I too have been many years researching power and energy systems. With respect, as also a practicing Systems Enginer of almost thirty years, patented since around 2000, chartered since 2006; an observation I made when embarking on PhD research, was that the academic community appears not to have utilised the techniques of formal systems Engineering, and yet these would assist scientists hugely in analysing systemic problems, as it is a formal means of winding in all dependencies.
The energy problem and its dependencies on all things, by definition is the largest system we can possibly study.
I would say not being equipped with the techniques of formal systems Engineering, is probably a major handicap of Scientists, even those studying long term, in fact new information becoming apparent from Systems Engineering techniques might be all the more difficult for scientists to accept.
Even more challenging, affecting me also, in fact everyone, is that some of this information is contrary to our own longstanding career ambitions, when we look closely, it is economic mechanisms like money creation from debt, credit, capital, interest, profit, all of those things tie us into the industry of extraction, since all promises to pay are promises to extract, and establishments themselves including the power grid and utilities industries are all dependent on those, they are our traditional employers as scientists and Engineers, so this information is contrary to our own traditional ambitions. In effect, by fixing the problem, we will be putting many of ourselves out of work.
But the end result is worth it, we all get endless free money, backed by energy from the only source of it, which we can use to fund anything we wish to do in future.
On the amounts missed, it is substantial and cumulative, as long as no money is being issued.
I can't link easily on the device I am making this reply, but if you search out "Kardashev Money" you will find some attempts at quantitive analyses.
To give an idea, by my analysis we saw it already, when $4Tn per month stimulus was being issued in US, oil prices went negative, the only time in history, whilst the dollar went up, and a stack of other good things. That did not need to stop, and should not have stopped.
The reason it stopped is bacause banks realised they were even putting themselves out of business, it seems to me, they momentarily ended all power of capital, and we saw how much of a good thing that was for all people.
But the kicker they can't get around, is that the money is devaluing, hence inflation, because it no longer reflects the thing of value, which is the free energy being donated to us from the sun, so sooner or later they are going to have to give in to the higher power of nature.
Unfortunately this sounds religious, so scares many scientists off, but it isvthe truth :- Nature is the grand authority. Her currency is energy. The only issuer, and enforcer of it, is the sun. Accept that and we prosper. Refuse it and we perish.
All the best to you, I hope this might make some difference to you too, though I would fully understand if you prefer not to ever admit it :)
