Understanding renewable energy

Australia and the world need to adopt renewable energy. The changes that humanity must take are becoming more apparent than ever as the consequences of human induced climate change continue to present themselves. I have always been of the opinion that if we just adopt wind and solar as our energy systems, emissions will go down and the world will enter a great new era of sustainability, yay. So why isn't this the case? As I have been increasingly finding myself with climate anxiety I have been researching and finding that understanding the problem puts me at greater ease. It informs me of what we need to do and gives me clarity on the situation. 

Base Load Energy

Australia needs a constant base load energy source. The base load energy source powers our traffic lights, hospitals and all the things we need to keep running 24/7. In an average day, the energy use of the grid spikes as people go about their day to day lives, these are daily spikes in addition to our base load energy. Scientists believe that we currently have the renewable capacity to completely power our entire energy needs (source). The base load energy must be a constant continuous supply of energy, which we currently create most of through coal fired power stations. 

Battery Storage

Renewable energy could be immediately released and stored with battery technology. There is currently limited investment into battery storage technology. The current debate and reshaping of Australia post-coronavirus is supporting investment into renewable technology and storage technology or using gas as a transitional fuel (source).

Gas

There is currently a huge debate circulating around the use of natural gas power. Natural gas has significantly less carbon emissions than current coal fired power stations and is being considered as the saving bridge between renewables and coal. Natural gas can be stored and immediately released to burn for energy. Unlike coal power stations, it does not take large amounts of time to heat up and cool down so does not require the continuous burning like coal power stations. However, natural gas is incredibly destructive to natural environments and it lies in the lands of first nations people. As an energy form, gas produces less CO2 emissions than coal fired power stations, but the impact of large scale gas use and the levels of methane released are yet to be assessed (source). Unfortunately, all the investment and infrastructure into gas power will; detract from renewable investment and secondly, is infrastructure that will not be needed in 20-30 years once renewable technology has advanced. It is a quick top-down solution to the energy crisis. It is merely shifting one fossil fuel industry to another and further preventing renewable energy to break into the market (source). 

The Future

I currently have a very limited understanding of energy science, the solutions and the future. Current scenarios are; that we maintain our current reliance on coal and go down a path to catastrophic social, environmental and economic consequences from climate change or that we pursue a path through gas infrastructure to provide a quick fix to CO2 emissions and transition from coal or that we push for renewable technology and investment. There are current solutions that local solar and wind communities can support themselves, but this brings into question the cost of individual renewables as opposed to a renewable energy grid. Gas may play a role in the energy system transition but we must decide how big we want that role to be and be aware of the consequences of the gas industry on preventing renewable technology advancements, local communities and the environment. A post-coronavirus future is facing this choice, a choice we must be apart of. We have a unique opportunity from this pandemic, to rebuild, and to rebuild a better world that we can pass on. The debate and the future are so complex and uncertain it drives me crazy, but by doing some reading and a bit of learning I already feel more in control of the decisions I make and the future I want to fight for.