25 Terrawatts of clean, renewable energy

25 terrawatts by 2050 - without carbon. That's the goal. 

In fact, that's the reality. 

This morning's presentation by Lew Milford, President of the Clean Energy Group, focused on innovation and climate technology and the ways in which we have to think about the challenge of 25 terrawatts of zero carbon energy by 2050. Today, the world uses about 12 terrawatts of energy annually, so the simple math is a doubling of total energy output in 40 years, but without the resources we have, thus far, relied on for electricity, heating, cooling, transportation, manufacturing, and agricultural production. The scope is breathtaking, and the challenge is huge. But, the premise is relatively straight forward: tap into the collective ingenuity of mankind by employing the non-linear, open source power of innovation represented in the world's scientists, engineers, policy makers, and information technology developers. The open source model of innovation is currently undergoing a renaissance anyway, but until now, it has not effectively been applied to energy - a traditionally conservative and relatively slow industry. 

There is also no international institution currently charged with organizing global technology innovation on climate and energy, and without a mobilization in this area, national governments have become stuck - searching for fast and scalable solutions but without a breakthrough in developing, deploying, and advancing some of the most promising technologies in ways that will allow for commercial advancement and price reductions overtime. 

What we need is a new global technology infrastructure among countries -- one that will orchestrate the process of bottom up development effectively and quickly. If you haven't heard this idea before, you should read Climate Choreography. The challenges are immense, but the models for non-linear innovation can provide a pathway, and a huge and timely opportunity.