SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
In an analysis of all suitable sites for onshore wind farms, the new study reveals that Europe has the potential to supply enough energy for the whole world until 2050. The study reveals that if all of Europe's capacity for onshore wind farms was realised, the installed nameplate capacity would 52.5 TW -- equivalent to 1 MW for every 16 European citizens.
Co-author Benjamin Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Sussex, said: "The study is not a blueprint for development but a guide for policymakers indicating the potential of how much more can be done and where the prime opportunities exist.
"Our study suggests that the horizon is bright for the onshore wind sector and that European aspirations for a 100% renewable energy grid are within our collective grasp technologically.
"Obviously, we are not saying that we should install turbines in all the identified sites but the study does show the huge wind power potential right across Europe which needs to be harnessed if we're to avert a climate catastrophe."
Spatial analysis of Geographical Information System (GIS)-based wind atlases allowed the research team to identify around 46% of Europe's territory which would be suitable for siting of onshore wind farms.
The advanced GIS data at sub-national levels provided a far more detailed insight and allowed the team to factor in a far greater range of exclusionary factors including houses, roads, restricted areas due to military or political reasons as well as terrains not suitable for wind power generation.
The greater detail in this approach allowed the research team to identify more than three times the onshore wind potential in Europe than previous studies.
(Score: 3, Informative) by bradley13 on Friday August 16 2019, @01:28PM
Dunno where you get those payback times - they are right up there with unicorns. For solar, 1 to 2.5 years? Seriously?
Back of the envelope calculations here, talking very round figures. A large-scale installations of solar cells costs $1/watt, plus installation, inverters, management systems, etc.. Total cost, probably around $2/watt. Of course, 1 watt (peak) on a solar panel only actually produces 1 watt on sunny days when the sun is high. You're talking Europe, which (outside of Spain) isn't hugely sunny. You will do very well indeed to get 1/6 watt averaged over 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So: 1/6 * 24 * 365 means that your solar panel will generate about 1.5kwh/year. The wholesale price for electricity in Europe - again, round figures - ranges between $0.05 and $0.10 per kwh. So your $2.00 solar installation has a payback time somewhere between 12 and 24 years.
You can put more precise figures into the above calculation, but there is no way you will reduce it by an order of magnitude. If you see that kind of figure, then they are counting the manufacturing cost of solar cells, forgetting about installation and maintenance, and calculating against peak retail rates for electricity. It's much the same for wind power.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.