Are solar and wind energy reliable?

The reliability of solar and wind energy is a complex and debated topic among experts.

1. Cost and Backup Needs: Alex Epstein highlights that integrating solar and wind into the energy grid requires maintaining a 100% reliable backup system from sources like natural gas or nuclear. This adds significant costs because you essentially pay for two systems: the renewable and the reliable backup. For instance, Germany's electricity prices are much higher due to their solar and wind infrastructure, yet they still need substantial backup from fossil fuels or nuclear power 1 2.

2. Grid Integration Challenges: Epstein also mentions that solar and wind are often "parasites" on the grid, relying heavily on existing reliable sources to manage their intermittent nature. This makes them less cost-effective overall when compared to traditional reliable power plants that do not require such backup 3.

   
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   Energy Reliability Debate
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   Energy Reliability Crisis
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   Energy Reliability Debate
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   Energy Reliability Dilemma
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   Renewable Energy Debate
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3. Environmental and Practical Considerations: Both Epstein and Steven Koonin discuss the environmental and technical challenges of relying solely on renewables. Koonin points out that renewables are cyclic and we lack adequate storage solutions, which means the cost can skyrocket when renewable sources are not producing power, potentially leading to reliability issues 4. Additionally, the considerable mining required for renewable energy technologies presents significant environmental costs 1.

4. Overarching Reliability Concerns: Meredith Angwin elaborates that renewables like wind and solar add to the overall system costs since they require substantial redundancy. This redundancy often involves maintaining fossil fuel plants or other backup systems ready to compensate when renewables fail to deliver, which is a frequent occurrence due to their intermittent nature 5.

Mark Delucchi, however, argues for a future relying predominantly on wind, solar, and hydropower, but acknowledges the criticisms about such a system’s reliability 5.

Overall, the experts seem to agree that while solar and wind can contribute to the energy grid, their current limitations in reliability and the high costs associated with backup systems prevent them from being standalone solutions for now.