Installation of wind power equipment at Thimphu solar container communication station

Can a solar-wind system meet future energy demands?

Accelerating energy transition towards renewables is central to net-zero emissions. However, building a global power system dominated by solar and wind energy presents immense challenges. Here, we demonstrate the potential of a globally interconnected solar-wind system to meet future electricity demands.

Is solar-wind deployment suitable?

We evaluate the suitability of solar-wind deployment focusing on three aspects: solar/wind exploitability, accessibility, and interconnectability, as elaborated in Supplementary Table S3. ‘Exploitability’ pertains to the restrictions dictated by land use and terrain slope for installing PV systems and wind turbines.

Are solar and wind resources interconnected?

Theoretically, the potential of solar and wind resources on Earth vastly surpasses human demand 33, 34. In our pursuit of a globally interconnected solar-wind system, we have focused solely on the potentials that are exploitable, accessible, and interconnectable (see “Methods”).

Does land use affect solar PV and wind turbine deployment?

Constraints on solar PV and wind turbine deployment due to land use and slope are based on the study of Wang et al. 4. Hourly data on surface solar radiation, surface air temperature, and wind speed at 100 m above the ground level are acquired from the ERA5 reanalysis 50, which has a spatial resolution of 0.25°.