maillemaker wrote:
Renewable power is not getting cheaper and in fact when added to the traditional power grid of nuclear and natural gas, all it does is drive up the cost to the consumer.
This is false.
Globally, onshore wind schemes are now costing an average of $0.06 per kilowatt hour (kWh), although some schemes are coming in at $0.04 per KwH, while the cost of solar PV is down to $0.10 per KwH. In comparison, the cost of electricity generation based on fossil fuels typically falls in a range of $0.05 to $0.17 per KwH.
Natural Gas is giving a shot in the arm to fossil fuels, but like all fossil fuels, there is a finite supply of it and it's only a matter of time before it starts getting too costly to produce.
And of course all of this ignores the pollution problem of burning things for energy, which many countries are now taking steps to combat.
"Renewable energy" IS NOT "getting cheaper", in fact it IS the most expensive way to get "energy" by far. It is ALSO the DIRTIEST way to get power when you take into consideration how solar cells are made and all of the leftover hazardous byproducts that must be disposed of.. It IS the "white elephant" in the room that all the pro renewable folks love to ignore..
Wind power also uses considerable amounts of highly hazardous chemicals and materials, fiberglass and resin specifically, the resin uses MEK as a catalyst which is neither human friendly or environmentally friendly.
And by the way, the energy "generation" cost is a SMALL PART of an electric bill, my local electric company charges a mere $0.05 per Khwr but add in all of the OTHER fees plus local state and federal charges and I pay an average of $0.11 per Kwhr.. I consider myself lucky, have a Brother that lives only 5 miles from me and he is on an electric "Co op" (brought to you by the "REA") and he pays nearly double what I pay per Kwhr!
Renewable folks tend to "forget" about all of the fees and taxes tacked onto an electric bill. In my case, many of those "fees" go up considerably the more power I consume.
Additionally, some electric companies also vary rates higher during PEAK time (daytime) and lower during night time.
By the way, use TOO MUCH power and the electric companies CAN charge you at COMMERCIAL RATES which IS considerably HIGHER than residential rates.
And all of your links, nothing but SCARE tactics..
The shale boom is not going away any time soon, it has "slowed" some, but it IS here to stay and by the way, even the old fashion "conventional" oil and gas wells are STILL doing fine.. There are still many wells dating back to the 1890s and earlier still producing.
Over the years, there has been some scientists which have changed their views to that the Earth IS still forming crude oil and natural gas.
