On the History and Future of 100% Renewable Energy Systems Research

Abstract

Research on 100% renewable energy systems is a relatively recent phenomenon. It was initiated in the mid-1970s, catalyzed by skyrocketing oil prices. Since the mid-2000s, it has quickly evolved into a prominent research field encompassing an expansive and growing number of research groups and organizations across the world. The main conclusion of most of these studies is that 100% renewables is feasible worldwide at low cost. Advanced concepts and methods now enable the field to chart realistic as well as cost-or resource-optimized and efficient transition pathways to a future without the use of fossil fuels. Such proposed pathways in turn, have helped spur 100% renewable energy policy targets and actions, leading to more research. In most transition pathways, solar energy and wind power increasingly emerge as the central pillars of a sustainable energy system combined with energy efficiency measures. Costoptimization modeling and greater resource availability tend to lead to higher solar photovoltaic shares, while emphasis on energy supply diversification tends to point to higher wind power contributions. Recent research has focused on the challenges and opportunities regarding grid congestion, energy storage, sector coupling, electrification of transport and industry implying power-to-X and hydrogen-to-X, and the inclusion of natural and technical carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches. The result is a holistic vision of the transition towards a net-negative greenhouse gas emissions economy that can limit global warming to 1.5˚C with a clearly defined carbon budget in a sustainable and cost-effective manner based on 100% renewable energy-industry-CDR systems. Initially, the field encountered very strong skepticism. Therefore, this paper also includes a response to major critiques against 100% renewable energy systems, and also discusses the institutional inertia that hampers adoption by the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as possible negative connections to community acceptance and energy justice. We conclude by discussing how this emergent research field can further progress to the benefit of society.

Examining Supply-Side Options to Achieve 100% Clean Electricity by 2035

“…Recent examples include Brown and Botterud (2021), Larson et al (2021), EPRI (2021) and DeAngelo (2021). There are also reviews and summaries of several studies provided by Azevado et al (2021), Bistline (2021), andBreyer et al (2022). Among the goals of this present study is to contribute to this larger body of work, much of which examines various pathways and timelines.…”

Review on 100% Renewable Energy System Analyses—A Bibliometric Perspective

“…Other geographic entities have not yet been reviewed in detail, except some overviews on selected global 100% RE systems analyses in general [10], [12], [66], [67], and sector-specific analyses for the transport sector [68], heat sector [69], and storage [70]. The most studied cities in the world are New York City [71], [72], [73], [74], [75], [76] and Aalborg in Denmark [77], [78], [79], [80] with six and four studies, respectively, but no further city in the world with more than two detailed studies could be identified.…”

“…There are several possibilities to both reduce the GHG emissions from the energy-industry system and meet the growing global energy demand. Some options are energy efficiency, phasing out fossil fuels, and thus the promotion of RE [8], [9], finally leading to an entirely RE system [10]. 100% RE systems have been analyzed by a growing number of researchers to find solutions for a sustainable energy system [11] and understand a feasible approach to mitigate climate change impacts, air pollution, energy poverty, and the most cost-effective energy systems [10], [12], [13].…”

Energy Transition in the global South – Editorial for the International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management Vol 35

“…A new study led by Breyer [1] has synthesized much of the work on 100% renewable energy systems finding that there is consensus in the scientific community that 100% renewable energy systems are indeed technically and economically feasible. One thing that was also identified in the study is a lack of studies on the Global South.…”