The proof is in: Investing in green technologies is said to be the solution to the growing demand for energy. But many of us believe these resolutions are doomed to failure.
Can choosing ‘greener’ energy for our home make a difference? Does it cost more? And what about old king coal?
Read below as we’ve grouped some of the most prevalent myths about Renewable Energy Services, revealing why they are just that – myths that don’t stand up to reality.
Myth 1
Harnessing renewables energy consumes more energy than it delivers.
It is concluded that renewable technologies consume more energy than it delivers. Renewables take less time to generate energy as conventional technologies. But solar technology is an exception and this is often taken as evidence that all renewables cannot pay back the generated energy under a consistent time frame. Yes, it is true that it may take longer for solar energy to payback the input, but it gives infinite energy, it is because there’s no major structural changes are needed for safety or economic reasons. Since, solar PVs can serve for 60 or more years, while the useful lifetime of conventional technologies is usually 10 to 20 years.
Myth 2
RENEWABLE ENERGY CAN’T Provide ELECTRICITY 24/7
Well, the solution to generating a continuous supply of electricity from Renewable Energy is to have a mix of sources: solar and wind power, natural gas, and anaerobic digestion plants. By having a combination of sources which are distributed over a wide area, this will ensure a steady supply of energy.
It goes like this when the sun goes down, the wind production frequently increases, and as the winds drop in one region, they pick up in another. While peak times, biogas and natural gas can support in electricity demand.
Nowadays, several countries and regions are triumphantly generating a significant percentage of electricity from renewables, showing that variability in demand can be achieved through best practices.
Myth 3
RENEWABLE ENERGY IS BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
There is a judgment that renewables have harmful environmental effects, activities such as manufacturing, transporting and constructing renewable energy technology, which involves greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and land use.
The truth is all renewables only emit between 14 to 134 times lower than their fossil-fuelled counterparts. Also, renewables do not emit any air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxides (NOx), heavy metal, dust, ashes, or black carbon.
Myth 4
Renewable energy is limitless.
The sun and wind specifically have no limits. But, the device used to provide energy from these sources needs materials that are not readily available, have to be mined, and consume water and energy inputs that may not be sustainable. Rare earth used in wind turbine technologies, rare metals used in photovoltaics, and high-density batteries, are all non-renewable sources that can provide bottlenecks in the future. It is essential to guarantee general resource productivity as renewable energy technologies develop in the future.
MYTH 5
RENEWABLE ENERGY IS NOT AFFORDABLE
In recent years, the cost linked with installing wind and solar energy has plummeted. Now, Renewable Energy gives the most economically sound solution for new capacity in several countries and regions.
There are no costs for wind and solar energy; it is because sunlight and wind are free. Unlike coal, it still needs to buy fuel to generate a coal-fired power plant, but solar and wind energy don’t have input costs like that – sunlight and wind are free.
Coal and nuclear are types of energy that have huge costs that are not displayed on the price tag upfront. We intended the costs of water pollution, health impacts, and climate change.
Sources:
https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/downloads/path-sunshot-environmental-benefits-solar
https://www.ren21.net/what-are-the-current-trends-in-renewable-energy/
