Is it conceivable for the World to run on 100% Renewables? Some say yay some say nay, let’s find out what we think.

I have completed widespread research on the above crucial question and I would like to share with you my findings and then you will be more equipped to make you own mind up on today’s focus; 100% Renewables.
I cannot claim to have all the facts and figures on this subject, as they are not readily available. This is something that will be debated for a long time to come; with new discoveries made every single day, as renewables, climate change and energy security are all relatively fresh subjects that need more in-depth research.
Whilst conducting my research I have come across many roadmaps for running the World (or country) on 100% renewable energy by a certain date, mostly aiming for around 2050. We will look at a roadmap for Europe and North Africa a little later, but essentially they all cover the same topics on the vast amount of technology and planning that will be required to accomplish this task. Multitudes of solar panels and wind turbines, extensive changes to existing infrastructure, assumptions on our ability to cut energy use and the enormous amount of time and costs involved.
Globally we waste an irresponsible amount of energy, in fact, it has been estimated that we throw away as much as 30-50% of the energy and water that flows into our buildings. Just a few examples are: Keeping lights on all day even when sunlight could be used to illuminate a space properly. Lighting is responsible for one-fourth of all electricity consumption worldwide, leaving lighting, heating or cooling systems on during the night at levels that would be appropriate for daytime occupancy, running space heaters under desks while air conditioning is on because buildings are over cooled or keeping computers, printers and other technical equipment on all night or over the weekend when it is not being used.
In roadmap scenarios we would have to use less energy in the future than we do now through improvements in our efficiency. If you have read the above paragraph and thought; I leave the lights on, then think about the energy you waste and make a change now, as every little helps and using energy management would assist in improving our energy efficiency. However, reducing energy demand worldwide will be very challenging as poor countries are trying to bring basic energy services to their people, which could eventually double energy demand.

 
Costs
How much will it cost to switch to renewables compared to the cost of continuing to use fossil fuels?
That is the big question; just how much would it cost to integrate huge amounts of intermittent renewable sources or energy to create reliable power? Quoting from the Governments UK Renewable Energy Roadmap, please find a link to the full document here.

‘The costs of renewable energy technologies are uncertain but are expected to fall over time as supply chains develop, technical challenges are overcome and the cost of capital reduces with lower risk; there are cross cutting barriers to deployment for all or many of the renewable energy technologies as well as barriers that apply to specific technologies, all of which need to be addressed to achieve our aims for deployment and cost reduction.’
The Government has documented their commitment and support for renewable energy across the UK, which they hope will lead to the UK becoming energy secure, guard consumers from fossil fuel price fluctuations, create new jobs by supporting businesses in the energy sector and reach our carbon reduction objectives.

We have the commitment and support from the Government, which is good news, but where are we to put all of this technology?

Onshore or offshore
Looking at the available space worldwide we have ample onshore, but is this space really practical? Aesthetically and environmentally probably not and we have the entire ocean to play with, which is where the government are thinking of playing too.
According to the Government, offshore wind has the potential to power every home in the United Kingdom; with the potential total capacity of offshore wind at 33GW, in addition to the 8GW already built or planned. This could consequently provide up to 70,000 jobs and generate £8bn a year in revenue. There have been 11 areas marked up with the potential to be viable offshore wind sites, considering level of winds, water depth, viable connection to the grid and shipping/environmental concerns.
Lord Hunt, the energy and climate change minister stated:
‘Offshore wind is fundamental to delivering our target of 15% renewable energy by 2020, and looking ahead to reducing our carbon emissions by 80%.’
He said wind power presented a ‘huge opportunity’ for the UK industry.
‘We’re already the world’s number one offshore wind power. With the right support, we can grow the industry even further, supporting thousands of high-value, green manufacturing jobs.’
The costs for installing wind farms could fall by 20%, if the annual deployment of wind hits 4 – 5GW a year and this could be said for all other renewable technologies.
Greenpeace chief scientist, Doug Parr said:
‘Offshore wind farms must be a key part of the UK’s future energy supply.
‘And they won’t just generate electricity; they’ll also generate thousands of British jobs and help tackle energy security.
‘But if Britain is to get all the benefits that offshore wind will provide, the government must do more to support the industry.’

We have support from the Government and according to the Government the space to facilitate renewable technology. My next question is this; can our national grid accommodate?

National Grid
There is an immense challenge of integrating more and more renewable resources into the electricity grid and the transnational energy utility, National Grid, is up against this issue in both markets it operates in; the UK and the US.
National Grid has initiated a range of transmission* projects to help facilitate the increasing number of renewables and so invested GBP1.44 billion in this segment financial year ending March 2009 and GBP1.6 billion financial year ending March 2010. According to National Grid the transmission division contributes around 45% of the company’s operating profits.
National Grid is UK based and holds the transmission licence for England and Wales through their company National Grid Electricity Transmissions Plc (NGET). The network in England and Wales comprises of around 7,200 km of overhead lines, 675 km of underground cables and 337 substations at 244 sites. Their transmission assets in the UK also include a part of the undersea cable linking England and France.
As we have identified so far; more and more renewable schemes, wind farms and solar projects are on the horizon so National Grid will need to accelerate in order to facilitate the additional capacity in its transmission system. Although there have been no significant changes made yet, policy on energy security and climate change have had a profound effect on the network’s business plans.

The Government are backing renewables and the National Grid is getting their head around renewables, but what about nature herself?

Intermittency
Modern society demands more power than ever before and it is only going to increase. There are two key things that are demanded from today’s energy resources:
1.    Energy must be made available in a highly advanced form (e.g. electricity)
2.    Energy must be readily available on demand (whenever you switch a light on)
We can confidently say that solar and wind cover the first point, as they generate electricity directly, however we cannot be so confident when it comes to the second due to the intermittent nature of this energy source.
Fossil fuels on the other hand are readily available on demand for now and cover the second point, but fail to meet the first point.
It then becomes clear that both sources require expensive additional infrastructure to deliver on-demand or highly refined energy to our society and both are limited without.
To transfer an intermittent energy source into a reliable energy supply it would need to be stored to fill the shortfall intermittency or for emergencies. Additionally the capacity of a reliable energy supply can be fulfilled by the use of backup or extra infrastructure technology, using mixed renewables to meet regular and unanticipated supply demands.
Denmark can be seen as an example; Wind providing 20% of the electricity, exporting excesses and importing during shortfalls from the EU grid, particularly Norwegian Hydro, to balance supply with demand. Large numbers of combined heat and power (CHP) stations are also used here which can rapidly adjust output.

I think that the fossil fuel vs. renewables is pretty even here and it doesn’t matter which way you look at it, both will need financial boosts to keep our energy consumption satisfied.

Final Quote
If I haven’t already confused you with this subject then please take a look at (A roadmap to 2050 for Europe and North Africa) by clicking here.
This report was written by a team from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and then European Climate Forum (ECF). This report provides a more in-depth look at 100% renewable energy and is worth a read.
I would like to share one quote from this report before I leave you; from Prof. Dr. Peter Hoppe, Head of Geo Risk Research, Corporate Climate Centre, Munich Re:
‘Humankind is facing two major global problems in this century; climate change and energy security. Renewable energies are the key for the solution of both problems as they are carbon free, abundant and sustainable. The proper combination of decentralised local renewable power generation and large solar power plants in the deserts has the potential to provide all the energy that will be needed. The precondition for this energy revolution is both a Smart Grid to manage the volatility of decentralised renewable power generation and a Super Grid to link large renewable power plants with the energy users over long distances.’

From all of my research I can honestly say that I am confident in renewable energy as a technology, but I am not so confident that we are prepared for 100% renewables and think that we need to plan and adapt now to get ready for that day.

* Transmission – Transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to electrical substations located near demand centres.

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