As I posted several times on this subject, I have nothing against the renewables as I support all forms of energy sources. What I do not support is expensive electricity, high energy taxes and high subsidies to renewables just to make them "viable".
The experience of some European economies like UK and Germany in their hard push to depend more on renewables and move away from fossil fuels has not been exactly good and favorable.
For instance, see this story from Forbes.
"You can’t build more PV solar than the rest of the
grid can ramp up/down to accept. The necessary grid storage for large-scale
solar power is a “maybe someday” technology, not something viable today. Calls
for 50% of power to come from solar in our lifetimes are a fantasy, and we need
to be realistic about that.
You can’t force utilities to buy unneeded power just
because it’s renewable. The energy and materials to build the excess capacity
just goes to waste. That is the opposite of green."
Renewables like wind and solar are not only expensive
(hence, the need for high subsidies to make them "viable"), they are
also highly unstable. A 100 MW wind plant can possibly give 50 MW at most on windy hours,
and only 5 MW or zero on non-windy hours. Thus, big consumers like industrial
parks and dense residential villages need back up power plants from non-renewable
sources to prevent brown outs.
See also this report from Hot Air,
"
In the Philippines, the
currently expensive electricity (no feed-in-tariff (FIT) yet will become even more expensive
with FIT for renewables. Will people justify even more expensive electricity for the PH via FIT?
Some renewables here like geothermal and big hydro have
no FIT because they were not covered by RA 9513 or the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008. This RE law gives FIT to wind, solar, biomass and run-of-river (small) hydro.
Some people ask, "What to do about
electricity pricing that is the highest (or 2nd highest) in Asia despite the promise of EPIRA to bring down prices?"
My quick answers are:
1. Drastically reduce government taxes and fees on energy,
2. Abolish the royalty (another form of energy tax) on natural gas and geothermal,
3. Amend RA 9513 and remove FIT and renewable portfolio
standards (RPS) provisions. Let renewables flourish even with zero subsidies.
4. Reduce significantly government bureaucracies and
permits for power developers and generators, renewable or not.
Meanwhile, from the IEA, Medium Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2014, Summary. It shows how expensive (a) solar PV, (b) concentrated solar power or CSP, (c) onshore wind, and (d) offshore wind are, compared to (i) new coal and (ii) new gas turbines. Both for 2014 and 2020 projections.
This article by Dr. Roy Spencer, Why Don’t More People Care About Global Warming? (October 1, 2014) is cool.
"most people understand that fossil fuels have been necessary
for the prosperity that we all enjoy (at least those under political systems
allowing people to benefit from their labors). Energy which currently is
dominated by fossil fuels, and will be for decades to come.
Modern prosperity, as evidenced by increased
lifespans, has depended upon access to abundant, low-cost energy — fossil
fuels. I think getting an extra 40 years of life in exchange for 1 to 2 deg. of
warming is a pretty good deal. Might even be a win-win."
------------See also:
Energy Econ 23: Death of Australia's Carbon Tax, July 17, 2014
Energy Econ 24: NPC Debt, PSALM and Universal Charges, August 02, 2014
Energy Econ 25: Coal Use and GDP Expansion, Is There a Correlation?, September 01, 2014
Energy Econ 26: Dealing with Power Deficit in 2015, September 19, 2014
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