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Pro nuclear shills use UK’s energy crisis to promote nuclear, but with government action, renewable energy would solve the problem

Government failure behind energy crisis, Chartist, By Dave Toke -31/12/2021   The only thing wrong with renewables is that we’ve not built nearly enough of them, says Dave Toke. Amidst a global shortfall of gas supplies in relation to demand (and a global increase in gas prices), the anti-renewables lobbies are busy blaming a lack of wind and solar (wot, solar too?) for the soaring energy prices. It’s nonsense of course to pin the blame on renewables for a combination of a global oil and gas crisis and the UK’s unique market vulnerability to natural gas supply squeezes, but that’s precisely what is happening. The truth is we’d be much more secure and greener with a much higher proportion of energy coming from renewables backed up with a revived storage network that successive UK governments have allowed to run down. 

Of course we’ve had fossil fuel energy price surges and crises for decades, but now, suddenly, to read some papers and a lot of tweets, I’m told mainly from fossil fuel lobbyists,  it’s the fault of renewables! Remarkable! 

Some are even using the crisis to boost the case for nuclear power. Now that’s ironic, given that five out of 14 of EDF’s nuclear units are offline as I write! With nuclear, of course, it’s always going to be better in the future (and never is). Certainly, the idea that the UK relying on 3.2GW units (like Hinkley C and the planned Sizewell C) for its security at times of pressure is a guarantee of system security needs rather clearer analysis than is being done at the moment. (By the way, did you know that the first Hinkley C – like EPR in China – got shut down this summer because of radioactive leaks? Somebody please tell me when it gets back online.)………………..

We need much, much more renewables. Currently, the UK generates about 100TWh a year of wind and solar, compared to around 900TWh of natural gas consumption. How on earth can you blame wind and solar for a failure to meet gas demand when the Government has so far incentivised only a small fraction of the renewable energy generation required to phase out reliance on natural gas? It’s gaslighting on a grand scale (pun intended). 

And, yes, there’s easily enough renewables to do the job. All of UK energy could be supplied from offshore wind occupying less than less than 8 per cent of the UK’s offshore waters, not counting all the solar and other renewable energy resources in the UK. https://www.chartist.org.uk/government-failure-behind-energy-crisis/

January 4, 2022 Posted by | politics, renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Why nuclear power is a bad way to balance renewable energy 

Why nuclear power is a bad way to balance renewable energy  https://100percentrenewableuk.org/why-nuclear-power-is-a-bad-way-to-balance-renewable-energy

David Toke, Ian Fairlie and Herbert Eppel from 100percentrenewableuk discuss how nuclear power effectively switches off wind and solar power and how a 100percent renewable energy system is much better for the UK than one involving nuclear power.

The Government, backed by a lot of public policy reports paid for by pro-nuclear interests, constantly pushes out the view that nuclear power is ‘essential’ to balancing wind and solar power. But what they never mention is the massive waste of renewables that occurs in such a scenario. Under the scenarios planned by the Government nuclear power is paid very high prices to generate power even when there is excess electricity, which pushes renewables to close down. The Government also refuses to undertake serious investigations of how a system that uses excess renewables to create short and long term storage is a much better way of organising our energy needs rather than wasting more money on building nuclear power stations.

Look at our video which, drawing upon research on the role of nuclear and renewables, discusses these issues.

If you agree the aims of 100percentrenewableuk please join the discussion via our email group.

January 1, 2022 Posted by | renewable, Ukraine | Leave a comment

UK’s fossil fuel use at an all-time low , as renewables generate 67% of Britain’s electricity

Fossil fuel use on the UK’s power grid dropped to an all-time low this week, in a sign analysts say is further evidence of the “renewables revolution” under way on the British electricity generation.

Just before midnight on Wednesday evening coal and gas were providing just six per cent
of electricity, according to Drax Electric Insights. “Renewables generated 24.19 GW – 65 per cent of the country’s entire electricity needs – while fossil fuels were at a new record low,” the analysts said
in statement on Thursday.

 iNews 30th Dec 2021

https://inews.co.uk/news/fossil-fuels-power-wind-renewable-1375827

January 1, 2022 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Germany steadfast in rejecting nuclear power, aims for 100% renewables


 The Germans persist and sign against nuclear power and for renewables.
Across the Rhine, the debate pushed by France on nuclear power, presented
as “green” energy, is clearly not taking hold. The consensus remains
around the bet made by the new government that a direct switch to “all
renewable” is possible and will ultimately pay off much more, even if it
involves painful decisions.

 Mediapart 25th Dec 2021

 https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/251221/les-allemands-persistent-et-signent-contre-le-nucleaire-et-pour-le-renouvelable

December 27, 2021 Posted by | Germany, politics international, renewable | Leave a comment

Australia is racing towards 100 per cent renewables. What does that look like? —

When too much wind and solar is not nearly enough! What does a grid look like when it is nearly 100 per cent powered by renewables? The post Australia is racing towards 100 per cent renewables. What does that look like? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia is racing towards 100 per cent renewables. What does that look like? — RenewEconomy
 The share of wind and solar has nearly quadrupled, and AEMO, whose main
responsibility is to keep the lights on, is modelling a 79 per cent share
of renewables (that’s an average over the year) by 2030 as its most
likely and now central scenario.

Even the mainstream political parties are
keeping up, even if some don’t like to admit it: Labor’s emissions
target (a 43 per cent cut by 2030) proudly assumes an 82 per cent share of
renewables by 2030. The federal Coalition, which demonised Labor’s 50 per
cent renewables target from the 2019 election campaign as “economy
wrecking”, quietly assumes a 69 per cent share in renewables by 2030 in
its emissions modelling. i.e. when too much wind and solar is not nearly
enough.

The biggest reasons for the extraordinary pace of this renewables
transition, and the dramatic change in expectations, are many. Mostly they
fall around the rapid falls in technology costs, and the subsequent embrace
of wind, solar and storage by state governments of both sides of the
political divide, and by corporate demand, keen to have cheaper and greener
power.

The Liberal government in South Australia is heading towards 100 per
cent renewables in the next few years, on its way to 500 per cent
renewables via renewable hydrogen exports, and the Tasmania Liberal
government aims for 200 per cent renewables for the same reason.

 Renew Economy 23rd Dec 2021

 https://reneweconomy.com.au/australia-is-racing-towards-100-per-cent-renewables-what-does-that-look-like/

December 24, 2021 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, renewable | Leave a comment

U.S. can get to 100% clean energy with wind, water, solar and zero nuclear, Stanford professor says

U.S. can get to 100% clean energy with wind, water, solar and zero nuclear, Stanford professor says, CNBC DEC 21 2021 Catherine Clifford, @IN/CATCLIFFORD

   KEY POINTS

  • Stanford professor Mark Jacobson sees a way for the U.S. to meet its energy demands by 2050 with 100% wind, water and solar.
  • His models use no fossil fuels, carbon capture, direct air capture, bioenergy, blue hydrogen or nuclear power.
  • Jacobson’s roadmap is different from many clean-energy proposals, which advocate using all technologies possible.

A prominent Stanford University professor has outlined a roadmap for the United States to meet its total energy needs using 100% wind, water and solar by 2050.

Mark Jacobson, a Stanford professor of civil and environmental engineering and the director of its Atmosphere/Energy Program, has been promoting the idea of all renewable energy as the best way forward for more than a decade. His latest calculations toward this ambitious goal were recently published in the scientific journal Renewable Energy.

Transitioning to a clean-energy grid should happen by 2035, the study advises, with at least 80% of that adjustment completed by 2030. For the purposes of Jacobson’s study, his team factored in presumed population growth and efficiency improvements in energy to envision what that would look like in 2050.

Jacobson first published a roadmap of renewable energy for all 50 states in 2015.This recent update of that 2015 work has a couple of notable improvements.First, Jacobson and his colleagues had access to more granular data for how much heat will be needed in buildings in every state for the coming two years in 30-second increments. “Before we didn’t have that type of data available,” Jacobson told

Also, the updated data makes use of battery storage while the first set of calculations he did relied on adding turbines to hydropower plants to meet peak demand, an assumption that turned out to be impractical and without political support for that technology, Jacobson said.

Reliability of four-hour batteries

In the analysis, Jacobson and his team used battery-storage technology to compensate for the inherent intermittency of solar and wind power generation — those times when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.

The Achilles’ heel of a completely renewable grid, many argue, is that it is not stable enough to be reliable. Blackouts have become a particular concern, notably in Texas this year and during the summer of 2020 in California.That’s where four-hour batteries come in as a way to generate grid stability. “I discovered this all just because I have batteries in my own home,” Jacobson told CNBC. “And I figured, oh, my God, this is so basic. So obvious. I can’t believe nobody has figured this out.”

Jacobson said that he observed his batteries stayed charged if they weren’t plugged in when they are off.

o get more than four hours of charge, multiple four-hour batteries can be stacked to discharge sequentially. If a battery needs more charge output at one time than the battery can provide, then the batteries need to be used simultaneously, Jacobson told CNBC.

With this observation, Jacobson and his colleagues at Stanford produced scenarios showing it is possible to transition to a fully renewable system without any blackouts or batteries with ultra-long-duration battery technology.

That’s key because technology for ultra-long-duration batteries that would hold energy for several days have yet to be commercialized. Start-ups like Form Energy are working to bring such batteries to market.

Planning, of course, is also key to keeping the grid stable. “Wind is variable, solar is variable,” Jacobson said. “But it turns out, first of all, when you interconnect wind and solar over large areas, which is currently done, you smooth out the supply quite a bit. So it’s because, you know, when the wind is not blowing in one place, it’s usually blowing somewhere else. So over a large region, you have a smoother supply of energy.”

Similarly, wind and solar power are complimentary. And hydropower “is perfect backup, because you can turn it on and off instantaneously,” he said.

Also, there needs to be changes in pricing structures to motivate customers to do high energy demand activities at off-peak times.“Demand response is a very big component of keeping the grid stable,” Jacobson said. “It’s used some today. But a lot of places a lot of states in the US right now, the electricity price is constant all day … and that’s a problem.”

Calculating the breakdowns………………..

The resulting models use no fossil fuels, carbon capture, direct air capture, bioenergy, blue hydrogen or nuclear power.And in that, Jacobson’s roadmaps are different from many clean-energy proposals, which advocate for using all technologies possible.

“So we’re trying to eliminate air pollution and global warming, and provide energy security. So those are the three purposes of our studies,” Jacobson told CNBC. And that “is a little different than a lot of studies that only focus on greenhouse gases. So we’re trying to eliminate air pollution as well, and also provides energy security.”………..

Combating fears of blackoutsJacobson knows that his viewpoint is not the loudest. The promise of next-generation nuclear power plants, for example, has gotten government and private funding of late.Nuclear innovation is “pushed mostly by the industry people, people like Bill Gates, who has a huge investment in small modular reactors,” Jacobson said. “He has a financial interest. And he wants to be known as somebody who tries to help solve the problem.”

Gates addressed the criticism that he’s a “technocrat” looking to solve climate change with new innovations, instead of with political legislation supporting technology like wind and solar which already exists, in an interview with Anderson Cooper on CBS’ “60 Minutes” earlier in the year. “I wish all this funding of these companies wasn’t necessary at all. Without innovation, we will not solve climate change. We won’t even come close,” Gates said.Also, the timeline for getting some of these technologies to commercialization is too long to be useful. Gates’ advanced reactor company, TerraPower, announced in November that it has chosen the frontier-era coal town Kemmerer, Wyoming, as the preferred location for its first demonstration reactor, which it aims to build by 2028.

“Even if it’s seven years, that’s just a demonstration plant,” Jacobson said. “That’s not even close to a commercial plant and on the scale we need.”……………

Education is a key hurdle, as Jacobson sees it. “I am optimistic. But the thing I find that’s the biggest difficulty is the fact that it is an information issue, because most people are not aware, most people are not aware of what’s possible,” he said. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/21/us-can-get-to-100percent-clean-energy-without-nuclear-power-stanford-professor-says.html?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=Main&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1640127800

December 24, 2021 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

China to lead in global wind power

China is forecast to account nearly 70% of new wind power capacity
additions globally within a decade boosted by the country’s robust
electricity demand. Consulting firm Wood Mackenzie in its fourth quarter
forecast expects a 69 gigawatts (GW) increase in new wind power capacity
additions globally for the period of 2021 to 2030 with 48GW coming from
China.

 Capital.com 15th Dec 2021

https://capital.com/china-to-lift-global-new-wind-power-capacity-additions

December 18, 2021 Posted by | China, renewable | Leave a comment

100% renewables possible for USA – study demonstrates

A study led by Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson has
demonstrated that the US energy system running on wind, water and solar,
coupled with storage, not only avoids blackouts but lowers energy
requirements and consumer costs while creating millions of jobs, improving
health, and freeing up land. The Jacobson-led study conducted with
colleagues from Stanford University analysed grid stability under multiple
scenarios in which wind, water, and solar energy resources powered 100% of
all energy needs in the United States. The study, published in the journal
Renewable Energy, demonstrates a blackout-free energy system under ideal
circumstances, and a much reduced risk of blackouts in extreme weather
events compared to the current fossil fuel-led energy systems.

 Renew Economy 10th Dec 2021

December 11, 2021 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear exit to unleash wind power in Northern Germany

Nuclear exit to unleash wind power in Northern Germany

By Charlotte Nijhuis and Nikolaus J. Kurmayer | EURACTIV.com with CLEW 10 Dec 2021

The shutdown of the last nuclear power plant in Schleswig-Holstein will unclog the electricity grid and unleash wind power in the northern German state, according to its environment minister Jan Philipp Albrecht, reports Clean Energy Wire.

“Nuclear power is clogging our grids, especially in the direction of the south,” Albrecht told press agency dpa.

Due to grid bottlenecks, offshore wind turbines indeed have to be switched off in some cases. 

The importance of nuclear power as a whole is therefore overestimated,” Albrecht added.

After the shutdown of the nuclear plant at the end of this year, the north of Germany could cover 160% of its electricity needs with renewable energy and there will be more wind power exports to the south, Albrecht said. 

Fears of power blackouts due to the nuclear phaseout are unfounded, he said. “After all, we will continue to massively expand renewable energies in Germany now. In the future, we will not be dependent on nuclear power being generated in France.”

His anti-nuclear party, the Greens, have recently entered federal government in Germany, with Super-Minister Robert Habeck in charge of boosting the expansion of renewable energies up to 80% of the country’s power supply.

Germany is set to turn off the nuclear reactors Grohnde, Gundremmingen C and Brokdorf by the end of December.

Shutting down the remaining three nuclear reactors in 2022 will then conclude a decades-long struggle by the anti-nuclear movement that gave rise to the Green Party and other environmental groups in the 1980s. 

…….researchers are confident that the shutdown of Germany’s last nuclear power plants will not cause supply shortages, according to calculations by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).

In order to keep grid operation stable, congestion management will need to be adjusted. But “the lights will not go out in Germany,” study author Claudia Kemfert said in statement. 

“On the contrary: the [nuclear] shutdown paves the way for the overdue expansion of renewable energies. Nuclear energy was uneconomical from the start and characterised by incalculable risks,” she added………https://www.euractiv.com/section/electricity/news/nuclear-exit-to-unleash-wind-power-in-northern-germany/

December 11, 2021 Posted by | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

The shutdown of Germany’s last nuclear power plant could enable Germany’s North to cover 160% of its electricity needs with renewables.

The shutdown of the last nuclear power plant in Schleswig-Holstein will boost wind power in the northern German state, its environment minister Jan Philipp Albrecht (Greens) expects. “Nuclear power is clogging our grids, especially in the direction of the south,” Albrecht told press agency dpa in an article carried by Focus Online.

Due to grid bottlenecks, offshore wind turbines would have to be switched off in some cases. “The importance of nuclear power as a whole is therefore overestimated,” he added.

After the shutdown of the nuclear plant at the end of this year, the north of Germany could cover 160 percent of its electricity needs with renewable energy and there will be more wind power exports to the south, Albrecht said.

Fears of power blackouts due to the nuclear phaseout are unfounded, he said. “After all, we will continue to massively expand renewable energies in Germany now. In the future, we will not be dependent on nuclear power being generated in France.”

 Clean Energy Wire 9th Dec 2021

https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/nuclear-plant-shutdown-will-boost-wind-energy-northern-german-state-env-min

December 11, 2021 Posted by | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

Renewable energy growing at a fast pace, China and India leading the way.

Growth in renewable energy is set to hit an all-time record this year, but is still falling “well short” of what is necessary to slash planet-warming emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. The energy watchdog estimates that around 290 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity came online around the world in 2021 — enough electricity for approximately 200 million average US homes — according to a report published Wednesday.

By 2026, the agency predicts global renewable capacity will rise more than 60% from 2020 levels, an amount equivalent to the current total global power capacity of fossil fuels and nuclear combined, it said.

But to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, a goal many nations have set, renewables need a far bigger push. The current pace is being driven by China, which the agency says remains the global leader in renewable energy growth. The country is expected to reach 1200 GW of total wind and solar
capacity in 2026, four years sooner than its target date. Renewables are also being rapidly embraced in India, where they are projected to double new installations this year, in comparison to 2015-2020.

 FT 1st Dec 2021

https://www.ft.com/content/317424af-a559-4598-a4df-5fe7c9fff947

December 2, 2021 Posted by | China, India, renewable | Leave a comment

New German government aims for coal exit, and 80 pct renewables, by 2030

New deal between SDP, Greens and pro-business party calls for coal exit by 2030, and an 80 per cent share for renewables. The post New German government aims for coal exit, and 80 pct renewables, by 2030 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Soren Amelung and Benjamin Wehrmann 25 November 2021     https://reneweconomy.com.au/new-german-government-aims-for-coal-exit-and-80-pct-renewables-by-2030/  Germany’s prospective new government has agreed to speed up the country’s coal exit and accelerate the rollout of renewable power to get the country on track for climate neutrality.

“We will align our climate, energy and economic policies nationally, in Europe and internationally with the 1.5 degree path and activate the potential at all levels of government,” states the coalition agreement between Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and pro-business Free Democrats.

“With ambition and perseverance, we are making the country a pioneer in climate protection,” likely future chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, said during the presentation of the coalition treaty. He added that “modernisation won’t be for free – we will invest massively so Germany can stay a world leader.”

Germany plans to become climate-neutral by 2045, but the measures implemented by the outgoing government, a coalition between chancellor Angela Merkel’s Conservatives and the SPD, are insufficient to reach that target.

The September vote had been called a “climate election” due to the high importance many voters had given the topic.

Scholz aims to be elected chancellor in the week of December 6. Prior to that, the Greens will invite all 120,000 party members to vote on the coalition agreement online. The SPD and the FDP will organise party conferences on December 4 and 5, respectively, to secure their members’ backing for the agreement.

Faster rollout of renewables

“Reaching climate targets will require an accelerated exit from coal power generation,” the coalition treaty reads. “Ideally, this will be achieved by 2030 already.”

Green Party co-leader Robert Habeck said the measures agreed by the three parties would put Germany on an emissions reduction path compatible with the Paris Climate Agreement‘s target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The coalition treaty’s “core” principle would be to reconcile prosperity with climate action, he argued.

“We have decided against setting higher climate targets in the coalition agreement, but rather formulated concrete measures,” Habeck said, adding that these measures would put the country on a 1.5 degree path.

The three parties aiming to form the next German government, said they aim to cover 80 percent of the country’s power demand with renewables by 2030, a significant increase from the current target of 65 percent. “Renewables are no longer an addition but will have to carry our supply security,” Habeck said.


FDP
 leader Christian Lindner, who is likely to become new finance minister, said “no other industrialised country will make efforts in climate action as great as ours, this is the most ambitious programme to date” and the government would make sure that it is sufficiently funded. At the same time, Germany would remain “an advocate of prudent financial policy,” Lindner added.

The parties also rejected calls for postponing the end of nuclear power plants. “We will stick to the nuclear exit,” their coalition agreement says.

To help the country’s famed industry to lower emissions, the future government plans to use new instruments, such as carbon contracts for difference, and support an EU-wide carbon border adjustment mechanism.

The coalition partners also said they will consider a national carbon floor price of 60 euros if the price in the EU emissions trading system falls below that limit. In the transport sector, they want to achieve a fast transition to low-emission mobility. “Our target is at least 15 million fully electric cars by 2030,” the treaty says.

The future government also agreed on considerable changes to the government architecture to implement its climate agenda. The parties plan to create a novel climate ministry that merges the energy and industry departments of the economy ministry with the environment ministry’s climate department.

First published on Clean Energy Wire

November 25, 2021 Posted by | Germany, renewable | Leave a comment

Germany’s Chancellor Merkel maintains stand against nuclear power being classified as sustainable

Merkel defends nuclear power exit despite climate challenges,  Euro News,  By Andreas Rinke, 17 Nov 21,

BERLIN -Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her decision to phase out nuclear energy, even though it has made it harder for Germany to wean its economy off fossil fuels.

In an interview with Reuters, the outgoing chancellor also said she was opposed to any plans by the European Union to label nuclear power as “sustainable”.

“It’s true, of course, that we now face the very ambitious and challenging task of completing the energy transition while phasing out coal and nuclear power,” said Merkel, who will step down once a new government is sworn in following an election in September.

“But it’s also true that this will be worth it for our country if we do it right.”

Merkel, who has led her country for 16 years, pushed for Germany to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster in Japan a decade ago, a decision that most Germans agree with……..

RENEWABLES

The share of renewables in the energy mix of Europe’s largest economy has been growing steadily since the Fukushima disaster, though energy economists say it has not risen fast enough to help Germany meet its ambitious emissions targets.

Renewables accounted for 45% of Germany’s energy last year, up from 17% in 2010, data compiled by the Agora Energiewende think-tank showed. The share of electricity generated from coal fell to 23% from 42% a decade ago. Nuclear power was halved to 11%.

The EU executive, the European Commission, is drawing up a sustainable finance “taxonomy” setting out which activities meet the environmental criteria to qualify for funding under an EU sustainable investment programme.

A document viewed by Reuters in March indicated experts were preparing to label nuclear power as sustainable because it has none of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by fossil fuels.

Merkel said Germany would continue to oppose the plan but acknowledged that it would be hard to rally 19 other members behind its position to block it.

“It’s difficult to stall the procedure as such once the European Commission has presented an act,” said Merkel.

“We in Germany believe – across party lines – that nuclear energy should not be classified as being as clean as wind and solar energy.”……… https://www.euronews.com/next/2021/11/17/germany-merkel-nuclear-exclusive

November 18, 2021 Posted by | climate change, Germany, renewable | 1 Comment

Plan for solar power to UK via cable from Morocco, as nuclear power closes

As the UK’s ageing fleet of nuclear power stations begins to close –
until recently a steady source of low-carbon baseload generation –
Utility Week speaks to Simon Morrish, chief executive at XLinks, about its
plans to transmit cheap solar power thousands of kilometres across the
Atlantic seabed from the sun-drenched deserts of Morocco to help fill the
looming gap.

 Utility Week 15th Nov 2021

As the UK’s ageing fleet of nuclear power stations begins to close –
until recently a steady source of low-carbon baseload generation –
Utility Week speaks to Simon Morrish, chief executive at XLinks, about its
plans to transmit cheap solar power thousands of kilometres across the
Atlantic seabed from the sun-drenched deserts of Morocco to help fill the
looming gap.

 Utility Week 15th Nov 2021

November 18, 2021 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

A cross-continental electricity interconnector grid system may be a practical option for renewable energy .

One of the key discussions at the COP26 summit in Glasgow has been the practicalities of building a cross-continental electricity interconnector system, and this may be rather more practical than some of the commentators have implied. It could, indeed, eventually turn into a global energy system where solar pv as well as wind power and other renewables, could supply power 24/7 with a much-reduced need for storage for systems dominated by renewable energy. Talking about supplying Europe with solar pv from North Africa, eg via the putative Desertec scheme, has often been a source of debate amongst renewables afficianados.

Some greens have decried the notionas a centralised vision of renewable energy that is little more desirable than centralised nuclear power plant. The traditional preference among greens has been on locally owned plant either on rooftops or at least, in
the case of ground-mounted solar pv, owned by community renewable energy organizations. But in a world where the overall prize is the achievement of net zero carbon energy systems, then two key factors come into play: cost and resource availability (which of course are related to each other).

If solar and wind resources in some countries, especially some of the most landlocked states, are difficult to access at reasonable cost, then international, even intercontinental, supplies could come into play. If it is cost-effective to build plant and build the interconnectors to trade in electricity, then it is quite likely to happen.

 100% Renewables 13th Nov 2021

November 15, 2021 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment