You might think wind is for wussies and solar's for suckers. But when the International Energy Agency says that wind and solar can produce up to 30% of electricity needs at little additional cost in the long term, it's time to listen. Here's what you need to know.
Studies showThe International Energy Association (IEA) recently released its latest study on wind and solar, and its findings are a far cry from its usual fossil fuel-centric analysis. Titled The Power of Transformation-Wind, Sun and the Economics of Flexible Power Systems, this reportsignals a major rethink for energy infrastructure everywhere. As IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven put it:
This new IEA analysis calls for a change of perspective. In the classical approach, variable renewables are added to an existing system without considering all available options for adapting it as a whole. This approach misses the point. Integration is not simply about adding wind and solar on top of "business as usual." We need to transform the system as a whole to do this cost-effectively.
Worldwide, wind, and solar currently account for just 3% of electricity generation. For the U.S., the role of renewables is surprisingly above-average. From January to November 2013 (most recent data), solar accounted for just 0.2% of all generation, but wind added on a solid 4.1%.
But this latest report stresses that renewable energy policy can't be piecemeal. To reach the economies of scale needed to cut costs and increase affordability, the U.S. and other countries need to follow the lead of the greenest countries around.
In Italy, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and Denmark, wind and solar already account for 10% to more than 30% of all electricity needs. If countries could be more like Denmark, where wind provided a record 55% of electricity last December, renewable energy might seem a lot less wacky.
Luckily for the U.S., there are several companies already taking important steps to scale.
Wind winners
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