Power system balancing for deep decarbonization of the electricity sector

Mileva, Ana; Johnston, Josiah; Nelson, James H.; Kammen, Daniel M.

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.10.180

Cited by 140 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First, numerous studies document the rapid cost declines of renewable energy [42][43][44], the feasibility of large scale deployment of zero emissions technologies including renewables, biomass, hydro, and nuclear [43,45,46], the overall modest macroeconomic costs such a program would entail [43,47,48], and the significant co-benefits of widespread zero carbon deployment [49,50]. Challenges remain, both on cost and grid integration [51,52], but large-scale deployment of zero carbon electricity appears inevitable; the question is not if but how fast.…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘2°C capital stock’ for electricity generation: Committed cumulative carbon emissions from the electricity generation sector and the transition to a green economy

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

The ‘2°C capital stock’ for electricity generation: Committed cumulative carbon emissions from the electricity generation sector and the transition to a green economy

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…21 include the emissions of the background fossil-based power system during an assumed planning and construction period for up to 19 y per nuclear plant. 7 Added to these emissions, the effects of a nuclear war, which is assumed to periodically reoccur on a 30-y cycle, are included in the analysis of emissions and mortality of civilian nuclear power. 8 In contrast, those same authors do not consider emissions for the fossil-based power system associated with construction and permitting delays for offshore 7 The five sources cited in ref.…”

Section: Implausible Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7 Added to these emissions, the effects of a nuclear war, which is assumed to periodically reoccur on a 30-y cycle, are included in the analysis of emissions and mortality of civilian nuclear power. 8 In contrast, those same authors do not consider emissions for the fossil-based power system associated with construction and permitting delays for offshore 7 The five sources cited in ref. 12 give construction time estimates of 5-8 y.…”

Section: Implausible Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a proposal for reliable low-cost grid power with 100% wind, water, and solar

Clack¹,

Qvist²,

Apt³

et al. 2017

Proc Natl Acad Sci USA

Self Cite

274

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A number of analyses, meta-analyses, and assessments, including those performed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the International Energy Agency, have concluded that deployment of a diverse portfolio of clean energy technologies makes a transition to a low-carbon-emission energy system both more feasible and less costly than other pathways. In contrast, Jacobson et al. In this paper, we evaluate that study and find significant shortcomings in the analysis. In particular, we point out that this work used invalid modeling tools, contained modeling errors, and made implausible and inadequately supported assumptions. Policy makers should treat with caution any visions of a rapid, reliable, and low-cost transition to entire energy systems that relies almost exclusively on wind, solar, and hydroelectric power. energy systems modeling | climate change | renewable energy | energy costs | grid stability A number of studies, including a study by one of us, have concluded that an 80% decarbonization of the US electric grid could be achieved at reasonable cost (1, 2). The high level of decarbonization is facilitated by an optimally configured continental high-voltage transmission network. There seems to be some consensus that substantial amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could be avoided with widespread deployment of solar and wind electric generation technologies along with supporting infrastructure.Furthermore, it is not in question that it would be theoretically possible to build a reliable energy system excluding all bioenergy, nuclear energy, and fossil fuel sources. Given unlimited resources to build variable energy production facilities, while expanding the transmission grid and accompanying energy storage capacity enormously, one would eventually be able to meet any conceivable load. However, in developing a strategy to effectively mitigate global energy-related CO2 emissions, it is critical that the scope of the challenge to achieve this in the real world is accurately defined and clearly communicated.Wind and solar are variable energy sources, and some way must be found to address the issue of how to provide energy if their immediate output cannot continuously meet instantaneous demand. The main options are to (i) curtail load (i.e., modify or fail to satisfy demand) at times when energy is not available, (ii) deploy very large amounts of energy storage, or (iii) provide supplemental energy sources that can be dispatched when needed. It is not yet clear how much it is possible to curtail loads, especially over long durations, without incurring large economic costs. There are no electric storage systems available today that can

show abstract

“…Many scenario studies of long-term climate stabilization use modeling frameworks with representation of the global energy economy (Fawcett et al 2015;IPCC 2007IPCC , 2014bRiahi et al 2007), while other scenario modeling research focuses more narrowly, on such cases as the U.S. economy (Paltsev et al 2009;Risky Business Project 2016) and energy sectors (McCollum & Yang 2009). Some research in geography and related fields separates sector, region, city, and time periods to address infrastructure changes, technology deployment, sectoral investment, and associated behavioral patterns of low-carbon transitions (Bataille et al 2016;C40 & Arup 2016;Mileva et al 2016;Solecki et al forthcoming). Scenario-based projections suggest potential opportunities for decoupling economic growth from global-and localscale carbon emissions (Loo & Banister 2016;Shen & Sun 2016), while research at municipal and neighborhood levels defines differential emissions rates under different socio-economic conditions and ecosystem regimes (Hardiman et al 2017;Liu et al 2017).…”

Section: Decarbonizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Science Perspectives on Drivers of and Responses to Global Climate Change

Jorgenson¹,

Fiske²,

Hubacek³

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article provides a review of recent anthropological, archaeological, geographical, and sociological research on anthropogenic drivers of climate change, with a particular focus on drivers of carbon emissions, mitigation and adaptation. The four disciplines emphasize cultural, economic, geographic, historical, political, and social-structural factors to be important drivers of and responses to climate change. Each of these disciplines has unique perspectives and makes noteworthy contributions to our shared understanding of anthropogenic drivers, but they also complement one another and contribute to integrated, multidisciplinary frameworks. The article begins with discussions of research on temporal dimensions of human drivers of carbon emissions, highlighting interactions between long-term and near-term drivers. Next, descriptions of the disciplines' contributions to the understanding of mitigation and adaptation are provided. It concludes with a summary of key lessons offered by the four disciplines as well as suggestions for future research.

show abstract

Power system balancing for deep decarbonization of the electricity sector

Cited by 140 publications

References 14 publications

The ‘2°C capital stock’ for electricity generation: Committed cumulative carbon emissions from the electricity generation sector and the transition to a green economy

The ‘2°C capital stock’ for electricity generation: Committed cumulative carbon emissions from the electricity generation sector and the transition to a green economy

Evaluation of a proposal for reliable low-cost grid power with 100% wind, water, and solar

Social Science Perspectives on Drivers of and Responses to Global Climate Change

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About