As somebody who pays close attention to the energy transition and decarbonization, arguably one of the most important technological revolutions, I am surprised that some things still need to be explained. It seems obvious to me that there is simply no comparison between an energy source that has to be extracted from the ground at great environmental and economic cost, only to burn it, leaving behind harmful emissions that we can’t avoid breathing in, and on top of which is barely 30% or less efficient, and another that is limitless, requires little or no need for maintenance, and produces no harmful emissions.
The differences are obvious and very important, especially in the case of photovoltaic solar energy. A 30-year longitudinal study in the European Union shows that solar panels maintain their efficiency at rates much higher than expected over time. In France, panels installed in 1992, more than 32 years ago, continue to function at 80% efficiency. Another study on the degradation of more than 8GW of solar panels in the United States by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows minimal degradation, and that in addition, the impact of possible damage caused by extreme weather events is also much lower than initially expected.
Based on this kind of evidence, it makes sense for a country like Spain to do what most other nations are doing: build more and more oversize renewable installations at the expense of other investments initially proposed for generation through much more costly fossil fuels, or worse, nuclear energy. With the exception of a few engineers in the pay of the oil lobby, it is clear that we do not need anything like 100% fossil fuel energy generation “in case” the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow. Similarly, the environmental fears associated with used solar panels have come to nothing: 95% of the materials used in their manufacture are recycled.
Renewables are proving to be more beneficial than we could ever have hoped, while the arguments of those who want to keep burning fossil fuels synthetics are more and more outdated. It isn’t hard to understand the mindset of those who want to continue selling us oil and gas to burn so that we have to keep buying from them, but it is even easier to understand that the future lies in building infrastructure for plants that need nothing more than wind or sun to produce energy, and that will do so reliably for decades and decades.
Now all that remains is to sideline the people either do not understood this, or refuse to, from the decision-making process, and get on with doing things as we should be, thus creating a future of abundant and unlimited energy, so cheap that it is not even worth measuring it. And if you don’t believe me, look at the numbers.
—
This post was previously published on Enrique Dans’ blog.
***
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: iStock
