Keywaylock
English
English Spanish Portuguese
MENU
  • Transport
  • Truck
  • SUV
  • New Energy
  • Minivan
  • coupe
Home > New Energy > The economics of renewable energy

The economics of renewable energy

“One more song about movin' along the highway; can't say much of anything that's new.”
- Carole King

I will always love singing Carole King's mournful ballads and unsettling vibes. In the half-century since she penned those moving lines, a lot has changed about the economics of travel and energy. Now we can travel highways and power our homes with significantly less damage to the earth under our feet.

Electric cars have moved into the forefront. Volvo announced last summer that their new car lineup will be all-electric by 2030. General Motors will stop selling new gas-powered cars and light trucks by 2035. These vehicles still aren't carbon-neutral; their relative impacts are estimated in an interactive online tool developed by MIT.

The tool sums the emissions involved in manufacturing cars, producing and burning gasoline and diesel fuel, and the source of electricity for charging electric vehicles.

Electric vehicle batteries have a higher impact in their manufacture, including cobalt and lithium mining. Nevertheless, an electric vehicle’s lifetime impact is still remarkably less than internal combustion vehicles and it's improving steadily. Much of plug-in cars' future energy improvement will rest with governments cleaning up their electric grids. In the last 15 years or so, hundreds of American coal plants have been replaced with a mix of natural gas, wind, and solar power.

"If we can make our grids zero-carbon, then vehicle emissions drop way, way down," said Jessika Trancik, associate professor of energy studies at MIT. "Whereas even the best hybrids that burn gasoline will always have a baseline of emissions they can't go below."

Our homes are also becoming more climate resilient. A Pew Research Center survey found 6 percent of U.S. homeowners say they have already installed solar panels at home. This is a small percentage, to be sure, but even this has saved the equivalent of over 130 million acres of forest.

 The economics of renewable energy

The cost of solar power has dropped dramatically in the last decade. An average residential solar system used to run $50,000 or more. Now a typical home installation ranges $16,000-$22,000. Offsetting rebates and grants can sometimes lower it further.

In many cities, clean energy is replacing fossil fuel as the default provider. Local governments will buy and build carbon-free energy, which will be delivered and maintained through existing electric company poles and wires.

In the Santa Barbara area, for example, existing electricity customers will be enrolled automatically in the clean energy program, although they can opt out without penalty. Those who remain will have three options:

•100 percent carbon-free energy, which costs about $5 more per month

•Green Start. More carbon-free energy than the previous standard at no additional cost.

•Resilient: 100 percent carbon-free with local energy generation using your solar panels on your home or office at no additional cost

Renters can't typically take advantage of solar power, and electric cars aren't practical for some. Even if you can't be energy self-sufficient and your city remains in the dinosaur age, you have options for getting serious about renewable energy—you can invest in it.

The clean secret in our family is that much of our profit in individual stocks came from companies I chose decades ago on an environmentally friendly investing website. I chose some of those companies as a starting-off point for my own research, eventually investing in about a half dozen of them.

Digging into these or others will give you an idea of what criteria are important to you and which you believe to be promising both for the world and for your investing future.

Carole King may croon that “It's Too Late, Baby,” to prevent the damaging effects of human-caused climate change. The heightened droughts, storms and fires of the last few years have shown that to be true. Nevertheless, as we each opt into better energy choices, improving our finances while reducing the damage to the planet, we bequeath to future generations.

  • Keywaylock
  • 27/02/2023
  • 1476 Views
Related Articles
Solar Rollers competition teaches Summit students how to build and race remote-controlled cars Support Local Journalism
Solar Rollers competition teaches Summit students how to build and race remote-controlled cars Support Local Journalism

10/04/2023 ,4853 Views

A group of Summit High School students is getting ready to compete in the Solar Rollers competition, which brings together high school teams from across Colorado to build and race solar-powered, remot...

Tesla Model Pi Smartphone 2023 Release Date, Phone Price, Revealed!!! : Source Confirms it has Satellite Link?
Tesla Model Pi Smartphone 2023 Release Date, Phone Price, Revealed!!! : Source Confirms it has Satellite Link?

09/04/2023 ,5144 Views

Yes, you read that correctly! Tesla may be developing the smartphone of the future. The image, which was obtained by user “GENIE,” reveals that Tesla will enter the fast-paced smartphone industry soon...

Local student to compete in John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition April 22-23
Local student to compete in John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition April 22-23

08/04/2023 ,1772 Views

Eight student-led teams will vie for seed prize money to get their business plans off the ground in the John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition at the University of Wyoming.The competition...

Most Popular
  • SUV and Pickup Truck Drivers More Likely to Hit Pedestrians When Turning, IIHS Study Finds
  • Best Car Covers for 2022
  • 2023 BMW X7 Facelift Arrives With A New Look, Added Power
  • Sponsored Content Sponsored Content | Sponsored: The 2022 Kia Carnival SX Prestige Edition Minivan
  • Solar Rollers competition teaches Summit students how to build and race remote-controlled cars Support Local Journalism
  • Ford’s base $40,000 F-150 Lightning electric pickup gets 230-miles of EPA range and 68 MPGe Guides
  • James Ruppert: Bargain barnstormers that will take you anywhere
Back to Top

Copyright © 2023 keywaylock.net. All rights reserved.