Director of the NYU SPS Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, Amy Jaffe, recently published a piece in The Wall Street Journal, analyzing the drawbacks and limitations to decarbonanize energy consumption by shifting to electricity. In the article, "The Five Things Keeping Us From Going All-Electric," Jaffe describes the limitations of electrification through cheaper alternatives to difficulty in access of land.
Jaffe summarizes that while electrification has several positive outcomes for energy security, it is not feasible to go all-electric:
"But it’s also clear that a goal of electrifying everything is neither possible nor desired, and putting all our power eggs in one basket would be a fool’s errand. Innovation is by no means isolated to the electric domain. Many forward-looking businesses are experimenting with new ways to squeeze emissions out of industrial processes, and to replace fossil fuels in transport and building applications, in some cases with assistance from governments. Power to them. Rather than naysay what’s not electricity, let’s hope they unlock superior solutions."
Read more from Amy Jaffe's article here.