From Guest Blogger Daniel Rogers: The Truth About Renewable Energy Resources
People like to think of renewable energy as something new that needs to fight for its place in human society. That is nonsense. One of the oldest examples of implementing renewable energy can be traced all the way back to 200 BC when we could already find windmills pumping water in Ancient China. So, if there is anything new and intrusive here, that would be the fossil fuel. This, however, is just one of the interesting facts that slipped of the public radar and made renewable energy’s road to mass adoption a little bumpier than it was supposed to be. Let us see if we can right some of these wrongs, and remind ourselves to some simple truths about renewable energy sources.
There Are More Than Enough Renewable Energy Sources
The myth that renewable energy sources are not potent enough to meet world’s energy demands and make the 100% transition possible is just one of the popular myths used by the critics to slow down renewable energy’s breakthrough. The truth is that the only thing lacking is the extent to which we exploit these sources. On their own, they are more than capable to satisfy humanity’s need for power. Take for example some of these facts:
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Only one wind turbine produces enough electricity to power up to 300 regular homes.
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If it could be properly harnessed, the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth’s surface in just one hour could be capable of meeting world’s current energy demands for an entire year.
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According to some surveys, the world’s resource base of geothermal energy is larger than the resource base of oil, gas, uranium, and coal combined.
We could go on, but it should be obvious that judging by these examples, that fossil fuels do not make sense even if they are used as the backup energy sources.
Renewable Energy Creates Jobs
Another very popular myth regarding this topic is that broad implementation of renewable energy would deprive people employed in the fossil fuel-based energy production from their earnings. In reality, studies have shown that renewable energy creates three times as many jobs as for example oil and gas. Furthermore, the quality of the jobs created in this kind of economy is much better than the one featured in the economy driven by fossil fuels, and the median wages are 13% higher.
Renewable Energy Can Make up For Power Wastes
Whether we are doing that consciously or not, we are constantly wasting energy. Take for example extensions. According to people form Gasweld, every extension lead loses 10-13 volts for every 10 meters in length, which translates into the equivalent power wastes due to heating. This may seem benign enough, but just imagine countless kilometers of extensions in use across the entire globe, and you will see that, when it piles up, the price we pay for these small wastes can be quite heavy. Renewable energy is not only the more cost-effective electricity option, but, due to lower marginal costs, it pulls down the price of all the electricity on the market and makes these unavoidable loses less punishing.
Renewable Energy is Clean
Last but not the least, let us not forget the main reason why fossil fuels are so devastating – Not because they cost more, not because they will, eventually, run out, but because the tool they take on the nature. Namely, 25% of global greenhouse gas emission comes from burning coal, oil and natural gas for electricity. Unlike these fossil fuels, renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower do not directly emit these gases, which are widely believed to be the culprits behind global warming.
As we can see, the benefits renewable energy is bringing on the table are hard to ignore. All we have to do now is to make sure these facts reach the widest possible attention and make support for renewable energy even stronger.
From the Gasweld linked article about extension cords:
“What most people don’t know is that an extension lead CAN [emphasis mine] lose up to 10-13 volts for every 10 meters in length.”
From the post:
“According to people form Gasweld, EVERY [emphasis mine] extension lead loses 10-13 volts for every 10 meters in length, which translates into the equivalent power wastes due to heating.”
That is NOT what the Gasweld article states! The word “every” is not used in the Gasweld article. Rather, the word “can” is used. That is a very important difference. Moreover, most extension cords are considerably shorter than 10 meters (30+ feet). It should be obvious that if the wire size of the extension lead (cord) is large enough for the current being carried the voltage drop will be considerably less than 10-13 volts unless the cord is unusually long such as perhaps at construction sites where cords longer than 30 feet are sometimes used to power a tool that draws a lot of current.
We have no way to know whether this carelessness is typical of the author of the post but if it is, it calls into question the reliability of everything the author writes.
There is little doubt that we could change completely to renewable energy sources, but because of their intermittent nature, using current technology the cost of storage to make the provided power reliable would make it impractical and result in a rebellion.
That said, we must move away as quickly as possible from using fossil fuels and, with currently available technology, that gives us little choice but to rely on nuclear power although that COULD change.
Daniel,
It’s always difficult to find a polite response to earnest advocates and stentorian Preachers.
The massive assumptions, leaps of faith, and distortion of reality in your sermon portray deep conviction and sincerity, but little in the way of realistic analysis.
In fine to have a wish list, or even a Utopian vision, but please stop trying to pass such badly thought through ideas as practical reality.
Dear Frank and Marco,
I thank you for your honest opinion and suggestions. However, I don’t really care whether you think this is article is Utopian or not. In order to be heard you have to actually use your voice. It’s a machinery which inspires people to act.