How to stop climate change - basic knowledge in a nutshell

Wind and solar are cheap

• 0.015 - 0.05 US$ for solar (free installations)
• 0.03 - 0.08 US$ for wind
• per KWh on-site

24/7 costs are crucial

• Wind and sun are not always available
• Combining them is the first step
• Storage and grids are the key to 24/7 supply
• But this leads to higher total costs

Carbon taxing puts renewables ahead

• Coal, gas and oil must pay for the damage
• This will make 24/7 RE competitive
• No need for compensations
• 200$/tCO2 recommended

Hydrogen is lossy

• 2/3 of the energy is lost when electric energy is converted into hydrogen and back
• That's why hydrogen cars are not efficient
• Green hydrogen is a good idea where there are no alternatives
• Hydrogen transport requires even more energy
• But it's a good thing where power lines are not available (deserts, remote areas, offshore)

Long distance power lines are most efficient

• High voltage DC transmissions only lose 1.5% per 1000 km.
• Large area grids can smoothen the volatile wind and sun output

Offshore wind is pretty constant

• More than 50% availability
• Onshore: Much less

Ever heard of CSP?

• CSP is Concentrated Solar Power including storage (also called Solar Thermal)
• Mirrors focus the heat onto a receiver
• the energy is stored for a few hours and can be used a few hours after sunset
• costs have fallen to 0.05 US$ in appropriate locations

Beware of Red herrings

CCS - Carbon Capture And Storage

• Very expensive
• depending on subsidies
• it is much cheaper to avoid emissions

BECCS - Bio Energy CCS

• 160% of world wide cropland needed to capture annual emissions of 40 GtCO2.
• How could this work?

Nuclear power

• Carbon-free but not sustainable
• Dangerous radioactive waste for 1,000,000 years
• Extreme impact of possible accidents
• Energy from new plants is more expensive than RE