Index – Science Technology – By mid-century, the sun will be the primary source of energy

According to the conclusion of the Energy Research Program of the University of Exeter and University College London, human civilization has left a turning point, after which solar energy will inevitably become our main source of energy in the future. According to the results of data-driven technical and economic modeling, photovoltaics (i.e. photovoltaic energy) will be the main source of energy by 2050, even if climate policy tailwinds are removed from the supporting factors.

the Nature CommunicationsThe optimistic result was published in

• Resistance network: There is a need for an electricity grid designed to handle the fluctuations of renewable energy through grid interconnection and storage capacity.
• Financial Accessibility: Financing for renewable energies is currently only available in wealthier countries, and rarely in Africa, even though the sun shines there a lot.
• Display issues: This technology relies on materials of great importance, the demand for which is constantly increasing. By 2040, 40 percent of copper and rare earth metals will be used in renewable technology solutions, 60 to 70 percent for nickel and cobalt used in batteries, and 90 percent for lithium.
• Political opposition: Declining industries may attempt to effectively obstruct the transformation process. The spread of solar energy threatens the jobs of 13 million people who work in fossil energy, as well as those who work in sectors that depend on it. The responsibility for managing the resulting risks lies with the regional economic and industrial development policy.

Overall, the researchers believe that policy that removes the aforementioned hurdles could be more effective in the clean energy transition than fiscal solutions such as a carbon dioxide quota tax.

Developments in renewable energy mean that predictions of fossil fuel dominance are no longer realistic. In other words, it is no longer business as usual for the energy sector. However, old expectations still rely on models in which innovations occur somewhere outside the economy. In fact, these are mutually reinforcing processes, as technology becomes cheaper, and companies learn how to use it more cheaply. If this process is included in the forecast, the rapid growth of solar energy over the past decade and into the future looms large.

– said Dr. Femka Nessi, employee of the World Systems Institute in Exeter. “Traditional models assume that learning will end sometime in the near future, and at the same time, there is still very rapid innovation in solar,” he added.

At the same time, researchers warn that solar-dominated electricity grids could get stuck in “inflexible and unsustainable configurations that operate solely on fossil energy sources.”

(TechXplore)

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