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No need for miracle technologies to rapidly decarbonise energy

Most of the world can switch to renewable energy without destabilizing
power grids, at low cost, and relying almost entirely on existing
technologies, according to a new Stanford University study.

With countries facing record-high fuel prices, energy blackmail from Russia, up to seven
million deaths per year due to air pollution, and an endless parade of
climate disasters, there’s no need for “miracle technologies” to put
things right, writes Stanford civil and environmental engineering professor
Mark Z. Jacobson, in a post for The Hill.

“By electrifying all energy sectors; producing electricity from clean, renewable sources; creating
heat, cold, and hydrogen from such electricity; storing electricity, heat,
cold and the hydrogen; expanding transmission; and shifting the time of
some electricity use, we can create safe, cheap and reliable energy
everywhere.”

Jacobson’s study covered the 145 countries that account
for 99.7% of global carbon dioxide emissions, and relied solely on onshore
and offshore wind, various solar technologies, geothermal, hydropower,
small amounts of tidal and wave energy, and different forms of storage. The
transition would cost about US$62 trillion, he says. With annual energy
cost savings of $11 trillion, the investment would pay back in less than
six years.

 The Energy Mix 13th July 2022

July 13, 2022 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, renewable