World could run on renewables in 20 years

At least, that’s according to an American research team. What’s particularly interesting is that they’ve factored in the economic impact, so it’s not just a case of “we have the technology, this is how fast we can deploy it” but also “this is how it can work feasibly”.

To quote the CNet article:

the world’s energy could be originated from 50 percent wind, 40 percent solar, 4 percent geothermal, 4 percent hydroelectric, and 2 percent wave and tidal power

Their suggestions read like science fiction, or at least the sort of science fiction imagined by people like me, born in the 1980s. Public transport running on hydrogen fuel cells. Airplanes powered by liquid hydrogen. That this sort of stuff is relatively feasible is still amazing to me and gives me some small hope that we may not blow the planet half to hell before my (as yet unconceived) children grow up. Although, as the article makes clear, it all hinges on the development and deployment of effective long-range energy networks.

Click here for a presentation of parts of the report. The full report is here and here. For more of Candace Lombardi’s work, go here.

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1 thought on “World could run on renewables in 20 years

  1. Em

    Let’s just hope!
    Actually, no! We need to do more than hope. Hope will just not make things happen. If this is true, fantastic! but we still need to start making changes in our daily lives. Planet Earth is not too happy with us I would imagine. We have been egotistical idiots for far too long.
    I’d better stop here.

    Thanks for sharing a little hope, Dave.

    Reply

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