85% of Energy from Renewables by 2030?

Yup, you read the headline correctly. That is the possibility proposed by a new Greenpeace-sponsored report. Sounds ambitious doesn't it? And actually it is:-
> 47% increase in on-shore wind capacity;
> 270% increase in off-shore wind capacity;
> 1.5GW solar PV installations per year;
> grid balancing by:
>   pumped storage;
>   utility scale batteries;
>   domestic batteries;
>   interconnectors;
> development of
>   smart meters that actually have an effect;
>   smart appliances:
>   mass-market electric vehicles;
> 47.5% (yup, that precise!) reduction in domestic energy demand so presumably lots of insulation.

Wow!

The Greenpeace report doesn't come up with a figure for the cost but Edie reports that the CCC has posited a figure of up to £227bn will be required. All this may be technically feasible but do you see any government having the balls to push something like this through? No, nor do I.

And the report misses a big trick - the development of decentralisation technologies and micro-grids.

It's all very interesting, and all very necessary, but all very unlikely.