Could a bottleneck slow the energy transition?

Low-carbon energy technologies are growing, but bottlenecks could slow the energy transition at a time when the rollout of clean technologies needs to accelerate.

Is grid interconnection still a bottleneck?

“It is promising to see the unprecedented interest and investment in new energy and storage development across the U.S., but the latest queue data also affirm that grid interconnection remains a persistent bottleneck,” said Joseph Rand, an Energy Policy Researcher at Berkeley Lab, and lead author of the study.

What is energy storage technology?

Proposes an optimal scheduling model built on functions on power and heat flows. Energy Storage Technology is one of the major components of renewable energy integration and decarbonization of world energy systems. It significantly benefits addressing ancillary power services, power quality stability, and power supply reliability.

What is a bottleneck & how will it affect the future?

The highest-risk bottleneck is projected to be in materials—specifically the supply of rare earth metals for magnets, with severe imbalances in magnets for predominantly offshore wind expected by the end of this decade. Medium-risk bottlenecks could arise in land, infrastructure, and investment.

Can unlocks help address energy bottlenecks?

Although the identified bottlenecks pose major risks for a successful, fast, and orderly energy transition, there are also multiple unlocks that are available today to resolve them and thus mitigate the risks of a delayed transition. When assessing these unlocks, we found that they can help address 11 out of the 16 bottlenecks.

Are energy bottlenecks a risk for achieving net-zero commitments?

In our energy transition scenario that would achieve existing climate commitments, two-thirds of the potential bottlenecks assessed run a risk of delaying the path to net-zero commitments. Around a quarter of these potential bottlenecks are classified as high risk, without unlocks identified to date.