With rolling blackouts threatened by extreme temperatures and wildfires across the globe, heat, climate change, renewable energy, and the energy infrastructure are all grabbing headlines.
Elon Musk believes that the solution to a far greener future is already here. In energy-related tweets this week, Tesla CEO tried to make things clearer by asserting that the world only needs solar, wind, and battery storage.
“The primary solution to a sustainable energy future is solar/wind with batteries for when the sun doesn’t shine, or the wind doesn’t blow, interconnected with conventional high voltage lines,” Musk tweeted this week. “No unknown technology is needed!”
Of course, Musk’s automobile venture Tesla is highly involved in solar energy and battery storage technologies, so his views are not surprising. And, whether or not there is a financial incentive, he is correct that a renewable grid is a laudable pursuit.
Although the billionaire hasn’t entirely ruled out fusion, he seems to think there are now more reasonable options.
“It’s cool and for sure can and should be done,” he tweeted last year after a team of MIT researchers announced their compact fusion reactor was “very likely to work.”
“But I suspect its best case will be more costly than wind & solar (aka big fusion reactor in sky),” he added at the time.
Several billionaires, such as Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, are optimistic about a greener future powered by fusion reactors. Bill Gates, the creator of Microsoft, and Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin, also have invested in fusion technology.
However, the practicality of fusion energy is still being debated. Scientists claim they are coming closer to achieving fusion, a safe and sustainable energy source. However, so far, reality has left much to be desired.
