100% Green Energy is Impossible! The Truth about Renewable Energy

Posted on March 6, 2024

Is 100% Green Energy Possible?

The fight against climate change demands urgent action, and transitioning to green energy is a cornerstone. While fossil fuels have powered our world for decades, their harmful environmental impact is undeniable. This raises the critical question: can we achieve a future powered entirely by renewable energy sources like solar and wind?

This article delves into the potential and challenges of achieving 100% clean energy. We’ll explore the abundant resources offered by renewables, delve into the hurdles they face, and discuss alternative approaches to combatting climate change.

Key Takeaways

Currently, renewables are often more expensive than fossil fuels due to upfront costs and infrastructure development.

Transitioning entire energy systems and ensuring reliable power supply from renewables requires significant infrastructure development and technological advancements.

Some renewable sources, like wind and solar, depend on specific geographical conditions, limiting their widespread applicability.

Manufacturing, operation, and maintenance of renewable systems can generate waste, impacting the goal of complete clean energy.

What is green energy?

Green energy comes from natural sources that are replenished faster than used. Sources like sunlight and wind are constantly renewing themselves. There are plenty of renewable energy sources all around us.
On the other hand, fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas take millions of years to form and are not renewable. When these fuels are burned for energy, they emit harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
Using renewable energy creates much fewer emissions compared to burning fossil fuels. Switching from fossil fuels, the primary source of emissions, to renewable energy is crucial for addressing the climate crisis.

How do we generate green energy?

Solar power: Utilized for generating energy, heat, and fuels. Prices have significantly decreased, making them more accessible.

Wind power: Utilizes the energy from moving air through wind turbines. The potential for wind energy surpasses worldwide electricity production. Prime wind locations can be remote, and offshore wind shows excellent promise.

Geothermal power: Utilizes the Earth’s internal heat to produce electricity. The technology for producing electricity is well-developed and dependable.

Hydropower: Uses the energy from flowing water through dams or run-of-river systems. It is currently the primary source of renewable energy for electricity. However, infrastructure can impact ecosystems, and small-scale hydro may be a more sustainable option.

Ocean energy: Harnesses wave and tidal power to generate electricity or heat. Its theoretical capacity surpasses the current energy demands of humanity. On the other hand, bioenergy is derived from organic sources such as wood, crops, or waste. It is mainly used for cooking, heating, and power in rural regions.

How do we generate green energy in the USA?

More than 20% of electricity in the United States comes from renewable sources, and this percentage is steadily rising. The breakdown of renewable energy sources in 2022 shows that wind accounted for 10.3%, hydropower for 6.0%, solar power for 3.4%, biomass for 1.2%, and geothermal power for 0.4% of total electricity production.

In a landmark achievement, renewable energy generation surpassed coal in 2022. Projections indicate a 75% increase in solar energy generation and an 11% increase in wind energy generation by 2025.

The United States has abundant renewable energy resources to produce more than 100 times the electricity consumed annually. Explore the potential of renewable energy in the United States further.

How dirty is clean energy?

E-waste refers to discarded electrical or electronic equipment, whether it’s still functioning or not. This category encompasses a wide range of products such as computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines, particularly those at the end of their useful life.

Renewable waste is garbage gathered from damaged or destroyed renewable systems, such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Waste from solar energy systems includes materials that are no longer usable for producing electricity, such as solar panels. Between 2016 and 2050, it is estimated that the amount of solar waste produced will be between 54 and 160 million tonnes. This is a relatively small amount compared to electronic waste, coal ash, and municipal waste, making it essential to consider this when discussing the disposal of solar panels.

Although around 90% of turbines can be recycled easily, their blades pose a challenge as they are constructed from fiberglass and epoxy resin. This strong material is complex and costly to decompose. As a result, most blades either end up in landfills or are burned for disposal.

Why you can’t force adoption of green energy

Despite their potential for clean energy, large-scale wind and solar projects face growing opposition from local communities. These projects raise concerns about noise pollution, wildlife deaths, land-use changes, visual disruptions, and potential long-term environmental impacts.

Local governments are increasingly pushing back against these projects, citing the lack of regulations requiring proper decommissioning and remediation once the projects reach their end-of-life. The emphasis lies on local communities having a say in these decisions and protecting their rights.

Current permitting processes, including environmental regulations, are crucial safeguards for stakeholder rights and maintaining a free society. Achieving ambitious climate goals, however, requires a trade-off, potentially sacrificing these rights. Ultimately, there is an argument that voters are unlikely to support policies that give up their rights for uncertain climate benefits.

Optimal places often impact wildlife.

Renewable energy generation frequently results in the destruction of habitats and harm to wildlife. Despite regulations, these sites can still negatively impact animals. For instance, solar panels require significant space and can displace animals from their natural habitat.

The construction and placement of energy production have an impact on biodiversity in several ways:

Loss of habitats: Energy sources encroach on the habitats of plants and animals, taking away their living space.
Harm to wildlife: Renewable energy sources can harm wildlife, with wind turbines threatening birds and bats due to their powerful spinning.
Land degradation: The construction of renewable energy sources can damage the land’s natural layout and destroy plant life.
Forced displacement: When renewable energy sources are built in their natural habitats, animals are forced to relocate.

Why is 100 percent green energy impossible?

Individual nations’ transition from one energy source to another will require significant time for new power plants and infrastructure.

Shifting to renewable energy is not just a matter of a few people opting for a different way to power their homes—it entails entire corporations reassessing how they generate profits and where they acquire their energy from. It would necessitate countless residences, schools, businesses, government buildings, and transportation hubs to modify their operations—and this process does not happen overnight.

100% clean energy also means no fossil fuel is used within a renewable system. All renewable systems should come from renewable sources, such as recyclable materials or ecological substances, to ensure that harm is not done even before the system’s birth. Next, once, for example, a solar panel system or wind turbine shuts down or needs maintenance, no fossil fuel such as grease or gas is used to fix the machine. Lastly, in the event of the destruction of these systems, they should be 100% recyclable and can be used to manufacture future renewable systems. However, this is not always the case.

Drawbacks to renewables

Cost: Currently, it is more expensive than fossil fuels due to equipment, installation, and maintenance.
Indirect pollution: Manufacturing and transportation of equipment can create pollution.
Geographic limitations: Wind, hydro, and solar rely on specific geographical conditions.
Biomass limitations: Requires significant vegetation and can release harmful gases.
Storage challenges: Requires large batteries for storing excess energy.
Space requirements: Wind farms and solar plants require significant land.
Lack of awareness: The public needs more education about renewable energy options.

Other limitations to preventing 100% clean energy

Ultimately, the primary obstacle to advancing renewable energy is its cost and logistical challenges. As the infrastructure for renewable energy expands, we expect to see it become more popular and widely used.

While there are more sustainable energy options than harmful ones, fossil fuels are cheaper, more dependable, and have a more extended history. Many environmental experts believe the use of green energy will increase and become more accessible. This will require a significant increase in awareness about renewable energy sources and a global willingness to invest.

The optimal situation would be one where renewable energy sources are as cost-effective and reliable as other, less eco-friendly options. Until such a transformation occurs, the most responsible choice for the environment is to utilize renewable energy offered by energy companies. As more individuals choose to use these businesses, the request for wind power, geothermal energy, and solar power will rise, increasing the availability of clean energy on the grid.

What it would take to get to 100% clean energy

To reach 100% clean energy, the world needs to quickly transition to clean energy solutions, including wind, water, and solar, to save our climate and clean up our air. This wind, water, and solar (WWS) solution calls for providing electricity and heat for all sectors, including transportation, heating/cooling, industry, and electricity with 100% wind, water (including geothermal), and solar power. Energy storage is also an essential piece of the puzzle, enabling clean energy for use around the clock and boosting energy reliability.

However, transitioning to renewables is not enough. The world must also ensure that these renewable systems’ manufacturing, usage, repair, and destruction are 100% waste-free. If forms of waste are emitted, they should be 100% recyclable for a better and more sustainable process. If, in one way, the production of green energy equates to waste and harmful environmental effects, then it is not 100% renewable.

What we should do instead

Instead of being 100% renewable, we can be carbon neutral. Carbon neutrality is balancing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted and absorbed by carbon sinks. This can also mean completely eliminating all carbon emissions. Carbon sinks, such as forests, soils, and oceans, are natural systems that absorb more carbon than they release.

Carbon neutrality and net zero are closely related terms. In both instances, organizations strive to decrease and offset their carbon emissions. While carbon neutrality involves offsetting the overall carbon emissions, net-zero carbon entails not emitting any carbon from the start, eliminating the need for carbon capture or offsetting. However, this is not always the case. In manufacturing, usage, repair, and destruction of renewable, waste like carbon dioxide is still emitted. Furthermore, having that essence of being carbon neutral can offset our carbon emissions and retain the overall carbon levels, if not lessen them.

As we progress into the future, we might find that technology that will remove waste from renewable systems and see that 100% clean energy we aspire to achieve. However, without those advancements, we might need to stay carbon-neutral.

Conclusion

While achieving 100% clean energy may not be possible immediately due to the above limitations, actively pursuing renewable energy development remains crucial. Increasing public awareness, investing in research and development, and transitioning towards carbon neutrality are essential to mitigating climate change and fostering a sustainable future.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Renewable Energy

Why is renewable energy essential?

Renewable energy is crucial in reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, helping combat climate change and promote sustainability.