Solar energy

coal

China is already leading in renewable energy production figures. It is currently the world’s largest producer of wind and solar energy,9 and the largest domestic and outbound investor in renewable energy. Four of the world’s five biggest renewable energy deals were made by Chinese companies in 2016.

The IRENA report found that solar and onshore wind are the cheapest energy sources. It states that in 2017 wind turbine prices had an average cost of $0.06 per kWh, and at times dropped to $0.04 per kWh. At the same time, the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) had fallen to $0.10 per kWh.

Of all the fossil-fuel sources, coal is the least expensive for its energy content and is a major factor in the cost of electricity in the United States.

Consider: coal power plants provide roughly 45 percent of U.S. electricity at a seemingly bargain price — just 3.2 cents per Kilowatt hour (KWh) of electricity, or enough power to run your microwave for an hour.

Wind power is more expensive than power from old, established power plants, but is cost competitive with any new power plant. Today, wind power plants can generate electricity for less than 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, a price that is competitive with new coal- or gas-fired power plants.

By comparison, hydroelectric power comes in at an average of $0.05/kWh, onshore wind, solar voltaic, biomass and geothermal below $0.10/kWh and offshore wind at $0.13/kWh. More to the point, the cost of clean energy sources is falling year-on-year and will continue to do so as infrastructure develops.

In most places in the world power from new renewables is now cheaper than power from new fossil fuels. The fundamental driver of this change is that renewable energy technologies follow learning curves, which means that with each doubling of the cumulative installed capacity their price declines by the same fraction.

It’s a sad fact that most of the electricity in the United States is made from dirty, polluting, non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels. Clean energy, on the other hand, is 100% pollution-free. It’s produced using naturally replenished and virtually inexhaustible sources like the sun and wind.

China

As with all energy supply options, wind energy can have adverse environmental impacts, including the potential to reduce, fragment, or degrade habitat for wildlife, fish, and plants. Furthermore, spinning turbine blades can pose a threat to flying wildlife like birds and bats.

Wind Turbines Kill Birds. A study finds painting windmill blades reduced bird fatalities by over 70 percent. Scientists are always looking for ways to reduce bird deaths from turbines. The emphasis on windmills’ threat to birds is politically charged.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that between 140,000 and 500,000 bird deaths occur at wind farms each year.

Wind energy doesn’t pollute the air like power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, which emit particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide—causing human health problems and economic damages.