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February 24, 2021
John Kane-Berman is a policy fellow at the IRR, a think-tank that promotes political and economic freedom.
WHAT could be more agreeable? Oodles of electricity free of charge and free of carbon.
Two big claims are made for solar and wind energy. One is that it is cheap. However, as this column observed last week, this claim ignores the costs of all the back-up required to keep the power on when there is no sunshine or wind.
The other claim is that solar and wind energy is âgreenerâ – that is, cleaner, – than fossil fuels. This ignores even more contrary evidence than the renewables-are-cheapest claim. Sun and wind may come out of the sky, but the machinery to turn them into energy does not. That machinery requires mining, manufacture, and transport.
Clean energy’s dirty secrets - Politicsweb
14 December 2020 - What could be more agreeable? Oodles of electricity free of charge and free of carbon.
John Kane-Berman
What could be more agreeable? Oodles of electricity free of charge and free of carbon.
Two big claims are made for solar and wind energy. One is that it is cheap. However, as this column observed last week, this claim ignores the costs of all the back-up required to keep the power on when there is no sunshine or wind.
The other claim is that solar and wind energy is “greener” - that is, cleaner, - than fossil fuels. This ignores even more contrary evidence than the renewables-are-cheapest claim. Sun and wind may come out of the sky, but the machinery to turn them into energy does not. That machinery requires mining, manufacture, and transport.