A new study shows that it is possible to transition the entire world to 100 per cent renewable energy, with a dependable power network, at a reasonable cost and using already established technology.
One of the enduring problems in the renewable energy sector is how to make power harnessed from wind, water and sunlight more reliable. Creating a stable clean power grid is an important obstacle to overcome if the world is to move away from fossil fuel consumption.
A group of engineers at Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Aalborg University in Denmark have proposed a solution. They envision a sustainable energy network made up of a mix of weather-based power sources and other more predictable clean sources such as geothermal plants and reservoirs, tidal and wave devices and hydroelectric plants. The stability of the latter, combined with existing power storage technology, would offset the shortfalls and capture the surplus of the former.
Matching demand with supply at low cost in 139 countries among 20 world regions with 100% intermittent wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) for all purposes. Mark Z.Jacobson, et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.02.009,
Renewable Energy, Volume 123, August 2018, Pages 236-248.