Can All Our Energy Come from Renewable Sources

Can all our energy come from renewable sources? This question has been a great topic of debate, but we may finally have the answer, thanks to a recent review paper written by Master of Science Benjamin Heard and his colleagues.

The review paper, titled (“Response to ‘Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems’”, which was published in the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews journal, claimed that it was impossible to generate all energy from renewable sources due to issues of feasibility and practicality.

Barring the idea that generating clean, green energy is expensive, the paper also brought up the issue of grid stability, i.e, what happens when there’s not enough wind or sunlight?

The hit back

Needless to say, the paper attracted a fair bit of criticism from scientists who advocate for renewable energy. According to prolific researchers from various institutes, such as the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Delft University of Technology, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, etc., there are absolutely no major hindrances that prevent us from generating all the world’s energy from renewable sources.

Though Heard’s paper did bring up matters of consideration, the solutions to those problems already exist according to Dr. Tom Brown from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He also pointed out that these solutions were increasingly becoming more affordable, especially due to the drop in solar and wind power costs.

Brown pointed out to the use of synthetic gas or hydrogen in situations involving low sun or wind, which is a last resort option. The scientist believes that we will soon have improved solutions to maintain grid stability. This could include rotating grid stabilizers and even solutions based on electronics.

The current reality

The move towards a future of renewable energy is already taking place. Denmark, for instance, is a nation that already generates 40% of its energy from renewable sources. It is currently aiming to bring that number up to 70% in the next 2-3 years.

The situation in other countries, such as Germany and China, isn’t too different either. By 2050, Germany aims to generate around 80% of its power from renewable sources.

However, the transformation, especially on a global scale, is going to be a complex one and will occur over a period of several decades. So, to put it in a nutshell, yes, we can generate all our energy from renewable sources. In fact, it will only get easier as technological solutions evolve.