Mankind has been in an energy transition ever since two cave-boy scouts rubbed two sticks together and created fire. Although the world’s economy is currently powered by fossil fuels, renewable power sources (primarily wind and solar) are now cheaper than fossil fuels for many applications. This renewable power tipping point implies that a 100% renewable society is feasible, and may be here sooner than we think.
But there are many naysayers — usually from the fossil fuel industry. They claim that renewable power is still too expensive (ignoring direct and indirect subsidies to fossil fuels), that new technology can make fossil fuels cleaner (the myth of clean coal and VW’s TDI diesels), or that we need to go slowly in this transition to prevent a worldwide economic calamity (really just a loss of fossil fuel company profits). Fortunately, these claims are easy to refute with the right data and analyses.
My guest this week is Clint Wilder, senior editor at Clean Edge — a leading advisory firm specialized in reporting the latest in clean energy technology, economic developments, and market trends. Clean Edge recently released a report entitled “Getting to 100, a Status Report on Rising Commitments Among Corporations and Governments to Reach 100% Renewables.” This report focuses on the rapid progress that corporations and governments are making to deploy renewables and related technologies, including energy storage, more efficient buildings and an updated electric grid.
Please join me on this week’s Energy Show on Renewable Energy World as Clint explains our progress towards this 100% renewables, and discusses some of the opportunities and roadblocks that we will experience as we make this transition.