Ever wonder what life would be like in a fossil-fuel-free utopia? Well, over at WattsUpWithThat, CFACT’s Paul Driessen has an essay that depicts what it definitely won’t look like. He uses asinine assumptions. One such being this world would use only wind power and, by some back-of-the-envelope math would therefore require twice the landmass of North America to meet our energy needs. Then, because of the intermittent nature of the electricity, we would revert to a pre-industrial state where manual labor is required for everything.
Now for some strange reason that definitely isn’t that the “analysis” is pure fantasy, Driessen posted this on WUWT, instead of doing the work and scholarship required to publish in peer-reviewed literature.
Luckily, actual scholars have done just that! A study hot off the presses of Energies looks at what it would take to wean North America off fossil fuels by 2030. It finds that with the proper policies, “a 100% RE-based system is feasible and a real policy option at a modest cost.” Key to this scenario is a large, interconnected electric grid that cuts down dramatically on storage costs. They also have an impressive (though admittedly complicated) interactive tool that lets users create their own scenarios of renewable uptake.
This study provides yet another piece of (peer-reviewed) evidence that a renewable future is easier than Driessen and the deniers suggest. And we can already see, in real time, the pieces falling into place.
News from Europe shows that parked EVs can provide a great value to the grid, earning their owners $1,530 a year by selling power back to the grid, which dramatically increases the incentive for owning an EV.
Then, as a story in the NYTimes depicts, accompanied by some beautiful pictures, Chile’s already well on its way to a clean future. It currently generates 45 percent of its electricity from clean sources, with a goal of hitting 90 percent by 2050. Apart from showing that reliance on renewables does not take one back to the pre-industrial lifestyles, it also debunks the energy poverty myth that the rural poor need fossil fuels. A former oil man profiled in the piece finds his new renewable gig much more satisfying since he’s bringing power to poor, remote villages that otherwise “disappear when the last elder dies.” One tiny town grew accustomed to losing power in the night, but, thanks to solar, wind and batteries, now has stable 24/7 electricity.
This village is exactly the opposite of the situation Driessen describes at WUWT. It’s almost like he didn’t even try to give an honest assessment, but instead offered a bad faith argument meant to sooth deniers and his fellow fossil fuel fanatics. Perhaps when it came time to crunch the numbers and go through the peer-review process, he just didn’t have the energy.
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