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National Geographic published an interesting article about renewable energy myths.
Still, myths about renewable energy are commonplace, says Andy Fitch, an attorney at Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law who coauthored a report rebutting dozens of misconceptions. This misinformation, and in some cases, purposeful disinformation, may lead people to oppose renewable projects in their communities. Support for wind farms off New Jersey, for example, dropped more than 20 percent in less than five years after misleading and false claims began circulating.
"It's easy to prick holes into the idea of an energy transition," because it is a new concept to many people, Fitch says.
Myth #1 Renewable energy is unreliable.
There will always be days when clouds cover the sun or the wind is still. But those conditions are unlikely to occur at the same time in all geographic areas. "There's always a way to coordinate the energy mix" to keep the lights on, Fitch says.Today that coordination generally includes electricity from fossil fuels or coal. In California, where more than half the state's power now comes from solar, wind, and other renewables, natural gas and other non-renewables generate the rest.
Improvements in storage technology will also increasingly allow renewable energy to be captured during sunny or windy days. Already, some 10 percent of California's solar-powered energy is saved for evening use.
Myth #2 Rooftop solar is super pricey.
Back in 1980, solar panels cost a whopping $35 (in today's dollars) per watt of generated energy. In 2024 that figure fell to 26 cents. Solar has become so cost-efficient that building and operating the technology is now cheaper over its lifespan than conventional forms of energy like gas, coal, and nuclear power.Homeowners also save a significant amount of money after rooftop solar is installed, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. (The method remains cost effective, even after federal subsidies to purchase the panels ceased late last year.) A family who finances panels might save close to a thousand dollars a year in their electric bills, even taking into account payments on the loan.
Myth #3 Wind power inevitably kills wildlife.
With hundreds of thousands of turbines in operation, wind power now makes up eight percent of the world's energy. But alongside these sprouting modern windmills has come stories of birds, whales, and even insects and bats killed or injured in their presence.In some cases, wind energy can cause a small fraction of wildlife deaths, but they "pale in comparison to what climate change is doing to [the animals'] habitat," says Douglas Nowacek, a conservation technology expert at Duke University. "If we're going to slow down these negative changes, we have to go to renewable energy."
When it comes to whales or other marine mammals, "we have no evidence—zero" that any offshore wind development has killed them, says Nowacek, who studies this as lead researcher in the school's Wildlife and Offshore Wind program. (Most die instead from ship strikes and deadly entanglements in commercial fishing gear.)
Myth #4 Electric cars can't go far without recharging.
Electric vehicles are an important element of the transition to renewable energy because, unlike gas-powered cars, they can be charged by solar and wind energy. EVs are also more energy efficient, since they use nearly all of their power for driving, compared with traditional cars' use of just 25 percent. (Most of the rest is lost as heat.)Concerns that EVs can't make it to their destination likely spring from early prototypes, when cars developed in the 1970s got less than 40 miles per charge. Today, some 50 models can go more than 300 miles, with some topping 500.
Worries about the longevity of EV batteries are also unfounded. Only one percent of batteries manufactured since 2015 have had to be replaced (outside of manufacturing recalls, which have been negligible in recent years). Studies done by Tesla found the charging capacity in its sedans dropped just 15 percent [PDF] after 200,000 miles.
Myth #5 Renewables are on track to solve the climate crisis.
The world is in a better place than it would be without renewables. Before the 2015 Paris Agreement called for this energy transition, experts had forecast 4°C planetary warming by 2100; now they expect it to stay under 3°C, according to a recent report by World Weather Attribution, a climate research group. But even this target "would still lead to a dangerously hot planet," the report states. Last summer Hawaiian observatories documented carbon dioxide concentrations above 430 parts per million—a record breaking high far above the 350 PPM Paris target.To sufficiently slow climate warming, experts say wind generation must more than quadruple its current pace by 2030, and solar and other renewables must also be more widely adopted. Yet while global investments for renewable energy rose 10 percent in the first half of last year, it fell by more than a third in the U.S.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by corey on Saturday January 10, @10:43PM (23 children)
These are really uninsightful low hanging fruit “myths”. I suppose there’s a bunch of people out there who think these, but I thought we were past this. Now the challenge is to get most people to care and prioritise helping the planet in their lifestyle choices and votes.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by khallow on Sunday January 11, @01:14AM (19 children)
Similarly, in the second "myth" they speak of $0.26 per watt. Well, that's the raw silicon and doesn't include mounting and installation costs. For example: [energysage.com]
That's in 2025 prices. So actual price after installation is ten times as large as the "myth" price. When we look at countries [statista.com] that are highly reliant on non-hydro renewable like Germany or Denmark (~$0.40 per KwH and $0.36 per KwH), their prices are substantially higher than countries which don't do that (like France, $0.28 per KwH). You'd think with the great cheapening of renewable power, that it would show in nation-scale electricity pricing, right? So why isn't it? Something wrong with the narrative again.
It's not a good sign when the two most serious "myths" on that list aren't myths.
(Score: 3, Informative) by khallow on Sunday January 11, @02:38AM
Cite [soylentnews.org] for that assertion.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Sunday January 11, @01:51PM (4 children)
This matches my experience. I'm in Texas, and it sure seems like hydrocarbon energy interests have conspired to make rooftop solar a bad deal here. Last time I checked, a year ago, installers were asking $40k to install a 12kWh system. That's simply too much. I get the impression California installers offer better deals, deals that are not available in Texas. At $40k for the installation and the electricity rates I'm paying currently, the payback would be about 20 years, and the system is projected to last only 25 years. If any numbers have been inflated (and they probably have), the corrected numbers could easily indicate that the payback period is never. As for the incentives, yeah no. Incentives that work like the infamous manufacturer rebates on which I was cheated when I bought a new Pentium IV computer 25 years ago, I just can't trust. Knock the initial price down, don't make the incentive a borrowing from me that might not be paid back. Tax break? Bah. If I am already paying minimal taxes because I am retired, a tax break is worthless.
I have heard further horror stories. Such as, to get the installation price real low, even "free", they sell the homeowner on a deal in which the home is stuck with extra debt that makes them much less saleable. Then there's the trick of the energy company inserting itself in between. Wire your system so that they collect all the energy, for which they pay you the wholesale rate, and then, for any energy you use, even that generated by what you thought were your own solar cells on your own roof, you pay them the market rate.
It also occurred to me that this home improvement could result in higher property taxes. Oh, your home is worth $40k more now! That'll be $480 more per year in property tax! (I looked up the rate I was being assessed, so I know that's how much more I could be paying.) When I inquired of the installers, they blithely assured me that solar rooftop had some sort of property tax exemption. But they didn't show me any tax code that said that. Another expense is home insurance. I can easily see the home insurer telling me they're going to have to raise my rates because of this. That one, I totally guessed at. $200 more per year? I really do not know. Of course the installers conveniently ignore those considerations.
The manner of the typical solar rooftop sales pitch is uncomfortably similar to the dual pane window sales pitches my parents received. $10k to convert all your home's windows from single pane to dual pane! So many pitches did they receive, I finally worked out what such a home improvement might really be worth, and came up with just $2k. None of them were anywhere close to that low. So, sent them all packing.
I'm willing to put solar on my roof. I'm not willing to be cheated. Make that 12kWh system $15k, and I'm interested. But $40k? No.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Whoever on Sunday January 11, @10:38PM (3 children)
Most states exclude solar systems from property tax valuations.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday January 12, @03:06AM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Monday January 12, @03:50PM
You appear to live in a bubble of ignorance. A simple search would show, that, yes, Texas allows a property tax exemption for wind and solar installations.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 12, @06:57PM
>Most states exclude solar systems from property tax valuations.
This year.
Wait until "the majority" of voters are sucking down $2/gal gasoline and they "discover" that a small minority of their neighbors, who all want their cheap gas to get more expensive again, are getting a free ride on their property taxes on those eco-weenie solar panels... I wouldn't be surprised to see a wave of politicians surf through on platforms of double-taxing all that hippie-freak eco bullshit.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by Rich on Sunday January 11, @02:57PM (1 child)
You've got some nasty middlemen there (but we do, too in Germany, with the price composition of grid kWhs, or heat pump installation. (UK 9000£, DE 35000€ or such for the same stuff...)).
Quick look on German ebay for the raw hardware, prices as of today:
Items (127377015661, 226302658403, and 326691884576)
Trina Solar TSM-NEG9R.25 450W Vertex S+ Solarmodul Solarpanel fullblack PV Modul
69€
28 x 69€ = 1932€ for 12600Wp
Deye 12kW Hybrid-Wechselrichter SUN-12K-SG05LP3 3-Phasig inkl. WIFI & DC Switch
1589€
For good measure, throw in a 10kWh battery pack:
10,5 kWh Batteriespeicher PV Solar Speicher Akku Stromspeicher LiFePO4 für Deye (item)
1199€
------
4720€
(Score: 3, Funny) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 12, @07:01PM
>You've got some nasty middlemen there
Around about 2004 I was shopping for "wind farm land" in Western Nebraska... my enthusiasm blew away when I learned about "spinning fees" - which is basically the locals squeezing the wind farm power generator owners for every last cent they can get without completely putting them out of business. It translates to: the only way to run a wind farm for-profit is to get creditors who are willing to let your corporation run at risk, uninsured, and then go bankrupt in the event of any unusual high-cost events. Meaning: shirking liability laws through the bankruptcy shield. It's the business plan that put a new ballroom on the White House.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday January 12, @06:54PM (10 children)
> France, $0.28 per KwH
Yeah, France is a great "typical" country to look at electricity costs for reference. /s
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday January 23, @04:03AM (9 children)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 23, @04:29PM (8 children)
All the world loves a fission power plant, especially Germany - NOT.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday January 23, @08:02PM (7 children)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 23, @09:06PM (6 children)
And more well established villages being consumed by strip mines for coal.
I knew a German who was graduating from Gymnasium (13th grade) around 1990. Their class voted to print their Yearbook (you know, those things you stick in a box in the attic and maybe pull out to look at once, 40 years after you put it in the box) on unbleached recycled paper. Brilliant, their graduating class avoided putting 27 pounds of chlorine into the environment AND saved 2.3 trees. In exchange, not only does the Yearbook cost 30% more, but the paper self destructs after 5 years making the text and photos contained therein inaccessible. This was 1990, there was no digital online archived version, it was just... gone. Not that a yearbook is a terribly important thing in the greater scheme, but if you REALLY want to save the environment, don't print the damn thing at all - have a slide show at some graduation party and be done with it.
These are the same geniuses who decided to end domestic nuclear power, not because the options were better, just because they decided they don't like nuclear. Did they reduce their electricity use? Of course not. They did, however, install so much rooftop and balcony solar that they run surplus supply on those 83 days a year when the sun actually shines.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday January 24, @04:48AM (5 children)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday January 24, @03:26PM (4 children)
Incase you're not feigning a "whoosh" - you compared France to Germany for electrical generation, and they're pretty much polar opposites on their nuclear stances.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday January 24, @04:43PM (3 children)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday January 24, @04:58PM (2 children)
I thought about that literally decades ago: France's lesson to the world on electrical power generation? Nuclear is cheap, and safe.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday January 24, @05:31PM (1 child)
You too? Small world, eh?
Let's hearken back to my distant original point which remains unsullied. We have this alleged "myth" of expensive roof top solar. Yet when we compare countries that have heavily embraced solar and wind power, we find higher priced electricity - such as the comparison of France to Germany (the latter with heavy solar and wind). If solar is so cheap, that shouldn't be the case. That leads to my conclusion that the myth wasn't a myth.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday January 24, @06:48PM
>We have this alleged "myth" of expensive roof top solar
Well, when you get a bunch of NIMBY-Green Germans twits implementing it in a high-latitude cloudy location, likely with lots of tree shade to contend with in most installations, you can definitely make roof top solar expensive. Far far more expensive than in, say: Arizona.
🌻🌻🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by turgid on Sunday January 11, @10:52AM (2 children)
Now the challenge is to get most people to care and prioritise helping the planet in their lifestyle choices and votes.
I won't live long enough to see the two metre sea level rise. I might see the AMOC collapse [wikipedia.org], though, and I will be directly affected by it since it maintains temperatures here in the UK.
My new house is going to be heated by renewables (ground source heat pump) and eventually I hope to get some sort of wind turbine. We have unlimited wind and rain here. In recent years the wind strength has increased greatly. Every year thousands of trees are blown down causing all sorts of trouble up to and including death.
Life is giving us lemons. The lemonade I hope to make will come from that strong wind. I need to design a small, cheap turbine that works in gales that anyone can afford.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 11, @01:17PM (1 child)
> I need to design a small, cheap turbine that works in gales that anyone can afford.
I suggest you study the Jacobs wind turbine, here's one page to get you started, https://wind-works.org/photo-gallery/small-wind-turbine-photos/jacobs-photos/ [wind-works.org]
(Score: 2) by turgid on Sunday January 11, @06:58PM
Thanks, that's very interesting.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].