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Can Australia run on renewable energy? The negative case

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  • Trainer, Ted

Abstract

The current discussion of climate change and energy problems is generally based on the assumption that technical solutions are possible and that the task is essentially to determine the most effective ways. This view relies heavily on the expectation that renewable energy sources can be substituted for fossil fuels. Australia is more favourably situated regarding renewable sources than almost any other country. This discussion attempts to estimate the investment cost that would be involved in deriving Australia's total energy supply from renewable sources. When provision is made for intermittency and plant redundancy it is concluded that the total investment cost is likely to be unaffordable.

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  • Trainer, Ted, 2012. "Can Australia run on renewable energy? The negative case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 306-314.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:50:y:2012:i:c:p:306-314
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.024
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Trainer, Ted, 2010. "Can renewables etc. solve the greenhouse problem? The negative case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4107-4114, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Heard, B.P. & Brook, B.W. & Wigley, T.M.L. & Bradshaw, C.J.A., 2017. "Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1122-1133.
    2. Corey J. A. Bradshaw & Barry W. Brook, 2016. "Implications of Australia's Population Policy for Future Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 249-265, May.
    3. Henning Meschede & Paul Bertheau & Siavash Khalili & Christian Breyer, 2022. "A review of 100% renewable energy scenarios on islands," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(6), November.
    4. Hansen, Kenneth & Breyer, Christian & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 471-480.
    5. Hong, Sanghyun & Bradshaw, Corey J.A. & Brook, Barry W., 2014. "Nuclear power can reduce emissions and maintain a strong economy: Rating Australia’s optimal future electricity-generation mix by technologies and policies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 712-725.
    6. Lenzen, Manfred & McBain, Bonnie & Trainer, Ted & Jütte, Silke & Rey-Lescure, Olivier & Huang, Jing, 2016. "Simulating low-carbon electricity supply for Australia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 553-564.
    7. Trainer, Ted, 2013. "Can Europe run on renewable energy? A negative case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 845-850.
    8. Olav H. Hohmeyer & Sönke Bohm, 2015. "Trends toward 100% renewable electricity supply in Germany and Europe: a paradigm shift in energy policies," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(1), pages 74-97, January.
    9. Trainer, Ted, 2014. "The limits to solar thermal electricity," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 57-64.
    10. Deason, Wesley, 2018. "Comparison of 100% renewable energy system scenarios with a focus on flexibility and cost," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3168-3178.
    11. Diesendorf, Mark & Elliston, Ben, 2018. "The feasibility of 100% renewable electricity systems: A response to critics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 318-330.
    12. Xenia Tabachkova, 2021. "Consequences of Oil Supply and Demand on the Electricity Market: Coronavirus Effect," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 573-580.
    13. Zhou, Sheng & Wang, Yu & Zhou, Yuyu & Clarke, Leon E. & Edmonds, James A., 2018. "Roles of wind and solar energy in China’s power sector: Implications of intermittency constraints," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 22-30.

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