According to Edie, at the Schumacher Conference last weekend Juliet Davenport of Good Energy suggested that by 2050 the UK could have 100% renewable electric power. And she coupled this with increasing switching to electricity for transport, heat and industrial requirements. This is a very brave new world!
Some years ago I did a small pilot study for a campaigning NGO on senarios for future electricity generation. At the time I couldn't see a good route out of the intermittency (e.g. wind) and variable demand problem because I could not forsee economical storage being developed. (The company I had previously worked for had hoped to bring forth such a technology but the challenges, and costs, led to the project being sold - and it seems to have sunk without trace). I still don't see a complete solution. Furthermore, I worry about the power density issue with renewables if we really are going to see an increase in electricity demand.
As a result, although I'd love to subscribe to Ms Davenport's brave new vision, I'm afraid I can't.
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