Is it possible to get 100 percent of our energy from renewable sources?

The questions regarding renewable energy are never-ending. Is there enough space for all the wind turbines and solar panels to provide all our energy needs? What happens when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow? Won't renewables destabilise the grid and cause blackouts?

A study conducted by the Lappeenranta University of Technology explored these questions and came to some interesting conclusions. The researchers doubted the feasibility of many of the recent scenarios for high shares of renewable energy, questioning everything from whether renewables-based systems can survive extreme weather events with the low sun and low wind, to the ability to keep the grid stable with so much variable generation.

The scientists then hit back with their response to the points raised by Heard and colleagues. The researchers analysed hundreds of studies from across the scientific literature to answer each of the apparent issues. They demonstrated that there are no roadblocks on the way to a 100 percent renewable future.

"While several of the issues raised by the Heard paper are important, you have to realise that there are technical solutions to all the points they raised, using today's technology," says the lead author of the response, Tom Brown.

"Furthermore, these solutions are absolutely affordable, especially given the sinking costs of wind and solar power," said Christian Breyer who co-authored the response.

Brown cites the worst-case solution of hydrogen or synthetic gas produced with renewable electricity for times when imports, hydroelectricity, batteries, and other storage fail to bridge the gap during low wind and solar periods during the winter. For maintaining stability there is a series of technical solutions, from rotating grid stabilisers to newer electronics-based solutions. The scientists then collected examples of best practice by grid operators from across the world, from Denmark to Tasmania.

Furthermore, these solutions came out to be absolutely affordable, especially given the sinking costs of wind and solar power. The response by the scientists then appeared in the same journal as the original article by Heard and colleagues. "There are some persistent myths that 100 percent renewable systems are not possible," said Brian Vad Mathiesen who is a co-author of the response.

"Our contribution deals with these myths one-by-one, using all the latest research. Now let's get back to the business of modelling low-cost scenarios to eliminate fossil fuels from our energy system, so we can tackle the climate and health challenges they pose." The findings from the study are published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.