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CHAPTER 10

Renewable Energy

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A small island in Denmark is leading the way with renewable energy.

The island of Samsø is a two-hour ferry ride from the eastern coast of Denmark. A small, windswept island in the North Sea with 4,000 residents, it would be unremarkable except for one simple fact: The electrical grid is 100% powered by renewable energy. Twenty-one massive wind turbines rise 150 feet from the pastoral landscape and from the choppy waters of the Kattegat Strait, generating 34 megawatts (MW) of power. On windy days, they produce so much energy that the island sells it to mainland Denmark. In addition to wind power, Samsø has four plants that supply 70% of the island’s heat needs using straw waste from barley production and sustainably harvested wood chips from local forests, along with solar energy. The local golf course boasts a solar-powered lawn mower, and one enterprising farmer converts his canola crop into fuel to run his tractors. The island plans to be entirely fossil fuel–free by 2030.

“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”

Thomas A. Edison, 1931, in Uncommon Friends (1987)

By charting their own course and developing a diverse array of renewable energy sources, Samsingers—as the people of Samsø are known—are avoiding many of the problems we have explored that relate to fossil fuels and nuclear power. They demonstrate that it is possible to maintain a thriving economy and high standard of living while reducing their environmental impact. Many other communities around the world are making smaller, but nonetheless significant steps in that direction. According to the Renewable Energy Policy Network (REN21), renewable energy resources powered half of the world’s newly installed electrical generating capacity in 2010. Most of these gains are coming from massive hydropower dams in countries such as Brazil and China, but we’re also seeing dramatic growth in other renewable energy sectors. For example, biofuels (e.g., algae) production increased by 14% in 2010 and wind power increased 24%, reaching nearly 200 gigawatts (200,000 MW; top graph). The production of electricity by photovoltaic systems has grown at an explosive pace, reaching nearly 100 gigawatts (100,000 MW) in 2012 (bottom graph) and growing to 177 gigawatts (177,000 MW) in 2014.

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Even though the adoption of renewable energy supplies represents a step in the right direction, it comes with its own issues. Solar panels require the extraction of mineral resources and can take up a large footprint on land. Many consider wind turbines an eyesore that creates noise pollution; wind turbines also pose a threat to migrating birds and flying bats. And dams require the flooding of river valleys. The challenge of ensuring that the transition from nonrenewable energy to renewable energy is done sustainably lies at the heart of the Central Question of this chapter.

Because of the size of the human population and the great amounts of energy needed to sustain our economies, we have to consider that the large-scale development of renewable energy resources may threaten the environment in numerous ways.

Central Question

Can we develop renewable energy resources to help sustain a thriving economy without adversely affecting the environment?