Energy Impact Partners: A primer on the next three decades of the energy transition - Part 3

The problem with us Northeasterners is that we’ve used up too much of our land already. And our land couldn’t produce a lot of energy from the wind or sun to begin with.

This article is the third of a five-part series examining the technology
 we’ll need to fully decarbonize our energy system, relying on as few
technology “moonshots” as possible.

Moreover, we currently burn a lot of oil & gas to heat our buildings. If we were to convert all of that space heating to electricity (or to hydrogen produced via electrolysis), then our demand for electric power generation will skyrocket in the wintertime, when solar panels are at their least productive.

The density problem is somewhat unique to the Northeast region, but we’re not the only ones who’ll have a winter demand problem on our hands. Take a look at all of the states to the west of the Rocky Mountains. They have access to tremendous solar resources, especially in the Southwest, but their wind resources are pretty poor outside of a handful of breezy canyons. (Incidentally, some of those canyons in California were the site of the very first wind power installations in the country.) If these states attempt to satisfy their incremental clean energy demand through solar alone, then the amount of energy storage they need will skyrocket — both diurnally (from day to night), and seasonally.

Read the story from ClimateAction by Andy Lubershane - “Energy Impact Partners: A primer on the next three decades of the energy transition - Part 3.”