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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ABOUT RENEWABLE ENERGY

May 12, 2020 By Susan Tierney and Lori Bird
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As analysts and observers of the transition to a lower-carbon and workable
energy economy, we don’t normally write about films. But we’re venturing into
the realm of cultural commentary in light of the recent release of Planet of the
Humans, produced by Michael Moore. Throughout Moore’s career, he has used
documentary films to illuminate social and economic issues in many domains.
Sadly, his newest film includes so many misconceptions and so much dated
information that we feel compelled to clarify the facts about renewable energy.

We understand the ultimate message of the film: that societies around the world
need to make fundamental changes in their consumption patterns. But in a
misguided approach to making that point, the filmmakers discredit the value of
clean energy technologies and the people that seek to advance their deployment.

Over the last decade, the clean energy industry has changed tremendously. Costs
have fallen dramatically, technologies have become more efficient and solutions
for integrating renewables into electric grids have advanced. Here are the
facts:


1. RENEWABLES REPLACE FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY ON THE GRID.

In the U.S. and in virtually every region, when electricity supplied by wind or
solar energy is available, it displaces energy produced by natural gas or
coal-fired generators. The type of energy displaced by renewables depends on the
hour of the day and the mix of generation on the grid at that time. Countless
studies  have found that because output from wind and solar replaces fossil
generation, renewables also reduce CO2 emissions. For example, an NREL study
found that generating 35% of electricity using wind and solar in the western
U.S. would reduce CO2 emissions by 25-45%.

Solar and wind farms have dominated new power plant builds in the U.S. in recent
years, while fossil fuel plants—particularly coal-fired plants—continue to be
retired at record pace. In 2019, wind (9.1GW) and solar (5.3GW) represented 62%
of all new generating capacity, compared to 8.3GW of natural gas, while 14GW of
coal-fired capacity was retired. The U.S. Energy Information Administration
(EIA) has also projected that most new electric generation added in the U.S. in
2020 could come from wind and solar, with new natural gas plants projected to
represent less than a quarter of new generating capacity. Certainly, some of
these installations may be delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. While natural gas
builds exceeded those of renewables in 2018, reversing the earlier trend of
renewables leading, there were 12.9GW of coal-fired capacity and 4.6GW of
gas-fired capacity retired in that same year, according to EIA.







Source data: EIA, Tables 4.2.A and 4.2.B, Existing Net Summer Capacity by Energy
Source and Producer Type
(https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_04_02_a.html,
https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_04_02_b.html)


2. CLEAN ENERGY HAS CREATED MILLIONS OF JOBS – AND CAN CREATE MORE.

At the start of 2020, the clean energy sector employed about 3.4 million workers
in the U.S., with much of the workforce concentrated in the energy efficiency
industry. In 2019, clean energy jobs outnumbered jobs in the fossil fuel sector
3 to 1; across 42 states and the District of Columbia, the clean energy
workforce was larger than that of the fossil fuel industry. The quality of these
jobs is also important. According to research by the Brookings Institute, clean
energy workers earn higher and more equitable wages when compared to workers
nationally, with mean hourly wages exceeding the national average by 8 to 19%.

Clean energy jobs are only expected to continue growing — notwithstanding the
hit to the sector as a result of COVID-19. Through 2028, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics forecasts that the two fastest-growing jobs in the United
States will be solar installers (projected to grow by 105%) and wind technicians
(projected to grow by 96%). Under the International Renewable Energy Agency’s
“Transforming Energy Scenario,” the number of renewable energy jobs worldwide
could more than triple, reaching 42 million jobs by 2050, while
energy-efficiency jobs would grow six-fold, employing over 21 million more
people. By contrast, the fossil fuel industry is expected to lose over 6 million
jobs over the same time period, even without the impact of the virus.


3. WIND AND SOLAR PLANTS CAN BE BUILT WITH MINIMAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, AND
OFTEN WITH CO-BENEFITS.

All power plants, including renewables, result in some environmental impacts
during siting, development and operation. Over the past two decades, siting
practices for U.S. wind projects have become more sophisticated and effective at
minimizing impacts. As a result, wind projects have fewer impacts than other
types of projects, falling near the bottom on lists of developments that can
have negative effects on the environment and wildlife, according to the U.S.
Department of Energy. What’s more, these projects often provide co-benefits.
Wind farms sited in rural areas benefit farmers and ranchers by providing annual
revenues from $4,000 and $8,000 per turbine, while allowing landowners to
continue to use the sites for agriculture or grazing. Additionally, wind farm
owners pay county property taxes that support schools, recreation centers and
other county activities.

Solar siting practices require environmental investigations to identify and
minimize negative impacts. Plans can be developed that provide additional
benefits such as protecting wildlife, improving soil health and water retention,
nurturing native vegetation, or incorporating pollinator-friendly plants.
Additional benefits can include lease income to farmers and county or city tax
revenues. Payments to landowners vary widely across the U.S. and can range from
$300-1,000 per acre.

And operating these plants, of course, requires no fuel-delivery infrastructure
like gas pipelines, propane trucks, coal barges and railroads, all of which
produce their own negative environmental impacts.


4. SOLAR AND WIND NOW PROVIDE THE CHEAPEST POWER FOR 67% OF THE WORLD.

The costs associated with solar and wind have fallen dramatically in recent
years. According to BNEF, the cost of energy globally for onshore wind and
utility-scale solar is now $44 and $50/MWh (on a levelized basis), compared to
$100 and $300/MWh only a decade ago. In the U.S., the levelized cost of energy
(LCOE) associated with onshore wind ($24-46/MWh) and utility-scale solar
($31-111/MWh) is now less than that of almost all gas-fired power production.
Battery storage, which is crucial to address the variability of wind and solar
power, has seen the swiftest global price drop among all technologies, from
nearly $600/MWh in 2015 to about $150/MWh in the first half of 2020.







This precipitous drop in the cost of utility-scale solar and onshore wind has
made them the cheapest sources of power in two-thirds of the world. Today, solar
projects in Chile, the Middle East and China, or wind projects in Brazil, the
U.S. and India, are approaching figures lower than $30/MWh, lower than the costs
of building and producing power from plants that use coal or even the cheapest
gas. By 2030, upcoming innovations are likely to reduce costs even further.








5. ALTHOUGH WIND AND SOLAR CANNOT PRODUCE ENERGY EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY, THE
ENERGY THEY GENERATE CAN BE MANAGED ON THE GRID.

Wind farms produce electricity when it’s windy and solar farms produce power
when there’s sun, leading to variability in the supply of energy. However, this
can be — and is being — managed by utilities and grid operators through
operational practices, forecasting, responsive loads and infrastructure such as
storage and transmission. Electricity grids are designed to address variability
in customers’ electricity demand, maintain continuous balance between generation
and demand and maintain reserves for any type of outage on the system (e.g.,
power plant failure), so they are already designed to manage variability.
However, grids need to be modified to be more flexible over time, to integrate
larger amounts of wind and solar and address the additional variability that
comes with heavier reliance on renewables. Increased investments in storage and
transmission, as well as market reforms, can help.

Around the world, grid operators are managing larger amounts of wind and solar
every year. In 2018, operators in California, the Southwest, and Texas used wind
and solar for nearly 20% or more of their energy on an annual average basis, and
in excess of 50-60% on an hourly basis. In Europe, several countries have
managed even higher hourly penetrations of wind and solar, including Denmark
(139%), Germany (89%) and Ireland (88%).


6. BATTERY STORAGE IS ECONOMICALLY VIABLE TO ADDRESS THE VARIABILITY OF WIND AND
SOLAR AND CAN HELP REDUCE EMISSIONS.

While most energy storage currently comes from pumped hydro storage facilities,
the use of battery energy storage is growing rapidly, because of its
increasingly cost competitiveness. Lithium-ion energy storage systems have seen
dramatic price declines — as much as 85% between 2010 and 2018.  Batteries are
efficient carriers of energy, with round-trip efficiencies of 85-90%. If they
are charged by renewable energy sources, they have no added GHG emissions.

Batteries can provide a variety of services to the grid, including smoothing the
variability of wind and solar. Storage can provide the necessary back-up or
standby power that the film implies must come from standby gas or coal-fired
generators. Using batteries to replace fossil fuel backup will mean higher
levels of wind and solar on the grid, less need for gas and coal and fewer
emissions. 

Batteries with four-hour discharges can’t solve all power-system requirements,
of course.  More work is needed — and is underway — on long-duration storage
options as part of the suite of tools needed for a reliable, affordable,
low-carbon power system.


7. WIND AND SOLAR PROJECTS CAN OPERATE FOR DECADES AND CAN BE DEVELOPED MORE
RAPIDLY THAN OTHER GENERATION SOURCES.

All power plants and their components have a “useful life” before they need
replacement or repair. The useful lifespan of renewable facilities can exceed
two decades. Wind turbines, for example, are estimated to last for about 20
years, and photovoltaic systems often remain operational from 25 to 40 years. In
some instances, as large wind turbines become more efficient and economic,
equipment turnover has been accelerated. In these cases, smaller turbines have
been replaced earlier than they might otherwise have been by larger, more
efficient turbines, to substantially increase electricity production at existing
sites.

Furthermore, renewable energy facilities can typically be deployed more rapidly
than fossil fuel plants. While solar and onshore wind farms normally take less
than two years to build, gas-fired power plants usually take as many as four
years to become operational, and can also require construction of gas pipeline
infrastructure.


8. RENEWABLES GENERATE MORE ENERGY THAN IS USED IN THEIR PRODUCTION, AND PRODUCE
FEWER EMISSIONS THAN OTHER POWER SOURCES OVER THEIR LIFETIME.

While all sources of electricity result in some GHG emissions over their
lifetime, renewable energy sources have substantially fewer emissions than
fossil fuel-fired power plants. One study estimates that renewable energy
sources typically emit about 50g or less of CO2 emissions per kWh over their
lifetime, compared to about 1000 g CO2/kWh for coal and 475 g CO2/kWh for
natural gas. Most of the lifecycle emissions from fossil generators occur from
fuel combustion, but also come from raw materials extraction, construction, fuel
processing, plant operation and decommissioning of facilities.

While the manufacture of solar panels requires substantial amounts of energy,
studies have found that they offset the energy consumed in production within
about two years of operation, depending on the module type. Both crystalline
silicon and thin-film solar panels contain toxic materials such as lead, silver
and cadmium; therefore, efforts need to be accelerated to address proper
disposal practices and module recycling, such as is done in Europe and by First
Solar in the U.S., to appropriately capture and reuse these materials.


9. ELECTRIC VEHICLES REDUCE EMISSIONS SUBSTANTIALLY.

Electrification of passenger vehicles has quickened in recent years, with more
than 1 million electric vehicles (EVs) now operating in the United States.
Several studies suggest that number could grow to 20 million EVs by 2030, with
over 4 million EVs in California alone.

EVs offer substantial emissions benefits — and associated health benefits —
because they are two to three times more efficient than conventional internal
combustion vehicles and have no tailpipe emissions. However, they do release GHG
emissions during the fuel production, vehicle manufacturing and vehicle use
stage. Studies find that approximately 50% of all EV battery lifecycle emissions
come from the electricity used in the battery manufacturing and assembly
facilities. Further, an EV’s net carbon footprint depends on the electricity
used to charge it.

Across the country, many cities and corporations are converting their vehicle
fleets to EVs and have made commitments to use 100% renewable electricity to
meet the electricity demand. But, as we point out in a recent WRI report, new
solutions are still needed to enable customers to charge their EVs with
renewables more easily. Potential reductions in an EV’s overall lifecycle
emissions could also be achieved by manufacturing EV batteries in facilities
powered by renewable energy.


10. PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IN CLEAN ENERGY IS CRITICAL TO LOWERING GHG
EMISSIONS.

Aligning financial risk and reward with low-carbon energy investments is
critical for shifting the economy in the direction of lower GHG emissions.
Without substantial private sector investment in clean energy, it will be more
difficult, more costly and more time-consuming to address climate change. Unlike
in many other countries where energy providers, including in the electric
sector, are publicly owned enterprises, most ownership and investment of
electric infrastructure in the United States comes from the private sector.
Shifting private investment toward renewables and other zero-carbon energy
resources makes good sense and can be a safer investment.

Renewable energy is not perfect. No form of energy is. But people the world over
need electricity, and pursuing clean energy sources is far better than
continuing down the path of polluting fossil fuels. Renewable energy is an
essential, although not exclusive, part of what is needed to address the urgent
and important global challenge of climate change.




RELEVANT WORK

Climate


NATURAL GAS BEAT COAL IN THE US. WILL RENEWABLES AND STORAGE SOON BEAT NATURAL
GAS?

Insights July 8, 2019



POWERING CHINA WITH CLEAN ENERGY AFTER COVID-19

Insights September 10, 2020

Climate


12 REASONS CLIMATE ACTION IS GOOD FOR THE UNITED STATES ECONOMY

Insights November 25, 2019

Energy


THE US SET A RECORD FOR RENEWABLES IN 2020, BUT MORE IS NEEDED

Insights June 4, 2021



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