To: Wharf Rat who wrote (935456 ) 5/17/2016 11:00:35 AM From: Wharf Rat Respond to Renewables Are Leaving Natural Gas In The Dust This YearJoe Romm May 16, 2016 4:09 pm Energy Infrastructure Update ” reports that no new capacity of coal, oil, or nuclear power were added in the first quarter of the year.18 percent of total U.S. installed generating capacity — but only about 14 percent of our total power production.almost a decade — and should continue plateauing for quite some time — thanks to rapidly growing energy efficiency measures (and, to a much lesser extent, thanks to recent increases in rooftop solar). without subsidies . Some bids are coming in at under four cents per kilowatt hour!NOAA and others — and real-world examples around the globe, such as Germany — show that the U.S. can absorb vastly greater percentages of renewables than we currently have, just with existing technology. Yet NOAA’s research shows that, with nothing more than an improved national transmission system, “a transition to a reliable, low-carbon, electrical generation and transmission system can be accomplished with commercially available technology and within 15 years.”2015 study showed that we could “decarbonize the electricity supply with a proportionally small requirement for BES [Bulk multi-hour Electricity Storage] because gas provides much of the intermittency management even when the carbon emissions intensity is cut to less than 30% of today’s U.S. average.” second-life EV batteries , advanced solar thermal power and other affordable bulk storage would be needed to finish the decarbonization of the grid post-2030.thinkprogress.org
