Can Wind and Solar Energy Replace Petroleum and Nuclear?
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
March 24, 2019 8:16pm CST
It takes tons of steel, plastic and copper to build a Wind Turbine. This either has to be mined or made from recycled material. Either way, it takes a lot of energy to produce. Add to that the fuel required to transport the parts and erect the turbines. This takes several semi trucks for each turbine. After that there is the maintenance and replacement parts. All of which takes energy. Then you have all the lubricants required to keep those bad boys humming along.
How can Wind and Solar replace Petroleum when it takes so much Petroleum to produce, transport and maintain wind turbines and solar cells?
People like to talk in terms of "Carbon Footprint" but they rarely use that measure when it comes to solar cells and wind turbines. Could it be that Green Energy isn't really all that "green" in the first place?
1 person likes this
1 response
@paigea (36143)
• Canada
25 Mar 19
One does have to make the total comparison. For example, in Alberta most electricity is produced by burning coal. So, are electric cars a good choice? They might be, but one needs to compare all the factors.
My husband buys solar lights for the yard, but then he gets tired of them and he throws them away and gets new ones. I was just asking him how efficient that was!
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
25 Mar 19
That's another good point. If you're trying to be Green ,so you buy an electric car. Aren't you just driving a car that runs on coal power (or nuclear.. or however your local electric company generates power)? If people are serious about being more ecologically sound, these are all important questions to ask.
Yeah, if you're throwing away solar yard lights then you're just using solar as a convenience, not as a green energy. lol
@paigea (36143)
• Canada
25 Mar 19
@ParaTed2k It all has to be calculated to figure out which is better.
