Study: Renewable energy can meet demand
NEWARK, Del., Dec 10, 2012 -- UPI
Renewable energy has the potential to power a large electric
grid fully 99.9 percent of the time economically by 2030, U.S.
researchers say.
A study by the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical
Community College suggest a well-designed combination of wind
power, solar power and storage in batteries and fuel cells would
nearly always exceed electricity demand at costs comparable to
today's electricity expenses, a university release reported
Monday.
"These results break the conventional wisdom that renewable
energy is too unreliable and expensive," University of Delaware
researcher Willett Kempton said. "The key is to get the right
combination of electricity sources and storage -- which we did
by an exhaustive search -- and to calculate costs correctly."
A computer model considered multiple combinations of
renewable energy sources and storage mechanisms, testing each
with four years of historical hourly weather data and
electricity demands, the researchers said.
The findings suggest a very large electric system can be
powered almost entirely with renewable energy, they said.
"For example, using hydrogen for storage, we can run an
electric system that today would meeting a need of 72 gigawatts,
99.9 percent of the time, using 17 gigawatts of solar, 68
gigawatts of offshore wind, and 115 gigawatts of inland wind,"
said study co-author Cory Budischak, an instructor in the Energy
Management Department at Delaware Technical Community College.
One gigawatt -- a gigawatt is a measure of electricity
generation capability -- is the capacity of 200 large wind
turbines or of 250,000 rooftop solar systems and can power
75,000 to 100,000 homes for as long as that generation rate is
maintained, the researchers said.
A typical home uses 11,000 kilowatts per year.
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