Abstract
A recent article ‘Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems’ claims that many studies of 100% renewable electricity systems do not demonstrate sufficient technical feasibility, according to the criteria of the article's authors (henceforth ‘the authors’). Here we analyse the authors’ methodology and find it problematic. The feasibility criteria chosen by the authors are important, but are also easily addressed at low economic cost, while not affecting the main conclusions of the reviewed studies and certainly not affecting their technical feasibility. A more thorough review reveals that all of the issues have already been addressed in the engineering and modelling literature. Nuclear power, which the authors have evaluated positively elsewhere, faces other, genuine feasibility problems, such as the finiteness of uranium resources and a reliance on unproven technologies in the medium- to long-term. Energy systems based on renewables, on the other hand, are not only feasible, but already economically viable and decreasing in cost every year.
Highlights
There is a broad scientific consensus that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions should be rapidly reduced in the coming decades in order to avoid catastrophic global warming [1]
Since wind and solar power dominate the expandable potentials of renewable energy [3], a primary focus for studies with high shares of renewables is the need to balance the variability of these energy sources in time and space against the demand for energy services
The 2016 Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) [89] of the European Transmission System Operators foresees 70–80 billion € investment needs in Europe for 60% renewables by 2030, which annualises to 2% of total electricity spending of 400 billion €/a
Summary
There is a broad scientific consensus that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions should be rapidly reduced in the coming decades in order to avoid catastrophic global warming [1]. Critics have challenged studies for purportedly not taking sufficient account of: the variability of wind and solar [64,65], the scaleability of some storage technologies [66], all aspects of system costs [64,65], resource constraints [67,68], social acceptance constraints [68], energy consumption beyond the electricity sector [68], limits to the rate of change of the energy intensity of the economy [68] and limits on capacity deployment rates [69,68].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
