Next generation geothermal power claims to be a potential game changer in electricity generation. I knew nothing about it until recently. This post is a summary of the field for the people who know nothing about it and some questions for the people who do.
How should we generate electricity?
Last post, we described a simple model of an economy that uses 100 GW of electricity. The economy was assumed to initially be predominantly fossil fuels. We got order of magnitude estimates for various scenarios of how to transition from fossil fuels to either solar / wind or natural gas.
This post directly compares the results from last post. It concludes with my own opinion of which strategy we should pursue.
For this model, I will state numbers for both the 100 GW model economy and numbers for a 500 GW economy – about the size of the US.
How should we generate electricity?
Last post, we discussed the various power sources from the perspective of the grid and briefly discussed energy storage. This post will put together the results of Parts I & II in a simple model to test different strategies for moving away from using fossil fuels to generate our electricity.
The simplifications in the model will make the transition away from fossil fuels look easier than it is. But they should be a fair comparison between the different strategies we might use.
How should we generate electricity?
Last post, we discussed various alternatives to fossil fuels. In this post, we will take the perspective of the grid. How do each of these power sources impact the functioning of the grid?
This is a companion post to the Generating Electricity without Fossil Fuels series. For many people, safety is the primary concern for nuclear power. I should address nuclear safety before analyzing it as one of the main possible strategies for moving away from fossil fuels.
