We Need More Clean Energy Than We Already Have by 2050

The global economy will require somewhere between 183,000 and 203,000 terawatt hours of energy by 2050. Even with the most optimistic growth estimates for wind, solar, and hydroelectric renewables that I could fathom, we shouldn't expect them to provide much more than 34,000 terwatt hours of additional supply by 2050. But remember, if we can figure out how to go beyond just replacing fossil fuels and find even more energy than we have now, we can usher in a gigantic improvement in our quality of life and accelerate the pace of human advancement.