Selective outrage works against clean energy

You can find a lot of posts and articles based on what they at Saturday Night Live once called ‘feel facts’: “They are not technically facts, but they feel true”. The energy transition is particularly affected by feel facts; you read them every day in reader letters and on social media. For those with negative views on renewable energy or electric mobility, statements like “solar panels are the new asbestos” or “electric cars run on coal power in practice” are of course music to their ears. Even if they don’t make sense… Besides these feel facts, the energy transition also suffers from selective outrage. There are so many examples of this that it is hard to choose….

Selective outrage part 1. Electric vehicles (EVs) are often dismissed as unethical because many batteries contain cobalt, and indeed some of it comes from dubious sources, sometimes even associated with slave and child labour. Unethical working conditions are of course out of the question, but what makes this an example of selective outrage? The point is that cobalt is also used in the refining process of petroleum. Crude oil contains between 0.1% and 2.5% sulphur, depending on the source of origin. When burned, the sulphur from this crude oil is converted into sulphur oxides – an air pollutant that can dissolve in rainwater and cause acid rain that is harmful to crops, forests and aquatic animals.Cobalt plays a crucial role as a catalyst in removing sulphur from oil. Cobalt is widely used worldwide as a catalyst in this desulphurisation process. So anyone who wants to dismiss EVs on their cobalt use shows a particular display of selective indignation if that person in question drives a diesel or petrol car….

By the way, the nice thing about those EV batteries is that we are getting better and better at recycling them, try doing that with a tank of burned diesel fuel!

Selective indignation part 2. “All those solar panels will create a new mountain of waste once they inevitably have to be discarded” (you can also often find this example with wind turbine blades as a topic). Of course, you cannot deny that solar and wind energy have an environmental impact and require a lot of resources in their production. This is eagerly exploited. You no doubt know the ever-present picture of discarded wind turbine blades being buried by a bulldozer.

But is it true that by investing massively in renewable energy, we are creating a new and horrifyingly large mountain of waste? No! 

In fact, the most extreme scenario for PV waste in 2050 comes to 0.0035% of the total waste ash from coal-fired power plants . Yes, renewable energy requires a lot of materials. The sector is also increasingly careful about this, as evidenced by the fact that we have already set up recycling systems for solar panels (PV Cycle) and batteries (via BEBAT). So the renewable energy sector is clearly aware of this, and is anticipating developments. The fossil industry, on the other hand, pollutes massively more, and often gets away with it, without having to take responsibility for their pollution. Contrary to what is often claimed, an onshore wind turbine ‘recovers’ the environmental cost associated with its production and construction in as little as 6 to 9 months. All production after year 1 therefore makes a net contribution to a better environment and climate.

Selective outrage part 3. Yes, renewable energy needed hefty subsidies in the past to compete with fossil energy. With ever-matured technology, that subsidy requirement is rapidly decreasing or no longer requires direct support at all, as is the case for solar panels. Yet renewable energy is frowned upon by many because of those subsidies. Meanwhile, report after report are published by all kinds of courts of auditors and international organisations about the support the fossil industry gets from governments. In Belgium, according to a minimalist calculation, some 14 billion euros in subsidies flow to fossil fuels. At a maximum calculation, this rises to at least 19.7 billion euros . So how selective is the outcry against the support that renewable energy gets, to compensate for the fact that fossil energy is cheaper because the external (environmental) costs such as air pollution, noise pollution and climate damage are not passed on to the customer? Imagine the impetus we would give to the energy transition if we could use those fossil energy subsidies in a structural way for energetic renovations, or for a tax shift in favour of a degreased electricity bill and thus encourage heat pumps!

Are you, your company, local government or organisation looking for an inspiring speaker or consultant on the energy transformation our society needs? Who sees the links between renewable energy, electric mobility and other sectors? Who can guide people and companies through the multitude of choices and opportunities offered by the energy transition? I like the challenge of explaining this complex reality in an understandable way. Send a message to dirk@2degNRG.eu and I will get in touch soon.