No Need for 'Miracle Technologies' to Rapidly Decarbonize Energy

[Finishline42]

IMO, it's already headed in that direction, it's just a matter of time

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 new system may also create over 28 million more long-term, full-time jobs than lost worldwide and require only about 0.53% of the world’s land for new energy, with most of this area being empty space between wind turbines on land that can be used for multiple purposes,” he writes. So a shift of this magnitude “may require less energy, cost less, and create more jobs than the current system.”

https://www.theenergymix.com/2022/07/13/no-need-for-miracle-technologies-to-rapidly-decarbonize-energy-jacobson/

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I think it an overzealous analysis, but the reduction in carbon will be exponential

at the end of the conversion process, and that could save the bacon.

[mitch96]

2. The only problem I can see is... will the big oil and gas giants of the world allow it?

I mean if someone came in and said we are going to reduce by a significant amount your profit and income, what would you do?? Stop it of course..
F**k the people, f**k the environment.. it's all about profits for share holders..
Power and money Power and money.
Then again if they could control electricity production that would be another story
m

[CentralMass]

3. It is a nice pipe dream but we have a global oligarchy that are an impediment to accomplishing it.

The amount of electrical energy to accomplish that "electricfication strategy" is massive and it would take a National, and global for that matter,, energy policy that is dedicated to achieve it. The cost of oil along with the geoploitical battles that are already happening over fossil fuels and a real end of oil scenario that is looming may give us no choice. It would most likely require nuclear power to achieve the 2035-2050 implementation time frame and there seems to be no support for nuclear power in the U.S. and most of Europe.

The notion that this would be "cheap energy" is stretch but by 2050 we will most likely have no choice. In the U.S. the GOP and oligarchy that own them will do everything they can to block it.

I doubt that I'll live to see it. I might make it to 2035 but I'll be taking a dirt nap by 2050.

[in2herbs]

4. Someone posted an article on DU the other day about an alternative way to

finance green energy and one of the suggestions was through savings bonds, akin to war bonds. Of course the green energy would have to be strictly defined and regulated but I can visualize it as a way to get around Manchinema and the Rs who are in climate denial. Doing the most we can NOW with wind, solar and geo, to minimize use of electric grids that depend on fossil fuels to run 24-hours/day while building towards a more sustainable energy source is how we should be thinking, IMO.