the roofs aren't altered; only hats, small glass pyramids, are added over the old ceramic tubes that serve as chimneys. The other is an image of a home interior with a student working at 16 degrees (wearing a sweater and a blanket) and equipped with thermal furniture (climate-controlled table and shelving), thick double curtains, and a thermal mat that adds extraordinary watts to the room. Viewed in detail, the photographs show future landscapes not very different from the current ones, which makes them both possible and desirable.
We won't know in the short term whether Monday's blackout was avoidable, but we can certainly never ignore the fact that we are overly dependent on centralized energy systems. And most of us don't know enough about energy: I couldn't even locate on a map where the power outage occurred that left us without power at home until late at night. If the pandemic served as a learning curve about public health and vaccines, now it's time to delve deeper into energy supply, at home and locally.
