Literature/202311101914 the problem with electricy

<ul> <li>Source: [[<a class="litnote tooltip" href="/literature/@gates2021">@gates2021<span class="tooltiptext">How to avoid a climate disaster: the solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need</span></a>]]</li> <li>Tags: <a href="/tags/climate-and-technology">#climate-and-technology</a> <a href="/tags/climate-and-electricity">#climate-and-electricity</a></li> </ul> <p>One of the largest challenges to <em>decarbonize</em> electricity in the world, is adapting the grid to new sources of power. Currently, infrastructure has been built around power centrals close to the places of consumption. </p> <p>Renewables pose other challenges. For example, solar may be abundant in the desert where no one lives, while wind can be available offshore. <strong>Adapting the grid</strong> for renewables is a massive undertaking. </p> <p><a class="wikilink" href="/bill_gates/">Bill Gates</a> is the first one I read openly advocating for the quick design and build of nuclear fission reactors. This is a topic completely left behind in <a class="wikilink" href="/the_future_we_choose_-_christiana_figueres_and_tom_rivett-carnac/">The Future we Choose - Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac</a>. Nuclear energy has been proven to work, it scales, and it delivers an immense amount of power. It takes much less materials than almost any other power source (except gas). </p> <p>Of course, there may be a chance at getting nuclear <em>fussion</em> up and running in the coming decades. But even the best estimates show that this is not going to be the case to reach net-zero before 2050. </p> <p><strong>Storing energy</strong> is an open challenge. Renewables that are available intermittently will inherently need a way of storing energy to be used in moments of need. And this is not just a matter of day/nigh, it is also through the year. Germany produces much more renewable energy in the summer (more sun and wind) than in the winter.</p>