The exclusive use of energy from renewable resources in at least one
sector has now become a feasible goal for 8 countries. Diane Moss,
Founding Director of Renewables 100 Policy Institute, discussed this
remarkable development at one of the conference sessions at Intersolar North America 2015.
Denmark, Scotland, and Aruba are among the nations with 100 percent
renewable energy targets. Besides the 8 nations, the Institute has so
far mapped 55 cities, 60 regions and 9 utilities across the world that
have officially established 100 percent RE goals, and Moss points out
that there may be more and that those numbers are steadily increasing.
RE100 percent Around the World, Credit: Renewables 100 Policy Institute
Recent advancements in renewable technologies and rapid cost
reductions have accelerated deployment of renewable energy, such as wind
and solar photovoltaics (PV). Renewables have started becoming a
mainstream energy source in many parts of the world. According to the Global Status Report published by REN21,
a Paris-based nonprofit group, the growth of renewable energy outpaced
that of fossil fuels in the electricity sector in 2014, with a record
135 gigawatts (GW) of capacity added from wind, solar, hydropower, and
other natural sources.
Renewable energy developments have been driven largely by government
policies, which include the RE targets of cities, states, regions, and
countries. Some governments or communities are driven to deploy more
renewables to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels (energy
security), tackle climate change (environment), and/or stimulate local
jobs (economy).
In recent years, many jurisdictions, in both developed and developing
countries, mainland and island regions, and in urban and rural
communities around the world, made their existing renewable targets more
ambitious, and some have even raised their targets to 100 percent. For example, this June the state of Hawaii in the U.S. raised its state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 100 percent by 2045 from 40 percent by 2030.
Having heavily depended on imported fossil fuels, the state is aiming
to supply 100 percent of its electricity demand with renewable energy to
become independent from imported fossil fuels.
The Fukushima prefecture in Japan pledged to transition to 100
percent RE by 2040 after the devastating Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
plant accident in 2011.The prefecture has made a strong commitment to
become energy self-reliant by producing safe, clean energy locally for
local consumption. Energy use targets set by Hawaii, Fukushima, and many other entities
are to meet 100 percent of their electric power demands with renewables.
Not Just Electric Power
Electricity, however, represents only part of the primary energy
needs. According to Moss, the full definition of 100 percent renewable
energy would have to cover all energy demands — electricity power,
heating/cooling, and transportation — with sustainable renewable
resources, including wind, solar, geothermal, wave, tidal, and
sustainable hydro and bioenergy (primarily from waste). Moreover, all
sectors of society should be covered, including residential, commercial,
institutional, industrial, and agricultural sectors.
Moss also stated that it is most common that electricity is the
energy sector to see 100 percent renewable targets because the
electricity markets are the most mature and, at least to some degree,
the transition to 100 percent renewable energy will involve greater
reliance on the electricity sector. “Starting with a 100 percent renewable energy target — not just for
electricity but across sectors — and planning on a regional, system-wide
basis could help avoid some inefficiencies,” Moss continued.
According to REN 21, by the end of 2014, renewable energy accounted
for a 27.7 percent of the world power generating capacity installed,
equivalent to supplying 22.8 percent of the global electricity demand,
while renewable energy provided an estimated 19.1 percent of the global
final energy consumption, combining electric power, heating/cooling, and
transportation segments.
Image: Credit: REN21
Some regions are already striving to go beyond electricity and cover other energy sectors with RE also. In 2013, the City of Sydney, the most populated city in Australia,
developed a plan to transition to 100 percent renewable energy for
electricity and heating/cooling by 2030. According to the plan, about
30 percent of the total carbon and nuclear free mix would come from wind
and solar, and 70 percent from waste to gas from sources such as
garbage, sewage plants, landfill sites, livestock, agriculture, and
forestry.
Denmark, the first European country with such a far-reaching goal,
wants to be off fossil fuels completely by 2050. As part of the
country’s energy and climate strategy, its target is to meet 100 percent
of its electricity and heating needs with renewable energy by 2035.
Furthermore, the country aims to phase out fossil fuel consumption in
the transportation sector with electric vehicles (EVs) by 2050.
Various regions have been implementing a variety of technologies,
applications, and ordinances to achieve 100 percent RE targets. Entities
can deploy utility-scale renewable projects, small to medium,
distributed generations or combination of both, depending on
availability of land space and natural resources.
For example, the City of Lancaster, California, has embraced a
combination of utility-scale and distributed generation to reach its
goal of becoming the world’s first net zero energy city by 2020. To
achieve the goal, the city has hosted a 5-MW Sierra SunTower solar thermal plant,
created an affordable solar financing program with SolarCity, and
established the first mandate in the U.S. to require all newly
constructed single-family homes to include at least 1.0 kW solar system
starting January 1, 2014.
To provide more renewables at affordable rates, the city launched a community choice aggregation (CCA)
program called “Lancaster Choice Energy.” Under the program, it is
authorized to procure power on behalf of all of the electrical accounts
within the city. “All energy (under the program) is currently procured
from Direct Energy, with a current mix of biomass and wind. Our goal
is to procure as much locally generated energy as possible. In the very
near future, we will supplement current energy supply agreements and
support future renewable energy requirements with locally developed
renewable energy projects,” stated Patti Garibay, Energy Manager of the
Lancaster Choice Energy Program.
CCA’s, which are legally possible in 6 states in the U.S., have also
been established in Sonoma and Marin Counties to forward ambitious
renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, and are being
seriously explored in several other cities in California for this
purpose, including San Diego and San Francisco, which also have 100
percent RE goal at the city level. So, is it possible that the vision of a100 percent renewable energy
future will become a reality? What is the biggest challenge or roadblock
toward 100 percent RE?
“Numerous experts agree that the biggest challenge is not technical
or financial, but gathering political will. This requires leadership at
every level of government and business governance, as well as building
momentum at the grassroots level. While we still have far to go, we've
come a long way in recent years with hundreds of cities and regions now
formally committed to 100 percent renewable energy targets in at least
one sector, along with 8 countries, dozens of major corporations and
thousands of businesses and several non-profit and institutional
campaigns for 100 percent renewable energy. We need to massively build
on that, gleaning best practices along the way to avoid repeating
mistakes and reinventing the wheel,” said Moss.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/07/world-moves-toward-100-percent-renewable-energy-first-electricity-then-heating-cooling-and-finally-transportation.html
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