The Future of Low-Carbon Electricity

Journal Article · Mon Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Annual Review of Environment and Resources

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-102016-061138· OSTI ID:1351318

Greenblatt, Jeffery B. ^[1]; Brown, Nicholas R. ^[2]; Slaybaugh, Rachel ^[3]; Wilks, Theresa ^[4]; Stewart, Emma ^[1]; McCoy, Sean T. ^[5]

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1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
2. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
3. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
4. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
5. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Here, we review future global demand for electricity and major technologies positioned to supply itwith minimal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: renewables (wind, solar, water, geothermal and biomass), nuclear fission, and fossil power with CO₂ capture and sequestration. Two breakthrough technologies (space solar power and nuclear fusion) are discussed as exciting but uncertain additional options for low net GHG emissions (“low-carbon”) electricity generation. Grid integration technologies (monitoring and forecasting of transmission and distribution systems, demand-side load management, energy storage, and load balancing with low-carbon fuel substitutes) are also discussed. For each topic, recent historical trends and future prospects are reviewed, along with technical challenges, costs and other issues as appropriate. While no technology represents an ideal solution, their strengths can be enhanced by deployment in combination, along with grid integration that forms a critical set of enabling technologies to assure a reliable and robust future low-carbon electricity system.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1351318
• Report Number(s): LBNL-1007260; ir:1007260
• Journal Information: Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Vol. 42, Issue 1; ISSN 1543-5938
• Publisher: Annual Reviews
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
low-carbon electricity
renewable
nuclear
CO2
capture and sequestration
grid integration
breakthrough technology