Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Improving Air Quality
52
52
fact, the number of cities that are powered by at least 70% renewable electricity increased from 41 to 101 in 2017. This included Auckland, Brasilia,
Nairobi, and Oslo (Zervos, 2018).
Renewable energy policies and advances in technology have contributed
to the excellent progress made in 2017 and 2018. Some of this progress has
been achieved using technologies such as hydroelectric power generation.
There are many locations where falling water is used to generate electricity
or provide power for other purposes. Since most of the locations where water
can easily be used to generate electricity have been developed, much of the
focus on new developments with respect to renewable energy is on wind and
solar energy. Accordingly, the bulk of this chapter focuses on these two forms
of renewable energy.
Good progress is being made with respect to new developments in wind
and solar energy. In 2017, renewables accounted for about 70% of the
additions to global power- generating capacity (Sawin et al., 2018). As with
hydroelectric power, generating both wind and solar power depends on
natural processes (wind velocity and solar radiation). Unlike hydroelectric
power, these resources are very widely available, yet they also vary across
days of the year and time of day (i.e. the level of power production is not
controlled by the owner). Nevertheless, because of falling costs, both of these
technologies are now competitive with other energy sources in many parts
of the world. Because of decreases in the costs of wind and solar energy production, the transition to renewable energy often has a positive regional economic impact. Many landowners benefit from having windmills installed
on their property, and there are employment opportunities associated with
installing wind farms and adding solar panels to buildings or parking lots.
A recent review of regional economic impacts associated with renewable
energy projects is available from Jenniches (2018).
There are a number of locations in the United States (including California,
Hawaii, New York, and Washington) where there are plans to generate all electricity without carbon emissions at a future date; however, at present there is still
significant use of coal in the United States and many other countries (Roselund
and Weaver, 2018). One reason for the slowness of the transition to renewable
energy for electricity generation is because of the long lifetimes of electricitygenerating equipment. Some coal plants can be economically viable to operate
for more than 40 years, and replacement plans depend on both the service life
of the equipment and actual power generation economics. This means that
cheaper renewable energy is a huge step, but not enough to make a full transition to 100% renewable energy. Some fossil fuel plants are retired because new
technologies are able to provide power at a lower cost, but this sometimes only
happens once the old plant is near the end of its useful life. An additional consideration for these decisions needs to be air quality; some plants increasingly
should be retired not just due to obsolescence but in order to improve air quality.
There are both locations and companies that are looking forward to a future
that is entirely based on renewable energy. The locations include cities that
have set a 100% renewable target for their electricity generation (Sawin et al.,
52
52
fact, the number of cities that are powered by at least 70% renewable electricity increased from 41 to 101 in 2017. This included Auckland, Brasilia,
Nairobi, and Oslo (Zervos, 2018).
Renewable energy policies and advances in technology have contributed
to the excellent progress made in 2017 and 2018. Some of this progress has
been achieved using technologies such as hydroelectric power generation.
There are many locations where falling water is used to generate electricity
or provide power for other purposes. Since most of the locations where water
can easily be used to generate electricity have been developed, much of the
focus on new developments with respect to renewable energy is on wind and
solar energy. Accordingly, the bulk of this chapter focuses on these two forms
of renewable energy.
Good progress is being made with respect to new developments in wind
and solar energy. In 2017, renewables accounted for about 70% of the
additions to global power- generating capacity (Sawin et al., 2018). As with
hydroelectric power, generating both wind and solar power depends on
natural processes (wind velocity and solar radiation). Unlike hydroelectric
power, these resources are very widely available, yet they also vary across
days of the year and time of day (i.e. the level of power production is not
controlled by the owner). Nevertheless, because of falling costs, both of these
technologies are now competitive with other energy sources in many parts
of the world. Because of decreases in the costs of wind and solar energy production, the transition to renewable energy often has a positive regional economic impact. Many landowners benefit from having windmills installed
on their property, and there are employment opportunities associated with
installing wind farms and adding solar panels to buildings or parking lots.
A recent review of regional economic impacts associated with renewable
energy projects is available from Jenniches (2018).
There are a number of locations in the United States (including California,
Hawaii, New York, and Washington) where there are plans to generate all electricity without carbon emissions at a future date; however, at present there is still
significant use of coal in the United States and many other countries (Roselund
and Weaver, 2018). One reason for the slowness of the transition to renewable
energy for electricity generation is because of the long lifetimes of electricitygenerating equipment. Some coal plants can be economically viable to operate
for more than 40 years, and replacement plans depend on both the service life
of the equipment and actual power generation economics. This means that
cheaper renewable energy is a huge step, but not enough to make a full transition to 100% renewable energy. Some fossil fuel plants are retired because new
technologies are able to provide power at a lower cost, but this sometimes only
happens once the old plant is near the end of its useful life. An additional consideration for these decisions needs to be air quality; some plants increasingly
should be retired not just due to obsolescence but in order to improve air quality.
There are both locations and companies that are looking forward to a future
that is entirely based on renewable energy. The locations include cities that
have set a 100% renewable target for their electricity generation (Sawin et al.,