Debunking 3 Common Myths about Clean Energy

In accordance with the Paris Agreement, countries worldwide are initiating sweeping large-scale changes to their respective energy grids to cut down on carbon emissions and produce clean energy. The United States, for instance, generated about 20 percent of its total energy from renewable sources in 2020. Moreover, President Joe Biden has an ambitious target to make the US energy sector emissions-free by 2035. Several states, including California, Hawaii, Illinois, and Maine, have already committed to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050.

According to a report conducted by researchers at Harvard University, Syracuse University, and Georgia Institute of Technology, the US could save upward of 317,500 lives through the next three decades if it achieved an 80 percent renewable energy goal by 2030. While this is feasible, there are many common myths about clean energy that detractors use to argue against further adoption. The following are three of those myths debunked.

Myth 1: Renewable Energy Costs More Than Fossil Fuels

"Wind and solar are cost competitive, if not cheaper, than any of the conventional energy carriers these days," notes Pierre Mertiny, principal investigator with the University of Alberta's Future Energy Systems.

Fossil fuels may have been more cost effective during the early part of the 21st century, but advancements in technology have dramatically lowered the cost of all forms of renewable energy in recent years. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, power generation costs for solar photovoltaics and onshore wind decreased by 82 percent and 39 percent, respectively, from 2010 to 2019.

Power generation costs for renewables are expected to decline further, while fossil fuel prices have continued to increase year-over-year.

Myth 2: Wind Turbines Are Inefficient

A viral social media post, drawn from an incorrectly quoted quote from an anthology edited by Thomas Homer-Dixon, has led many people to believe that wind turbines require more energy to produce than they generate. The post argued that, at best, the energy required for mining and transporting materials to create wind turbines would be offset by the energy they produced within three years at a "good wind site."

While it's true the production of wind turbines requires a substantial amount of energy from coal and iron ore, wind farm sites are carefully chosen to be as efficient as possible. Renewable energy companies often collect data at potential sites for at least two years to determine viability and utilize resources such as digital maps and wind forecasting models.

Myth 3: Clean Energy Doesn't Produce as Many Jobs as Coal and Oil

Detractors of clean energy point to the closure of coal mines and how this has impacted the economies of regions that rely on coal for jobs. They also believe there are fewer jobs in renewable energy, as solar and wind energy, for instance, are self-sustaining. However, the clean energy sector encompasses a wide range of industries and job specialties. Approximately 3 million Americans worked in clean energy in 2020. This was about three times as many people employed in fossil fuel extraction and generation.

3 Things You Need to Know about New York's Latest Green Energy Projects

To mark New York City's Climate Week (September 20-26), Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a pair of massive green energy projects that, once completed, will produce roughly 18 million megawatt-hours of renewable energy every year.

Forward Power, a joint venture of EnergyRe and Invenergy, and the New York Power Authority will develop the Clean Path NY (CPNY) project. Transmission Developers, Inc., and Hydro-Québec will lead build-out efforts for the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) project.

The CPNY project will encompass the construction of a high-voltage, direct-current power superhighway spanning 176 miles from Delaware County to New York City. The 1,300-megawatt project will run underneath the Harlem and Hudson rivers.

Meanwhile, the CHPE will deliver sufficient energy to power 1 million homes via a 1,250-megawatt line that draws wind and hydropower resources from Quebec to the Astoria Energy Center in Queens.

Environmental Impact

Combined, the CPNY and CHPE projects will generate enough energy to power more than 2.5 million homes by 2027, when both lines are expected to be operational. The CHPE project is expected to be operational by 2025 and play a considerable role in de Blasio's promise for all City government operations to be powered by renewable electricity.

The twin projects will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 77 million metric tons by 2036. This will have the same environmental benefit as removing 1 million cars from New York City roads.

"We are ending the age of fossil fuels," noted Ben Furnas, director of the Mayor's Office of Climate and Sustainability, in a press announcement. "These transformative investments to bring clean electricity into New York City will clean our air, create great jobs, and protect our planet. This is a generational crisis, and New York City and New York State are rising to the challenge."

Public Health Benefits

These projects will also have a significant benefit to public health. According to the Office of the Mayor, they will provide nearly $3 billion in benefits over a 15-year period as a result of cleaner air which, in turn, will lower health care costs and allow for fewer business disruptions.

Moreover, CHPE and CPNY will invest $460 million in funds that will help create more jobs in green energy, advance public health, and make buildings in disadvantaged communities more environmentally-friendly.

Supporting the State's Clean Energy Standard

In addition, CHPE and CPNY will support New York's ambitious goal of generating 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The state intends to be carbon neutral by 2040 and, to date, has renewable projects under contract and in development that will meet half of its electricity demand once operational.

A Look at President Biden's Ambitious Solar Energy Targets

Since he was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021, Joe Biden has made addressing climate change a key point of emphasis. He has overturned 42 environmental policies signed into law by President Donald Trump and added 24 of his own in areas such as drilling and extraction, air pollution and greenhouse gases, and accountability.

Before he was elected president, Biden announced a $2 trillion plan for the United States to achieve net zero carbon emissions and generate all of its energy from renewable sources by 2035. More recently, he targeted potential improvements in solar energy.

Solar Panels to Account for 45 Percent of Total Energy Generation

Released in September 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy's Solar Futures Study provides a trajectory for the country to source 45 percent of its electricity from solar panels in the next 30 years.

At present, solar panels account for 3 percent of electricity generation in the United States. The study suggests the 45 percent target could be achieved without increasing electricity prices. Moreover, it would add 1.5 million jobs to the renewable energy workforce.

The U.S. Department of Energy analysis, however, assumes many of the environmental policies President Biden proposed will be accepted and funded by Congress. As of September 9, he still had 22 proposed policies that had yet to be approved and was targeting to overturn an additional 72 Trump administration environmental policies.

Technology Advances and Cost Reduction

The Solar Futures study also assumes costs for photovoltaic (PV) systems will continue to decline and that technology will improve steadily. Upfront costs for large utility-scale PV systems have decreased more than 80 percent since 2010 due in part to improved efficiency and lower module cost, the latter of which declined as a result of technology improvements. The study anticipates costs falling further by as much as 50 percent from their 2020 values.

Extreme Weather Expediting Plans

Increasing solar output and, more specifically, achieving net-zero carbon emissions is even more critical considering the extreme weather events that have occurred this past summer. There have been heatwaves nationwide and wildfires have ravaged California and other parts of the Western United States. Biden emphasized these green energy targets after seeing the damage caused by Hurricane Ida in New York and New Jersey.

"And so, folks, this summer alone, communities with over 100 million Americans ... have been struck by extreme weather," he noted, as quoted in the Washington Post. "One in every three Americans has been victimized by severe weather — the hurricanes along the Gulf, the East Coast, up through this community."

The Need for Renewable Energy: 4 Effects of Climate Change

Renewable energy technology has advanced substantially in recent years, and countries are heavily investing in green energy to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. In 2020 21 percent of all energy in the United States was sourced from renewable technologies, with wind and solar energy increasing 14 percent and 9 percent year-over-year, respectively.

Still, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas, among other fossil fuels, accounts for roughly 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This must be much lower to slow global warming, meaning governments need to continue to increase renewable energy investments. The following are four examples of how burning fossil fuels has impacted weather systems and seasonal patterns.

Hottest Global Temperatures in 125,000 Years

Our dependence on fossil fuels could have drastic impacts on the future of the planet, suggests a new report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report, released on August 9, was compiled by more than 200 scientists and approved by 195 governments. The key finding of the report is that the Earth's global surface temperature is the hottest it has been in more than 125,000 years.

Moreover, the IPCC estimates that without a substantial reduction in fossil fuel dependency, average global temperatures could rise by as much as 3.5°C (38.3°F) above pre-industrial levels by 2050. Maisa Rojas, one of the lead authors of the report, suggested that the 1.5°C (34.7°F) threshold laid out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement can only be achieved with "immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions of all greenhouse gases."

Unpredictable Seasons

Rising global temperatures aren't the only concern regarding climate change. Seasonal weather patterns are also changing and, in the United States, spring arrives an average of six to 19 days earlier than it did seven decades ago. This might sound appealing, but it has several negative consequences. Plants that bloom before pollinators emerge from hibernation can die off early, and migratory birds can have trouble securing previously reliable food sources. Seasons will become even more unpredictable without a massive decline in greenhouse gas emissions.

Lyme Disease

At least 5 million premature deaths per year are attributed to local air pollution caused primarily by fossil fuels. However, this isn't the only negative health impact of global warming. Infected black-legged ticks have spread throughout the United States due in large part to warmer temperatures and shorter winters. As a result, Lyme disease infections in the country nearly doubled from 1991 to 2018.

Flash Flooding

Flash flooding is one of many catastrophic climate events associated with global warming. At least 220 people died in July 2021 after extreme rainfall transformed swollen streams into raging rivers in Germany and Belgium.

The World Weather Attribution subsequently released a study examining rainfall from the end of the 19th century to 2021 in the Western European region spanning the Netherlands to Switzerland. Global temperatures increased by 1.2°C (34.16°F) in this time, while the average rainfall for a single day increased by 3 percent. Moreover, study authors estimated that downpours like the one in Germany and Belgium are now 1.2 to nine times more likely than they were in the 19th century. This is because the air can absorb more water as the planet gets hotter.