Getting 100% of our electricity from renewable sources is an aspiration many of us have – but is often thought to be little more than a pipe dream. For years, states and countries around the world have timidly established targets for integrating renewables into their grids. Numbers like 10% and 20% have been the rule. But things are changing.
The rapid growth of wind power, solar technology, and biomass has resulted in many places exceeding their renewable target and looking to set more ambitious goals. Smaller countries have an advantage. Denmark’s aggressive deployment of wind and biomass now provides 44% of its electrical needs. One night last March, Denmark’s wind turbines alone generated all of the country’s electricity.
The idea of getting 100% of our electricity from renewables is no longer so farfetched. Several German states have set 100% renewable targets for the year 2030. Conferences devoted to the goal of 100% renewables are cropping up around the world, including one in San Francisco this month.
Attaining 100% renewables is a growing movement in the European Union. And a highly publicized journal article from Stanford and Cornell University researchers recently presented a feasibility study for converting New York State entirely to renewables by 2030. Some people are even calling for 150% to 200% renewables, meaning that they provide more than just our electricity.
Many of the challenges of converting to renewables have not been addressed, but the level of optimism that it can be done and the conviction that it should be done have reached an all-time high.
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Web Links
The European Movement
http://www.100percentrenewables.eu
The Stanford/Cornell paper
http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/Articles/I/NewYorkWWSEnPolicy.pdf
Photo, taken on February 8, 2010, courtesy of Michael Betke via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, with partial support from the Field Day Foundation.