THE MYTH OF RENEWABLES
how it’s shaping the world
WIND
Relies on massive wind mill like structures that can go up to 50 meters and essentially generate electricity through the movement caused by strong wind. It has limited efficiencies that can vary between 35%-45%.
SOLAR
Solar energy relies on converting solar radiation into electricity using solar panels. Solar panels have efficiencies ranging from 15-22%. Despite this some reach the mark of 47%.
HYDROELECTRIC
Out of all the renewable energy sources, hydroelectric is by far the most well established producing more energy globally than nuclear. It works using dams that control the flow of water and use its movement to generate electricity. It is also by far the most efficient source of energy in the world, converting over 90% of the available energy into electricity.
WHY CAN’T RENEWABLES DO IT ALL ALONE?
LIMITED POTENTIAL
Current solar panels and wind turbines have efficiencies between 20-50% but this essentially means that even with 100% efficiency they can only generate between 2 and 5 times as much energy as they do now. Keep in mind that these  technologies are decades away.
ENVIRONMENTAL INTRUSIVENESS
The areas that are used for solar and wind farms for example need to be cleared of all wildlife beforehand. We are talking about incredibly large amounts of space being used exclusively for one purpose. When building the Ivanpah solar farm in California they had to clear the whole area of desert tortoises forcing them into captivity where many of them died. Wind farms kill hundreds of thousands of large endangered birds like eagles and falcons. Hydroelectric dams provoke irreversible changes in the surrounding environment.
LAND AREA
Just like any other type of farm, solar and wind farms occupy vast amounts of space.To fuel one-third of the United States’ 2050 electricity demand with nuclear power would require only 440 sq-km, according to the land use figures compiled by Brook. If solar provided one-third of Americans’ electricity in 2050, it would require 4,000-11,000 sq-km and wind would require over 66,000 sq-km
UNRELIABILITY
The wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine. Because of this you can’t expect a consistent yearly output from solar power or wind power. In Germany for example, in 2016, even though more solar farms had been brought online, the actual energy output nationally coming from solar dropped simply because it wasn’t a very sunny year.