Silver Buckshot or Bullet: Is a Future “Energy Mix” Necessary?

Brook, Barry W.; Blees, Tom; Wigley, T. M. L.; Hong, Sanghyun

doi:10.3390/su10020302

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…We therefore conclude that their feasibility criteria are not useful and do not affect the conclusions of the reviewed studies. Furthermore, we introduce additional, more relevant feasibility criteria, which renewable energy scenarios fulfil, but according to which nuclear power, which the authors have evaluated positively elsewhere [74][75][76], fails to demonstrate adequate feasibility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response to ‘Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems’

Brown

Bischof-Niemz

Blok

et al. 2018

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

408

220

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A recent article 'Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems' claims that many studies of 100% renewable electricity systems do not demonstrate sufficient technical feasibility, according to the criteria of the article's authors (henceforth 'the authors'). Here we analyse the authors' methodology and find it problematic. The feasibility criteria chosen by the authors are important, but are also easily addressed at low economic cost, while not affecting the main conclusions of the reviewed studies and certainly not affecting their technical feasibility. A more thorough review reveals that all of the issues have already been addressed in the engineering and modelling literature. Nuclear power, which the authors have evaluated positively elsewhere, faces other, genuine feasibility problems, such as the finiteness of uranium resources and a reliance on unproven technologies in the medium-to long-term. Energy systems based on renewables, on the other hand, are not only feasible, but already economically viable and decreasing in cost every year.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response to ‘Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems’

Brown

Bischof-Niemz

Blok

et al. 2018

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

408

220

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With limited participation of demand resources, the wholesale market functioned mainly with network operators selling large central station equipment to meet the steady demand. Renewable energy today is cheaper than coal and nuclear power in most parts of such advanced economies as, for example, the United States and more cost-competitive with natural gas [53,54].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet of Energy (IoE) and High-Renewables Electricity System Market Design

et al. 2019

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The growing importance of the Internet of Energy (IoE) brands the high-renewables electricity system a realistic scenario for the future electricity system market design. In general, the whole gist behind the IoE is developed upon a somewhat broader idea encompassing the so-called “Internet of Things” (IoT), which envisioned a plethora of household appliances, utensils, clothing, smart trackers, smart meters, and vehicles furnished with tiny devices. These devices would record all possible data from all those objects in real time and allow for a two-way exchange of information that makes it possible to optimize their use. IoT employs the Internet Protocol (IP) and the worldwide web (WWW) network for transferring information and data through various types of networks and gateways as well as sensor technologies. This paper presents an outline stemming from the implications of the high-renewables electric system that would employ the Internet of Energy (IoE). In doing so, it focuses on the implications that IoE brings into the high-renewables electricity market inhabited by smart homes, smart meters, electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines, such as the peer-to-peer (P2P) energy exchange between prosumers, optimization of location of charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs), or the information and energy exchange in the smart grids. We show that such issues as compatibility, connection speed, and most notoriously, trust in IoE applications among households and consumers would play a decisive role in the transition to the high-renewables electricity systems of the 21st century. Our findings demonstrate that the decentralized approach to energy system effective control and operation that is offered by IoE is highly likely to become ubiquitous as early as 2030. Since it may be optimal that large-scale rollouts start in the early 2020s, some form of government incentives and funding (e.g. subsidies for installing wind turbines or solar panels or special feed-in-tariffs for buying renewable energy) may be needed for the energy market to make early progress in embracing more renewables and in reducing the costs of later investments. In addition, there might be some other alternative approaches aimed at facilitating this development. We show that the objective is to minimize the overall system cost, which consists of the system investment cost and the system operating cost, subject to CO2 emissions constraints and the operating constraints of generation units, network assets, and novel carbon-free technologies, which is quite cumbersome given the trend in consumption and the planned obsolescence. This can be done through increasing energy efficiency, developing demand side management strategies, and improving matching between supply and demand side, just to name a few possibilities.

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“…Currently, the construction cost of nuclear power in South Korea is reasonably low (<2010 US$ 3,000 kW −1 ) compared with other western systems, due to a standardised manufacturing process and repeated builds of new plants (Lovering, Yip, & Nordhaus, ). Technological development of nuclear reactors, in contrast to renewable energy sources, bolds the promise of providing reliable, clean, and safe energy, in the form of electricity, heat, and as a derivative: synthetic fuels (e.g., hydrogen; Brook, Blees, Wigley, & Hong, ).…”

Section: There Are No “No Regrets” Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

At the crossroads: An uncertain future facing the electricity‐generation sector in South Korea

Hong

Brook

2018

Asia & Pacific Policy Stud

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Nuclear energy has provided a major source of clean electricity for South Korea over decades. However, the South Korean Government announced an energy transition roadmap aiming to reduce nuclear shares and increase renewable shares. However, given the nation's high population density, the maximum share of renewable sources for electricity generation in South Korea is constrained. The roadmap was silent on how to fill the gap between a reduced nuclear output and the limited renewable potentials. The tacit alternatives are fossil fuels, and their deployment will become the key determining factor on how South Korea approaches the problem of greenhouse gas emissions reductions. We used scenario analysis to investigate two fossil-intensive cases, alongside a hypothetical renewable case. On the basis of the comparison of the three scenarios with other countries, we provide an insight into the feasibility and limitations of the nonnuclear options and propose the techno-economic requirements for avoiding the worst outcomes.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

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Silver Buckshot or Bullet: Is a Future “Energy Mix” Necessary?

Cited by 16 publications

References 78 publications

Response to ‘Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems’

Response to ‘Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems’

Internet of Energy (IoE) and High-Renewables Electricity System Market Design

At the crossroads: An uncertain future facing the electricity‐generation sector in South Korea

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