Given a blank slate and, like a computer game, asked to create an energy system from scratch, the player would today construct a system radically different from what might have been chosen 20 or even ten years ago. There is simply more in the tool kit. However, the system's elements would depend on the game's goals. If the yardstick was low emissions alone, a mix of hydro, on and offshore wind, solar and maybe a few nukes would suffice. If the criteria was cost and the reward counted in dollars rather than the absence of CO2, then one might go for hydro, until exhausted, and a large stack of coal plants.
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