This talk was intended to give an overview of the ‘EnergyScape’: the ins and outs about renewable energy, the energy transition, energy policy, current status and connections to science/meteorology. As such, it set the scene for the following talks, which are more focused on science and meteorology. Unfortunately, the first speaker had to cancel his talk on short notice. Since it wasn’t possible to find a suitable replacement, the organizers decided to compile a presentation themselves.

Besides the climate change incentive, there are many other reasons why investments in renewable energy will pay off.

Renewable energy is almost a daily rubric in the news nowadays. With items related to record-low pricing, new project tenders, public and corporate opinions, ongoing elections, et cetera, the “energy transition” is hard to ignore. And why would we? Besides the climate change incentive, there are many other reasons why investments in renewable energy will pay off. For example improved air quality and energy independence. As technology matures and prices keep dropping, it will even become attractive from an economic point of view.

When we talk about renewable energy, we often hear the term “energy transition”. This term expresses the notion that new energy sources of energy by themselves are not enough. Additionally, a complete transformation of the energy infrastructure is required. Two important reasons for this are the fitful nature of wind and solar energy, and the shift from a centralized generators to a distributed power supply. A successful transition requires that the electricity grid will be bi-directional and energy demand and supply are calibrated. In the absence of a suitable storage solution, this reiterates the need for reliable weather and power forecasts.

The current status and prospects of renewables were presented on the basis of two reports: the REN21 Global status report 2016 and the Bloomberg New Energy Outlook 2016. It appears that, although wind and solar power have demonstrated substantial growth in the past decade, their total share in the global energy mix was only about 5% by the end of 2015. At that time, wind energy (433 GW installed capacity) was still bigger than solar (227 GW). By 2040, however, projections suggest that solar energy will dominate the energy mix with a share of almost 30%.

Policy plays an important role in achieving these goals. Initial investments (in the form of subsidies) are necessary to develop the technology and provide a proof-of-principle, before it becomes attractive for companies to invest and upscale. Also, regulations aimed at stimulating the use of renewables and to invest in energy efficiency add an additional incentive to the unappealing sense of urgency expressed by e.g. the IPCC reports. Fortunately, many countries have power policies in place and there are some important international agreements, such as the 2015 Paris agreement. Focusing on Europe, there is the Energy Union (EU) Energy roadmap 2050, with the ambitious objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% (compared to 1990) and have 40-55% installed renewable capacity. A sub-goal is the Horizon 2020 agreement that aims to achieve a 20% reduction of fossil fuel, a 20% increase in energy efficieny and a 20% increase in renewables by the year 2020. In the Netherlands, the “Energieagenda” elaborates on the Dutch plans to achieve 14% renewables by 2020 and even more ambitious goals thereafter. By 2023, offshore wind farms should provide 5 million households with electricity.

With an increasing interest in renewable energy, money becomes available for research as well. The energy sector poses questions that are aimed at reducing the costs of their technology. This includes meteorological aspects, like reliable climatologies and accurate predictions. To improve our products, we need to enhance our understanding of sub-domains, such as the marine atmospheric boundary layer. Additionally, since we’re basically extracting energy from the atmosphere, there may be feedbacks to the (regional) circulation that need to be investigated. And finally, could we use the development of renewables to our own benefit, for example by using power yields in our data-assimilation systems?

Presentation