The Impossible Dream? Why Renewables Won't Reduce CO2 Emissions by Much

The Impossible Dream? Why Renewables Won't Reduce CO2 Emissions by Much:

"The solution to looming global warming? Easy. Reduce man-made emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by cutting down on the use of fossil fuels -- coal, petroleum and natural gas. Leave them in the ground. The replacement? Renewables such as solar and wind power. If we phase in natural energy sources quickly enough, we may be able to avert catastrophic climate change.
Or so the story goes. But new research shows that it is not quite so simple. As the proportion of renewable energy penetrating the electricity grid grows, the reduction of CO2 emissions drops sharply. By the time wind power (and, by analogy, solar) reaches about 20 percent of the grid, the savings in CO2 emissions are negligible, of the order of a few percent.
The result seems counter-intuitive -- surely the more renewable energy, the greater the reduction of CO2 emissions, and less threat of global warming. But the reason for this finding can be found on the miles per gallon sticker on the windows of new cars."

Read the entire article: