Researchers claim that the up front costs for switching to 100% renewable energy could be paid back in just six years, according to a new study by Stanford University.
"We do not need miracle technologies to solve these problems. By electrifying all energy sectors; producing electricity from clean, renewable sources; creating heat, cold, and hydrogen from such electricity; storing electricity, heat, cold and the hydrogen; expanding transmission; and shifting the time of some electricity use, we can create safe, cheap, and reliable energy everywhere."
- Prof. Mark Z. Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University
Professor Jacobson states that worldwide energy usage would go down by 56% if we immediately switched to a clean, renewable energy system.
The savings is due to the efficiency of clean energy over combustion systems, since it wouldn't be necessary to spend energy to extract fossil fuels anymore.
The team evaluated 145 countries which produce 99.7% of the world's carbon dioxide and estimate it would cost $62 trillion to update systems.
The switch would immediately save up to $11 trillion per year, which means that the world could offset the upfront costs in as little as six years.
Professor Jacobson and his team recommend that the world transition over to 100% renewable energy by 2035, and no later than 2050.
