
Electric cars and cheap solar 'could halt fossil fuel growth by 2020' - randomname2
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/02/electric-cars-cheap-solar-power-halt-fossil-fuel-growth-2020
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PhantomGremlin
Interesting. And much different from IIRC what a recent episode of Nova[1]
said. Nova claimed that our worldwide power needs would be 3x current by the
end of the century.

No way we can get to that point on mostly renewable energy. The show visited a
large battery installation in China. The installation was _huge_ (many many
acres) for IIRC 20 MWh. The batteries helped smooth the power output from a PV
solar installation.

So batteries were great in that example, but I just can't see how they can
replace a nuke plant for base load. How do you go from 20 MWh to replacing a
nuke producing 1000 MW * 15 or more hours of low sunlight in winter? Just like
in Jaws ("you're gonna need a bigger boat"), you're gonna need square miles
and square miles and square miles of batteries.

And if it's not a nuke, then it's a big combined cycle natural gas plant. Or a
coal plant. Something, anything, that can keep the lights on at night.

I think this Guardian article is nothing more than wishful thinking.

[1] [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/treasures-earth-
power.htm...](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/treasures-earth-power.html)

