Can Renewable Energy Replace Fossil Fuels?

AuthorGreene, Nathanael

Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas powered America's industrial rise and helped make the U.S. a global power. But emissions from burning these fuels have played a large role in causing the climate change that threatens the planet, scientists say. A lot of attention has recently focused on renewable energy--energy produced from nonpolluting renewable sources such as wind, sun, and running water. During one month last spring, renewable energy, for the first time ever, supplied more of America's electricity than coal did. But can renewables completely replace fossil fuels? A researcher at an environmental organization and a spokeswoman for an oil and gas industry group square off.

YES When President Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the roof of the White House 40 years ago, renewable energy technologies were both expensive and niche.

Times have changed. The market has turned against fossil fuels, and with a helpful prod from consumers and lawmakers, fossil fuels can be replaced entirely by renewable energy.

Consider the economics: The cost of installing new wind turbines has fallen by two-thirds from a decade ago, and the price of solar panels by a whopping 88 percent. Nearly two-thirds of the new power capacity installed this year is expected to be solar and wind. Recent analysis by Rocky Mountain Institute, a group that promotes the use of low-carbon energy sources, shows renewable energy will be less expensive than gas power plants within a decade. It makes sense: The "fuel" powering wind turbines and solar panels is free, after all.

The signs of change are everywhere. In states like Colorado, Ohio, Minnesota, and Indiana, utilities are shutting down their coal plants and switching to renewable energy--not because it's cleaner, but because it's cheaper. In fact, coal has become so uncompetitive that plant owners have asked the government for a bailout.

Of course, there will be days or times of the day when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine. But, just as our phones have gotten smarter, so has our electric grid. We can pull electricity supplies from different areas as needed, or use our home hot-water heaters to store power when it's plentiful and draw it down when it's scarce. As the share of renewable energy increases, our grid will become smarter and more adaptable.

The shift to renewable energy is well under way. But policies that force oil, gas, and coal companies to pay a fair price for the damage they cause to human...

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