Endorsements From High-Level International Experts & Scientists

Global Energy System Based on 100% Renewables

What leading experts say about our new study:

 

Prof. Mark Jacobson, Stanford University, California, USA

“The science is in that a transition to 100% clean, renewables for all energy is an achievable goal throughout the world. This new paper reaffirms this fact, plus it shows it is possible to avoid 1.5°C global warming by getting to zero net GHG emissions by 2050 without negative emission technologies, fossil fuels with carbon capture, or nuclear power, yet at an affordable cost.”

Prof. Martin Green, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

“This is an impressive body of work that will not only provide a benchmark for future studies but will also provide a guide for coordinated policy action that is needed to limit the future impact of the world’s past dependence on fossil fuels for its energy supply.”

Prof. Claudia Kemfert, Hertie School of Governance, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Berlin, Germany

“The study shows impressively that a secure and cost-efficient energy supply to achieve the Paris climate targets with 100% renewable energy is not only technically possible, but also economically profitable. What is particularly significant about this study is that it shows that neither nuclear or CCS technologies nor geoengineering are required to achieve the climate targets cost-effectively.”  

Prof. Eicke Weber, former Director of Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Freiburg, Germany

 “This is truly a landmark-study. A detailed analysis that covers the whole globe with a one-hour time resolution demonstrates that a reliable global energy system based on 100% Renewable Energy is technically possible and financially advantageous. It is noteworthy that the study comes to the conclusion that the world will need for such a secure energy supply about 70 Terawatts of Solar Power (essentially Photovoltaics, PV) installed, and 8 Terawatts of wind – numbers, that will be important in planning the world’s trajectory in the coming years to avoid catastrophic climate changes – in line with the demands of the current, global FridaysforFuture movement of our schoolchildren.”

Jeremy Leggett, Green Entrepreneur & Director of Solarcentury, United Kingdom

“1.5˚C zero-GHG energy from power, heat, transport & desalination sectors is possible before 2050. This 100% RE system, modeled hourly, globally, for the 1st time, allots solar 69% of the mix at lower cost than current global supply. A historic report.”

Daniel Fürstenwerth, Renewable Energy Expert & Green Entrepreneur, Berlin, Germany

“The best and most relevant piece of work on the energy transition in the last 5 years. Setting a new standard on energy system modelling: IEA/Irena scenarios have today become irrelevant, due to lack of quality!”

 

The full study is available here. 
The full study in high resolution (ZIP file) is available here.

Download material (in different languages)

Key Findings: English, French, German, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish

Executive Summary: English, French, German, Mandarin, Spanish

Presentation on the global results

Presentations on the regional results: Europe, Eurasia, MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, SAARC, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, North America, South America

Supplementary data (Excel file)
Presentation of numerical results of the modeling broken down to regions and sectors.

 

About the Study
The simulation “Global Energy System based on 100% Renewable Energy”, co-funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) and the Stiftung Mercator, comprises a state-of-the-art modeling, developed by LUT University and computes a cost-optimal mix of technologies based on locally available renewable energy sources. It determines the most cost-effective energy transition pathway for global energy supply on an hourly resolution for an entire reference year and structured in 145 regions. The global energy transition scenario is carried out in 5-year time periods from 2015 until 2050. The results are aggregated into nine major regions of the world: Europe, Eurasia, MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, SAARC, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, North America and South America.

About Energy Watch Group
Energy Watch Group (EWG) is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan global network of scientists and parliamentarians. EWG conducts research and publishes independent studies and analyses on global energy developments. The mission of the organization is to provide energy policy with objective information.

About LUT University
LUT University has pioneered as a science university combining technology and business since 1969. It has been recognised in international rankings as one of the world’s top universities. Clean energy and water, a circular economy and sustainable business are pivotal questions for humankind. LUT University applies its expertise in technology and business to seek solutions to these questions. LUT University strongly promotes entrepreneurship stemming from its scientific research. An example of this is the business accelerator Green Campus Open, which supports new spin-off companies that are based on LUT’s research. LUT’s international science community consists of 6500 students and experts. www.lut.fi/web/en/