This article by Andrew Blakers et al., explores a pathway toward 100% renewable electricity and deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions through the deployment of large amounts of variable photovoltaic (PV) and wind together with supporting measures to balance the grid.
In the longer term, following conversion of electricity supply to renewables, extensive electrification of transport, heating, and industry can displace most of the remaining fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse emissions by about three quarters. Indeed, PV and wind constitute the most realistic route to eliminating the use of coal, oil, and gas.
Ultimately, nearly 100% of energy supply could come via renewable electricity. This requires an approximate trebling of electricity production, which provides scope for continued large-scale deployment of PV and wind.
The novel features of this article are the following:
1) identification of off-river pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) as a highly industrially mature and lowest cost storage technology that is available nearly everywhere at a vastly larger scale than required to support 100% renewable electricity; and
2) identification of Australia as a global pathfinder in the transition to 100% renewable electricity.
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