No, I am not against renewable energy, so please don’t think that. I firmly believe that the more energy sources this nation has available, the more secure our energy supply will be. Renewable energy has to be part of that mix. But that doesn’t mean renewable energy has no environmental impact.
And to give you an idea of these negative impacts. You have conservation groups that are against some types of renewables. Usually, this is on a case by case basis. But the point still stands. They are pointing out these negative impacts.
American Bird Conservancy (ABC): According to reporting by Grist, ABC actively lobbies, files lawsuits, and fights wind energy projects nationwide because turbine blades kill birds.
Green Oceans: According to E&E News, this Rhode Island-based group opposes offshore wind farms, stating they want to protect marine life and ocean habitats.
Local Grassroots Groups: Smaller localized groups—such as Mothers Against Wind Turbines and regional groups listed by Wind Watch—fight specific onshore wind projects over noise, red blinking lights, property values, and landscape changes.
Sierra Club and NRDC: Major environmental groups generally support renewable energy to stop climate change. However, they still oppose specific wind or solar projects on a case-by-case basis if the sites damage critical wilderness areas, national parks, or endangered species habitats.
Okay, let’s just skip the “not in my backyard” crowd. Screw them. But when you look at the rest of this list, which is probably only a small sampling, you begin to see some of the very real negative impacts renewable energy can have on the environment.
One type of renewable energy that I wish we would develop more is hydroelectric power. This nation has an abundance of rivers that could provide this renewable energy. But once again, conservation groups have some very real concerns about its environmental impact, which I will show next.
“People protest the building of hydroelectric dams because they cause forced displacement, severe environmental damage, and economic hardship for local communities.”
The groups I am listing are all very pro-renewable energy. So, for them to publicly oppose certain renewable energy projects shows that there are real negative impacts. It doesn’t mean they don’t want renewable energy. It means they recognize that renewable energy can have negative environmental impacts.
Now, in the examples I have provided, I do believe some of these groups are being too extreme, in almost every case. My major complaint with their position is that there is virtually no place where some type of environmental impact would not occur. We have to accept that reality and plan wisely, balancing the need for renewable energy with the need to minimize the damage it can cause.
So, let’s move on to another negative impact that I don’t believe is talked about nearly enough. Solar panels, wind turbine blades, and the wind turbines themselves all have to be manufactured. That manufacturing requires energy, including fossil fuels, as well as steel, concrete, aluminum, copper, and other raw materials that have to be mined and processed.
Renewable energy may be renewable, but the equipment used to produce it doesn’t magically appear out of thin air.
Those huge ass wind turbines require foundations made of reinforced concrete that can extend 8 to 15 feet into the ground. Which just makes sense if you have ever been close to one of them.
And remember, all of that concrete has to be trucked to the site and poured. They usually aren’t building just one wind turbine, either. They are building multiple turbines, so we are talking about a lot of diesel fuel being burned just to transport the concrete and other materials to the site.
That’s not even counting the energy used to manufacture the concrete in the first place, which can also involve fossil fuels.
And if you think that is a shitload of concrete, just think about the massive structures at a nuclear power plant and how much concrete and other material is required to build them.
I know that the things I am listing can make it sound like I am anti-renewable energy. That just isn’t true. I fully support renewables.
And for the people who bitch and moan about wind turbines destroying the scenery or hurting property values, fuck them. I live near wind turbines. I like looking at them sitting on top of the mountains. I think they look really cool.
The same goes for solar panels. Put solar panels on your house and they can significantly reduce the amount of electricity you have to buy from the grid. Hell, I wish there was a bigger push for homeowners to use both solar panels and small wind turbines where they make sense, especially in suburban and rural areas.
My problem isn’t with renewable energy. My problem is pretending that because something is renewable, it has no environmental cost.
Honestly, I am sure I haven’t listed all of the negative impacts of renewable energy. But I think you get my point. It isn’t all roses and sunshine when we talk about renewables and how great they are.
Just like I have talked about with AI and other subjects, there are real concerns. Nothing is perfect. We have to find a balanced approach to renewable energy just like we do with everything else.
And for crying out loud, energy doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing argument. It has to be all of the above. We absolutely need a fully diverse energy supply in this nation, and renewable energy has to be part of it.