Debunking common renewable energy myths

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics debunks common myths about renewable energy, demonstrating that solar and wind are now the cheapest and most efficient power sources. It provides evidence that renewables are reliable when integrated with storage, have lower wildlife and environmental impacts than fossil fuels, and occupy minimal land. The document specifically clarifies that a 2025 blackout in the Iberian Peninsula was caused by grid failures rather than renewable energy usage.

• Renewable energy has become the most affordable source of new power generation globally, with costs for solar PV and onshore wind falling by 90% and 70% respectively between 2010 and 2023. In 2023, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) for new onshore wind projects was 67% lower than the cheapest fossil fuel option, and solar PV was 56% lower than the average fossil fuel alternative.
• Renewables are capable of meeting power demand through integrated grids and storage. While solar and wind are variable, offshore wind is classified by the IEA as a "variable baseload" technology. Technical and economic feasibility for 100% renewable electricity systems is supported by academic reviews, aided by a 97% drop in lithium-ion battery cell costs since 1991 and the emergence of Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES).
• An investigation into the April 2025 electricity blackout in Spain and Portugal concluded that the event was caused by technical and planning failures within the Spanish grid, not by the high level of renewable energy. Specific causes included insufficient voltage control, unexpected oscillations in voltage and frequency, and the failure of fossil fuel plants to maintain voltage.
• Renewable energy sources are significantly more efficient than fossil fuels in electricity, heating, and transport. Solar and wind deliver nearly 100% efficiency compared to 30–40% for fossil-based thermal plants. Heat pumps achieve 300–400% efficiency compared to 85% for gas boilers, and electric vehicles convert 80–90% of energy into motion versus 25–40% for internal combustion engines.
• The waste produced by renewable technologies is minimal compared to fossil fuel waste. Projected end-of-life solar panel waste is estimated at 160 million tonnes in a pessimistic scenario, whereas coal ash is projected to reach 45 billion tonnes and global municipal waste 70 billion tonnes by 2050. Up to 95% of solar panel materials can be reclaimed through modern recycling.
• Wind turbines pose a lower risk to birds than fossil fuel energy production. Fossil fuels cause 5.2 avian fatalities per GWh, while wind turbines cause 0.3 to 0.4 deaths per GWh. In the US, estimated annual bird deaths from wind turbines (between 200,000 and 1.2 million) are far lower than those caused by buildings (365 to 988 million) or domestic cats (1.3 to 4 billion).
• Solar farm land use is projected to be low. In the EU, India, Japan, and South Korea, solar infrastructure is expected to occupy between 0.5% and 5% of total land area by 2050. In the UK, solar farms currently occupy just under 0.1% of land, with government plans to increase this to less than 0.3%. In the US, solar development by 2050 is estimated to take up approximately 1.17% of farmland.

APA

Team, Z. (2025). Debunking common renewable energy myths. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/debunking-common-renewable-energy-myths/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Debunking common renewable energy myths. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2025. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/debunking-common-renewable-energy-myths/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Debunking common renewable energy myths |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=18 September 2025 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/debunking-common-renewable-energy-myths/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2025debunking, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Debunking common renewable energy myths}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/debunking-common-renewable-energy-myths/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }