Over the years, people have come to believe certain things about green energy that are either half or wholly untrue, and many of these are actually preventing people from taking steps to “go green” themselves, or convince their political representatives to take steps to reduce carbon emissions throughout the country. One of the tasks that have been assigned to those who want to promote green efforts is the abolition of these myths in the hopes that the truth will prevail and people will be convinced of the worth of these efforts.
Myth No. 1: Renewable Energy Is Costly
One of the things that have been stopping many people from jumping on board the “green” train is the fact that they have been led to believe that it is expensive, but this is far from the case. Greenpeace explains;
Right now, renewable energy is actually already cheaper than coal and nuclear power at every step.
How can this be? The reason is that coal and other sources for the more conventional types of energy are limited; not only that, but they need to be transported sometimes thousands of miles to reach power plants where they are then transported again to the consumer. This is a very simplified version of how energy has been produced up until now, and while these costs tend to cause the price of this energy to skyrocket, a deeper look into the production shows that the price is much, much higher and will continue to skyrocket until the resources dry up.
Individuals might also be happy to know that at this moment, opting for renewable energy is actually cheaper than power produced from coal, and this is without the hidden costs. Whenever a coal-fired plant is built, it costs billions to operate and this is offset on the tax payer. It should be noted too that the costs in terms of the environmental impact are considerably high; so high, in fact, that if nothing is done to prevent it, these facilities could have major, long term effects on the health and well-being of the environment. This will then, in turn, affect the health and well-being of everyone living on the planet.
Myth No. 2: Renewable Energy Still Has a Long Way to Go Before It Becomes Available
If you think that renewable energy isn’t ready to be introduced on a global scale, you’re mistaken. Germany already makes use of 25 percent renewable energy and wants to increase this to 80 percent by 2050. During the first part of 2013, Portugal was getting about 70 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources.
The world is not only ready for renewable energy; there is no better time to convert over to greener energy sources than right at this moment.
Myth No. 3: Wind Farms Require Subsidies To Remain Competitive
At this point in time, fuel prices are actually subsidizing a very small portion of the development of wind farms, and these facilities are already so efficient that many are up and running on their own. The contributors of Earth Hour put it this way;
The cost of wind power is falling. There are already wind farms around the world that are producing power as cheaply as coal, gas and nuclear generators and it’s predicted that the average onshore wind farm will be fully competitive by 2016…
All the industry needs is to get the proverbial ball rolling and it won’t be long before it is up on its feet.
Myth No. 4: Wind Power Is a Strain on the Economy
Another argument against wind energy is that it is not great for the economy, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. At this point in time, the industry supports around 11,000 jobs and this number just keeps rising. In difficult economic periods, the employment rates tend to fall, as it did by just under 10 percent between 2007 and 2010, but within this sector specifically, it went up by about 30 percent.
Myth No. 5: People Aren’t Partial To Wind Farms
Because of the hype around the “appearance” of wind farms and the fact that these huge turbines tended to negatively affect the overall look of a place, people tend to think that they aren’t popular, but people are quick to look past these aesthetic factors associated with wind farms. In a recent survey, about 2/3 of people surveyed about whether or not they were in favor of wind farms said yes, and less than 3 percent were completed against them. The Whitelee windfarm that was built in Glasgow is now a tourist attraction and there have been about 200,000 visitors to this destination since 2009.
Myth No. 6: Renewable Energy Is on The Decline
One of the more obscure myths associated with renewable energy is that, according to Pete Danko, people are saying there has been a;
…decline in clean energy investment, saying it was a “silver lining” that venture capitalists were “moving on to more worthwhile pursuits.
This is one of the most misleading facts put out into the market because many countries in Europe, for instance, plan to turn their attentions almost fully to solar energy by 2050. Natural reserves of goal are running low, so people have to start looking for alternatives, and renewable energy happens to be the most viable. What could be a better investment than one that will cost next to nothing to run for centuries on end? No investor is going to shy away from the opportunities associated with renewable energy, and this means that this is just the start of this industry.
Combating Myths
Combating myths about renewable energy is important because this might just change people’s entire outlook about this field and what it can do for them. At this point in time, the only thing stopping renewable energy from becoming a main power source is political influence, so the more people who back this idea, the faster it will become freely available to anyone and everyone. Keep in mind that you need to continue educating yourself on renewable energy as more developments take place in this field; this will ensure you know enough to teach others what they should be aware of when it comes to green energy.
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