Can the U.S. produce 100% if its electricity from renewable sources within 10 years? It's a question of scale.
SRI International's Ripu Malhotra breaks down the problem, starting with a measure he calls the "cubic mile of oil," which is about how much oil the world consumes in a year.
To replace the U.S. portion of that cubic mile, it would need to build 400,000 1.65MW wind turbines at a rate of 112 per day. Or install 158,000 2.1KW rooftop PV panel systems per day. Or build 9,400 100MW solar thermal power plants at the rate of 2.5 per day.
Energy consumers cannot save or conserve any more than they're consuming. To master the challenge is to master its scale.
