By Brad Plumer – Right now, renewable energy sources like solar and wind still provide just a small fraction of the world’s electricity. But they’re growing fast. Very fast. Three new pieces of evidence suggest that many policymakers may be drastically underestimating just how quickly wind and solar are expanding.
- Solar is growing exponentially
- Official agencies keep underestimating the growth rate of renewables
- Using only current technology, renewables could technically provide the vast bulk of U.S. electricity by mid-century
And that’s where a new report from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory comes in.
NREL even provides a nifty animated map of where different power plants–from hydropower to photovoltaic solar panels to wind turbines to concentrated solar plants — would need to be built to make this a reality. more> http://tinyurl.com/cglov9t
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- DOE study says that 80 percent of US power could come from renewable energy by 2050 (theverge.com)
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