Remember the story that said “a photovoltaic panel requires more energy to be produced than it can supply during its lifetime? It’s paired with the other saying: “A photovoltaic array on the roof of the house it costs as much as the house“.
Much wind has flown between the blades of wind turbines since these legends had a raison d’être. Since the 1970s, photovoltaic modules have been able to supply more energy than is required to produce them. In fact, they are among the sources at the moment with maximum energy yield. As for the cost, if you can find a house that costs as much as the photovoltaic system on the roof, hurry up and buy it because it’s a bargain! Today there is no energy source that costs kilowatts per kilowatt less than renewable energy in its various forms, photovoltaic, wind, hydroelectric and others.
Not everyone has noticed it yet, but we are only at the beginning an energy transition that will fundamentally change our world. Today’s renewables are one real alternatives to fossil fuels, no longer just a decorative toy for environmentalists. How did we get there? It was incremental progress, driven primarily by economies of scale. A process that has left nuclear and fossil competition behind. And it’s a factor that’s also going down fast the cost of stationary batteries. With these batteries, we can solve the disruption problem that was once thought to be a fundamental lack of energy from wind and solar.
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It is economies of scale that drive technological revolutions. Think cell phones. Remember when they were considered a hobby for the wealthy? What has changed today that has made it so common? economies of scale: That was the main factor. The beauty of economies of scale is that it’s a “winwin” process, as Americans say. The more you produce a certain thing, the less it costs. If it costs less, you produce more. And so forth. The more renewable energy we install, the less it will cost. We really can get 100% renewable energy. In fact, it will be inevitable if today’s trends continue.
In order to? Why do we insist on fossils and dream of nuclear power? Why are there still bureaucratic rules that make it difficult to install renewable systems? And why do the usual opposing bodies come out? As with everything, there are reasons. Changing the power source behind the economy isn’t like flipping a switch. It needs profound changes.
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First of all, practically everything has to be electrified, starting with transportation. This means that the power grid must be upgraded and restructured to manage energy sources that cannot be switched on or off at any time. We also need to consider seasonal factors. More solar energy is produced in summer than in winter, the opposite is the case with other technologies. Energy will always be available, but at different prices depending on the season and it will be necessary to adapt. Then, to produce what we consume today, it is enough to use a small part of the territory for renewable crops, certainly less than the area already cemented. But let’s not exaggerate: we can’t dress up half of Italy or put a pinwheel on every hill. Nor can we intubate all flows. But also in terms of raw materials, renewable technologies do not require resources that are neither abundant nor easily recyclable no resource is infinite.
In short, what we have before us is a difficult challenge, but we can win it. Renewable technologies promise us abundant and cheap energy that we can produce in Italy, for Italy, with Italian resources. We’re still the “land of the sun,” remember? This is our most important resource! So let’s use it!
If you want to read a more detailed discussion on the subject, you can find it in this article by Tsung Xu, very clear and very readable (in English).