

Today many countries are well advanced in meeting that challenge, while also testing the practical limits of doing so from wind and solar (variable renewable energy, VRE). There was never any doubt about the magnitude of these, the challenge was always in harnessing them so as to meet demand for reliable and affordable electricity. Attention again turned to the huge sources of energy surging around us in nature – sun, wind, and seas in particular. This was compounded by the increasing use of reticulated electricity based on fossil fuels and the importance of portable high-density energy sources for transport – the era of oil.Īs electricity demand escalated, with supply depending largely on fossil fuels plus some hydro power and then nuclear energy, concerns arose about carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions contributing to possible global warming. But attention swung away from renewable sources as the industrial revolution progressed on the basis of the concentrated energy locked up in fossil fuels. Technology to utilize the forces of nature for doing work to supply human needs is as old as the first sailing ship.

System costs escalate with increasing proportion of variable renewables. Back-up generating capacity is required due to the intermittent nature of solar and wind.Utilising electricity from solar and wind in a grid becomes problematical at high levels for complex but now well-demonstrated reasons.Harnessing these for electricity depends on the cost and efficiency of the technology, which is constantly improving, thus reducing costs per peak kilowatt, and per kWh at the source.
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There is widespread popular support for using renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energy, which provide electricity without giving rise to any carbon dioxide emissions.
