Renewables could supply global energy demand by 2050 � report
By: Christy van der Merwe
3rd February 2011
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on Thursday released �The Energy
Report�, in which it said that it was possible for 100% of the globe�s
energy needs to be supplied through cleaner renewable energy
technologies by 2050.
This, argued the report, could be done economically, and that nearly
�4-trillion a year could be saved through energy efficiency and
reduced fuel costs by 2050.
The report does, however, note that big increases in capital
expenditure would be required first, so as to install renewable energy
on a massive scale, modernise electricity grids, transform goods and
public transport and improve energy efficiency of existing buildings.
These investments would begin to pay off in about 2040, when the
savings would start to outweigh the costs.
�If oil prices rise faster than predicted, and if we factor in the
costs of climate change and the impact of fossil fuels on public
health, the pay off occurs much earlier,� added the report.
It stated that by 2050, power, transport, industrial and domestic
energy needs could be met with only isolated residual uses of fossil
and nuclear fuels. Energy efficiency in buildings, vehicles and
industry would be a key ingredient, as would increasing energy needs
met through electric power which would be renewably generated and
supplied through smart grids.
WWF director and ex-Nedbank CEO Tom Boardman said that the report had
a big vision and made bold plans, but that it was enormously powerful
to know that an alternative energy future was possible.
Various energy scenarios have been developed by different
organisations, which take into account different factors and use
different models, aiming to predict what we kind of an energy mix the
world could expect going forward.
WWF South Africa climate change programme manager Richard Worthington
explained that the report aimed at establishing that fossil fuel
reliant energy scenarios, such as those put forward by the
International Energy Agency and Shell, were not the only realistic ones.
Boardman noted that the report would likely not sit well with vested
interests, and emphasised that it was not without its challenges, but
that he hoped it gathered momentum.
The weighty report was commissioned by WWF with analysis from
consultancy Ecofys, and took two years to compile.
In a nutshell, the scenario assumed that in 2050, energy demand was
15% lower than in 2005, because although population, industrial
output, passenger travel and freight transport continued to rise as
forecast, energy efficiency enable more to be done with less.
Industry would use more recycled and energy efficient materials,
buildings would be constructed or upgraded to need minimal energy for
heating and cooling, and there would be a shift to more efficient
transport.
As far as possible, electrical energy would be used instead of solid
and liquid fuels. Wind, solar, biomass and hydropower were the main
sources of electricity, and solar, geothermal and heat pumps would
provide most of the heat for buildings and industry.
�Because supplies of wind and solar power vary, smart electricity
grids would have to be developed to store and deliver energy more
efficiently,� the report said.
Bioenergy, namely liquid biofuels and solid biomass, would be used as
a last resort where other renewable energy sources were not viable,
particularly in providing fuel for aeroplanes trucks and ships, and
industrial processes that required very high temperatures.
�We need a concerted approach to low-carbon reindustrialisation to
achieve the growth rates required in renewable energy technology
industries. This means moving away from the baseload fallacy that
renewables are insufficient to support industrialised society,�
emphasised Worthington.
�The report is more than a scenario � it is a call for action. We can
achieve a cleaner renewable future, but we must start now,� said WWF
DG Jim Leape.
Edited by: Mariaan Webb
________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list: dams@list.internationalrivers.org
To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp
No comments:
Post a Comment