THE REAL COST OF RENEWABLES
Is "green" energy really environmentally friendly?
Three important considerations when establishing a society's energy infrastructure are affordabillity, reliability, and environmental performance.
When environmental concerns become all-ecompassing, people will suffer from intermittent and expensive energy. In a country such as Canada, when winter temperatures plunge well below freezing, reliable energy is crucial for our survival. If we "decarbonize" our economy, we can expect to return to standards of living from at least 150 years ago.
To reduce emissions by 100% by 2050, this would amount to
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Phasing out almost all fossil fuels
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Electrifying heating and transportation
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Enough renewable electricity (e.g., wind and solar) generation and electricity storage to meet demand and offset emissions
And the price tag? Canada's electricity rates are fairly reasonable compared to other countries in the EU that use significant amounts of renewables. We can see in the graph below that as the percentage of electricity generation from wind and solar increases, so does electricity costs. Ireland, for instance, pays a whooping 44 cents USD per kWh, and they have a significant fraction of their power (42.8%) from wind and solar.
Currently, Canada sits at an average of 12 cents USD per kWh with 9.4% of our electricity generated from wind and solar. If we implement these "green" strategies to increase our renewables, it is guaranteed that our electricity prices will skyrocket. Wind and solar are expensive, and even without the past evidence from other countriees, we can calculate these expenses based on the rare earth minerals required to create wind turbines and solar panels, in addition to the vast amounts of backup power or battery storage systems required when the sun doesn't shine or wind doesn't blow.
Solar and Wind Power
Solar and wind power are highly intermittent, with solar relying on the sun shining for long stretches of time, which is not at all feasible in the long Canadian winters, and wind requiring steady airflow without much disruption. The graphs below illustrate the monthly solar and wind capactiy contribution values, with percents indicating the amount of power that we can expect to be delivered compared to its rated capacity during peak periods. The low capacity values of both wind and solar illustrate just how inefficient these energy sources are. They are nowhere near what is required to reliably power our society.
Moreover, the materials required for solar and wind power technologies are unable to properly recycled. Turbine blades are made of fibreglass and cannot be recycled or repurposed, so end up in landfills. Most last only about 15 years, half their promised 30-year lifespan.
Photovoltaic solar panel waste has also grown in Canada and is expected to grow even greater, reaching up to 650,000 tonnes in 2050:
o 2020: 700 tonnes
o 2030: 13,000 tonnes
o 2040: 150,000 tonnes
o 2050: 650,000 tonnes
Is this "green" energy?
Next Step...
Net Zero
Is it even possible?
