Renewable energy’s dirty secrets: Hidden cost of going green

Affordability and reliability issues

The lifetime average cost of generating electricity, also known as levelised cost, is often higher for solar and wind energy compared to coal and natural gas. When considering expenses like energy storage, backup generation needed to manage variability, and other grid integration costs, solar and wind emerge as the most expensive electricity sources. Further evidence indicates that greater dependence on solar and wind energy has led to higher residential electricity tariffs and, paradoxically, has not substantially lowered carbon emissions while also compromising the reliability of the electricity supply.

In the United States, for instance, the number of major power outages surged to around 500 in 2023. Germany recently experienced a “Dunkelflaute”— a solar and wind drought — which caused electricity prices to spike to 14 times their average. This energy shortfall forced Germany to burn more coal and import electricity from neighbouring countries, raising prices in the exporting nations and angering consumers. Despite significant investments in renewable energy, events like the Dunkelflaute highlight the affordability and reliability challenges associated with solar and wind power. Over-reliance on renewables has transformed the UK from a net electricity exporter to a net importer, exacerbating concerns about energy security.

Chinese dominance and energy security

China holds a near-monopoly in the production of strategic metals and materials crucial for solar, wind, and storage technologies. It controls, for example, 93 per cent of the world’s rare earth production, 99 per cent of silicon wafers, 85 per cent of solar cells, 100 per cent of graphite, and 97 per cent of battery anodes. In addition to dominating production, China exerts significant control over the mining of these critical minerals. Its export restrictions on strategic metals and their processing technologies further consolidate its global influence. This dominance threatens the energy security of countries with ambitious renewable energy goals — a pressing issue that global leaders and policymakers must recognize and address.

Market Imbalances

Electricity, much like municipal waste, has become a “negative value commodity” in many wholesale markets, with negative electricity prices increasingly common. In such cases, electricity producers must pay consumers or grid operators to take surplus power off the grid, thanks to feed-in tariffs and other incentives favouring solar and wind producers. Despite the boom in renewable energy generation, the grid is struggling to accommodate these sources.

Investments in renewables have nearly doubled since 2014, yet funding for grid infrastructure has stagnated. This mismatch has created a bottleneck, leaving over 3,000 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power projects stuck in grid connection queues. The lack of adequate grid infrastructure results in significant financial losses for producers and far-reaching economic consequences, with one of the most pressing being the disruption of the job market. While strong investments in renewable energy have spurred substantial job creation, this growth is heavily concentrated in a single country — China. China accounts for 84 per cent of solar, 93 per cent of battery-related, and nearly 50 per cent of all other jobs in the clean energy sector globally, thereby creating social unrest in other developing countries grappling with unemployment and job losses in the fossil fuel sector. Mukul Kumar from the University of California coined the term “violent transition” to highlight the harsh reality of this shift, in contrast to the equitable and inclusive “just transition.”

Health and environmental concerns

Contrary to the widespread perception that solar and wind energy are entirely clean, these technologies have significant environmental and health impacts, particularly during production and at the end of their life cycle. Solar cells and wind turbines require around 14 different elements, including rare earths, which are environmentally hazardous to mine and process. Meeting renewable energy targets will necessitate opening hundreds of new mines to bridge the demand-supply gap for these minerals, leading to substantial ecological damage. The production of solar panels and wind turbines is also highly energy-intensive, contributing to carbon emissions and toxic by-products. For instance, quartz mining for silica production requires temperatures between 1500°C and 2000°C, and fossil fuels often power the furnaces.

Polysilicon refining and ingot production similarly demand high energy inputs, emitting carbon and generating toxic by-products like silicon tetrachloride. Additionally, wind turbines cause noise and visual pollution and disrupt the movement of migratory birds and marine animals. Recycling solar panels and wind turbines, while beneficial for reducing waste, is energy- and cost-intensive. Subsequently, most solar modules and wind turbine blades end up in landfills at the end of their lifecycle, where they can contaminate air, soil, and groundwater. In a twist that defies the green energy narrative, a recent UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) report revealed a scary truth—solar and wind energy technologies are more carcinogenic than coal and nuclear power.

Workers’ health and safety are also major concerns. A recent Cornell University survey found that half of the 940 solar and wind construction workers in Texas reported heat-related illnesses, with cases of physical injury and fatalities also documented. If such incidents occur in developed countries, one can only imagine the conditions faced by workers in the developing world, where they have to tolerate harsher environments and inadequate safety measures, and accidents often go unreported.

Governments and policymakers worldwide must reassess renewable energy strategies, balancing ambition with practicality in light of the growing body of evidence highlighting the challenges associated with renewables. A judicious mix of renewable energy and fossil fuels is necessary, recognising that, for the foreseeable future, renewables can supplement but not fully replace traditional energy sources.

Ghosh teaches at MDI Gurgaon, and Kanjilal teaches at IMI New Delhi