Engineers Develop Roadma...gy By 2050 | IFLScience

15/6/2015 Engineers Develop Roadmap To Get The US To Run on 100% Renewable Energy By 2050 | IFLScience

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ENVIRONMENT

Engineers Develop Roadmap To Get The US ToRun on 100% Renewable Energy By 2050June 10, 2015 | by Aamna Mohdin

photo credit: Theerapol Pongkangsananan via Shutterstock

A new study suggests its entirely possible for the U.S. to run on 100% renewable energy injust 35 years. The radical plan outlines what each state needs to do to achieve thisambitiousgoal. Whats the main barrier to making this happen? Political willpower.

Mark Z. Jacobson, from Stanford University, and his research team outlined the changes ininfrastructure and energy consumption that each state hasto undergo to achieve thistransition to clean energy. Jacobson points out in astatementthat its technologically andeconomically possible to successfully achieve this large scale transformation.Researchers have even created aninteractive mapthatshowcases their plans.

The study, published in the journalEnergy and Environmental Science, first analyzed thecurrent energy demands of each state and then calculated how these demands are likely tochange over the next 35 years. They divided energy use into four sectors: residential,commercial, industrial and transportation. For each sector, researchers analyzed the energyconsumption and looked at the source of this energy, seeing whether it was coal, oil, gas,nuclear or renewables.

Researchers then calculated the demand for fuel if it was all replaced with electricity.Whilerunning literally everything, including cars and home heating, on electricity seems like adaunting task, researchers suggest there would be significant energy savings in using thiselectric grid.

"When we did this across all 50 states, we saw a 39 percent reduction in total end-usepower demand by the year 2050," Jacobson said. "About 6 percentage points of that isgained through efficiency improvements to infrastructure, but the bulk is the result ofreplacing current sources and uses of combustion energy with electricity."

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Jacobson and his team looked carefully at how each state can power this electric grid. For

some states, solar was the clear answer, while wind power or geothermal energy makes

more sense for others. Overall, researchers looked at how wind, solar, geothermal,

hydroelectric, and even small amounts of tidal and wave, could contribute to the

energydemands.

Using this information, researchers laid out a clear plan for each state to make an 80%

transition to renewable energy by 2030, and reach 100% by 2050. The transition is going to

be much more achievable for some states than others. Washington, for example, already

powers up 70% of electricity from existing hydroelectric sources, and both Iowa and South

Dakota generate 30% of their electricity from wind power.

Researchers admit that the initial cost for this transformation would be pretty high, but

suggest thatover timethe overall price would roughly equal the cost to the current fossil

fuel infrastructure.

"When you account for the health and climate costs as well as the rising price of fossil

fuels wind, water and solar are half the cost of conventional systems," Jacobson said. "A

conversion of this scale would also create jobs, stabilize fuel prices, reduce pollution-related

health problems and eliminate emissions from the United States. There is very little

downside to a conversion, at least based on this science."

Read this next:China's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Peak Within 10 Years

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