Renewable energyProfessor of the Official University Master's Degree in Integrated Logistics and International Trade at Bureau Veritas University Center , Erica Fellinger, talks to us in this post about renewable energies.
As is well known, economic policy provides instruments that policy makers can use to moderate economic cycles. However, public policies can also promote economic sectors that contribute to sustainable development , contribute to research, development and innovation, promote training, etc.
These policies propose their objectives as long-term strategies and use different types of instruments , for example, the granting of patents for the manufacture of new medicines, subsidies for companies that generate renewable energy, among others.
In this regard, subsidies granted to renewable twitter data energies are in question, as new research shows. Studies show that renewable energies are excessively expensive for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
I cite the case of recent research for the US by Charles Frank of the Brookings Institution, who estimates that solar energy is the most expensive way to reduce carbon emissions , followed by wind power, hydroelectric plants and nuclear plants. The use of combined cycle gas plants is the most effective way to reduce these emissions.
He therefore concludes that governments should focus on reducing emissions from other sources, rather than focusing on increasing certain types of renewable energy . Naturally, these conclusions have generated a great deal of controversy and have been challenged by, among others, Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute.
As I have mentioned on other occasions, the key to information is asking ourselves questions.
As is often the case when comparing disparate results in empirical research, the method of calculation and the source of data are crucial. So we can ask ourselves:
How are energy costs calculated?
Traditionally, the level cost method is used in economic literature , which represents the net present value of the capital and operating costs of a power plant, considering its useful life: 20 years for wind energy, 30 for photovoltaic energy and 25 for the rest.
However, this method of calculation appears to be flawed in measuring the costs of renewable energy , points out Paul Joskow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
What factors can affect the costs and benefits of renewable energy, which naturally do not apply to non-renewable energy sources?
Wind energy is not produced when there is no wind. Solar energy is not generated at night. In these cases, it is non-renewable energy sources that need to activate their production to meet demand .
On the other hand, the benefits of renewable energy include the value of the fuel that would have been used if conventional plants had produced the same amount of electricity and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are avoided.