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Project Drawdown - How familiar are we with the platform and the science behind it?

As above really, how familiar are the IET Membership with the workings of project drawdown? 

As a discussion starter, here's an intro from one of their listed solutions 

"Onshore wind turbines are rapidly being incorporated into electricity infrastructure around the world. An increase from 4.4 percent of world electricity generation to 20–27 percent by 2050 could reduce emissions by 46.95–143.56 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases. Net first costs to implement are US$0.92–1.89 trillion with lifetime net operational savings of US$3.77–9.83 trillion. These are conservative estimates, however. Costs are falling, technology is improving, and capacity is increasing to generate more electricity at the same or lower cost."

Onshore Wind Turbines | Project Drawdown

Curious to get into what we all think of the platform, and if the wider community knows about this potentially great resource to share around to others looking at potential climate solutions.

  • The elephant in the room here is this little section at the end of the document:

    'One concern with wind electricity is intermittency. Wind speeds vary on a seasonal and hourly basis, requiring back-up power or storage at certain times to meet electricity demand and potentially investments and improvements in grid infrastructure and the flexibility of power systems. Both studies and real-world experience suggest these investments are manageable and cost less than fossil fuels when externalities (health and environmental impacts) are taken into account. Further, regions that do not yet have a centralized electric system designed around fossil use could easily design a flexible or distributed electricity system to take advantage of this resource.'

    Until this is taken into account the rest of their proposal and calculations are of little use.

    A brief article on the problems of adding intermittency to existing power systems:

    There seems to be a belief that increasing the level of wind and solar projects will make subsequent progress with these resources easier. Nothing could be further from the truth.

    The Penetration Problem. Part I: Wind and Solar – The More You Do, The Harder It Gets | Climate Etc. (judithcurry.com)