New Handbook: 100 Percent Renewable Energy Both Practicable and Affordable

Advances in renewable energy technology, in concert with new triple bottom line-based approaches to government and business, are key enablers of a transition from polluting fossil fuels to locally-appropriate mixes of distributed, renewable energy systems. The renewable energy transition will not only benefit ecosystems and the environment; well designed and executed policies, regulations, public-private partnerships and inclusive, collaborative business models can address societies' most pressing social and economic challenges as well.

Powering societies wholly on renewable energy technologies widely available today is not only possible, it's affordable, according to a policy handbook produced by the World Future Council and E3 Analytics.

Appropriately titled, How to Achieve 100 Percent Renewable Energy, the WFC-E3 policy handbook uses eight case studies organized according to four themes – cities and communities; regions and states; national governments; and island governments – to illustrate how innovative policies are promoting and paving the way to “fully fossil- and nuclear-free” societies.

A policy framework for achieving 100 percent renewable energy

When WFC and E3 write about societies achieving 100 percent renewable energy, they mean “that all energy needed within the electricity, heat and transport sector in the particular region is coming from renewable sources.”

No doubt, many will take issue with the WFC-E3 report's contention that societies can rely entirely on today's renewable solar, wind, ocean, geothermal and bio-derived resources and technologies to meet all their energy needs. In their How to Achieve 100 Percent Renewable Energy handbook, WFC and E3 lay out a framework of policies that organizations at successively larger degrees of geopolitical scope and scale are using today to achieve that goal.

For instance, the handbook authors highlight that there is tremendous potential to make much greater use of renewable resources for heating and cooling, as well as across the transport sector. Locked into reliance on fossil fuels, government policies and strategies underestimate the potential of renewable resources to meet society's heating and cooling needs, “whether via solar hot water, air-heating and cooling systems, heat pumps, electric heat storage, waste heat recovery, or the development of district heating and cooling systems,” they write.

The same is true to an even greater extent across the transportation sector, according to WFC-E3's 100-percent renewable energy policy handbook. “With a few exceptions, most efforts to increase the share of renewable energy have left the transport sector almost untouched, focusing instead on the electricity sector.”

Five key findings

In Achieving 100 Percent Renewable Energy, WFC and E3's research team highlight five key findings that resulted from their analysis of the eight case studies included in the policy handbook:

1. 100 percent renewable energy is both financially and economically advantageous, generating a wide range of benefits for both citizens and governments. The benefits range from savings on fossil fuel imports, improved energy and economic security, as well as reduced energy and electricity costs for governments, local residents and businesses.


2. The goal of achieving 100 percent renewable energy is not only for wealthy or industrialized countries – it is taking root in countries and jurisdictions in all four corners of the globe, including in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Latin America. 100% RE provide a plethora of development benefits that have a high priority among governments across the world. Since almost 3 billion people suffer from both, erratic or no access to electricity and reliance on inefficient and polluting solid biomass fuels for cooking, 100% reliable, affordable and efficiently used renewables are the only realistic, long-term options for ensuring a more decent livelihood for all.


3. The report finds that transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy can also make economies more resilient, reducing their exposure to external factors such as rising fossil fuel prices. In times of geopolitical tensions and climate change, this is one of the key drivers for governments to take action.


4. In addition to cost savings, going 100 percent renewable generates new economic activity and improves quality of life. Case studies suggest that demonstrating a clear commitment to transitioning 100% to renewable energy can help stimulating job creation, create new business models and opportunities as well as generate new sources of domestic revenue for both citizens and businesses.


5. The case study analyses suggest that a significant expansion of RE in both the transport and heating/cooling sectors will need to become a strategic priority for governments to achieve the 100 percent goal. In line with this, the analyses show that achieving 100 percent renewable energy on a sustainable basis will likely require storing excess energy in the form of either heat or electricity in individual homes and businesses and that this will require a higher level of integration between these different sectors than in the past. The total generation supplied by electricity systems should be greater than 100 percent the majority of the time to allow the transport and heating sector to be integrated.

*Images credit: WFC-E3 Analytics

Featured image: Flickr/vax-o-matic