What should society do first in terms of green energy that is the quickest and smartest?
In short, wind, water, and solar energy production are now the most efficient, rapid, green, and cost-effective ways to generate electricity. See Mark Z. Jacobson’s Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything .
However, no further substantial hydroelectric dams can be constructed in industrialized nations. Thousands of modest hydroelectric facilities might be constructed at modest dams, or river current turbines could be used in rivers all over the world. If so, then there is no way to significantly enhance the generation of hydroelectric electricity. Although wind and photovoltaic solar farms are typically a far more cost-effective way to produce energy than coal and, with fossil fuel prices surging, than gas, it is difficult to get these as competitive as wind and solar power. As a result, the only practically emission-free method to quickly and profitably replace the majority of electricity production from fossil fuels is wind and solar power.
Planning to production of energy from photovoltaic solar farms and wind farms only takes a few years, and once energy is produced, there are no fuel costs, no CO2 emissions, and nearly no water needs. Keep in mind that every fossil fuel used to produce electricity uses the thermodynamic process, which uses a lot of water. In a world where freshwater is becoming increasingly scarce, particularly in desert areas, the fact that wind and solar PV power production don’t need water is a big advantage.
There are vast deserts in nations like the US where solar farms can be constructed on land with little other possible use. It is feasible to combine solar panels with agriculture in arable locations, with the crops benefiting from the panels’ shade on days when the sun is scorching hot at noon.
Similar to pedestals, wind farms only occupy a very small fraction of the land, making it possible to locate one with little impact on nearby crops.
What are the main drawbacks of solar and wind energy? The sun is greatly diminished in high-latitude winter and at dawn and dusk, and the wind does not always blow. Additionally, it should be obvious that the sun doesn’t shine at night. Additionally, building electricity cables to brand-new wind and solar farms could be challenging.
The process of acquiring rights-of-way for new power lines takes a long time. Because the power cables are already there, it makes sense to locate new wind and solar farms close to fossil fuel and nuclear power plants that are being shut down.
It makes sense to overbuild wind and solar since they are so cost-effective; this way, you can still produce energy when there is less sunlight, such as in the morning, evening, and during the winter. When there is little wind, wind farms will still produce enough for you. This is the simplest and least expensive solution to deal with the intermittent nature of wind and solar power. (Also, you can create green hydrogen from the surplus under ideal circumstances.)
Note: It is significantly more cost-effective to immediately make sizable investments in wind and solar to stop CO2 emissions than to attempt to remove CO2 from the atmosphere after it has already accumulated.
How do we address the remaining issues related to wind and solar energy’s sporadic nature?
There are no cost-effective solutions using established technology that emits no emissions to quickly address the entirety of this issue. As a result, it might be necessary to keep using fossil fuel electric peaker plants until new or improved energy storage and transmission technologies can be implemented.
The only way to store electricity that can be swiftly developed uses essentially the same battery technology as electric cars. There are already significant grid-scale battery installations running all over the world. These facilities are crucial for maintaining power quality and compensating for short-term changes in power demand. They are not quite large enough to provide power during the night, let alone during a windless period that could extend for days. Additionally, there is already a huge demand for various battery types for private residences and EVs. As a result, it might take a while for battery production to reach the level required to construct these facilities of the ideal size all over the world. It should be noted that distinct battery technology from that needed for light EVs has been developed expressly for stationary grid-scale facilities, which could partially address the issue. I believe that all hydroelectric dams could be run to produce 80% of their power at night to make up for the nighttime solar power gap once wind and solar are built out to their maximum capacities. Without further building work or financial commitment, this may be done right now. We can only hope that the variation in river flow won’t have a negative ecological impact. The advantage of PV solar power generation is that it reaches its peak at the same time that the demand for electricity for air conditioning reaches its peak. Pumped hydro is the sole traditional technique for long-term electricity storage. In the Eastern US, there are just a few facilities in use, but adding more would involve drilling miles-long, large-diameter water viaducts for each facility, which would take a lot of time. Perhaps Elon Musk’s dull technology can help solve this issue. The wind lull in wind farms in the US might be completely eliminated with sufficient long-distance east/west transmission of power. In the US, weather systems travel through several east-west cycles, ensuring that there are always at least two or three regions with the highest wind speeds. Over a century ago, Tesla and alternating current defeated Edison and direct current in the direct current vs. alternating current war. Although it can be run underground and underwater, high-voltage direct-current long-distance transmission of energy is far more efficient than alternating current. Along train rights-of-way, a transcontinental east-west high-voltage DC superhighway might be constructed with fewer site concerns than above-ground powerlines. This may more than make up for the US wind farms’ sporadic production and greatly reduce the evening solar power gap. The Transcontinental High Voltage DC Superhighway may be able to close the nighttime solar power gap with enough bandwidth. It could take 4 hours longer to transport solar energy from the West Coast to the East Coast and provide enough power to meet the eastern US states’ peak nighttime demand. On the other hand, power in the morning from the East Coast may cut the West Coast’s nightly solar power gap by four hours. The productivity and dependability of wind farms will significantly rise with the installation of taller, larger wind turbines both onshore and offshore. The justification The jet stream’s speed of about 100 mph is present at 40,000 feet, where the wind speed is almost zero at sea level. Therefore, the wind speed and consistency increase as the wind turbine height increases. Additionally, the wind over the sea is more constant and swifter than the wind over land. Over oceans, there aren’t any hills, trees, or other obstructions that could slow the wind down. Offshore wind farms, which are prevalent in Europe and China, have been developed extremely slowly in the US, but the country is just now beginning to scale up offshore power production. The development of traditional and cutting-edge technologies is most urgently required for energy transmission and storage. Some instances:
Storage for hot sand. storage of compressed CO2. molten salt storage with concentrated solar power. Increasing the effectiveness of hydrogen electrolysis for energy storage. enhancements to hydroelectric dams using pumped hydro. construction of long-distance electrical transmission lines to deliver power from brand-new wind and solar farms to consumers and from one area to another. Again, check Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything by Mark Z. Jacobson for the justification for excluding green energy sources besides wind, water, and sun.
Do you value the unique reporting and cleantech news coverage on CleanTechnica? Consider becoming an Patreon patron or a CleanTechnica member, supporter, technician, or ambassador.
