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Predictions: 1) in 2050, the world will get its energy almost exclusively from renewable sources, with a combination of batteries, hydrogen, biogas, hydropower
by rgmerk 3y ago
Predictions:
1) in 2050, the world will get its energy almost exclusively from renewable sources, with a combination of batteries, hydrogen, biogas, hydropower (conventional and pumped), and demand management used to cope with variability.
2) Energy, even taking into account transmission and firming costs, will be cheaper than it ever was.
3) Message boards will still be full of arguments over nuclear energy.
- spacebanana7 3y agoI’ll unilaterally bet $50 that oil + natural gas + coal will still make up >50% of the global energy mix by 2050. In 2019, fossil fuels still generated 79% of our power worldwide with a projection to very slowly lose market share [1] [1] https://earth.org/data_visualization/eo-indexes-global-energy-mix/ https://earth.org/data_visualization/eo-indexes-global-energ...
- rgmerk 3y agoI'll take that bet. Here's hoping both of us are around to settle it!
- Gwypaas 3y agoSeparate primary energy from useful energy. An ICE car is 20-25% thermally efficient while BEVs are 90%.
- Turing_Machine 3y ago> while BEVs are 90% Only if you ignore the cost and conversion efficiency of generating the electricity. There aren't any electricity wells out there where it comes out of the ground for the cost of pumping it.
- Gwypaas 3y agoWell, wind turbines have some trouble catching all the wind and solar PV is not 100% efficient either, but it is not like it is going to waste. That is the alternative, not burning fossil fuels somewhere else. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betz%27s_law
- Turing_Machine 3y ago[flagged]
- Galaxeblaffer 3y agoThe same predictions was probably made, but with nuclear instead of renewables back in the 60s-70s . And frankly it seems like the world could have actually been run almost exclusively by nuclear today if we had realized how bad fossils where instead of being scared of nuclear. Predictions: 1) in 2050 NIMBY will be just as bad for renewables as it used to be for nuclear. 2) New standardized nuclear pp designs will bring the cost of nuclear down to be much cheaper than almost all renewables, but in localized areas where it actually makes sense renewables will dominate 3) Message boards will still be full of people claiming we should run exclusively on solar even in places like Norway and Canada
- censor_me 3y ago[dead]