John Newman
University of California, Berkeley
Renewable fuels are a long-term solution to the world’s energy needs. It is a significant challenge to find efficient ways to harness solar and wind energy that are cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Because renewable sources are intermittent, energy storage is essential to renewable fuel production. In this work, we discuss modular approaches to making solar fuels. We use back-of-the-envelope calculations to evaluate production schemes, including energy storage with batteries. A relationship that predicts the required sales price of energy storage is also discussed.