MIT: Zonne-energie op grote schaal nodig
12 mei 2015 – Zonne-energie is een van de weinige CO2-arme energietechnologieeën met de potentie om te groeien tot zeer grote schaal. Dat schrijft MIT Energy Initiative haar rapport The Future of Solar Energy.
Het rapport is het nieuwste in een serie rapporten over de toekomst van de energievoorziening van het energie-instituut van het Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Zonne-energie kan in potentie heel groot worden, maar de technologie moet goedkoper, de netwerken moeten aangepast en de overheid moet de ontwikkeling van zonne-energie ondersteunen met beleid. De onderzoekers pleiten ook voor een hogere prijs op CO2-uitstoot.
Uit de samenvatting van het rapport
‘(…)In the face of the global warming challenge, solar energy holds massive potential for meeting humanity’s energy needs over the long term while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Solar energy has recently become a rapidly growing source of electricity worldwide, its advancement aided by federal, state, and local policies in the United States as well as by government support in Europe, China, and elsewhere. As a result the solar industry has become global in important respects.
Nevertheless, while costs have declined substantially in recent years and market penetration has grown, major scale-up in the decades ahead will depend on the solar industry’s ability to overcome several major hurdles with respect to cost, the availability of technology and materials to support very large-scale expansion, and successful integration at large scale into existing electric systems. Without government policies to help overcome these challenges, it is likely that solar energy will continue to supply only a small percentage of world electricity needs and that the cost of reducing carbon emissions will be higher than it could be. (…)’
Bronnen
MIT Energy Initiative, 5 mei 2015: Press Release: MIT Energy Initiative releases major report on the future of solar energy focussend on solar’s key role in a low carbon future
Treehugger, 11 mei 2015: MIT says current solar technology is good enough to take us into a clean energy future
Rapport
MIT, mei 2015: The future of Solar Energy (pdf)
Executive summary van het rapport
