Falling Costs of renewables shows which way the wind is blowing

When first confronted with overwhelming evidence for climate change the primary tactic for carbon polluters was to deny it. Working through a network of journalists, politicians and lobby groups, they muddied the waters, confused the science and sowed doubt enough to continue reaping profits. Slowly the weight of evidence has made this tactic increasingly untenable. So another trope has been to asseverate that renewable energy was always going to be too expensive and that practical men-notice the noun-would always rely on fossil fuels, because they knew so much more than the rest of us – women, students, greens and other less flattering epithets- about how the world worked, etc.

They were false prophets. Because now the overwhelming evidence is that the cost of renewable energy-solar, wind, tides and so on is plummeting. Below we have three excellent websites which will take the wind out of the polluters’ sails-with lots of sparkling pictures and clever graphics. But allow us to cherry pick a few plum facts. Between 2010 and 2019 the cost of concentrated solar energy fell by 47%; for PV solar it was a stunning 82%. Wind energy costs are down by between 29-39%. And remember-we haven’t started to talk about the improvements in batteries to store all this. Hope indeed.

For over a century, carbon polluters have dominated out planet, our politics and our psychology. Their power was based on big money. But investment follows profits, and both are moving out of fossils and towards the future. Expect continued fights from the carbon polluters and their accolytes.But no one knows better than them that the writing is on the wall.

Renewables ‘increasingly cheaper’ than fossil fuels – reNews – Renewable Energy News

Renewables cheaper than fossil fuel plants by 2030 – pv magazine International (pv-magazine.com)

Why did renewables become so cheap so fast? And what can we do to use this global opportunity for green growth? – Our World in Data

#climatechange #globalwarming #fossilfuels #pollution #solarenergy #windenergy #tidalenergy #nuclearenergy #renewables #2030