Renewable energy really means anti-establishment energy, or politically correct energy. The energy is usually electricity that is distributed via the electric grid. The source of energy has to be “natural.”
Solar and wind are the most popular types of renewable energy. Hydroelectric energy derived from a big dam on a river might seem ideal, except that the promoters of renewable energy don’t like dams. If you can figure out how to generate hydroelectricity without a dam, you can call it renewable. Nuclear energy might seem like a good candidate except that nuclear energy is too scary and too good a fundraising tool to accept as renewable.
Solar energy costs about seven times as much as electricity from coal or natural gas. Most of the cost is hidden in subsidies. If that truth were not obscured by massive propaganda, hardly anyone would build solar energy or wind energy farms.
The renewable energy promoters are politically successful. About half the U.S. states have renewable portfolio laws that mandate the amount of renewable electricity they use. For example, California requires that 60% of its electricity be renewable by 2030. That has increased and will increase the cost of electricity in California. Many electric customers pay more than 50 cents per kilowatt-hour.
According to the promoters of renewable energy, it is well-suited for solving a multitude of imaginary problems. The number-one imaginary problem is global warming, rechristened “climate change” when the globe failed to warm.
The Sierra Club is a leading promoter of renewable energy. This is the pitch on one of their websites promoting renewable energy:
We are facing monumental threats to our planet’s future. We are fighting back with every tool at our disposal — but to face these challenges, we need your support. Make your gift today.
Even the New York Times has become critical of the Sierra Club, for reasons described in this video.
Solar and wind are erratically intermittent sources of electricity. Solar quits at night and whenever a cloud obscures the sun. Wind quits when the wind slows or stops.
When solar or wind electricity is introduced, it is supplementary to the existing electric infrastructure. Solar or wind cannot replace existing generating plants because solar and wind are intermittent sources of electricity. The existing grid generating plants must be retained so they can supply electricity when solar or wind fails. In order to compare the cost of solar and wind with the traditional fossil fuels, we need only to compare expenditure when the traditional plants are powering the grid with the expenditure when solar or wind is engaged.
When solar or wind is working backup, coal and gas plants are idling. Every megawatt-hour of electricity not produced by a coal or gas plant reduces the cost of fuel by about $20. Every megawatt-hour of electricity produced by a solar plant costs about $150, mostly amortization of the original cost of the plant. The cost for wind is similar. A spreadsheet showing a detailed calculation of the cost of solar energy can be downloaded here.
Hellbound and Down 