The Energy Internet: a climate game-changer

Governments are pouring trillions of dollars into subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, even though their dirty fuels are causing the climate catastrophe. But are clean renewable energies ready to power the world? Yes – with the Energy Internet.

You may not have heard of the Energy Internet – but you soon will. It’s a beacon of hope as climate breakdown looms.

Dirty fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal are trashing our planet for present and future generations. Yet our governments persist in pouring trillions of dollars of taxpayers’ money each year into subsidizing the fossil fuel industry.

Why don’t we switch to renewable energies? ‘We have enough solar power alone to fuel 10 world economies,’ says Nicholas Dunlop, Secretary-General of the Climate Parliament, ‘and enough wind power to fuel another 10.’ With the cost of renewables plummeting, Paddy Padmanathan, CEO of ACWA Power, says, ‘For countries to keep their coal industry going is simply a waste of money.’

But don’t renewables have a fatal flaw? The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. That’s only a problem if we think too small-scale, according to Prof Xiao-Ping Zhang of Birmingham University’s Energy Lab: ‘We can build an Energy Internet linking the whole world’s energy systems together!’ so we can get energy from wherever the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. And the ultra-high-voltage transmission lines needed to distribute these renewable energies over thousands of kilometers, and the smart grids needed to control these power flow precisely, are already being implemented.

A Climate Parliament, a small but critical mass of developing countries, needs to lead the way as champions of the clean energy revolution, says Nicholas Dunlop. China and India are already going for it, and the rest of the world’s political leaders may ‘get the kick up the pants they need,’ he says, ‘because of the combination of climate impacts, plummeting costs, and angry young people fighting for their future.’

This is the longer version of the documentary.

Original source: https://www.solrenen.com/2020/10/04/the-energy-internet-a-climate-game-changer/