ENERGY: Renewable works

Re “Renewable: not full solution” (The Press, Feb. 28): Stanford University did the research on this years ago and found the entire world’s energy needs could easily be supplied by solar or wind alone.

Battery storage costs are dropping exponentially each year just as solar and energy costs are (scientificamerican.com). Both solar and wind energy costs will keep dropping until they are “effectively free” by 2030 (UBS, Financial Times).

The entire country of Scotland aims to run on 100% solar/wind energy this year.

Colorado, Arizona and California have already signed long-term contracts for power costing from 1.7 cents/wWh to 4 cents/wHh (that’s with storage costs included). The average cost for power in the U.S. is 12 cents/kWh.

Plummeting battery costs over the past five years have made electric cars as cheap or cheaper than gas guzzlers (BNEF).

The fossil fuel industry is projected to collapse by 2030 (forbes.com). It will be replaced by cheaper clean energy just as natural gas replaced coal within a decade. Now solar and wind are so much cheaper, big investors are fleeing natural gas as well as coal and oil, divesting $12 trillion last year with $32 trillion more pledged.

Fossil fuels investments lost BlackRock more than $90 billion over the past decade during a roaring bull market. They divested this January. Hottest stock today? Tesla, which is up $115 just in the first two months of this year.

PETE KUNTZ

Northglenn, Colo.