Pumped Hydro Energy Storage across Australia, page-118

While someone could make a major breakthrough in something like fusion I reckon they better hurry up before better renewable technology takes them out of the game .

Just improvements in the tech we have now will do the job I think .

The main issue we have at the moment is storage . Even with fossil fuel generation , if we had very large energy storage now and we were able to time shift I think we could reduce our emissions considerably .

As you know there is plenty of research going on in the battery space . I think a lithium style battery will still be the choice for transport although I expect those batteries to be three times as efficient with quick charging and no saftey risks within the next decade .

http://www.nova.org.au/technology-future/batteries-future

Complementing that will be solar cells that are better . It appears that much more efficient solar cells commercially available are just around the corner . In a similar time to battery development I think that could mean that houses could really go off grid in the next five years . The virtual power station is already a thing but imagine the effect if it's output per house doubled in the next few years ?

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4803

And then there's flow batteries . Big , safe , simple , long life , restorable , fully depletable . I am a bit surprised that more hasn't happened with them yet . Particularly in the grid storage area . Not as sexy as a powerwall but then again , neither is cfps .

http://newatlas.com/brine4power-largest-redox-flow-battery/50405/