Can renewable energy ever keep up with electricity needs?

Spring has sprung as slowly but surely the temperatures increase until it becomes the unbearable heat of summer. When that happens, millions of air conditioners and central air units will turn on and create a massive power drain. Renewable energy projects will help take the load off larger plants.

Today, renewable energy projects such as solar and wind farms work primarily as a support function for existing large scale plants, but will renewable energy ever be able to take the brunt of electrical needs? Only a small fraction of the electricity created for general consumption comes from renewable means. The bulk comes from nuclear, coal and natural gas plants.

People want more renewable energy, but even if the economy improves and the green movement begins in earnest, it will never be the primary electricity provider. During peak energy usage times such as the dead of winter and the blistering heat of summer, people don’t care where their electricity comes from. They just want to make sure the A/C or heat works.

Imagine if these peak times occurred during a period of extreme cloudiness, removing the solar farms' production, or with no wind, removing the wind farms' production. Renewable energy is great, but too unpredictable. Green energy developers cannot guarantee that when the electricity is most needed that it will be there.

When it’s 10 degrees below zero, people need to know that they can be safe and toasty at home. It’s true that for thousands of years people lived without electricity, but there’s no going back. People want their creature comforts and if coal makes sure they get it, then don’t expect a sudden shift to green energy anytime soon.

Until the unpredictable nature of the beast is tamed, renewable energy will never be more than a support service. It will help ease the burden during peak times, but it will never become power juggernaut without significant changes. 

Photo courtesy of KTCMO