Top 4 Myths About Renewable Energy

There is much debate about the issue of Renewable energy –vs- Fossil Fuel – particularly for those skeptical about the risks of climate change resulting from man-made greenhouse gasses.

This has given rise to many myths about renewable energy.

Find these myths being busted below:

 

MYTH 1- Renewable Energy is Expensive:

In the case of solar and wind energy, all of the costs are in producing the equipment (and maintaining it in the case of wind). Once built there is no fuel.

More importantly, there are no hidden costs resulting from pollution. Electricity produced from coal is particularly polluting (and Ireland still uses the Moneypoint coal-fired station).

If (as we do) you believe that climate change is, or will be, caused by man-made greenhouse gases, the long term costs of energy from fossil fuels is truly enormous.

 

MYTH 2- Renewable Energy do not deliver 24*7 :

It is widely believed that renewable energy production is dependent on weather conditions and its production can vary depending on cases such as wind speed, solar power etc. But the reality is that in most cases, various forms of renewable energy are integrated and thus the variability can be adjusted accordingly. This is increasingly true if you add more solar power to the Irish grid where it complements wind and hydro power especially well, but with large grid interconnection, there is always a mix of sources available.

 

MYTH 3- Renewable Energy is Not a Reality Yet:

Though renewable energy is working in a full fledged manner in many countries, some refuse to consider it as anything more than fiction. Some data that can bust this myth:

Germany gets its 25% of electricity from renewable energy sources, which aims to power the country almost entirely on renewable sources by 2050.

Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Denmark are some of the other countries which are working towards attaining 100% renewable energy.

 

MYTH 4 – It takes more carbon or energy to make a solar panel or wind turbine than it produces in its lifetime

This simply is not true. Firstly, if that were true, the cost of the energy would be reflected in the product cost, and it could never repay its cost in its lifetime.

If you study the carbon emissions caused by the production of steel, aluminum, copper and other component parts of both wind and solar, you will find that the carbon emissions and fuel emissions saved by the product make up for its production within about 1 year.

 

Conclusion:

The internet is littered with misinformation, often given by well-intentioned people. But proper research will show that renewable energy is the only long-term way we can maintain our lifestyles. And even if you do not believe in climate change resulting from greenhouse gases, we can all understand that oil and gas are finite resources which cannot possibly power civilization forever.

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