A 100% New Energy World Is Affordable

Study finds 100% renewables would pay off within 6 years; New research from Stanford University researcher Mark Jacobson outlines how 145 countries could meet 100% of their business-as-usual energy needs with wind, water, solar and energy storage.

Mark Hutchins, August 9, 2022 (PV Magazine)

“…[Despite worries over the cost that radically changing energy systems and the variability of wind and solar, new energy system models from Stanford University show] that for 145 countries, the energy transition to 100% wind, water, solar and storage would pay for itself within six years, and ultimately cost less than continuing with the current energy systems…WWS reduces end use energy by 56.4%, private annual energy costs by 62.7% (from $17.8 to $6.6 trillion per year), and Social (private plus health plus climate) annual energy costs by 92.0% (from $83.2 to $6.6 trillion per year) at a present-value cost of $61.5 trillion…

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…[There is ] more recent energy consumption data from all regions, and calculations to deal with uncertainty in the future price of battery energy storage, the role batteries will play, and the development of newer technologies such as vehicle to grid…[An estimated] 95% of the technologies needed to implement the plans proposed are already commercialized…

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…[W]hile jobs would be lost in the mining and fossil fuels segments, 28 million more jobs would be created than lost overall. Only Russia, Canada and parts of Africa are expected to see net job losses as a result, as these regions economies depend heavily on fossil fuels…The study provides clear evidence that a full transition to 100% renewable energy is both technically and economically possible…[but] uncertainties exist in whether sufficient political will can be obtained to affect a transition at the rapid pace needed…” click here for more

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