There is an article in the current month [ November 2009] Scientific American magazine that explores the costs and opportunities for combining various renewable energy sources to supply community energy needs.
It is worth reading........as the exercise indicates that fossil fuel power will be more expensive than renewables by 2020. That is 10 years away...........10 years only.
By combining various renewable energy sources and using geothermal and hydro for baseload power, plus optimal use of wind and solar at various periods during the 24 hour cycle, renewables win on both cost and carbon emissions. Geothermal in Australia has been the "ugly sister" so far.........and problems with the Geodynamics wells have not helped, although they are probably getting on top of that by now. But geothermal in Australia does have enormous potential.
That renewables can meet demand is stunning, and tends to cast serious doubts on the naysayers who have doubted the efficacy of renewables.
The serious questions are more now about public policy, investment and convincing governments to actually change the way they do business in the electrical energy systems. Oh, and not to listen to the fossil fuel lobby [mainly coal for electricity production, not steel]
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