Readers Respond Day 6: Can We Reach 100 Percent Renewable Energy?

Several countries have announced ambitious goals to be powered completely by renewable energy, while other nations set smaller, incremental goals. These high aspirations have sparked quite a debate amongst industry experts, and we here at Renewable Energy World are curious to hear what you, our readers, have to say.

So we aksed you to add your own voices to this imporant discussion:

What are the major barriers that countries face in order to reach 100 percent renewable energy — is this goal always achievable or desirable?

We received an overwhelming number of responses (thank you!), which will be updated here daily. If you didn't get a chance to share your opinion, let your voice be heard in the comments below and submit your answer to our poll.

Dr. Carl Kukkonen
VIASPACE

Is 100 percent renewable energy achievable?

Yes, but it is easier in the Philippines than in Scotland.

100 percent renewable electricity can be economically achieved using a combination of biomass, geothermal and hydro electricity for reliable 24/7 base power (~60 percent), and intermittent sources such as solar and wind, backed up by bio diesel or biogas generators.

Dedicated biomass energy crops will play an enabling role. Biomass can also replace oil by producing biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials.

Is there enough land to grow energy crops? This key question was answered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations which determined on a global scale that sufficient “additional agricultural land could be brought into production without encroaching upon areas of high ecological or social value, once forest, protected areas and the land required to meet increased demand for food crops and livestock is excluded”.

The tropical climate in Southeast Asia, Central and South America and Africa is much better for growing biomass than in Scotland. These areas can use their natural resources of sunshine, warm weather and rainfall to grow biomass for themselves, and to export pellets or biofuels to colder regions. Many of these tropical countries are underdeveloped, and growing and processing biomass will provide employment for their people and provide electricity for their economic and social development. The monies spent will stay in their country rather than going overseas to pay for imported oil.

Colder countries like Scotland will need to obtain their extra biomass and biofuels from the warmer countries, but will benefit by having a diverse set of suppliers, and will have the satisfaction of knowing that they are helping the developing world without the need for charity.

Because biomass can be stored and used at any time, it plays a unique role in renewable energy.

Dr. Carl Kukkonen is CEO of VIASPACE, a U.S. renewable energy company. VIASPACE grows Giant King Grass, a high yield dedicated energy crop for electricity production and bioenergy. Previously, Dr. Kukkonen directed a research center at the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Stanley Pruss
5 Lakes Energy LLC

Not only is a complete global transition to a global clean energy economy feasible, a strong consensus is emerging that the transition is inevitable. Investment in advanced energy technologies, now over $250 billion per year, is on a trillion dollar trajectory — commensurate with the magnitude of investment necessary to enable the transition — while creating robust, sustained, market opportunities for decades to come.

New economic efficiencies for distributed generation resources, energy efficiency implementations, aggregated demand management capacity, energy storage and transactive energy will combine to largely supplant investment in baseload infrastructure.

The cost disparities between clean technologies and fossil fuel combustion, already trending sharply in opposite directions, will deepen with fuller future accounting of health and environmental externalities.

Market surveys are identifying a growing inclination for self-generation. Already over 700 U.S. businesses derive 100 percent of their energy from “green” power sources, including Intel, Kohl’s and Staples. Walmart, the largest commercial deployer of solar energy in the world, has a 100 percent clean energy target. Greater future focus on resiliency and adaptation will only yield greater interest in achieving similar goals by others. The urgency of climate change is likely to accelerate these trends.

The confluence of investment and market opportunities, technological innovation, the sheer force of economic trends and the exigencies of climate concerns constitutes a powerful impetus for high penetration of advanced energy systems.

Can it be done?

In the last two years numerous analyses of the feasibility of transitioning to clean energy have been undertaken by NREL, the International Energy Agency, the United Nations, the Rocky Mountain Institute, Stanford University, the University of Delaware, Google and others. These studies explore the requirements, barriers, resource availability, materials availability, logistics, and costs through a variety of analytical frameworks. Remarkably, they generally yield the same conclusion: A complete global transition to clean energy is both technically and economically feasible; the barriers that exist are social and political.

Stanley Pruss is a principal in 5 Lakes Energy LLC. Until August 2010, Mr. Pruss was the Director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, Michigan’s Chief Energy Officer, and Special Advisor on Renewable Energy and the Environment under Governor Jennifer Granholm.

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PG & E is missing 8 percent of the gas line safety records

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)-a California utility under fire for a deadly natural gas explosion in the vicinity of San Francisco is 8 percent of the most important security records for his high pressure pipelines, including for some segments along the line, the up, blew the company said Tuesday after an exhaustive search of the document required.State supervisory authorities has a proposal almost immediately force Pacific Gas & detailed security updates, including information offer Electric Co. over the utility work on routes with high risk in the next four years, prioritize was announced.The California public utilities Commission was also expected to decide, as soon as Wednesday whether PG & E should have to conduct driving expensive and time-consuming tests on its transmission that are performed by some of the most populated areas of Landes.Die September 9 blast in San Bruno lines sparked a massive fireball, killed eight people and destroyed three dozen houses in the quiet suburb with views of the San Francisco-Bay.PG & E their results after staging a massive operation in the last two weeks released, with employees sorting through piles of paper records within a hulking concert venue the company rented for the Job.Firma engineers, Estimators, Mapper, information technology specialists and managers - as well as a number of external contractors - went pulled out by more than 1.25 million individual gas transmission records of branch offices and storage Einrichtungen.PG & E spokesman Joe Molica not found confirmed the company of pressure tests for some sections of the line 132, but it not immediately clear, was in the cities of these segments."A total 10 percent of ageing were missing lines before 1961 test reports or how to install other documents with historical levels of pressure, 3 percent of the lines were from 1961 to 1970, PG & E found."While we're on our records have made validation, good progress, with the results are not yet satisfied and continue to search and check our files for additional pressure records and regular updates on our efforts to provide test "Said PG & E of President Chris Johns in a statement." providedHe said the company planned, pressure test or replace 150 miles of pipe, who either line or other similar properties San Bruno as old as that. The work will be carried out on 24 pipelines, he said other 435 km direction, including on a segment of the ruptured Linie.Das company also strict controls on one perform is where robotic devices called "smart pigs" by piping search for corrosion, Models and other problems are travel, he said.Federal investigators have PG & E's record-keeping since December, survey was the company's documents about the pipe 1956-era were wrong as first resulted in the National Transportation Safety Board.The pipeline was with interspersed seams, faults and inferior welds, although PG & E incorrectly identifies paperwork the pipe as a seamless, that is considered safe.In January the Government Commission launched PG & E and other utilities California records document the security of all of their lines to produce.State rules require pipeline operators up to date on print tests to keep records and any leaks to ensure that the pipes to the surrounding villages risk not to document."Consumer protection said, knowing customers deserve more of where the lines no records have been removed, and whether the company she was certainly active."Ninety-two percent sounds pretty good if you happen on the 8 per cent of life, the they not, records for, "said Mark Toney, executive Director of the San Francisco-based the utility reform network." "I think that people interested in knowing that is 8%."Republic Jackie Speier, Democrat California, that represents the area of San Bruno, said she was pleased with the progress made since the explosion, but questioned PG & E's reliance on documents with historical stress levels. "You said, not necessarily misuse welds or sloppy work on the pipes would identify."If you just say that you will display data records as five years have, what was the pressure in the course of time, I do not know whether this means that the level is safe, "Said Speier." "We now know that the pipe of San Bruno was lined, had a faulty weld, and probably other problems".The Commission is expected to PG & E's proposed decision require more frequent security updates next month send out vote.

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