139 Countries could be powered by Renewable energy alone by 2050
The roadmaps developed for each of the 139 countries they assess the raw renewable energy resources available to each country, the number of wind, water, and solar energy generators needed to be 80% renewable by 2030 and 100% by 2050, how much land and rooftop area these power sources would require (only around 1% of total available, with most of this open space between wind turbines that can be used for multiple purposes), and how this approach would reduce energy demand and cost compared with a business-as-usual scenario.
The roadmaps also predict collateral benefits such as eliminating non-renewable energy, the associated energy such as mining and transporting will also be eliminated. The changes in infrastructure and renewable energy consumption would result in countries wouldn’t need to depend on one another for fossil fuels.
Jacobson states that the plan will not only eliminate emissions but will also avoid 1.5 Celsius global warming and begin the process of letting carbon dioxide drain from the Earth’s atmosphere.
There has been criticism of the plan due to the huge investment it would take to reach the goal for each country. Mark Delucchi, a research scientist at the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley states that the benefits are so great that we should accelerate the transition to wind, water and solar as fast as possible by retiring fossil fuel systems early wherever we can.
14 | MANE ENERGY | NOVEMBER 2017