Ask families in Germany and the UK what happens when “cheap” solar and wind energy are increasingly added to the national power portfolio, and they can tell you by looking at their utility bills: It's getting much more expensive. [emphasis, links added]
Only when we use sunlight specifically to shine and wind blow our green energy should become cheaper because we get more green energy.
But modern society needs strength throughout the day. When there is no sunshine and wind, green energy often requires a lot of backup, usually powered by fossil fuels. This means we are paying for not one but two power systems.
Moreover, with less use of backup fossil fuel power supplies, they need to earn capital costs in less time, resulting in more expensive power.
This means that the actual energy costs of solar and wind are much higher.
A study in China shows that the actual cost of solar energy is twice as high as coal on average, while peer reviews of Germany and Texas show Solar energy and wind are many times higher than fossil fuels.
Germany and the UK now have so much “low-cost” solar and wind that their electricity costs have become the most expensive in the world.
The latest IEA data clearly shows that more solar energy is higher with wind and average energy prices for homes and industries.
In a country with little or no solar and wind, the average electricity cost is slightly higher than 11 cents per kilowatt-hour.
For 10 percentage points of solar and wind, the cost increases by more than 4 cents. Until any impact of Covid and Ukrainian wars, the results in 2019 were almost similar.
Looking at Germany, the price of 34 cents per kilowatt-hour is more than twice the cost of the United States and four times the price of China.
Germany has installed so much solar and wind that going all out could generate twice the German electricity demand.
In fact, renewable energy can generate nearly 70% of German demand in a lot of wind and sunlight. Such days have aroused people's excitement.
There is little mention of dark and still days in the press. Twice this winter, when Europe is cloudy and almost windless, solar and wind power provide less than 4% of what Germany needs for daily electricity.
Battery technology cannot cope with: The entire battery storage space in Germany is exhausted in about 20 minutes.
This leaves more than 23 hours of energy, mainly powered by fossil fuels. The result: During these stagnation periods, Germany saw some of the most expensive electricity prices, with wholesale prices reaching an astonishing $1 per kilowatt-hour.
At least the governments with the most attention to climate in Europe are often honest about these costs, as electricity prices include most solar and wind costs, so consumers will see the impact of green energy policies.
However, in the United States, solar and wind energy are paid indirectly through tax breaks, which means that the actual electricity cost of solar and wind may be 25% higher than the prescribed price.
Poor countries are particularly lying to the lies of cheap green energy. Wealthy countries are now refusing to help poor countries pass fossil fuel projects.
If solar and wind are indeed cheaper, poor countries in the world will have a cheap way to go from today’s energy poverty to energy abundance.
The new energy infrastructure will be the sun and the wind. However, this only happens in wealthy countries where electricity consumption is declining, while generous subsidies and a large amount of existing fossil fuel backup infrastructure make our solar and wind deception possible.
Reading Breaks on New York Post
