When most people think of renewable energy and associated equipment, solar panels and wind turbines usually spring to mind. The sun, in terms of our own grasp on time, is forever. While the sun is still around there will also be wind as wind is just a converted form of solar energy.
However, the renewable energy boom and associated incentives are seeing intense lobbying to have other technologies viewed as renewable, such as nuclear power plants and the burning of garbage and waste from coal mines.
According to a report published by the New York Times last month, environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council are becoming frustrated by the increasing flexibility of the word “renewable” when it comes to legislation in the USA.
In states such as Pennsylvania, “renewable” or “alternative” energy has already expanded to include waste coal and methane from coal mines – and attracts the same benefits as those bestowed upon solar panels and wind turbines. Even old tires can count as a renewable fuel in the state of Nevada.
Opposed environmentalist say that one of the aims of renewable energy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are generated by burning just about anything; whether that comes from crude oil, garbage or crop waste.
In some states, hydropower and nuclear power is considered renewable, allowing power generation companies to meet renewable energy quotas while doing little else.
With billions of dollars of incentives available and powerful, well funded lobbyists happy to fight for funding for “renewable” energy sources such as old tires, it leaves concerned environmentalists wondering – will the green energy of tomorrow look very different to what is generally accepted as renewable today; and what will be the consequences for our planet?
