Renewables are Blowing Away, Outshining, and Rocking the Competition

Welcome back to Climatific, a free, weekly read that breaks down climate science so it makes sense- not for scientists or researchers, but for everyday people trying to understand the planet we live on, what’s happening to it, and why it matters.

This issue kicks off our Renewable Roadshow Series! Together, we’ve already bulldozed through the history books, dabbled in the fundamentals of climate science, and tackled fossil fuels. BUT WAIT. It’s time to buckle up, roadie. Renewable energy is where the real fun begins.

If you’re a new subscriber, catch up on past issues of Climatific and learn more about who we are here:

Why? Well, despite what you might think, renewable energy is actually quite old. Heck, this issue series could have been called The Antiques Roadshow. Not that I’m calling Steve Buscemi old… Erm, let’s just get on with the science.

What is renewable energy, anyway? And why aren’t fossil fuels aren’t considered renewable? They’re from natural sources, too…? The answer lies in the definition.

Renewable energy is generated from sources that can be replenished faster than they are consumed. Fossil fuels aren’t renewable because they take millions of years to form. Dead stuff doesn’t decay overnight.

Luckily, Mother Nature has other solutions! The U.S. Energy Information has identified five categories of renewable sources that can be converted into energy:

Of these five sources, biomass alone accounts for over 50 percent of all renewable energy in the United States. Materials like wood, municipal solid waste, and natural gases from landfills are great examples of biomass fuels. Burning wood is a form of biorenewable energy that dates all the way back to the prehistoric era. Organic raw materials that are used to produce energy or fuel are called feedstocks.

Scientists have been experimenting with many different types of feedstocks and chemical processes for centuries. It’s because of their hard work that we know how to make products like biodiesel, ethanol, and even fuel from algae! The options are truly endless for biofuel production, and Iowans are paving the way for us all as the lead producers across states. We’ll examine the other pieces to this pie throughout the next couple of weeks.

Hydropower uses good ‘ole physics produce electricity from the flow of water from high elevation areas to low elevation areas, often in the structure of dams. The flow of water spins a turbine, which operates a generator that produces electricity. Hydropower is among the most efficient form of renewable energy, achieving efficiencies of 90% and beyond.

Geothermal energy systems treat Earth like one big insulation system. They capture heat energy that radiates from Earth’s crust and harness it for electrical power generation and space heating and cooling, among other uses.

Wind energy generated from wind turbines is the third-largest source of carbon-free energy, globally. And, it’s cheap! Innovations in the shape, size, and weight of turbine blades over the past forty years have dropped the price of wind energy by 95% since 1980. What’s this mean? The International Energy Agency estimates that building an onshore wind farm today makes cheaper electricity on average than any other form of new-built energy system.

Last but not least, the sun! Solar energy is a largely untapped resource. Just one hour of sunlight contains enough energy to power the entire world for a full year. This is because the amount of energy Earth receives from the sun on a continuous basis—equivalent to 173,000 terawatts—is more than 10,000 times our total global energy consumption. We have some work to do to figure out how best to store solar energy once the sun goes down, but, really, the sun is Mother Nature’s gift of energy on a silver platter.

So, where does the rubber meet the road on this lovely Renewable Roadshow series? We could oogle over renewable success stories for weeks (and we will!), but we’ll start with more distant roads…

The Climate Council put out a really interesting article a few months ago highlighting eleven countries that are leading the path for renewable energy.

Here are a few highlights:

Denmark: Sources 88% of its energy from renewables as of 2024, 58% of which is from wind! The country has plans of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2030. Yes, in under four years from now. Suddenly, my New Year’s resolutions are sounding considerably less ambitious…

Lithuania: Largely as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, cut ties with Russian fuels in 2022 and now powers itself on more than 60% renewable energy! Talk about a silver lining.

Portugal: Runs on more than 75% renewables, with 45% coming from wind and solar and a small chunk coming from hydro. Has seen a nearly 4.5x increase in solar energy generation between 2017 and 2024. Also, is entirely coal-free! No naughty Portuguese children on Santa’s list since 2021!

Germany: Sources 45% of energy from renewable sources, with goals of reaching 80% renewable energy production by 2030 and 100% by 2035, largely from solar and offshore wind. I think they deserve a cookie. A warm, chocolate chip one.

Greece: Uses the sun and wind for 50% of its total energy generation, with plans to reach 82% renewable energy by 2030. As if Greece weren’t already on my list of vacation destinations!

And, the cherry on top: Costa Rica, Nepal, Albania, Ethiopia, Iceland, and Norway rely or are really close to relying 100% on renewable energy!

Not to turn this into ‘The Gloomy Side,’ but there is a caveat we have to share… we made a promise to be unbiased, after all.

When looking at countries’ successes, it’s important to remember that we’re not always comparing apples to apples. Each country accounts for its emissions differently. How emissions are “accounted” (i.e., attributed or tracked) affects how “green” countries are able to claim they are.

For example, the EU considers burning wood for electricity to be a carbon neutral activity because it assumes that replanting trees will eventually reabsorb the CO2 emitted during the combustion of felled trees.

Sounds a little greenwash-y, eh?

We’ll dive into this in more detail in a future issue. For now, don’t worry. The EU isn’t getting away scot-free. The EU parliament has faced significant criticisms about how it accounts for its emissions and how its rules kick the emissions can down the road to its suppliers in a pretty unfair way.

The next stop of the Renewables Roadshow will dive into one renewable energy source in particular: geothermal. We’ll talk about how this technology works, what the incentives are, and potential challenges.

Have a specific topic on climate science you want to learn about? Let us know. All responses are anonymous!